To OB or not to OB

Early in the design process, we came to understand that one of our biggest challenges in attempting to build a Passive House would be finding a local builder who would have the courage and vision to come along on the journey with us without charging an excessive premium to cover the risk. After all, a Passive House has to meet stringent criteria if it is to become certified; one of the most visible of those is the need to achieve an air leakage rate of less than 0.6 air changes per hour. Currently, new homes in Australia are averaging 15 air changes per hour so this is a significant reduction. If we were in Beechworth, or Daylesford, or Melbourne where some of the early Passive Houses are being built, it might be a bit easier. However, the fall-back was always owner building again, and I struggled to imagine that Scott would be able to accept not having a large amount of control over the project.

One of Luc’s suggestions about managing the different building approach was for Scott to take on responsibility for the air tightness barrier. He took that suggestion on board and it gave him an additional push to enroll in Box Hill Institute’s “Certified Passive House Tradesperson” course in April. Four days of theory and one day looking at actual projects was a very useful grounding for him and from that point on the decision seems to be foregone...

We were going to owner build again!

January 2005 - Owner building our first home