Ionic Construction

27/11/2024

Here is an interesting story on condensation in buildings. Mark Dewsbury and I helped out Luke Bowden with the material and background for this. At the time it was the most popular ABC online story- so obviously a very high level of interest in the community.

04/11/2024

I see this problem all the time - particularly in older buildings. This video sums it up very well. Bridging of the damp proof course, closing up of ventilation to the subfloor and creating a swimming pool under the house. 3 very bad outcomes in one very common and dumb action. All 3 are breaches of the provisions of the National Construction Code too. Unfortunately it isn't restricted to older buildings. In the UK it will save you thousand of poonds 😉- in Australia it will save you thousands of dollars.

28/10/2024

Poor subfloor ventilation is very common in timber framed buildings, particularly those more than 30 years old. It can lead to - deterioration of subfloor timber; poor interior air quality; increased humidity in the building (including condensation problems).

The National Construction Code requires a minimum of 6000mm2 of ventilation area per lineal metre of perimeter - equivalent to a 6mm continuous gap around the building perimeter. In areas with poor drainage or excessive soil moisture, this amount should be increased by 50%.

Another significant issue in modern buildings is where garare slabs, patios etc are present along one or more perimeter walls. This makes it difficult to have continuous and evenly spaced ventilation- which is required under the code.

17/07/2024

Here is a video on Blower Door Testing with colleague and dream home builder Luke Davies.

Welcome to our latest informative video: Understanding Blower Door, Airtightness & The 50Pa Test".In this video, we explore the crucial importance of maintai...

05/08/2023

I see poor choices in energy efficiency remodelling regularly. For cold climates, Jenny Edwards of Light House Architecture and Science (lighthouseteam.com.au) has a rule-of-thumb- which I often relate to clients. The cold climate hierarchy of actions is:

1) deal with air leakage
2) insulate the ceiling
3) insulate the walls
4) insulate the subfloor
5) install good window furnishings
6) install double glazing

Meaning, if you install double glazed windows without dealing with drafts in the building, it will probably be a waste of time.

One caveat- in older houses with crappy windows, installing new windows can go a long way to minimising air leakage- meaning it will hit items #1 and #6 at the same time.

See 55.50 for the info in the video - and remember all houses are different and these are general rules.

https://ahd.csiro.au/renovating-and-retrofitting-for-sustainability

A person’s home is their castle. Just like Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle, we want our homes to be comfortable,...

12/11/2022

Changes to the National Construction Code 2022 will require a minimum 20mm ventilated roof cavity on all new work in climate zones 6,7 and 8 (Tasmania is climate zones 7 and 8 ). This upcoming event for building professionals will show a suite of well tested products which will make compliance easy.

Breaking the Mould – Tasmanian ProctorVent Tour 2022 By Lisa Wright|2022-11-11T14:21:46+11:00November 10th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Ventient|Tags: Passive Ventilation, Project Showcase|0 Comments Share This Story, Choose Your Platform! FacebookTwitterRedditLinkedInWhatsAppTumblrPinterestVkEmail Abo...

04/08/2020

'snow problem to fix your snow leaking roof today. As the snow melts it is a risk for things like:

box gutters
skylights
flat rooves

The melt water travels below the solid layer of snow and gets dammed up behind itself- and our rooves are not designed for it. We have all the gear like industrial rope access equipment, snow shovels (plastic and aluminium), safety gear and a 4WD to get it sorted.

PM or call me.

01/07/2020

Our business card says "We welcome unusual and challenging jobs". Unusual - some folks ask "like what?" ...... Like sorting out a vintage car three storeys up on a roof in town. Vintage cars, sash window repairs, a new disabled bathroom and passive roof ventilation systems are just a few on the list this week. It is never, ever boring.

15/06/2020

In buildings with timber floors, sub-floor moisture can be a large contributor to condensation inside. Sub-floor moisture rarely rates a mention as a source of water vapour in most homes- it is generally perceived to be due to the activity of occupants. This recent job was a real eye-opener. The building was open 8 hours a day, nearly every day, and was otherwise unoccupied for many weeks. The volume of condensation on the windows overnight was huge. Sub-floor ventilation may be more important than many people realise in dealing with internal condensation.

08/06/2020

Several vented batten systems are available overseas, but they are very difficult to obtain in Australia. For a while now I have been working with a few suppliers to site-test different products. This re-roof job in Launceston is the first in Australia to use the Vent Systems VB20 system.

Vented battens like this have a few major benefits:

1) creating thermal separation between the roof sheet and membrane, minimising the risk of condensation in winter and potential membrane failure due to heat in summer.

2) allowing free air flow above the membrane, allowing moisture to escape to atmosphere (in conjunction with a vapour permeable membrane, as shown here).

3) roofers can use "standard practice" during installation (installing membrane over timber battens).

In re-roofs this is probably the simplest and most effective method to create a vented cavity.

Some of these products (like VB20) will soon be available through major suppliers in Tasmania and Victoria.

18/04/2020

A very good summary of the issues around roof ventilation and condensation. James from Vent Systems is a very knowledgeable professional with some great products.

VENT is the leading Australian specialist in the supply of passive ventilation systems and products. Our systems are structured and specifically tailored for...

18/03/2020

Building condensation is a big issue. There was a post on "Launceston Chit-Chat" (facebook) today from a concerned homeowner. It is clear that there is still a huge amount of misinformation around the matter throughout the building industry. I am currently working on this matter on behalf of the Master Builders Association in conjunction with Dr Mark Dewsbury from UTAS. A big part of our work is creating a training package to get builders, designers, building surveyors etc up to speed. Many of the classic mistakes are still being made by some "reputable" companies. If you have concerns, please get in touch- this is not about drumming up business for myself (we're flat out already)- it is about dealing with the problem for building professionals and consumers alike. I won't go into the details any more here, or it would be a thesis on the topic.