Category: Products
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218: An Airtight ECO-Block House in Tauranga
Simon Cator of Pro Clima New Zealand recently caught up with Kirstie Brown at a sustainable house that Kirstie has built using ECO-Block Insulation Concrete Forms (ICF) in Tauranga. Simon finds out about the advantages of using ECO-Blocks and how an airtight construction is already contributing to great performance. This episode and accompanying article originally…
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213: What’s so Good About uPVC Windows and Doors?
The uPVC window market is relatively small in Australia right now, but it’s growing fast. I caught up with Kathrin Sender, Managing Director at Integra Windows recently to find out what’s so good about uPVC windows and doors. uPVC This isn’t the first time I’ve featured a uPVC window supplier on the show (see Warm…
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209 Living Well with Livewel Construction
After fifteen years as a primary school teacher, Ben Ingledew is now a Certified Passive House Tradesperson and the Director of Livewel Construction.
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208: OMEGA Windows and Doors
Aluminium is stable, completely recyclable and relatively abundant, but it’s also a great conductor of heat. It’s the dominant choice of material for window and door frames in New Zealand, accounting for 90% of the market. But how can you make it a more sustainable choice? OMEGA Windows and Doors offers some good options. Dyann…
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204: Making Hardwood Flooring Easy
John Dupra is changing the way people select and buy hardwood flooring. His story about the creation of Revel Woods offers some valuable ideas about how others might bring the building industry into the age of e-commerce. What can we learn about Revel Wood’s approach to making a technical buying decision, easy? How could you…
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196: Why aren’t more houses being built using SIPs?
Phil Nevell has a background in commerce and management. He came across NZSIP as a solution to providing warm and dry social housing. If structural insulated panels (SIPs) can be used in this way, why aren’t more people using them? Barriers to SIPS Phil suggests that engineers and specifiers might be a significant barrier to…
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186: Beautiful High Performance Windows
Where do you go to get beautiful, high performance doors and windows, made in New Zealand? In 2005 Christian and Sandra Rampe moved to New Zealand from Germany. Despite the milder climate of New Zealand, they were surprise just how cold they were here, inside their house. They were also surprised how much condensation there…
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12 Steps to Planning a Dream Bathroom
When you’ve designed more than 200 bathrooms, you know a thing or two about the ins and outs of layout, fittings and features. Interior designer Sam Elliot works at Box Living, a combined design, architecture, and construction company, and is adept at fitting oodles of convenience into a compact floor plan. Sam teams practical thinking…
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163: The Facts About Airtightness
Walls (and roofs and floors) of buildings have become complicated. As we’ve increased the level of insulation, we’ve created some new problems, like condensation. This has been aggravated by the addition of layers into the wall that reduce air movement. So how do you create a wall that keeps you warm but will also stay dry? I…
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162: Introducing the LUNOS
When I first saw the LUNOS, I was skeptical. How could this be a ventilation solution with true heat recovery, when it’s so small? I particularly weary of systems claiming to be ‘heat recovery ventilation’, because so much of what’s typically sold and installed as such in New Zealand, simply is not. Worse than that,…