Hi Brett, first off - well done for reaching out (without ego) and asking those that know and those that have tried and found results. If you are going with the brick veneer, the cavity is key to your moisture and thermal capabilities, after years within the house. Gyproc is not designed for anything but a 'skin'. If you increase thermal layer on the walls by asking he outer layer of the stud work with good quality silver sarking or Tyvek. Tape joints to eliminate vapour transfer to internal gyproc. Use 12.5mm gyproc on all external walls. OR Use 12.5 silver backed gyproc board on walls instead of previous. If coast effective -I would use this on the ceilings also. Principle being - isolate the internal breathing environment both thermally and other from the externals. Then deal with any ventilation or thermal issue by themselves internally. Look at why a house is designed, then go 100% better. The problem with roof voids is cold at night and heat in day, focus on high air barrier and high 'R' values here. Internally, consider + and -, as in, where it is cold-draw heat to it (South+ low) where it is hot, draw coolth to it (North & high). The result will be both continuos balance or equilibrium in comfort, thermally, energy and ventilation wise... Hope this helps : )

I'd start by asking this question on the Whirlpool Green Tech forum, https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143 Plenty of well informed people post there, including people in the solar PV industry. Evaluate your electricity bill & your usage. What proportion of this occurs in the daytime, whether other usage can be shifted to the daytime. Evaluate your roof, is it unshaded, does it have ample areas that face north, east or west. Answering these questions will help you determine the size of the PV system you should install. Now get at least 3 quotes from installers. Evaluate the quality of the year offered, the PV panels, the inverter, any extras, the warrantees offered. Evaluate the quality of the installer, have they been in business for quite a long time, have a good reputation? Ask many questions on the Green Tech forum & elsewhere.

Hi SonaandDi, In case you haven't come across it, here is the link to my finished kitchen: https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/5598603/renovation-of-our-1956-red-brick-triple-fronted-home-all-done This layout has the potential for issues, but I tried to factor those in by noting where the fridge doors came to when fully opened. I should have allowed a little more width for the fridge gap, as the theory didn't quite translate in practice: on the plans I allowed the minimum of 20mm either side of fridge, but ended up with only about 13mm (was not fun getting the fridge in!). So my suggestion is to make sure there is 50mm either side of fridge. eg the fridge space is 1000mm wide for french door fridge around the 900mm mark. Even so, my doors do open fully (vegie drawers slide out unobstructed), as the doors themselves sit forward of the nib wall on the right. If your fridge space is wider, you won't need to sit the fridge out the full thickness of the doors, which may look more streamlined. But make sure you allow for 50mm space at the back of fridge. This will decide the depth of your nib wall. I calculated mine as 50mm plus the depth of the fridge to the start of the doors. You might prefer to make it a bit deeper, as the doors have more room to open due to the extra width of the space. It isn't annoying having the door opening over the pantry entry. It isn't often that someone wants to get to the pantry at the exact moment someone else opens the fridge. Even if that happened, you could get past if you couldn't wait: Good luck with your renovation! Because you can't be on site, I would always factor in more wiggle room. Let me know if I can help with any more info - I could talk about this stuff all day long!

we have several Solar Skylights ...one square 45cms Illume fitting in an ensuite without any windows and two 30cm Arcol circular fittings to add extra light to a dining area without direct external windows...we're very happy with the Solar Skylights after years of leaking "proper" skylights ..our roof windows and standard skylights looked excellent with a view of sky and trees but, tired of constant leaks, we changed the roof and swopped the leaking holes for the small Solar Skylights .....they averaged about $260 each and can be DIY although our tradesmen were happy to install while doing other work for the cost of about 1 hrs extra labour...some brands have a model that includes electric connection to use the same light for night and overcast days but we have extra downlights instead .. they're just solar powered light fittings, ceiling mounted with a fibre optic cable through ceiling and roof space, up to 9 m (so plenty of options to disguise the cable instead of more complicated access to roof through a second storey) and then out under the ridge capping to connect to a small roof mounted solar panel...only problem is i kept trying to turn off the "light" until we became used to them ...there are also custom sizes and they can also be installed vertically to have the appearance of a window or fanlight over a door...very satisfied