Well if your over designing and putting in more then what is required you are just becoming a part of the problem. Because the amount of energy that has gone into manufacturing your home and each material in it. Those materials require energy to produce them..... On the other hand yes there is that question what if there is not enough can we trust government policy. I think our focus should really be how can we design homes that design for current conditions, have a zero and no carbon footprint and the costs of manufacturing do not offset this goal. So I do place my trust in the science and research from the CSIRO. And policy that has been created as a result of their research yes.

Hi, I like the overall concept of the darkish grey, it suits the home. I am a colour consultant and have been working with the Dulux range for 17 years and you are on the right track with the Guild Grey. The Dulux Signature will give you a dark blue house. Another option if Simone Weil which is just a bit lighter than the Guild Grey, if you find that one too dark. Sample pots and A4 brush outs onto white cardboard are the best way to decide, because computer programs give an overall impression of the "look" but are not accurate with colour choices, you can't beat the human eye. All the best, it's going to look great.

Because of the heat, you should not use dark colours on walls or roof. regarding painting of brick. Brick is an almost no maintenance cladding. When you paint it you've set yourself up for a big chore every 7 (on the west) to 10 years. Secondly, if you still want to paint it, you need to use special brick paint, or natural limewash. Bricks and mortar need to breathe. If they can't, you can have structural problems down the track. theres lots of information about limewash on the Internet.

I had some clients that had this colorbond wrap over their timber fascias, which was a similar style to yours and they were very unhappy with the end result. Judging from the age of your home the existing fascia is probabaly a rough sawn oregon timber which has its own character. As timber can be readily trimmed, filled and sanded, the junctions between pieces, and at corners can be easily disguised to give the impression that they are continuous lengths. The problem with the colorbond material is the lengths are limited, and that the joints cannot be readily disguised. In my clients house the installers overlapped the colorbond wrap, and joined the overlapped part with metal rivets. In their case the joint happened directly over the front door and is really obvious. So before you sign a contract to wrap your existing fascia in colorbond there are a few questions you should ask: 1) Do you repair/replace any rotting timber before wrapping? Or is the rot just concealed? 2) What is the maximim length of colourbond fascia that can be supplied, and how is it jointed? Where will these joints occur? Are the joints weatherproof to windblown rain? 3) How is the colorbond fascia jointed at corners, and finished at the ends of the run? The colorbond finish is flat and smooth, so the existing character of the rough sawn oregon fascias will be lost forever. With the eaves, concealed gutters and timber fascias of your home being such an important element to the style of the home I would be considering spending my money on the maintenance and upkeep to preserve the existing character. At least ask your installer to supply addresses of some previous jobs so that you can see how the joints and corners are treated.