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Environmentally Friendly
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| Laserframe Pine timber | Throughout home |
| 100% recyclable aluminium joinery | Throughout home |
| Sustainable Cedar | Front door & garage door |
| Sustainable Eucalyptus Fastigata | Throughout home |
| Sustainable Eucalyptus Saligna Pergola and fascia | |
| Sustainable Australian Brushwood | Fencing |
| Recovered Swamp Kauri and sustainable New Zealand Pine | Flooring |
| Volcanic stone veneer | Exterior of home |
| Blanco sink top (opening for compostable food wastes rather than waste disposal unit) | Kitchen |
| SuperSleve clay pipes | Not visible |
| Resene environmental choice paints | Throughout home |
| Exlene Sheen | Throughout home |
| Aquaclear polyurethane | Throughout home |
| Daikin Inverter Heat Pump | Kitchen |
| Quantum Hotwater System | Outside |
| Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer | Kitchen |
| Rainwater tank | Exterior of home |
| Water efficient taps, mixers & showers | Throughout home |
| Caroma dual flush toilets | Throughout home |
| Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer | Kitchen |
| Quantum Hotwater System | Outside |
| Bosch Washing Machine | Laundry |
 Non-toxic, environmentally-friendly Putz Technik plaster being applied to the home's exterior |
Most people appreciate the side affects of sitting in a stuffy, airless room.
But many may not realise that 'bad air' also affects buildings. Most conventional homes are made
from products which seal off the interior of the house from the elements.
Unfortunately, a lack of good air circulation makes the inside environment less 'healthy' for its
occupants and causes building problems such as mould, rot and condensation. The team involved in the eco-friendly
home recognised the importance 'good air' plays in a healthy home and decided to build its walls like a 'skin' which
insulates, absorbs and expels toxins.
To achieve this, Hardibacker sheets by James Hardie Building Products were used for exterior cladding. Hardibacker is made from cellulose fibre, Portland cement and finely ground sand and water. Hardibacker walls were finished with Putz Technik plaster. This is a 'breathable', pigmented two-coat mineral plaster system from Germany which uses local bulk ingredients. It has a fibreglass mesh rather than a metal mesh, as would be the case with a traditional three-coat plaster system. |
Putz Technik plaster is non-toxic and environmentally-safe. Used with Masonry Water Repellent, this plaster breathes and allows water vapour to move through it. This stops trapped moisture impacting on other building materials which can deteriorate. At the same time, Putz Technik plaster and water repellent stops outside water getting into the home. The soffits (the area under the eaves of the house) were finished with another James Hardie product, Silkline, which offers slow maintenance in an area that is often difficult to access. A stone veneer made from local volcanic stone was used on the street elevation of the home. Local stone was selected to reduce transportation costs and to apply the principles of 'vernacular' building which calls for the use of local materials and local skills.
The study in the eco-friendly home (situated between the garage and the living room) has become a peaceful and quiet 'haven' thanks to Winstone Wallboard Limited's Gib Noise Control 'Better' Solution. This simple and cost-effective solution, one of the levels of Gib Noise Control for interiors, incorporated best practice design and construction elements and included the installation of: a dual layer of 9.5mm standard Gib plasterboard on each side of the walls with bulk insulation in the cavity; 12.5mm Standard Gib plasterboard on Gib clips and steel battens in the ceiling; and Gib Soundseal Acoustic sealant to insulate the study against internal noise transmission.
In keeping with the eco-friendly home's 'healthier house' philosophy, Winstone Wallboard Limited's Gib Healthy Home 'Better' Solution (one of three performance levels of Gib Healthy Home Solutions) was utilised throughout the home to control moisture levels and ventilation, creating a warmer, drier and healthier interior environment for its inhabitants. Excess moisture entering the home and internal condensation is reduced by the installation of materials and components that affect insulation, heating, ventilation and wall and ceiling linings in all areas of the house. These included: Gib DampGard concrete underlay, Gib Antiblaze GreenWrap and GreenCap (solvent-free, fire retardant building wrap and roofing underlay), kiln-dried framing timber, vented windows, Gib Aqualine plasterboard for wall and ceiling linings and floor wastes in wet areas (kitchen/bathrooms etc) and high performance Gib Ultraline plasterboard for ceiling linings outside wet areas.
The roof was constructed from Rosscrete tiles which were supplied by Ross Roofing Limited in Papakura. Rosscrete tiles are made of sand and cement and meet New Zealand Building Code standards for use as a suitable roof surface for collecting rainwater. The concrete tiles have very good thermal resistance. They retain heat and stop condensation forming in the roof. The tiles also fit in with the existing streetscape and character of the area. To avoid unnecessary wastage, offcuts and broken tiles from the roof were used to help form the base of the driveway.
Sheep wool, recycled carpet wool
and regenerated polyester were used to make 'Thermowool' insulation in the eco-friendly home.
Insulation Products Limited's director, Paul Vujcich of Auckland, says wool, regenerated polyester and a
'Iow-melt' polyester fibre were blended together to create a fluffy blanket which forms the
basis of Thermowool. "The material is then baked and the low-melt polyester melts creating millions
of 'spot welds' throughout the insulation which hold it together," he says. "The
process provides an extremely durable product with a 50 year life. We don't have
to use any glue to bind the material, which is great, because glues are usually water soluble and break down over time.
This product is inert and the wool component allows it to breathe." Thermowool is not only a healthy
material but the recycled materials used in its creation have reduced waste. The
polyester used is normally a discarded 'offcut' and the carpet used is recycled.
Thermowool was used in the eco-friendly home's walls and new fleece was used to insulate the ceiling. An 'R' rating
of 2 was achieved in the walls and 3.3 in the ceilings.
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