@ambulastar1985 - The lack of insulation in Australian homes is indeed appalling. Coming from a European background where insulation standards are very strict (although they differ from one country to another), I fail to understand why Australia is so behind on that matter. We may not have much cold weather compared to Europe but our summers can be extremely hot and it's silly to rely solely on air-con to regulate temperature. So much energy (and money!) could be saved by just planning the house and insulating it properly to start with, without affecting much the initial cost or construction time frame. In France - which is definitely not a leader in environmental matters! - these days, when selling a house, you have to get an expert to estimate how energy efficient your home is and to indicate the energy rating on the ad and sale documents. Houses that are not energy efficient sell for less and can also be taxed at higher rates by councils. It's been a great incentive to get people to think twice when building and/or renovating.

Hi all, Wow - hard to believe it was 7 months ago I posted this! We are getting there, but now having window dilemma. We decided to retain brick and use cladding for extensions. A few questions: 1. should existing windows in brick part of house (which are like a cottage window) be retained or replaced to match new ones? any advice regarding new bedroom windows - currently louvres - air flow appeals but does it look odd? 2. Opinions on the rear doors - we want this dining area to open as much as possible in summer. The current solution is to have 2 sliding doors on each side, and bi-folds across the rear, with corner glass in both corners - any opinions? 3. Rear paved area - we currently have odd shaped concrete at rear (the grey shaded area). Architect has suggested paving to fill in what is currently grass and make a better square line - but, is it just going to be too much paving?? Would love to hear your thoughts. thanks in advance!

A lot of garages get converted into living spaces without any significant drama's and meet all building codes and standards. If the existing concrete slab floor is lower than the existing floor it get's raised up by either a new slab over a plastic membrane or in some cases if it set's set low enough, bearers and joists on piers with a new floor to match the existing. Must allow space for termite inspection. Walls are infilled between engaged piers with (usually) 70mm timber frames. These have sarking and insulation just like a brick veneer wall. Plasterboard over the top again like a normal brick veneer wall. Special consideration to termite control but again no issue. There are no cheap fixes but I've read about the spray on type's of waterproof and suchlike. These are equally as expensive as anything else. Depends on your exact situation and what you're wanting to achieve.

Hi Lindel Love the design and view! There are a couple of solutions here, depending on what the requirements are (ie cost versus energy efficiency). To your original query, the Colorbond will give a better maintenance long term but obviously the energy efficiency is zilch. The structure behind needs to do the insulation work as well as be structural. From a cost point of view timber framing is cheaper but the wall insulation is limited. You can however use a structural insulated panel to be both the structure as well as the insulation for everything from the upper floor to the walls and roof.... We are doing an extension in this at present which will actually look like a 1930's character style to match the existing home. I'm not familiar with your BAL but we have found that when we get such high insulation ratings from the walls and roof it has usually enabled us to cover the losses from windows and given the ability to have larger windows without the need for double glazing. Regarding the timber, I would be considering an artificial product unless you want to do the maintenance. Cheers