Housing needs more than a band-aid solution

Systematic change is needed to tackle respiratory disease in New Zealand

With the Government recently allocating 40 million dollars to help fix rheumatic fever linked to substandard housing, changing the way
we build is becoming more and more critical.

According to Asthma Respiratory Foundation NZ, we have the second highest rate of asthma deaths in high-income countries, with
respiratory diseases affecting approximately 700,000 people in New Zealand, costing around seven billion dollars a year.
Bob Burnett Architecture director, Bob Burnett advocates for systematic change in the industry towards building healthy, sustainable homes.
He says things like curtains, floor coverings and bedding mentioned in the government’s recent funding proposal isn’t addressing the problem.
“It’s a band-aid solution. When it comes to retrofitting unhealthy homes, a case by case detailed analysis is needed to come up with a home specific, holistic deep retrofit plan.”
A successful renovation needs to be a complete upgrade in order to achieve the right results. While budget requirements could mean that a
renovation might need to be staged over time,

Bob is currently embarking on a significant renovation of his hillside home in conjunction with earthquake repairs to improve future resilience.
This “SuperReno” aims to improve the house as much as possible within the budget utilising innovative design and building techniques following international best practise.

Top five Broad Oaks
SuperReno features:

1. Triple glazed, Weathershield Warmcore
   thermally broken aluminium windows
   recessed into the timber framed walls. The
   main living areas have been prioritised and
   the windows are powder coated to match the
   existing that in future could also be replaced.
   Windows are one of the most important parts
   of a renovation as it is the weakest point of
   the house thermally.
2. External Rockwool rigid insulation added
   to the outside of walls. Rockwool is new
   product to New Zealand and is made from
   natural materials.
3. Edge insulation to the concrete slab to reduce
   thermal bridging helping to avoid heat losses.
4. A warm roof added on top of the existing
   membrane roof will improve thermal
   performance.
5. Whole house heat recovery ventilation; this
   can be quite tricky for renovations but it a
   crucial component of a healthy home to
   ensure good air quality and moisture control.
   

Bob is one of the founders of the Superhome Movement, which educates homeowners and industry professional alike about building
healthy, resilient, sustainable homes. Bob Burnett Architecture will be releasing a series of blogs on the Broad Oaks SuperReno.