POLL: How important is using sustainable materials to you?
6 years ago
Extremely important
Very important
Important
Slightly important
Not at all important
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (15)
- 6 years ago
Related Discussions
POLL: Dishwasher or hand-wash?
Comments (31)I love my Asko dishwasher, great brand, it has many options, like water temp, top draw only if it's not full, fast wash, heavy wash, etc it actually uses less water for the normal wash than the full bowl on my sink. Our house is on all rain water so no need for the finish product to get rid of the calcium in the town supply that leaves the streaks. As someone with a spine problem, standing in one position doing the dishes is a real pain! We are building what should be our last house at present and I have designed our kitchen to have the dishwasher up off the floor with a draw under it, that way when packing and unpacking there is less of that half bend for my back. Just in passing I have a 'black belt' in dishwasher packing everything goes in and the kitchen is clean in jiffy! When I was working full time it was my sanity, I think a clean kitchen makes every home look like a clean home....See MoreHow important is thread count when buying bed linen?
Comments (60)DEIA..yes tactile also if there's a problem I've got someone to go to . I'm old fashion that way.. ie. bought a pair of shoes..no stock in the store so they ordered online for me..it came badly made so I went back to the store to return ..showed my receipt ..no question asked.. or another time bought shoes for son broke apart after 2-3 times went back with my receipt..and got exchanged right away despite I've read online that that company have had a bad reputation with complaints online..I've never encountered face to face.. or saw some colander online looked quite good..went to Sydney to check them out awful quality and well at $10 a pop no go I do buy online ..not sheets more so decorative items that I've seen and can't source in physical shops...See MoreSustainable House
Comments (12)We’ve been fortunate in that we’re working with a team of architects and builders who build solar passive 8 star houses using a modular system (but not prefab) designed for the site. They only build in Central Victoria, not Werribee. It’s semi-custom I suppose. Using a limited but quality range of materials and a standardised building system reduces cost and adds cost certainty. And there is the flexibility to add things that are important to us and design a house specific to our family’s needs and the site. It’s not just a standard design plonked on a site. We are paying more than for a volume build but not what we would for a fully custom home. The entire project will come in at under $450k (including design fees, permits, hard landscaping, driveway, fencing, etc) which I think is amazing value given the quality of the build (minimum 2.7m ceilings, raked ceilings in living areas, 2.4m door height, reverse brick veneer for thermal mass, square set cornices, mid range appliances not builders cheapies, quality tapware, high levels of insulation, double glazing etc). It’s not a big house but it is a well designed 3 bed, 2 bathroom place with well planned spaces. We’ve done walkthroughs of some of their other projects and spoken to current clients so we have a reasonable idea of what we can expect to be delivered. They’ve been very conscious of our budget throughout the process and offer budget alternatives where they don’t unduly compromise the finished house, but we are also realistic. Thermally broken double glazed windows cost significantly more than poorer performing alternatives and that’s just how it is no matter who builds it. A garage costs more than a carport. I also think we’ve been incredibly fortunate to find this team. I like their aesthetic. It won’t look like a volume builder place. Back of the envelope estimates from volume builders were still cheaper but not massively cheaper once we added in extra insulation, thermally broken double glazing, better appliances etc. So there are some alternatives out there, but not truly budget options because things just cost what they cost and elements like water tanks, Solar panels, added insulation, double glazing, draft proofing, energy efficient hot water systems etc all cost money. Getting orientation right, which is critical, is sort of free, although there will be design costs if using an architect or building designer. Perhaps concentrating on that and anything that’s difficult to retrofit such as wall insulation, then add things like solar panels, water tanks etc as you can afford them is a strategy that might work. All the best....See MorePOLL: What home design trend are you happy to see the back of?
Comments (55)Some great comments and thoughts from you all. Trends are a consumer marketing tool to encourage you to continually spend and buy their products... A home should be a living curation of things you love that work for you and nobody else. Yes there are some design principles you can follow but these are a guide and should be considered along with the space, it's purpose, the light, the people and much more. Instead of buying more, consider what you have and carefully select things to complement them - update by changing things around and making sure YOU love the style and it suits the way YOU live!...See More- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
wendy kurka