Get It Right with Undercover Architect

How do you renovate a home as a Passive House (or Passivehaus)? Especially when that home is an early 1900s weatherboard cottage? In this episode, I’m going to be sharing the experience of a homeowner who renovated their early 1900s weatherboard home into a Passive House. They’ve lived in it now for 3 years, and it’s located in inner Melbourne, about 10km from the CBD. This proje...

Is Passive House necessary in Australia? This is a question many ask, because they believe our climate is too mild to necessitate the Passive House approach. Yet, Clare Parry disagrees. She is a Director and Principal at Grun Consulting, and is a Certified Passive House Certifier and Trainer. Clare was also one of the founding members of the Australian Passive House Association. Its vision is to l...

How do you build a Passive House? The construction of a Passive House requires specific processes and knowledge. Learn what it takes to build the Owl Woods Passive House Project in my interview with Stuart Lee. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, we meet Stuart Lee of Craftsmen Quality Builders. Stuart is the builder for the Owl Woods Passive House, and if you listened to my interview with David Rhind, t...

So you want to build or renovate a Passive House? Your specialist team may need to include a Certified Passive House Consultant to help test and measure your Passive House design. Let me introduce to you Luc Plowman, of Detail Green. Luc is a Passive House Certified Consultant and Certifier. In fact, he’s only one of 2 Passive House certified building certifiers in the country, and there&rsq...

Talina Edwards, of Talina Edwards Architecture, is the architect on the Owl Woods Passive House project. This project didn’t start out as a Passive House, and Talina didn’t start the project as a Passive House Certified Designer … but that’s what she is now, and that’s what the house is now. I think you’ll learn a lot from hearing how Talina talks about the pro...

What happens when you decide you want to build your forever family home as a Passive House? This is the story of a homeowner who did just that. I’m really excited to be introducing you to the Owl Woods Passive House Project. SHOW NOTES: The Owl Woods Passive House is a new home being built Victoria. Its design meets the Passive House requirements and will be certified as a Passive House when...

What is Passive House? Or Passivhaus (as the Germans say!) Passive House offers an opportunity to create a home that is comfortable, improves your health and well-being, and lowers the energy use of your home. This episode is an introduction to what Passive House is. As a building system, it involves a range of measures to have your home performing the way it needs to, to be deemed a Passive House...

In this episode, I’m going to be sharing with you how to really get yourself ready for your renovation or building project if that’s on the cards for you in 2019. NOW is the time to prepare properly, and so I want to help you get really well set up for a successful project so you can save time, money and stress, and get it right in your future home. Sound good? So, let’s dive in....

Your Reno Roadmap, my renovation and building course and membership can provide the 1:1 support and advice to save you time, money and stress in your project. How would it feel that, as you navigate the journey of building you new home or renovating your existing one … that you had a professional to check in with, get a second opinion from, and ask for advice at each step of the way. Right...

Are you starting the build of your new home or renovation soon and worried about it not going well? So many homeowners walk blindly into signing contracts, not realising how significantly they obligate themselves ... in time, money and by law. They don't protect themselves or understand what should happen next. To be frank, it's where things begin to go seriously wrong in projects. This, followed...

If you’re a US resident, and planning a remodel or a new home, you might be worried about ... Being taken advantage of because you don't really know what you're doing, or what you might be missing along the way Wasting money and time on design ideas, products and choices you're not sure will work, or that you'll regret Unknowingly choosing a terrible contractor who, in the end, leaves you wi...

Do you want to make low tox choices for your interior finishes and fixtures when renovating or building your family home? Melissa Wittig from Healthy Interiors is a ‘health-focused’ Interior Designer. In this episode, she shares some fantastic knowledge and insight into what you need to know about low tox choices for your home. SHOW NOTES: Melissa has over 15 years industry experience,...

Want to know whether solar power is worthwhile for your new home or renovation? This is part 2 of an interview with Lucy Best. Listen to last week’s episode for Part 1. SHOW NOTES: In the last episode, Lucy and I began our conversation about solar energy and solar systems for your home. Lucy Best is the Community Engagement Lead for the Moreland Energy Foundation Ltd, and they run a programm...

One of the big conversation topics that comes up when talking about how to create a sustainable home is solar energy … and whether it’s worthwhile to install a solar system on your home. And so that’s what this episode - and the next - is all about. What you need to know about solar energy, and how to know a solar system will be worthwhile for your renovation or building project...

Many homeowners know they want a lot of glass in their homes to enhance that indoor / outdoor connection, bring light and breezes into their home, and help it feel spacious. But do you know you could be making your home completely unsustainable in the process? That’s what this episode will help you avoid. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, I’m interviewing Tracey Gramlick. Tracey is Executiv...

So, what is Building Biology? I find many homeowners aren’t aware of this field, and yet it’s been around for a while, and can be a really helpful resource if you’re trying to create a home that supports your health and wellbeing. There is a lot that is do-able in your existing home, new build or renovation, that often doesn’t cost anymore but simply requires some knowledge...

When you design your home to suit its climate, you can dramatically impact its long term energy costs. Not only this - achieving a specific level of energy efficiency is actually legislated in a lot of locations, and is required in order to achieve your necessary approvals. So, I’m bringing on an Energy Efficiency Consultant to share some fantastic information with us on this topic. SHOW NOT...

Let’s dive into some super simple, impactful wins you can put into action in your project to create your Sustainable Home. These are the types of tips that, if you know them upfront, you can create a design that incorporates them and have it not cost anymore. Now, I have a few tips of my own, and I actually found a great list as well put together by the Department of Public Housing Queenslan...

Does designing a sustainable home really matter? Can we make that much of a difference with one home renovation or new build? The title of this episode is: terminology, the sustainability minefield, and why should we care? SHOW NOTES: Seriously, when it comes to building or renovating a sustainable home, it gets a whole new level of terminology. I sometimes feel that all this terminology does more...

We’re kicking off a brand new season. We’re up to Season 8 and this season is called “A Simple Guide to a Sustainable Home”. In it, we’ll be diving into what a sustainable home is how you can achieve sustainability on any budget know-how you need to navigate the minefield of sustainability, and what to consider and target when you’re renovating or building if a...

Want to learn about underfloor heating? This is a topic of much interest in the UA Community. Previously seen as a luxury item only used in high end homes, in recent years it’s become much more prevalent.   There’s still lots of confusion and misconceptions about how it works, where it can be installed and how to get the most from it – whet...

How can home garden design be inspired by award-winning and large-scale public projects?   Whatever the size of your home garden, there are key tips you can take away from these amazing examples of landscape and building design – The High Line in New York, and The Spheres in Seattle.  SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:   Now before I get stuck into today’s podcast, I wanted to...

Learn how to avoid 3 expensive mistakes when planning your renovation or new build … and ultimately how to avoid disaster and heartache in your project.   So many homeowners make avoidable mistakes when embarking on their project, so I’ll be taking you through these specific ones I see.  And I’ll also be sharing how we can w...

Hello! In this episode, I’m sharing some exciting news with you – especially if you’re a USA-based member of the UA Community - and I’ll also be highlighting some of my learnings and experiences from my recent trip to the USA, and how these ideas can be translated into your home.  SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:   Eric  Reinholdt  of 30X...

In this episode, Despina Priala of Priala Legal, provides fantastic tips and insight into building and renovating contracts. I think you’ll find it super helpful.  PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in the interview does not cons titute legal advice and anyone reading or listening is strongly recommended to seek independent legal advice concerning their...