Bobj Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 You'll find out when you do your first winter here, but hey, crack on in the meantime, no skin off my nose. Just out of interest, these "dozens of fantastic houses", how much did you look into how they were actually built? Like, what mode of construction, what sort of insulation? Did you go in the loft and have a look? So, why did you retaliate??? Hmmm? Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Because he posts rubbish about a thing he has no knowledge of (build standards) and no experience of (living over here in winter). Just letting the rest of the PIO massive know how much credence they should give his opinion on these matters. What he thinks matters not to me. What they understand of where he comes from is slightly different HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Because he posts rubbish about a thing he has no knowledge of (build standards) and no experience of (living over here in winter). Just letting the rest of the PIO massive know how much credence they should give his opinion on these matters. What he thinks matters not to me. What they understand of where he comes from is slightly different HTH And what is your knowledge of living over here in winter?? Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) I live in Sydney and have done for a while. It is irritatingly cold in my house, as it is in I think (racking my brains as to exceptions) every house I've been in in winter that friends live in. And moans about it are very frequent - had 8 people over on Friday, 4 pom and 4 Aussie, and it was about the second subject brought up in conversation - by an Aussie. Went out for drinks Friday before that with a group of 8, 2 Pom, 6 Aussie, again it was being moaned about and again started by an Aussie. Friends who live in other cities (Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide) also complain. In my job I look at scores of buildings, resi and commercial, new and old, as part of my work for an investment company and with 20 years in the construction industry and a background in building surveying and structural engineering I know what I am looking at. Recently I've been househunting and have made a point of checking out the mode of construction and insulation standards and on the whole the standards are really poor. There are exceptions, but the norm isn't great, I don't want people thinking there's the odd "bad apple" house but most are fine - it's the other way around; there are a few good houses but many more poorly insulated ones. I'm sure there are areas in Australia where this doesn't matter - basically the Tropics. But in most of the country there is a winter, and whilst it doesn't get very cold, single digit temperatures at night outside for a few weeks and poor insulation means low teens temperatures inside - which is not comfortable - or big heating bills. The Hoff doesn't annoy me, but it (insulation standards) annoys me, because it's so easy and cheap to avoid when building - and not that expensive to rectify later, not really, although it does cost more then - so wasteful of energy resources, and so pointless. There's just no reason for it Edited July 30, 2012 by northshorepom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Many thanks for explaining. That is worth a lot more than ranting. Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonmitch Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I live in Sydney and have done for a while. It is irritatingly cold in my house, as it is in I think (racking my brains as to exceptions) every house I've been in in winter that friends live in. And moans about it are very frequent - had 8 people over on Friday, 4 pom and 4 Aussie, and it was about the second subject brought up in conversation - by an Aussie. Went out for drinks Friday before that with a group of 8, 2 Pom, 6 Aussie, again it was being moaned about and again started by an Aussie. Friends who live in other cities (Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide) also complain. In my job I look at scores of buildings, resi and commercial, new and old, as part of my work for an investment company and with 20 years in the construction industry and a background in building surveying and structural engineering I know what I am looking at. Recently I've been househunting and have made a point of checking out the mode of construction and insulation standards and on the whole the standards are really poor. There are exceptions, but the norm isn't great, I don't want people thinking there's the odd "bad apple" house but most are fine - it's the other way around; there are a few good houses but many more poorly insulated ones. I'm sure there are areas in Australia where this doesn't matter - basically the Tropics. But in most of the country there is a winter, and whilst it doesn't get very cold, single digit temperatures at night outside for a few weeks and poor insulation means low teens temperatures inside - which is not comfortable - or big heating bills. The Hoff doesn't annoy me, but it (insulation standards) annoys me, because it's so easy and cheap to avoid when building - and not that expensive to rectify later, not really, although it does cost more then - so wasteful of energy resources, and so pointless. There's just no reason for it Blimey, your friends sound like a bunch of fun!:biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonmitch Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 In addition: If you rent you will not only get an enormous house but it will likely have a leaking roof, be freezing cold in the winter and nothing will ever get fixed by the landlord. If you are buying then your deposit from the UK will be swallowed by the 1.5 rate of exchange and you will need to spend at least $500,000 to get anything pleasant. And you'll have to eat coal, that is if you havent been shot by the neighbours. Who wont talk to you. Because they breed killer snakes who will kidnap your children. And dont start me on the poisonous pies!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Because he posts rubbish about a thing he has no knowledge of (build standards) and no experience of (living over here in winter). Just letting the rest of the PIO massive know how much credence they should give his opinion on these matters. What he thinks matters not to me. What they understand of where he comes from is slightly different HTH Have to agree mate. We live in a lovely weatherboard house, which looks beautiful and has lots of space, BUT, it costs a packet to heat in winter and cool in summer. The 'insulation' is a flimsy layer of foam between the plaster board and the outside weatherboard, plus some thin foil in the roof space. I'm not complaining, we love this house, which is in an older established part of Geelong. We looked at lots of different styles before we bought this one, from ultra modern cubes to 'classic clinkers' and TBH, they're ugly as compared to some of the older weatherboards. One thing I did notice when looking at houses was an almost total lack of regard for insulation, or even for having the whole house using the same heating/cooling system. Its common to have gas ducted heating downstairs for example, and nothing upstairs except some randomly allocated split systems. My main beef is that there urgently needs to be a big cultural change in the building industry towards energy efficiency and proper insulation. No wonder John Howard refused to sign the Kyoto Treaty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 And you'll have to eat coal, that is if you havent been shot by the neighbours. Who wont talk to you. Because they breed killer snakes who will kidnap your children. And dont start me on the poisonous pies!! G'day cobber! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I went in dozens and dozens of fantastic state of the art, ultra modern massive, houses when i was in Australia Unlike my dunny then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 You'll find out when you do your first winter here, but hey, crack on in the meantime, no skin off my nose. Just out of interest, these "dozens of fantastic houses", how much did you look into how they were actually built? Like, what mode of construction, what sort of insulation? Did you go in the loft and have a look? Loft insulation is compulsory in Qld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I live in Sydney and have done for a while. It is irritatingly cold in my house, as it is in I think (racking my brains as to exceptions) every house I've been in in winter that friends live in. And moans about it are very frequent - had 8 people over on Friday, 4 pom and 4 Aussie, and it was about the second subject brought up in conversation - by an Aussie. Went out for drinks Friday before that with a group of 8, 2 Pom, 6 Aussie, again it was being moaned about and again started by an Aussie. Friends who live in other cities (Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide) also complain. In my job I look at scores of buildings, resi and commercial, new and old, as part of my work for an investment company and with 20 years in the construction industry and a background in building surveying and structural engineering I know what I am looking at. Recently I've been househunting and have made a point of checking out the mode of construction and insulation standards and on the whole the standards are really poor. There are exceptions, but the norm isn't great, I don't want people thinking there's the odd "bad apple" house but most are fine - it's the other way around; there are a few good houses but many more poorly insulated ones. I'm sure there are areas in Australia where this doesn't matter - basically the Tropics. But in most of the country there is a winter, and whilst it doesn't get very cold, single digit temperatures at night outside for a few weeks and poor insulation means low teens temperatures inside - which is not comfortable - or big heating bills. The Hoff doesn't annoy me, but it (insulation standards) annoys me, because it's so easy and cheap to avoid when building - and not that expensive to rectify later, not really, although it does cost more then - so wasteful of energy resources, and so pointless. There's just no reason for it I'm with you mate, our house here in the UK is built of SIPs (have you heard of them?) and despite being built 5 years ago it's still a few years ahead of current UK building regs.........hence my suggestion for a group self build project........to show the Aussie developers how it should be done ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) You'll find out when you do your first winter here, but hey, crack on in the meantime, no skin off my nose. Just out of interest, these "dozens of fantastic houses", how much did you look into how they were actually built? Like, what mode of construction, what sort of insulation? Did you go in the loft and have a look? No skin hoff your nose great, stop bleating about it, buy a heater, or a leccy blanket, this threads about how big the houses are, especially compared to the tiny average of the UK, if you are lucky to live in Perth, Brisbane, North Australia, even Adelaide, you have months on end of great weather, so having to keep it warm for two or three months instead of 7 or 8 months like we have to in the UK, will be a bonus as far as I'm concerned. Edited July 31, 2012 by The Ropey HOFF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 No skin hoff your nose great, stop bleating about it, buy a heater, or a leccy blanket, no wonder the Aussies call us whinging Poms. Out HOFF Horder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Considering all the space over there they should be the biggest. I found they all actually live in quite small places, crammed into the centre, 4 houses on 1 block sort of thing and no gardens. To buy a big house in Oz you need to have more than a few million A lot less than $1 million will get you a nice big house on a big block close to gorgeous beaches probably with a pool if you wanted one. Don't know where you found your information on people being crammed together mate but I've not witnessed it. You could live like that if you wanted to I guess but there certainly isn't a need to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Try 50 years, we have better built tree houses in the uk. I cannot understand why the roofs and insulation are so poor in oz considering how cold and wet it gets. Maybe it was because you had a bit to do with building them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anya Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) There are ok quality and well insulated houses (in most cases will be old, owner-occupied residences) and poorly built and poorly insulated houses (invariably rental propertiess where the landlords don't give a hoot). Since the past several years the housing market has been red hot and as a result poorly built houses were simply jazzed up on the surface and used to get sold quickly. But now with the market really down in the dumps, discerning buyers are paying closer attention to build quality. Our house was built in the 1980's. It has insulation on the roof, however we will be adding another layer of insulation over the existing one. Whilst there's nothing I can do about insulating the walls, we're aiming to get all the windows double-glazed. The build quality appears to be pretty solid and I am rather surprised. I guess it's because it wasn't built by one of those volume builders. Also, the previous owners lived here for over 20 years, so probably the reason they ensured it was comfortable (unlike pure investment properties that are rented and get flipped every 4-5 years - so no commitment by investors to improving its quality/liveability). But I agree that generally the quality of houses here do leave a lot to be desired. Edited July 31, 2012 by Anya awful grammar...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 A lot less than $1 million will get you a nice big house on a big block close to gorgeous beaches probably with a pool if you wanted one. Don't know where you found your information on people being crammed together mate but I've not witnessed it. You could live like that if you wanted to I guess but there certainly isn't a need to do it. Not close to a better known beach nor near to the city though. Perhaps Queens Rock here in Perth metro but that is far in my measurement. There has indeed been a tendancey to build besides enormous houses on smaller blocks, villas which are by and large unsuitable for family living being close each other with small areas outside. There has been an enormous amount of sub dividing during the past two decades so stands to reason smaller plots either mean smaller houses or big houses with little outside area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AKA63029 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 This one has a nice big house on it, and the 'Yard' is huge.:yes: Maybe need a ride on mower for this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Creek_station Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Not close to a better known beach nor near to the city though. Perhaps Queens Rock here in Perth metro but that is far in my measurement. There has indeed been a tendancey to build besides enormous houses on smaller blocks, villas which are by and large unsuitable for family living being close each other with small areas outside.There has been an enormous amount of sub dividing during the past two decades so stands to reason smaller plots either mean smaller houses or big houses with little outside area. You can get a great house for a lot less than a million in Ocean Reef or an area around there. Go the other side of Marmion and you could get a 4x2 with a pool on a big block for around $700,000. A lot nearer the City than Quinns Rocks (which I think you were referring to). Near the beach at Mullaloo and while maybe not a "better known beach" as you put it, has to be one of the nicest beaches anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anya Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I noticed that even though our house is not insulated very well, the north orientation and the large deciduous trees on the north side does make a considerable difference to our heating/cooling bills. Our gas bill for the past 2 months will be around $240 (use it for 7 hours daily and temp set to 18-19C). In summer the ground floor is very cool - a good 8-10 degrees cooler than the outside. The top floor is another story - like an oven, you could bake a cake...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 You never did your research did you, almost everyone knows its not as warm in Melbourne, you chose to go there, in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide they have months of great weather, not too hot and in between the really hot and cooler periods and theres no need for heating and air con. In fact we did research the climate but we did not research the appalling standard of rental properties, poor insulation, no double glazing and no central heating. We knew it got cold, the seasons in Victoria were qhat attracted us to this state. However the houses are just not built for the temperatures. This year we took a house with a wood heater which broke the first week of winter and the landlord has refused to fix! I dont think anyone can research for these issues!!!!!! You have to be here to understand that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Oh and incidently we pay $1950 a month for this cold cesspit!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 NOOOOOO who would have thought that, maybe folk living Darn Sarf in the UK, think because it's 1% warmer Darn there, that it's the same in Oz, lol. You are missing the point. Its not the cold, its the sh!t housing thats the issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Urrm, still who cares .....................................it's AUSTRALIA !! :wink::cool: Another typical blinkered response from someone that does not live here yet. Why do you lot in the UK refuse to listen to those of us that actually LIVE here.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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