THE FINAL STAGE

The Owners have now moved into the house.  Landscaping is underway, and finishing touches within the house continue.  Joinery fitments, electrical and sanitary fitments have been installed.  The blog will continue, but with less frequent entries.  A professional photographer will provide final photos of the finished Passive House.   There are some items...

RAINWATER COLLECTION

Rainwater is collected from the roof, via spouting / guttering which discharges into vertical downpipes that are run to storage tanks supplied by 'Marley'.  'Marley' diverters to prevent the ingress of debris that may be collected along the way, are fixed to outlets in the downpipe prior to the water reaching its destination - the green storage tanks. ...

HOT WATER

Hot water is supplied to the house from an external heat pump, which is strapped to the structure for stability, to meet NZ seismic requirements.   The STIEBEL ELTRON WWK 300A Heat Pump works through utilising the ambient air temperature (thermal energy) and converting this to usable energy to create hot water. A heat pump essentially works in a similar...

DRAINAGE

Now that the scaffolding has been removed, machinery can be introduced to the site to dig trenches for service drains around the house. Connections will be made to the local sewer drain, electrical and water provider, and the storm-water will be drained to a collection tank for use on-site. The drain trenches are machine dug where possible, and once the pipework is laid, scoria is placed into...

AIRTIGHTNESS

Previous posts on the elements that form the building envelope, have shown Intello humidity variable airtightness membranes.  The management of the membrane has needed to be considered to position it in the correct place on the inner face of the construction.  Once the insulation is all in place, the membrane is taped sealing all joins. Once complete, the building is...

WET AREAS

Wet areas within the house have water-proofing membranes applied.  The walls have user -friendly and environmentally safe 'duroSET' - which is a single pack latex membrane waterproof membrane  applied prior to the tiles being installed. ...

PLASTER BOARD

Gibralter Board ('GIB® Board') is a gypsum and paper board, commonly used to line walls and ceilings.  The GIB®  range of products can also provide for wet areas, bracing, noise reduction.  'GIB® Board'  has been fixed to 'Rondo' galvanised steel battens applied to both walls and ceiling to minimise thermal bridging.  The board is fixed...