Sustainable …..what does it actually mean?

• saving whales
• recycling
• rainforests
• green house gas emissions
• carbon taxes

This is the common percetion (mis conception) of sustainable design.  A lot of marketing has gone into the  promotion of the  “eco / green”  facet of sustainability. It a bit like the 99% fat free ice cream that we buy……..But it’s full of sugar that makes us fat!!!

Sustainability  has three aspects to it:

1. Ecological sustainability….. be sensitve to the environment and have the smalles carbon footprint possible. Be energy efficient with good  passive solar design principal applied.
2. Social Sustainability…………. be fit for the purpose it is designed for. Australia now has the largest homes in the world being built. Do we really need  2 living areas, a media room and a study??
3. Economic Sustainability……be  affordable. With construction costs soaring excessive “space” is a waste of money when efficient design can reduce unwanted space.

One of the most common comments I hear from clients is “I’ve drawn up what I want but its not very good.”  So we  often encourage out clients to simply write down what they want.  What their dream home is going to look like and how they want to live in the future. (I’m a firm believer of letting the experts do what they do best and not try to do their job)

The next common saying I hear is “Wow!!  I would never of thought of that !!!

When all of the above principals are taken into account and  are implimented into the design of a  home or building, and of course the  flexability to obtain comparitive  prices from a number of builders, the  investment  in a custom design can be far outweiged by the  savings. Not only in construction but for the life of the building.

For example my electricity  bill is  around $1500 per year less than my neighbour.  His air conditioner runs  regularly to heat and cool his home.  I simply open different windows and doors depending on the prevailing breezes.

After 7 years? !!  ……well you do the numbers

Standard Plans  are a wonderful way to spend a few leisurely hours looking at all the wonderful  new innovations. But are they alwyas exactly what you want?  While  display homes and  standard  home designs  can give you a good idea of what you want they very rarely tick all the boxes. Many of the comments we hear are;

• The kitchen is too small
• Not enough storage
• Laundry is too small
• There’s a dunny facing the living room!!!
• or I would change this or that…

The Answer is simple.

Spending a little time talking to a  professional designer to make a wish list of all those things you require in your home is a fun experience and often a lot of great ideas come out of a design brief session.  Sometimes your designer throws ideas at you that you would never have dreamed of.

But doesn’t is cost a lot??

Well it depends on how you want to look at it.

A properly designed home can cut down on lighting and cooling costs to an extent that the “investment” would be recovered in a very short time.  Expert design  can remove  wasted or  excess space…………..”floor and roof  is a very expensive  non essential item”

But  The Display Home has a fixed price!! 

The biggest cost saving a professional designer can offer is  flexibility and transparency by putting YOU in control.

By engaging a  building company to prepare your design you are  constrained to  that company and their pricing structure. Due to copyright restrictions it’s impossible for you to get comparable prices for the same  home.

By engaging  your designer to prepare YOUR design you are free to get comparative prices from a variety of construction companies. This is exactly why large companies and  consultants offer TENDERS to enable competitive prices to come in. When  offering a project for tender it is most important that the potential contractors are all comparing the same  end product.

Should I simply go for the cheapest price??

We often see and hear advertisements for new homes based of  $$$$ per sq/m  this is often used as a way of  comparing a company’s  “value for money”.  Well this isn’t entirely correct………..

• A smaller home is ALWAYS more expensive per sq/m as there is still  bathrooms, kitchen etc
• Roof design can increase the price substantially
• Elevated floor is always more expensive.
• Gold taps and expensive fittings have an effect on the build cost (surprisingly many consumers don’t relate these)
• Non standard windows and doors can easily blow a budget.

 

Ultimately  some things in life remain constant and  “you get what you pay for” is one of those. Saving time and money on getting your design stage right usually doesn’t  !!!

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Each week we will endeavour to bring  our valuable  builder’s expertise to the forefront by introducing one of our valued industry partners with some valuable tips to avoid potential pitfalls when planning a new home or extension project.

This week’s tip comes from Brent and Vanessa Hennesy from Essence Building Group of the  Sunshine Coast.

Building a house or renovating your property is a big decision and it usually costs a lot of money.  Despite this many people rush in and want to get things started right away without fully knowing what they want done.  Our tip is to spend the time working out exactly what you would like to get done then consult with your local designer or architect and get your concept on paper.  Make any adjustments and changes to the design at concept stage and take your time to ensure the final sketch is exactly what you want.  Once you have this finalised, consult your builder.  Many people try to save money by not going through the concept design phase, however this is the best way to save money and prevent expensive mistakes long term.

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“Dream; Create; Live”