Abdallah House - Redesigning a Home

Principle Two: Catch and store energy Using corrugated iron as a ceiling lining is a bit unusual. We used it because: we like the effect, it's quick and easy to install, it can be reused or recycled, requires no painting and has a very long low maintenance life. It took two days to install, with three of us on the first day and four on the second. The sheets in the living room were 7.2m long and required props to help hold in place while it was being fixed. Because there is no more room in the ceiling space I installed wiring for a future (possible) solar PV system - allowing the wiring to be concealed. The 2 x 4mm SDI cable was fitted into conduit to protect it from vermin, should they find their way into the ceiling (hope not). It would have been good to have made larger box beams (400mm instead of 300mm wide) to allow for larger air cavity. Two layers of R2.5 polyester batts (the most we could fit) were installed into the ceiling cavity as we attached the corrugated iron

Principle 12: Creatively use and respond to change I was glad that I was on site when the big rains came down on the 7th of March. Alterations in the landscape from earthworks on the building site caused some flooding and I was busy with the shovel diverting water away from the building. The gutters couldn't cope with the intensity of the rain and overflowed at times. The design using the corrugated iron overhang, with LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) and gutters attached meant that no water could overflow into the eaves and flood the house. The cellar had a significant amount of water in it, about 500mm deep. I don't think that this was because water flowed into it from ground level, but rather because it soaked in through a hole in sump and gaps in the brickwork motar. Heavy rain, gutters overflowing. Temporary earthworks to divert water away from the building. Water tank overflowing from the overflow pipe and the inlet. This can undermine the foundations of the tank an

Principle Six: Produce no waste The lining has been quite a labour intensive process, especially when reusing secondhand materials. I love the effect, a brand new building with built-in character. I've spent about 112 hours all up on the weatherboard (and plywood) lining, while it takes a lot of time the $ cost isn't huge. All weatherboards used have been recovered from the original house that was deconstructed. Plywood was purchased in bulk, is made in New Zealand and FSC certified. Weatherboard lining above north windows on exterior   Gap above top board covered with recycled flywire for fire resistant design and to deter insect access. Weatherboard lining using up offcuts Weatherboard and plywood lining along hallway, lights yet to be fitted above doorways which will help make a feature of the wall Removing the paint filled inner grove from an old weatherboard using a chisel so that the boards sit nicely above one another Flat weatherboard lining around toilet and