SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY 2011 - 1 JOHN ST, BRUNSWICK EAST
1 John street is a 1930's Edwardian brick house on a generous plot with an architect-designed renovation by Construction Queen completed in 2010. The sleepout was demolished to make way for a small extension within the original footprint of the sleepout. Our objective was to create a livable and low-energy modern home with 130m2 of internal living area. We strove for functional outcome and maintainability by the average person, rather than showcasing technologies.
The renovation embraces passive solar design principles, environmental sustainability and use of local crafts people.
To manage winter performance we focused on insulation to retain heat, adequate thermal mass and ventilation tightness. For summer performance we focused on external shading and insulation to shield from heat entry and improved ability to cross ventilate by drawing cooler air from the south.
Low VOC paint is used throughout. Bricks and timber were salvaged from demolishing the sleepout were extensively used in the renovation. Likewise, where possible doors and fittings such as the bath tub were salvaged and re-used. 2nd hand materials such as fireplace inserts were sourced from architectural salvage company Steptoes in Collingwood.
Self-guided tour - please follow Stations 1 to 4.
Living room (1). The house has two living spaces; one for weekend winter warmth (sitting room) and one to escape from the summer heat (living room). The living room is located on the south side and is cooler in summer. To increase natural light levels, the internal corridor wall was demolished and the ceiling modified to introduce a raked ceiling with openable high level windows. These windows help to ventilate the interior in summer. 1 John street does not have an air conditioner. A high efficiency gas heater provides winter heating, with supplemental heating from a Solar Source solar air heater.
The servery is by Wathaurong indigenous glassworks in Geelong. The authentic shoji screen is set in traditional timber rails by local joiner Matthew Miles from Opus in Wood. Matthew also made the fireplace mantle, freestanding lamp and toilet wall sconces.
Sitting/kitchen/bathroom (2). The sitting room is new-built on a polished concrete slab which has 30% recycled concrete. The sitting room has a bay window with double-glazed sash windows and a gabled roof. These elements sympathetically mirror the layout of the east side of the house. The gabled roof improves thermal performance (compared with a flat roof) and enables bulk insulation to be installed.
The sitting room walls are reverse veneered. The interior skin is masonry (instead of lightweight cladding) and the exterior skin is lightweight hebel (instead of masonry). Aircell is installed in the wall cavity to increase overall insulation rating. In summer, the low thermal mass hebel (aerated concrete) has an insulating effect to minimise heat penetration from the afternoon sun. In winter, the interior masonry acts as thermal mass to collect heat brought into the sitting room from the north-facing glazing during the daytime. The stored heat is then released in the evening. Reverse veneering overcomes the problem of conventional wall design (masonry on outside, claddig on inside) which has perverse thermal performance when used on a west wall. Cooling is provided by a ceiling fan. On cold days heating is provided by a Nectre Bakers Oven slow combustion heater. Firewood is sourced sustainably by opportunistically collecting from kerbside.
The kitchen sits within the original house and pretty much follows the original layout with some modernisation to bring it into the 21st century. The exterior west wall was demolished to create a semi-open plan with the sitting room, and to provide visual connectivity into the rear garden. Kitchen benches by Cantilever. Pantry doors are recycled. Kitchen floor is in marmoleum; a linseed oil based floor covering. Hob and oven are gas (gas oven is an unusual choice - when we built in 2009, there was only one make available).
The bathroom has an open shower with a pebbled base and an outlook into the rear garden. The hob and vanity from the 1930's fitout were salvaged and re-used in the renovation.
Laundry (3). The laundry provides utility storage, recycle and rag bins. The laundry serves as an outdoor/indoor transition area. The front loader runs on mains cold water. The house has 11,000 litres of rainwater storage which delivers to points of use by gravity feed (i.e. not pumped) The toilet runs on plumbed-in rainwater. The laundry trough also has a rainwater tap. It is the most frequently used tap in the house. Feel free to turn it on and test the flow. Hot water is provided by gas-boosted solar hot water system.
Household utilities profile - mains water consumption is 45 litres/person/day (VIC public water saving target is 150 litres). Electricity bill is $115/quarter (VIC average $350/quarter) mainly to run the fridge and lighting. We have chosen not to install rooftop solar PV.
Step outside. The porch has purpose-designed undercover parking for two bicycles. We do not own a car and we are Flexicar members. A worm farm sits just outside the door. A small storeroom (affectionately known as the 'tardis') is accessed from the porch. The wire mesh fence was designed and built by local tradesman Kevin Fregon. The perimeter timber paling fence is built from old cypress windbreaks originally planted in regional Victoria.
Garden (4). The garden is in conversion to a sustainable design. Traditional old-fashioned roses have been retained due to requests from neighbours. The front lawn is being dug out and replaced with local native plants sourced from Victorian Indigenous Nurseries Cooperative (VINC) in Fairfield and CERES. Remediation of the back garden included removal and make safe of an underground air raid shelter and planting of fruit trees, vegetables and locally native plants. Fruit trees include fejoa, ugni (Chilean guava), avocado, apple, apricot, fig and peach. Edible natives include warrigal greens and native raspberry. Grassland species include poa and windmill grass.
The verge to the south and east have been planted with medium-sized locally native trees including yellow gum, black wattle, black sheaoak and silver banksia. A kind 'angel' installed a bike hoop on the south verge.
(August 2011) (
