Author: Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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Build Aotearoa 13: Homestar vs Building Code
The New Zealand Building Code does not guarantee performance in all areas that many homeowners might expect. Fortunately, Homestar is available to close the performance gaps. Homestar Headline Benefits• Fresh air• Dry• Comfort• Carbon Homestar Design ChecklistThis is a summary of the basic requirements over and above basic building code…
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Build Aotearoa 10: Warmer and Wetter
This week, I attended a BRANZ seminar titled ‘Building for our Changing Climate’ in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. It’s encouraging to see rooms filled with designers, builders, product suppliers, building officials, and others interested enough in this critical topic to dedicate four hours of their week to it. A key takeaway is that we’re not adequately…
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Build Aotearoa 9 with Steve Penny
Steve Penny is the founder and director at Honoris, a building services consultancy in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is also the host of his own podcast, A Penny for Your Thoughts.
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Build Aotearoa 8: Cool by Design
Many people might be surprised to know that the New Zealand Building Code does not require any consideration of overheating in homes. The energy efficiency requirements in our code are based only on the ability of buildings to keep warm without excessive heat loss. There is nothing to prevent homes from being designed with large…
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Build Aotearoa 7: Changing the Window Industry
Stärke has been in the window industry in New Zealand since the 80s. They were at the forefront of supplying aluminium frames to the building industry but have recently made some big changes. With a focus on building performance, Benjy Simmons describes the new direction of Stärke as a ‘once-in-fifty-year’ change. While the company has…
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Build Aotearoa 6: Framology
More is not always better, especially regarding the amount of timber in the frame of a house. The more timber there is, the less space there is for insulation. The way this is measured is called timber fraction. Most homes in Aotearoa are designed using the assumption that timber will make up around 14% –…
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Build Aotearoa: Physics
Denise Martin has been involved with many of Aotearoa’s Passive House projects. As one of the most experienced blower door testers in the country, she’s been involved with verifying a range of residential and commercial buildings both in New Zealand and Australia. I caught up with Denise to chat about how she got into building…
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Build Aotearoa: Quality and Quantity
One of the biggest local news stories this week was the news itself. I listened to Tova O’Brien’s take on the announcement of the proposed shutdown of NewHub and what it could mean for journalism in New Zealand. As someone familiar with the relatively close-knit journalism community in this country and as someone who went…
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Build Aotearoa: On Safe(ish) Ground
Last week, February 22nd rolled around. This was a significant date in the Cutler-Welsh household thirteen years ago when our house was located close to the Avon River in Christchurch. While it was a life-changing day for us, life has gone on. We ultimately lost our recently renovated home in Richmond as a result of…
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Build Aotearoa 2: Principles and Performance
In March 2023, Homestar trainer, Passive House Designer and Certified Passive House owner, Joseph Lyth published a comparison of Homestar v5, Passive House and MBIE’s proposed Building for Climate Change framework. It’s a useful summary of these main three standards. There are other standards and brands out there, but these are the most relevant for…