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Beyond Compliance

Why Building Code Isn’t Enough — And Why We’re Pursuing HomeStar and Passive House (PassivHaus)Recently, I officially passed the HomeStar Assessor assessment and am now a certified HomeStar Assessor. While that’s an important step, I don’t see it as the finish line.The assessment itself was an open-book, multi-choice test — useful for understanding the framework, but not something that, on its own, makes me feel truly ‘certified’. The real learning begins when theory is applied t...

Watching paint dry

Yes, This Blog Is About Paint – and Yes, It’s Kinda Revolutionary This blog might feel like watching paint dry… but for some of us, it’s somewhat revolutionary. We had to paint our two-bedroom renovation in record-breaking time — it was a mad dash to get the house liveable before actually moving in. (For the backstory, see our earlier post about leaving a mouldy rental.) What We Needed: Paint ASAPEasy applicationRelatively quick drying timeMinimal (or no) smell — especially important...

When sustainability hits home - literally

The original purpose of Sustain Studio was to document the journey of our new home build and the sustainable choices we’re making along the way. But, as with any journey, sometimes the road takes an unexpected turn.Ours came when we encountered mould—not in the new build, but in the rental we had planned to live in until our house was complete.At $800 a week, the rental seemed decent enough from first glance—a typical 1980s home with single glazing and modest insulation. We moved in on May...

A piece of dirt

When it came time for us to choose a place to build our family home, we decided to think carefully about how much space we truly needed. Instead of opting for a large plot, we chose a small, 300sqm section. Coming from an almost 800sqm site, this was not a decision we made lightly.A Prime Location: North-Facing with Natural BeautyOne of the key reasons we were drawn to this particular section is its north-facing orientation, allowing us to take full advantage of natural sunlight throughout the d...