New House Build. Help/Suggestions please(HVAC, Cinema, Electrics, Cladding, Timber etc)

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › New House Build. Help/Suggestions please(HVAC, Cinema, Electrics, Cladding, Timber etc)

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#1332056 26-Jun-2015 13:13

lissie: Is the cook(s) happy to be hidden away in the kitchen with no view line or connection to the rest of the house? Its seems like to the dining room, and from the garage when carrying in the shopping?

The kitchen master wanted a view of the back of the house so I gave her what she wanted. It's close to the family room too where we mostly spend time together. Feel free to recommend an idea for a kitchen re-location but it also needs to comply with Astrology because WIFE.

Do whatever you want to do man.

mdf

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#1332094 26-Jun-2015 13:46

I think I saw from various posts that you're looking at reticulated gas (for the infinity hot water), but also considering a heat pump.

This is an expensive way of doing things. Gas pricing works on a relatively high fixed daily charge, then a low per-unit charge. If you're paying the gas fixed daily charge anyway, the most economical way of heating is to get as much on gas as possible. A gas fired "boiler" plus radiators or vents is a really cost effective way of central heating.

From what I understand it's also better environmentally to be burning the gas at the point of use, rather than burning gas for electricity at a power station (Huntley) then transmitting the electricity for you to use.

We basically only use electricity for lights and the oven (better temperature control than a gas oven). Stovetop, heating and hot water are all gas. You can even get gas fired driers.

Obviously no A/C function with gas though, which may be of appeal in a Hamilton summer.

Nikoftime

103 posts

Master Geek

#1332095 26-Jun-2015 13:47

I would recommend asking these people about your ventilation setup

http://www.fantechhhv.co.nz/pages/home.asp

they use a product called Zehnder.

I used Cleanaire in my new build 3 years ago. Ventilation works well but the biggest advantage I can see with the Zehnder is that the ducting is within the thermal envelope.
the cleanaire sytem that I put in uses insulated ducting in the roof space (which you might not have much space for anyway) and although it's insulated still lose a lot of warmth into the cold of the uninsulated roof space.
I wouldn't recommend any of the positive pressure ventilation sytems - there Ok for older, draughty homes but no good for a reasonably airtight modern home

I can see that you have put a lot of thought into sound insulation so , like me, you might be a bit noise-a-phobic. Have you investigated how noisy the rain might be on your metal roof?

Really great to see that your specifying thermally broken window frames. Have you looked at alternatives to aluminium frames?

I'd definitely look again at warm water underfloor heating. And would also recommend insulating the edges of your floor slab.
I don't understand why you need 3 phase electricity?

mattwnz

20147 posts

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#1332115 26-Jun-2015 14:05

You can build in natural ventilation with windows and the stack ventilation principle. Many of these home ventialltion systems are band aid answer for existing homes, when you can build it into a house. This house appears to mainly have skillion roof so probably not much ceiling cavity anyway to run ventilation tubing.

One thing I noticed from the plan, is that the kitchen is on the west side. Ideally kitchens are better to get the morning sun, so better on the east. If on the west, it will get later afternoon sun, and won't be a great area to work in when cooking dinner, as you will either have to have the blinds down or big overhangs. I have also found that people in the kitchen like to see visitors coming into the property, as it is a space that people are in a lot.

I would be very surprised if you can get under the 1 million for that size and spec of building, but it is not impossible. QS's tend to grossly overestimate the costs I have found anyway, and on some houses, there is a lot of ticket clipping that goes on that pushes house prices up. The biggest tip I can give you is to make sure that you have chosen absolutely everything, and everything is speced, and there are no unknowns. Variations are where the cost escalations occur, and gives the builder the opportunity to increase their margin. I found this out the hard way . So you want to make sure that there are no variations.

mattwnz

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#1332120 26-Jun-2015 14:19

Nikoftime:
Really great to see that your specifying thermally broken window frames. Have you looked at alternatives to aluminium frames?

I'd definitely look again at warm water underfloor heating. And would also recommend insulating the edges of your floor slab.
I don't understand why you need 3 phase electricity?

I agree with that. Themally broken aluminum frames will be about 30% more than normal ones. There are some pretty good profiles out now, and have a long life with low maintenance.
Some underfloor heating units will require 3 phase power for large floor areas. It is handy to have anyway, and it is possibily a good idea with a house that large.

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1332127 26-Jun-2015 14:24

billgates:
lissie: Is the cook(s) happy to be hidden away in the kitchen with no view line or connection to the rest of the house? Its seems like to the dining room, and from the garage when carrying in the shopping?

The kitchen master wanted a view of the back of the house so I gave her what she wanted. It's close to the family room too where we mostly spend time together. Feel free to recommend an idea for a kitchen re-location but it also needs to comply with Astrology because WIFE.

Yup but why does she want that view? Just because someone asks for something it's not necessarily what they want! My existing kitchen is ever closer to our family room than yours is - but the wall makes me feel like a servant - and makes it hard to continue in the converation . I'd swap the family and kitchen areas - that would give you a family room that is a bit separate too - as you have a 5 bedroom house a 2nd lounge is common, I don't know if a cinema really replaces that.

I agree with someone above though that a nw facing kitchen is a major pain - unless you've got some serious eves and light ingress control .

No idea about astrology? Do you mean feng shui? Not much idea about that - but they have a few good ideas like not having the front and back doors aligned

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1332129 26-Jun-2015 14:26

mattwnz:
I agree with that. Themally broken aluminum frames will be about 30% more than normal ones. There are some pretty good profiles out now, and have a long life with low maintenance.
Some underfloor heating units will require 3 phase power for large floor areas. It is handy to have anyway, and it is possibily a good idea with a house that large.

I've just be quoted uPVC double glazed windows with 16mm gap, argon, low E for less than an inferior Aluminum product. That is Wgtn though - dunno what's available in Hamilton

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

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floydie

474 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1332151 26-Jun-2015 14:53

You may be able to drop the ceiling height in part of the hallway around the cinema room down to 2.4m to facilitata hvac ducting and av cables? also having a false wall on your screen wall would allow cabling etc in that space. what about making media cupboards under your stepped cinema floor so tou could access from the hall

seriously with all the soundproofing have you thought about just doing concrete block wall for the cinema room that would sound deaden and load bear the upstairs too.

SumnerBoy

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#1332188 26-Jun-2015 15:35

I agree with a few others on here - you should definitely consider hydronic underfloor heating. And spend as much as possible on slab edge, wall and ceiling insulation. This is the least tangible way to spend money in terms of the finished home, but I believe has one of the biggest benefits once you actually start living in it.

The better your insulation, the less you will need to heat (and cool in summer). A big thick slab (mine is just over 200mm thick) is great way to dampen any temp fluctuations - it keeps the house cool on hot summer days, and retains plenty of heat in winter. Big filled concrete spine walls in the house are another great way to increase thermal mass.

The other thing to think about is your ceiling lighting. If at all possible, do not have downlights which result in holes in your ceiling insulation. This is the cause of MASSIVE heat loss. In typical homes with 8-10 downlights scattered around a living room, you are losing something like 40% of your heat through these perforations in your insulation layer.

Exciting times ahead for you, I absolutely loved the process of building my 'dream' home. Can't wait to do it all again...

jonb

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#1332190 26-Jun-2015 15:37

lissie:
billgates:
lissie: Is the cook(s) happy to be hidden away in the kitchen with no view line or connection to the rest of the house? Its seems like to the dining room, and from the garage when carrying in the shopping?

The kitchen master wanted a view of the back of the house so I gave her what she wanted. It's close to the family room too where we mostly spend time together. Feel free to recommend an idea for a kitchen re-location but it also needs to comply with Astrology because WIFE.

Yup but why does she want that view? Just because someone asks for something it's not necessarily what they want! My existing kitchen is ever closer to our family room than yours is - but the wall makes me feel like a servant - and makes it hard to continue in the converation . I'd swap the family and kitchen areas - that would give you a family room that is a bit separate too - as you have a 5 bedroom house a 2nd lounge is common, I don't know if a cinema really replaces that.

I agree with someone above though that a nw facing kitchen is a major pain - unless you've got some serious eves and light ingress control .

No idea about astrology? Do you mean feng shui? Not much idea about that - but they have a few good ideas like not having the front and back doors aligned

Agree. If keeping kitchen in the same place does that internal wall need to be there, blocking interaction between the kitchen and family area?

billgates

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#1332204 26-Jun-2015 15:53

Will reply to all queries tonight but Thank you lissie and jonb for the brilliant idea of removing the wall between Family and Kitchen area. Never though about it. We had the wall there as a continuation starting from entry door being a gallery all along. Keep the suggestions models, links, product recommendation coming folks. Thank you. Very helpful information. Will look at Underfloor water pipe heating with more serious consideration.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Nikoftime

103 posts

Master Geek

#1332214 26-Jun-2015 16:07

Do you need all those windows?
Windows are more expensive compared to walls
Even the best Windows/glass will leak heat compared to walls.
And you also have the cost of drapes

Avoid South facing windows all together if possible (only required if you need natural light because no other windows in the room)

Personally I'd definitely avoid those narrow over the top of bed windows (W18 for example)

mattwnz

20147 posts

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#1332330 26-Jun-2015 19:50

SumnerBoy: I agree with a few others on here - you should definitely consider hydronic underfloor heating. And spend as much as possible on slab edge, wall and ceiling insulation. This is the least tangible way to spend money in terms of the finished home, but I believe has one of the biggest benefits once you actually start living in it.

The better your insulation, the less you will need to heat (and cool in summer). A big thick slab (mine is just over 200mm thick) is great way to dampen any temp fluctuations - it keeps the house cool on hot summer days, and retains plenty of heat in winter. Big filled concrete spine walls in the house are another great way to increase thermal mass.

The other thing to think about is your ceiling lighting. If at all possible, do not have downlights which result in holes in your ceiling insulation. This is the cause of MASSIVE heat loss. In typical homes with 8-10 downlights scattered around a living room, you are losing something like 40% of your heat through these perforations in your insulation layer.

Exciting times ahead for you, I absolutely loved the process of building my 'dream' home. Can't wait to do it all again...

The big problem with slab edge insulation, is the best way to achieve it, cased on how the walls are being done. I have seen a house recently under construction that uses timber between the foundation wall and the floor slab to provide a thermal break, and I beleive Branz have a detail for this. . You could also do it with polystyrene insulation, but it is not able to be stepped on (eg covered with carpet or tiles) You can have it on the outer edge of the foundation wall/slab, and plastered over, but you have to specially detail for the thickness of it with the walls above. All this also can add quite a bit to the cost.

You can now IC downlighter fittings that you can fully insulate over, so downlighters are no longer as much of a problem with heat loss. However it maybe a problem if it is a skillion roof, and there isn't much space above them.

mattwnz

20147 posts

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#1332332 26-Jun-2015 19:53

jonb:
lissie:
billgates:
lissie: Is the cook(s) happy to be hidden away in the kitchen with no view line or connection to the rest of the house? Its seems like to the dining room, and from the garage when carrying in the shopping?

The kitchen master wanted a view of the back of the house so I gave her what she wanted. It's close to the family room too where we mostly spend time together. Feel free to recommend an idea for a kitchen re-location but it also needs to comply with Astrology because WIFE.

Yup but why does she want that view? Just because someone asks for something it's not necessarily what they want! My existing kitchen is ever closer to our family room than yours is - but the wall makes me feel like a servant - and makes it hard to continue in the converation . I'd swap the family and kitchen areas - that would give you a family room that is a bit separate too - as you have a 5 bedroom house a 2nd lounge is common, I don't know if a cinema really replaces that.

I agree with someone above though that a nw facing kitchen is a major pain - unless you've got some serious eves and light ingress control .

No idea about astrology? Do you mean feng shui? Not much idea about that - but they have a few good ideas like not having the front and back doors aligned

Agree. If keeping kitchen in the same place does that internal wall need to be there, blocking interaction between the kitchen and family area?

By the looks of all the windows in that area, that wall is probably a bracing wall, so some windows may need to be reduced in width to create more bracing. It may even be load bearing depending where the upstairs wall is. But I agree in removing that wall, as kitchens as a separate room isn't really 21st century living.

Looking at the plan, all the downstairs hallways appear to have no natural light, unless there are clerestory windows above, so they are going ot be quite dingy to be in, or will need lights to be on all the time. I would put some skylights in, or at least those sky dome things. If this was a 1 level house, I would be so tempted to turn the home cinema into a internal walled garden, it would be a great space, and brighten those south rooms, which will get cold, possibily with some passive solar heating of the slab.. The home cinema could literally go anywhere, as it is a just a box without any windows.

Mark

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#1332355 26-Jun-2015 20:36

Nice!

Do have one question, the cinema, I'd have thought you might have trouble getting that approved as it only has a single exit ... house on fire you are in your double doored/insulated cinema how do you get out ?

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