Thread: what timber for external cladding and....

Originally Posted by travellinbob

underfloor heating isnt an option due to the fact we cannot afford it. fullstop. we are botjh self employed potters who have only just 5 weeks ago moved from scotland so there is no more money for it. also yes tyhe yellow tongu will get boring as you put it but it will only be until we find enough floor boards to finish the job.
cheers, michael.

Michael
I understand, but when I lived in Cooma I could only afford to heat the part of the house.
There was many a winter morning when the bathroom floor was cold that the spray from the shower froze
Braidwood isn't going to be much warmer

well i can tell you that it is freezing at the moment!!!!! we had -4 outside the wee caravan the other morning!!!!!! but budgets are budgets for a reason and we just cannot afford to have underfloor heating, unless the bank reconsiders giving us a helping hand, even when we are only fresh in the country 6 weeks ago, have no income and are going to be self employed...............
we did house sit in braidwood for 2 nights this week juts passed and it did have underfloor heating........sooooooooo nice.
i will probbabke fit 2 radiators though, one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom. they will run off a water jacket on the back of the stove.
cheers,michael.

G'day Michael, I'm assuming that the radiators are somewhat higher than the water jacket, otherwise you'll need a small pump to push the hot water to the radiators.By the way what are you going to insulate your roof and walls with? I'm looking forward to seeing some pics on the screen.Best wishes and good luck.

i am going to have a small pump in a cupboard, 40 watt type thing so as not to be too much of a drain on the solar energy. my interior walls will be plasterboard and i have recently paid for 70 square meters of western red cedar shiplap cladding for the 2 sides of the house that wont be iron.
oh and insulation will be a combinaiton of the aircell stuff, plus breather stuff and then second hand yellow batts.
cheers, michael.

Originally Posted by silentC

After what has happened in Victoria recently I'm surprised that anyone would consider cladding their house in any kind of timber.

You also want to check with the council about your bushfire zoning, because if you are in one of their bushfire zones, you wont be allowed to use timber cladding at all.

If you're not in a bushfire zone, I would think very hard about your decision.

As3959 has been re-written and the new code became effective immediately in Vic & ACT. It is also coming into force in Qld on 1/10/09. for rest of Australia, the BCa will probabnly take it up for adoption in Mar '10.

The new code is well written but requires further work as Kevin Dudd demanded AS to rush it through. govt is embarrased that they haven't dealt with the real issue about bushfire - minimising fuel load.

If your property is deemed to be in A bushfire zone, then it will be categorised.
AS3959-1999 had 3 zones and AS3959-2009 has 5 zones which they call BAL -Bushfire Attack Levels.
Dependant upon which zone you are in determines the limitations to use of timber in different applications in the building.

A point to remember is - Houses burn from the inside - and the RFS / CFS admit this.

Further to previous comment
As 3959-1999 Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas.
On Page 14,
Section 3.5 External Walls.
3.5.1 Level 1 Construction
(a) External walls shall be one, or a combination, of the following:
(i)
(ii)A framed wall that incorporates either-
(A) breather type sarking complying with AS/NZS 4200.1 and with a flammability index of not more than 5 ( see As 1530.2) installed immediately behind the external cladding, or
(B) an insulation material conforming to the appropriate Austalian Standard for that material.

For your site assesment, See
www.rfs.nsw.gov.au or www.bushfire.nsw.gov.au
www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au
www.actpla.act.gov.au or www.actmapi.act.gov.au
www.planning.sa.gov.au
www.cfa.vic.gov.au

If you do not agree with the zoning given by the regulatory bodies above, obtain an independant assesment of your property - See www.fpaa.com.au for list of certifiers.

hi all, long time no type...been flat out after the start of the house. anyhow, the cladding is on and looks great. posting pics is difficult due to my photobucket account being rubbish. can send photos of anyone is interested.
cheers all, michael.

lets see if this works.....

some more of the 'whilst being beuilt stages'.
basically the structure is a 7.5 by 20 meter shed from fair dinkum sheds. we like to call it a 'shouse' because it is or than a shed to us. oh an dour initial timeline of when we would be in the new house by was completely naive. it really does take alot of patience to build!!!!


shouse= half house half shed....

cheers, michael.