Building Materials
Bessa Retaining Wall
Wooden Sleeper Retaining Wall
Most builders carry out extensive excavate on sloping sites and build Bessa or wooden sleeper retaining walls behind and down both sides of the site. These walls are extremely expensive, they look atrocious and have constant ongoing maintenance problems. These builders then plonk the traditional concrete slab down and build in brick vineer. The house looks like its berried into the slope.
Pole homes, however, are designed to sit a conformable height off the ground and fit naturally into the slope of the site. The only excavation needed is for a flat carport pad under the house and the site is left, naturally.
Building Materials:
Square Hollow Steel (SHS) posts
Steel support poles Our homes are generally supported on 76 to 100mm square hollow section steel poles. These steel poles are set into reinforced concrete footings in the ground. The size and depth of these footings are determined by the soil test and a structural engineers design.
Unfortunately, at this point, popular Cooper chromium arsnick (CCA) treated round timber poles are no longer available.
Termite protection
All frame work, rafters, beams, bearers, floor joists and framing timber are all treated with T2 termite treatment which is guaranteed for 25 years.
External Cladding
Generally only light weight materials are used on sloping sites. The external presentation of your home is most important and the choice of external cladding materials is endless. Cement rendering, vertical or horizontal natural timber planking. James Hardy fibre cement (FC) Vertical or horizontal weatherboard. Scyon, Stria, Axon, Matrix are just a few of the innovative external products produced by James Hardy and they are all low maintenance.
Go to www.jameshardie.com.au
Corrugated metal wall cladding nicknamed “wriggly tin” is another cladding used quiet often as a feature panel on external walls. It’s best if you don’t use too much, otherwise the house can end up looking like a garden shed.
Roofing
Colorbond metal roofing materials are used extensively. Normal concrete roof tiles are rarely used as they look very old hat and require a minimum pitch of 22 degrees. Some of our modern skillion roof designs are pitched as low as 5 degrees. We also use Colorbond for guttering barge boards and downpipes as the material is very long lasting, maintenance free and comes in a multitude of colours.
Go to www.colorbond.com for more information.
Polished Flooring
The cost of suppling, sanding and polishing timber flooring has become very expensive. This flooring method is still available however we have found that laminated flooring is by far the better alternative. I can guess what you’re thinking. “Is this the stuff that looks and feels like lino” No it’s not the flooring comes in 12mm or more thickness and sits on a special underlay. The product is made in Germany and comes in an extensive number of finishes. Cedar, Pine, Maple etc etc. The flooring even comes with a 25 year warranty.
Tiles can also be successfully fixed to the particle board flooring while carpet is usually included in bedroom areas.