Sustainable House Day, Lewisham, NSW

What appears to be just another quaint 1880’s cottage has a rear conversion that transports you to a sunnier world. The rear of the home is open to the winter sun and the wide eaves and deciduous vines protect the home from the worst of the summer sun. A central courtyard provides an open feel and allows excellent cross ventilation aided by lightweight high-level adjustable glazed vents.

New or Retrofit:  Retrofit done in 1995

Architects: Rod Simpson

Climate Zone: Eastern Sydney – BCA Climate Zone 5, Nathers Climate Zone 56.

Unique Sustainable Elements featured in this home

Water Harvesting Systems
1000L metal tank elevated with gravity feed connection to the toilet.

External Walls
Existing brick. New walls a combination of brick for thermal mass using recycled bricks from the demolition and fibre cement clad stud walls.

Internal Walls
Mixture of recycled solid brickwork and timber stud. Stud walls lined with sealed MDF and Hoop pine. Recycled timber used for framing.

Roof
Corrugated steel roof on recycled hardwood frame with R3 batts. Light coloured roof for heat reflectance.

Floor
Combination of polished concrete for thermal mass and raised timber floor. Differences in floor level used to define areas and create interest. Floorboards all recycled. Floor to bathroom is open timber slats for drainage and to promote good ventilation to minimize mould build-up.

Window Treatments
Cedar timber windows with single clear glass. Windows are either bi-folding or externally slide so that window openings can be fully opened for maximum ventilation. External sliding shutters are also fitted to the bathroom windows to give privacy whilst still allowing good ventilation. Deciduous wisteria has been grown along the eaves to provide additional summer shading. High level eaves are angled up to maximize winter sun penetration.
High level windows are glazed with double walled polycarbonate. Being lightweight these windows are on pulley allowing them to be fully opened allowing hot air to escape.

Heating & Cooling
The passive solar design minimises heating & cooling. Bedrooms and living rooms are separated allowing zoning for heating. A portable gas heater is used in winter.

Water Heating
Solarhart gas boosted solar hot water system.

Appliances
Energy and water efficient washing machine.

Other Unique Features
The renovation incorporated numerous environmentally friendly approaches:-
•    Demolished bricks and timber reused in new construction,
•    Lime based paints and natural timber finishes
•    Sealed Compressed fibre cement sheets as kitchen benchtops
•    Garden shed built from demolition and recycled materials
•    Crosslinked polyethylene piping and clay piping used instead of PVC for plumbing
•    High level of ventilation in bathroom means harsh cleaning chemicals are not required.