Affordable building.
When you're trying to build an affordable new home or renovation building efficiency is crucial. In this section you'll find:
- What drives building efficiency
- Comparison wall costs
- Composite wall costs
- Smarter options for windows, eaves & soffits
- Smarter options for balconies
- Saving money down the track in wet areas
What drives building efficiency
As you read the interviews with many of the designers and experts building light homes around Australia, some common thoughts emerge about what drives building efficiency:
- Reducing the number of different trades involved in the build - and maximizing the use of the carpentry crew where possible - reduces both downtime and overall construction time
- Using panel-type construction materials where possible speeds construction and reduces scaffold costs
- Using materials that need minimal finishing - just painting for example - speeds construction and as a result reduces scaffold costs
- Using lightweight framing and cladding materials on sloping sites means that the costs of excavation, fill removal, piers and retaining are dramatically reduced
- Using lightweight cladding in double storey homes, particularly those set back from the ground floor, significantly reduces the need for and cost of weight bearing support beams
- Using 'dry' materials reduces the increasingly significant costs associated with building waste removal
- Using lightweight materials on tight sites typically enables more efficient materials handling and on site storage
- Using the right materials in the high defect areas - those prone to water damage - may cost a little more at the beginning, but could save you thousands down the track.
Here are some more specific figures and case studies on the building efficiencies achieved by using lightweight construction here: