Eco-Friendly Home

An example of a sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly home.

	The Mayor's Message	The Sponsors
	The Idea	The Design Philosophy
	The Concept Brief	Health & Safety
	Eco-Gardening	Construction Materials
	Features	Walls that Breathe
	Up on the Roof	Energy Smart
	Lighting	Heating & Cooking
	The Hot Water System	Conserving Water
	Flooring & Walls	Other eco-initiatives

Features of the Eco-Friendly Home   Energy Efficiency
Local Area Wiring (Law) System	Not visible
Daikin Inverter Heat Pump	Kitchen
Thermor Induction cooktop	Kitchen
Quantum Hotwater System	Outside
Concrete foundation	Not visible
EverGreen tinted glass (toughened)	Northern side of home
Rosscrete tiles	Roof of home
Thermowool	Not visible
Water efficient taps, mixers & showers	Throughout home
Vulcan Classic Fan Oven	Kitchen
Westinghouse Fridge	Kitchen
Bosch Washing Machine	Laundry
Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer	Kitchen
LG Microwave	Kitchen

Health & Safety

Environmentally Friendly

Water Efficiency

Walls that breathe

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.

Noise Control

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. 

Health Home Solutions

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.

Up On The Roof

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.

Woolblend Insulation

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.