Product of the Month
Welcome to the products section.
We shall try to list a new product each month which we feel will be of use to owner builders. If you have had experience with these products let us know how you went. Some may be owner builder freindly, others might just be more practical and cost effective than more traditional products. Others might just not have had the same exposure that some of the larger companies may have been able to afford to promote. Some will require professional installation but by bringing these products to your attention now will enable you to plan your home to accommodate down the track. Users must do there own homework as we dont guarantee they will be suitable for every situation.
If you can recommend or have a product then send us some details and we will chase it up. Each product will be archived at the end of the month so available for all too see down the track. Thanks for your support, we hope there is something here for all to use. advertising(at)key2ownerbuilding.com.au
September '08 : Hoobler Stone
The most popular use of Hoobler Stone is for cladding the exterior of buildings (both domestic and commercial), internal feature walls, fireplaces, fences, gate posts, water features, barbeques, steps, swimming pool surrounds, general paving and any other application where the effect of natural stone is desired.
Hoobler Stone is manufactured in a range of different stone textures and colours including bluestone pitchers, rough hewn sandstone pitchers and blocks, random stone, lava stone, bush stone, spalls and even petrified wood. Corner stones are made to give your project the authentic look of solid stone.
In addition, Hoobler Stone makes walkway stones in brown and grey and 2 different sizes of grey cobblestones - 300 x 200 x 35 and 150 x 200 x 35. Also available are capping stones made to order.
Tip for the Owner Builder: Visit the web site for this product by clicking on the link below. Contact John, very helpfull, and have a chat about the most economical way to construct your home at the early planning stages. He will recommend blue board fixed direct to your timber frame and then the tiles straight on to the blue board.
Supply only will cost roughly $80squ/m depending on selection and then labour another $75squ/m to install but John can give you up todate costs. Better still send him a copy of your plans and he can work out a price as corners for windows etc can bump up the cost.
August '08: The Matala Gator Pro
- click image for web site
The New MATALA Gator Pro is designed to be the most efficient and advanced Grey Water Diversion Device available on the market. It is solely aimed at the professional licensed installer, to make it easy and simple to make full use of the waste water from the shower, laundry and bath.
The outstanding features of the MATALA Gator Pro system are firstly the four stage, 3 dimensional filtration system designed and made by Matala®. This 4 stage filtration process efficiently cleans the particulates such as soap, hair, lint sand etc from your waste water, making it suitable for direct reuse through a grey water drip system. The unique qualities of this filtration mean it can cope with large volumes of flow and an extended period of time between servicing. Recommendations are between 120-180 days of use before servicing. This ensures that you get clean water to the irrigation system and you get extended pump life as the pump is only running in clean water.
For more details click on the image above.
Tip for the Owner Builder: You may allready have to install a Grey water system depending on the state in which you are building but in my opion they should be standard on all homes. When designing your home if you can put the laundry and showers in the same area you can install one of these to cater for the water used in all these rooms. Fully installed they can cost from $1000 upwards so if you can get away with installing one unit will keep the costs down.
Also when designing your home if on a slab make sure the plumber runs each individual pipe out of the slab and doesnt join them all up in the middle somewhere with the toilet outlets, you cant use the toilet waste for grey water use not with these types of units anyway.
Grey water can only be used to water your garden (in Victoria) and cannot be used to flush your toilets. Check your local water supplier for more details and if there is a grant available, some states are currently giving $500 towards the cost.
- click image for web site
Just Water Solutions are the main distributors , they ship these units all over Australia. There contact details are as follows:
48-56 Denbigh Street, Moolap, Vic, 3221
Tel: 03 5248 6357 Fax: 03 5248 6396
July '08: Edwards Solar Hot Water
- click image for web site
Edwards Solar Hot Water systems are the pick of the bunch, well know and trusted throughout the industry for their quality stainless steel tank construction as well as being proudly manufactured in Australia for our Australian conditions.
They offer a choice of seven Colorbond colours and are great value with all the ‘environmental’ incentives offered presently.
If you want to ‘Do your bit’ for the environment as well as your pocket, then Edwards has a range of either roof or ground mounted Solar Hot Waters systems to suit your exact requirement.
Edwards confirm that by replacing an electric hot water system with an Edwards solar hot water system you can;
• Save around 3-4 Tonnes of CO2 emissions per year
• Reduce your water heating energy usage by up to 80%
• That is equivalent to taking a small 4 cyl car of the road
• It will pay for itself over time, unlike any other HWS…
So if you want to help out mother nature and do your bit for the planet, follow the link to the Edwards Solar Hot Water web site to locate your nearest dealer.
Tip for Owner Builders: All states now have energy saving requirments on all new homes and some for renovations. There is a list of options available of which you may have to combine several off to comply but installing a solar hot water system will certainly set you on the path to meet the standards in all states. Discuss this with your architect/ designer from the early concept, to work to there full potential they must be positioned correctly on your property. They come in a large range of colours so wont look out of place on your new home. Federal and state goverments offer grants to install solar hot water systems making them more attractive, they must be installed by licenced tradesman.
June 08 : Foil Board Insulation Panel
Foil Board have a range of Rigid insulation Panels for walls, roofs and floors.
They also have a range of accessories to support panels in those awkward spots. There panels are available Australia wide through agents or direct from Melbourne. Contact them for your nearest stockist and for any assistance.
Tip for Owner Builders: They are a friendly bunch at Foil Board, give them a call. Make sure you know the R-values required from your local council or RBP (these should all be documented on your plans anyway), and exact area in square metres where you need insulation. Foil Board will recommend a suitable product and any accessories required as well as the cost for supply and delivery.
These guys deal with owner builders on a weekly basis and are more than happy to help you with your enquiries. Check out their web site as it gives you all the product specifications as well as installation procedures.
If you are an owner builder who has had some experience with these panels please contact us to share your tips with others.
May '08 : Fido, your hot water retriever!
I recently attended a water wise show at the Italian Social Club in Werribee and came across a couple of guys selling these little beauties. This will solve a problem I currently have because the new shower we installed is a good 35m away from the hot water service and we are finding that we have to run the hot water tap for a good 30-40 seconds before the water becomes warm.
Tip for Owner Builders: If you think you may want to install one of these make sure the electrician installs a power point under the furthest hand basin or sink and make sure it’s on an external wall so you can run the water out into a storage tank for reuse. The push buttons supplied are wireless so you don’t need any extra cables, I love it, these should be standard in all homes.
If you connect the waste pipe from your handbasin to a tank this is considered to be grey water which has to be emptied every 24hrs and you cannot use the water to flush your toilet. With the Fido the water collected is not grey water so you can use the water to fill your cistern for flushing the loo.
Check out the following link, there is an excellent Q&A section which will answer all your questions. Good luck.
