| 81 Upping the standard of Kiwi homes Kelly Deeks A 3D render of Cat and Toby Tilsley’s passive house in Raglan which is under construction. BUILDING Craft Homes Aiming to make a contribution to the improvement of the standard of Kiwi homes, Auckland’s Craft Homes is proudly building sustainable homes and even certified Passive Houses, enabling its clients to enjoy healthy and energy efficient living environments and make their own contribution to New Zealand’s fast-expanding sustainable building movement. Having moved out of a classic cold and damp Kiwi rental to purchase their own home, Toby and Cat Tilsley suddenly realised just how sick that environment had made them. When Toby then had an opportunity to build an eco home, they saw the optimum standard for themselves, and decided sustainable building was the way of the future for Craft Homes. “There is more awareness today about the impact of your day-to-day living on climate change,and people are more aware of their own carbon footprints,” Cat says. “Climate change is happening all around us and is going to continue happening in the future. We need to be thinking about future proofing our homes.” Toby and Cat are now building their own certified Passive House in the Waikato, as well as another for a client and another one on the books to start after that. With airtight construction and mechanical ventilation, a Passive House requires little to no energy to heat or cool, maintaining a constant internal temperature year-round. While Passive House certification is at the top end of the sustainability scale and likely the top end of anyone’s budget, Cat says everyone has their own idea of what sustainability means. “From our point of view, sustainability is about making the most energy efficient house you can. When we talk about carbon, we are talking also talking about operational carbon, ie how much energy do you need to run your home, and making your home as energy efficient as possible really reduces that.” Craft Homes uses an integrated design team right from the start of the process, with client, architect, engineer, and builder all working together to ensure the resulting design is sustainable, energy efficient, warm, healthy, and to budget. Any required changes can be spotted by any one of the team and made before the plans get to council. Craft Homes also has affiliations with the New Zealand Green Building Council and the Homestar® rating system, for which Craft Homes is both a practitioner and assessor. Cat says that even home builders with budget constraints can build sustainably, and when thinking about the upfront costs, should also think about minimising ongoing running costs. “There are ways to reduce the additional 5% to 20% cost of a high performance home,” she says. “Consider the size of your home, lowering your square metreage can have a massive impact on your total costs, and being clever with your use of space is a great was to achieve a smaller footprint on a home that feels just as big. “The complexity of your design will also have an impact on cost. The easiest and therefore cheapest Passive House to build is a square or a rectangle. “Then think about finishing your home. Focus on the efficiency of your floor, roof, walls, and windows, and everything else can come after.” “When we talk about carbon, we are talking also talking about operational carbon, ie how much energy do you need to run your home, and making your home as energy efficient as possible really reduces that.” www.topmarkelectrical.co.nz 0800TOPMARK Providing Intelligent electrical solutions to architecturally designed & award winning homes. Linseed oil paint only contains linseed oil and natural pigments and no plastic, it lasts for decades not years. Linseed oil paint contains no harmful chemicals that are dangerous to human health, it only contains linseed oil and natural pigments and a small amount of titaniumoxide to stop the growth of mold. Linseed oil paint uses naturally occurring pigments that are far more stable chemically and retains its colour for years longer than acrylic paint pigments. Linseed oil paint contains no plastic and is a sustainable product. Linseed oil paint takes longer to dry but is much easier to work with, and spreads further than acrylic paints. Sustainable paint - no plastic. 021 070 3470 | www.ekopaints.co.nz | louis@ekopaints.co.nz
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