ONE PLACE
ISSUE
02
COMPLETE SERVICE ONE CHOICE
e-struct News
December
this issue Project Profile P.1 Dirt Diggers’ Corner P.2 Staff Profile P.2-3 CPD Report P.2-3
Project Profile: Flinders Rammed Earth Home There’s something special about the Mornington
Merry Christmas from all of us at e-struct News!
Peninsula that draws so many to build their dream home. This area has a such holiday feel that appeals to everyone. So when the opportunity to work on this original home arose in beautiful Finders, how could we resist fulfilling the design
Firstly we would like to thank each
brief for two retirees’ dream home by the sea?
of you for your lovely feedback about our newsletter. We are pleased to know that we’re presenting you with pertinent issues and showing you a little of what we’re achieving as a company.
This original design cleverly combines modern and natural materials resulting in inviting open space. The sweeping lines of the structure form gorgeous curves and contours drawing the eye
Secondly we are delighted to let
up to the incredible roof which optimises the feel-
you know that the New Greek
ing of light and sky. This elegant home is both
Orthodox Church The Holy Epiph-
welcoming and stunning.
We have supplied not only structural design services, but also soil testing, drainage design and energy rating for this project. The clients have benefitted from the combination of structural, civil, geotechnical and sustainability perspectives.
any is complete, the inauguration ceremony has taken place and generated such excitement in the community.
Using rammed earth in non-load bearing construction is gaining popularity, as we seek greener building materials that are also considered to
Wising everyone a safe & happy break over Summer. The e-struct office will be closed between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. See you in 2015!
have excellent thermal properties.
The added
bonus of using rammed earth aside from the beauty of the subtle layering of the colours and textures in the walls is the flexibility of this material in meeting architectural design outcomes.
We wish the retirees many years of happiness in their gorgeous home.
6 Star Energy Rating
Growing up in the Dandenongs within
Latest
earshot of Puffing Billy’s whistle, James
Developments
was surrounded by lush bush land and
Energy Rating is cur-
given a lot of leeway and encouragement
rently going through
to explore this amazing environment. He’s
large changes. The Federal & State Govern-
always been a fan of the outdoors, so
ments have mandated the minimum qualifica-
when the opportunity arose to combine
tions required to be a
this interest with a career at e-struct, it
thermal performance assessor (TPA), more
was a win-win outcome.
commonly known as residential energy rater, has increased. This is a common occurrence for many professions within the Building Industry. The big difference here is that the minimum qualification is to be applied retrospectively.
Staff Profile James Blair, Geotechnical, Energy & Sustainability Manager
.
In primary school, James was the kid in the classroom who wondered how things worked. In high school, he refined his question to “How does Maths enable things to work?” So he set out to discover how to answer this by studying Mechanical Engineering at Victoria University and he worked in this industry for many years for Ford and for BAE Systems.
Dirt Diggers’ Corner—What’s the Dirt on LCAs?
What this means is that all current TPA’s will
Q: What is an LCA?
have to upgrade their
A: A Land Capability Assessment or LCA is a
qualifications to the new
mechanism used to assess the ability for a parcel of land to cope with the effluent produced from human waste. In other words, an LCA assists in working out how much liquid a property can safely absorb from a septic system. It is used in areas where mains sewer is not available.
minimum standard. This new standard will be required to be achieved by the 1st July 2015. The current qualification is a four day course which included two days on energy rating theory and two days on software training. The new minimum level is now a
An LCA looks at several factors for assessment including land gradient (slope), rainfall, proximity to water bodies (or courses), soil type and profile & others. This information is then used in finding an appropriate septic design and summarised into a report for use advancing a project towards completion.
Certificate 4 in Nathers
A septic system can be viewed as having two parts. The tank that holds the black water (a combination of solids and liquids from human waste), the tank separates the solids which Cont… P.3
settle to the bottom and the liquids which are then released to the effluent field. This field has several variants but can be summarised as a series of pipes used to disperse the liquids into the soil. An LCA is intended as a guide to the type and size of septic and effluent field required for an individual property. Councils are now beginning to place greater focus on septic design as part of any planned works – either new construction or additions to existing builds – for both residential and commercial use. The onus is on the owner to meet council requirements. It should be noted that an LCA is not necessarily a planning requirement but a health department requirement and will be reviewed by council as part of the building process. To avoid unexpected extra expense part way into the development of your project it is recommended that septic requirements be established from the beginning. If in doubt, please call e-struct. Written By James Blair, Geotechnical, Energy & Sustainability Manager
introduction of Classes H1 & H2 However, as Manufacturing (replacing Class H.) The level of asin Victoria presented fewer sessed soil reactivity of sites has also increased. opportunities for professionAn example of a typical site classifial growth, James looked cation where the previous revision further afield and like many (1996) would classify a site as Class M, App. D, Table D1 more likely headed out to Western Ausmakes the Site to be Class H1. tralia, not for a Mining job, The introduction of Appendix H, but instead surveyed the Guide to design footings for trees, Pilbara to accommodate for AS2870-2011 was the newest revi- has provided greater flexibility for sion update for the design of residen- designing slabs & footings for trees. the housing boom caused tial slabs & footings. NCC, Vol 2, Sec. Previously deep bored piers were the by the sudden increase in 3.2.4 references this code and speci- most used solution for tree effects, fies some new requirements to be but the code provides systems that the population of workers. allow for more standard footings to be followed. used (no bored piers.) Immersed in ochre soil, he The new code made some major developed a strong interest changes to the design of slabs & This revised code has provided a footings which increased their re- more clear cut way of interpreting Soil in Geotechnical Engineering quired stiffness. The other big change s & dealing with other issues such as and was offered the role of not readily known was the major trees changes to soil classifications. The Soil Tester in 2007 at e-struct, after extensive re- If you get to know James, “Working to a 6 star rattraining. you’ll see how sustainably he ing is like solving a reallives. He does not believe in “I am always amazed at the ly tricky equation, frusdifferences in soil within the wasting anything and autotrating at times but same suburb and even with- matically considers how the great when it finally unin the same property. It’s choices he makes impacts great being a part of the the environment. Being an ravels. I like the variety advocate for green living building process. It’s very my work brings and the satisfying to be involved practices, James showed an balance of office and from the initial stages of a interest in energy rating and field work works for me. project and to watch it de- so has undertaken professional development to bevelop over time.” It keeps life interesting!” come our expert in this field.
It’s your
understand it…
CPD
do it… record it...
assessment. The difference is a 4 day course changed to a most likely six month to one year part-time course. The cost for most existing energy raters is between two to three thousand dollars. This is a big cost to most practitioners who also do not have the time to spend on the course with businesses to run. Also with 90% of energy raters only doing less then five ratings a year, it is not economical to up skill to the new standard. This unfortunately will result in the number of energy raters dropping to as little as 10%-30% of the current level. This has been initiated by industry and government to make energy rating a occupation instead of a sideline. With the major tightening of energy rating regulations as well as greater scrutiny of TPA’s as well, the reduction of people doing the rating will enable those left to absorb the big cost of upgrad-
Find
Moorooduc Hwy Plan Printing
at our
ing their qualifications without increasing costs greatly.
e-struct
o ffice . We
print colour o r black &
white la rge fo rmat pla ns up to A0 , scan in black &
E-struct is completing Certificate 4 in Nathers Assessment & will be accredited in
white up to A0 and laminate up to A2 .
time for introduction of new standard (1st July 2015)
Moorooduc Hwy Plan Printing
For f riendly and promp t s ervic e, email y our plans t o mail@ mhplanprint. c om.au or drop in t o t he of fic e!
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E-struct News Issue 02 December 2014
New Savings are Staying! Save $100 on Single Storey Energy Rating Save $130 on Double Storey Energy Rating