Built by Imagine Kit Homes, this home was designed for its location – a difficult place to build for many. However, by using a light touch approach, the build was not only able to be completed but fulfilled to an excellent standard.

This custom kit home presented its own set of unique challenges that made a kit build the perfect solution. The location called for off-grid power, and the brief required an approach that took sustainability into account to reduce the impact on the environment. A regular build on a steep site would have required excavation and retaining walls, but the elevated flooring system allowed the design minimise its environmental impact.

The finished product exceeds the owners’ brief; as an ultra-modern family home it offers three bedrooms, plenty of living space and large raked ceilings that give this custom kit home an impressive feeling of spaciousness.

For more information

Imagine Kit Homes

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The ECOBOX from Imagine Kit Homes has already started to attract attention for its portability and ease of installation, but these tiny homes are also ideal for Granny Flats or living studios. With 18 square metres of space. A separate living room, kitchen and bathroom provide for completely self-contained living. What’s more, it comes complete with its own solar system and water tanks.

Whether you are looking for extra space for relatives, a separate residence for AirBnB rental or just some extra living space – the ECOBOX can be set up quickly and suits a range of purposes.

For more information

Imagine Kit Homes

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Traditionally, when somebody mentions a ‘Granny Flat’, one imagines a smaller freestanding, fully self-contained residence that sits to the rear of a larger primary residence. And Clarendon Homes certainly builds popular one and two bedroom Granny Flats just like these, for people who are looking to have extra family space, additional income or simply a flexible multipurpose retreat.

However, Clarendon Homes has extended their Granny Flat range with something completely innovative and different – an Internal Granny Flat. So what is that exactly? Well, like a traditional Granny Flat, it’s a self-contained living space. However, this Granny Flat is under the same roof as the house (in this instance, Clarendon’s Internal Granny Flat is on display within the Bayside 41 at the Clarendon Super Centre at Parklea).

Currently, Internal Granny Flats are available on 14 Clarendon home designs, including some of their most popular designs like the Sheridan, the Madison and the Oceanside. An Internal Granny Flat is located on the ground floor of the two storey home design it’s built within. It includes a private kitchen with ample cupboard space, a bedroom with modern ensuite and an open-plan living area.

Importantly, these Internal Granny Flats have their own entrance, with a sliding door onto a patio area allowing for independence and privacy for whomever occupies the space. There is also a connecting inside door to the rest of the home allowing for the opportunity to bring the family together when desired.

This clever floorplan option really allows a family to future-proof their new Clarendon home, because as we all know too well, families grow and needs change. If a family may potentially need a space for elderly parents, older kids still living at home, or just a separate living space for other relatives or perhaps overseas visitors, an Internal Granny Flat is as clever as it gets.

The Bayside 41 with its Internal Granny Flat is one of Clarendon’s newest display homes in the 13 home-strong ‘mini-neighbourhood’ they have created at their Super Centre at Parklea. Dressed toimpress with its coastal Pacific Facade and Sapphire level Inclusions, it’s a modern, bright and breezy home you’ll love.

The stats for the Bayside 41 are impressive too – 6 living areas, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a double garage for 2 family cars. There is a spacious alfresco with a BBQ and grand rumpus out the back for plenty of relaxed summertime family living. The Bayside 41 also features a study downstairs, while upstairs are 4 bedrooms and a leisure room. The Bayside 41 fits blocks from 14.5m wide and could be a perfect Knockdown Rebuild if you’re thinking of exploring this option.
Come and walk through the Bayside 41 with Internal Granny Flat at the Clarendon Super Centre, which is located on Clarendon Drive, Parklea, opposite Parklea Markets and open 7 days from 10am to 5pm. Clarendon also has another 9 display centres across NSW that can be found here: https://www.clarendon.com.au/nsw/display-home-locations. With over 40 home designs, there’s sure to be one that’s right for your family.

For more information

Clarendon Homes

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The Pine is a large open plan design with a range of different materials. . At 280 square metres, this home includes 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen and living spaces and an outdoor entertaining area. It provided you a step to an affordable living.

The master bedroom is located on the lower level. This room is a comfortable size and includes both a walk in robe and an en-suite. Then among the kitchen and living space, you will find a 3 panel sliding door which opens out to a raised veranda. Also to provide shade and comfort in your affordable living, a pergola structure is built on top of the veranda.

Upstairs you will find the 3 additional bedrooms with built in wardrobes, including shelving and a hanging bar. A kids entertaining area is also included on the upper floor, with natural lighting and a street view.

To add some additional luxury, the home includes a 5.2 metre wide garage door, 2.5 metre high ceilings and a steel frame staircase.

The Pine is one of the top picks in the business and has quickly become a popular choice amongst consumers. At just $125,000 this is a dream buy.

Kit Details

Price:  $125,000
Total Area: 278m2
House length: 22.48m
House width: 12.69m
*These measurements are to be used as a guide only. Final setbacks are subject to site conditions, council and covenant requirements.

If you have any questions you can email enquiries@imaginekithomes.com.au or call Imagine Kit Homes on +61 738 065 100

Imagine Kit Homes: imaginekithomes.com.au

The post Affordable living has never been so easy appeared first on Completehome.

Joe Simundza of Southern Belle Constructions, who describes himself as a conventional old-school carpenter/builder, is right at home doing cut on-site framing and pitched roofing. He’s building another house for his family at Church Point in Sydney’s north and in doing so, he is drawing on his 36 years of experience — and his love of a challenge.

The site of Joe’s new home has a 22-degree slope which, when you reach the bottom third, becomes a 30-degree fall. “You can walk along the top part but it’s hard-going. I’ve built a number of homes on steep blocks like this but they’ve been timber pole homes,” says Joe with a smile. One of these pole homes was so impressive it was featured on the TV show, Best Homes Australia.

In addition to the steep slope, the site presented other challenges: limited space in which to work, bad access for equipment, and overhead powerlines which prevented the use of cranes. This meant the cost to manually move materials down and across the site would be astronomical.

“Because of the weight, extra complexity of the site and restricted use of equipment, I decided not to build a timber pole-style home like I had done before. I guess I’ve been there, done that,” explains Joe. “Instead, I decided to use the Boxspan Steel Flooring System from Spantec — mainly because it is lightweight, has a range of bearers and is easy to handle. I had used their steel bearers and joists before but only for floors in small, tight extensions.

“Once we poured the footings, it was time to really get out of the ground and deal with the slope, so we used what came naturally — we used gravity to our advantage,” continues Joe. “We rolled tin sheeting into half U-shapes and, in stages, laid each roll down the 89m length of the block. Then we simply let gravity do the work and the beams easily slid down the sheeting. This process saved us many days and a lot of back-breaking work, because the beams are so much lighter than what I have used on other sites.” Boxspan steel beams are made of high-tensile steel which allows them to be very strong, yet lightweight.

The thing that totally surprised Joe was how quick the steel kit flooring system was to put in. “It’s not rocket science to put it together,” he says. “We had four floor areas to install, starting with the lowest and smallest on the block — the granny flat. Even though this was the smallest of the floors, it took a bit longer than the others given the 30-degree slope and the time it took to get our heads around the piers as we were over-thinking it.”

It took two to three days to install the granny flat floor and about a day each to install the subsequent three floors. “Normally, when you complete a particular job, you’re happy it’s over, but the boys and I felt we could continue with another and another as we really had gotten into the groove of screw-fixing instead of using our nail guns,” says Joe.

“It may sound odd given my background as a chippy, but I’m sick of nailing timber blocking between timber floor joists and dealing with squeaky floors. If we did the floors in timber bearers and joists and timber poles like I’ve done previously, we would have taken a hell of a lot longer to level and complete each floor platform. Because we used the Boxspan flooring system, we saved around four to five days per floor, or about 16 to 20 days for all the floors — and we saved about $20,000 on machinery.

“Another benefit of using the Boxspan Steel Flooring System is we didn’t need to incur the added expense of retaining walls as we followed the gradient of the land with little disturbance to the site,” he adds. Joe is currently finishing off the suspended top garage levels and driveway, both due for completion in early 2018.

This steel kit flooring system is delivered in kit form to site with bearers and joists cut to length. Perimeter bearers are marked with joist locations and pre-punched ready for brackets to be screw-fixed. Brackets and screws are part of the floor kit, along with detailed working drawings to make installation easy.

Ezipier adjustable piers and the Ezibrace subfloor bracing system were also incorporated into this kit, with pier posts cut on-site close to the required height. Final modifications were made with the adjustable Ezipier heads to get to the correct floor level.

Spantec Systems delivers to most areas Australia-wide.

For more information

Spantec Systems

The post Working smarter: overcoming a steeply sloping site with steel kit flooring appeared first on Completehome.

The humble shipping container, traditionally used to transport household goods, is now being used as a place of residence. Shipping containers are reinventing the way we live, shining a spotlight on greener options and recycling, as well as cutting-edge home design.

The shipping container

Known also as cargo containers, conex boxes and freight containers, shipping containers come in standard shapes and sizes and are made from 6mm steel boxes with endless options for internal or external cladding. Shipping container sizes are on average 6m x 2.4m, or 12m x 2.4m for high cube containers. This means it is easy to create the rough outlines of your home long before construction and to decide where you want to weld, bolt or pin the containers together to create your home’s floorplan, says Jamie Van Tongeren of Container Build Group. The shipping containers are structurally sound and can be connected together to form larger structures very easily. Being stackable, with the majority of their strength built into the corners, these container homes can safely stand a few stories high.

Traditional extensions can easily be added to a shipping container home and are popular ways of making the structure more liveable. Usually, bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas are built into the shipping container and conventionally built decks, hallways and outdoor rooms are added. The soft steel sides of shipping containers are easily cut to accommodate doors and windows, many having whole wall sections replaced with sliding-glass doors and walls of clear glass. Another advantage is that shipping container homes can be delivered exactly where you need them to go. (Ensure there is a minimum 30m of space either side on the truck so the shipping container can be removed and manoeuvred into place.)

Shipping container homes are structurally strong and ideal for harsh conditions and difficult sites. Due to their strong non-corrosive steel, they are considered one of the strongest building construction materials and make for the perfect home in areas prone to hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Shipping containers are also reasonably resistant to fire. “Modular homes are the way of the future and people are starting to click on,” says Jamie.

Financial benefits

The converted shipping container used for living, storage and business has proven to be a significantly cheaper option than most other home construction methods. “Container homes tend to be 30 per cent cheaper than the standard-built home, making them ideal for first-home owners,” points out Jamie. “Containers are also the most cost-effective buildings to transport. They are easy to lift into place via crane due to their design. To make the transportation of the container even more cost-effective, choose a company that holds a full rail licence to transport their modules.” Container Build Group offers huge cost savings for its clients by holding this licence, recently transporting a 20ft container from Brisbane to Sydney for a mere $260.

Going green

Converting a shipping container into a home saves considerable energy, as the alternative would involve the container being turned into scrap metal. The use of these transport receptacles also reduces the use of conventional construction materials such as brick, cement and timber.

“A low-carbon footprint, along with quick build times and controlled building methods within a confined factory, means recycling waste is far more advanced instead of just dumping everything at the end of the build,” explains Jamie.

Shipping container homes provide a contemporary, green solution to the rising cost of housing in Australia. They can be tailored to your exact requirements and take less than half the construction time of a conventional build. They are strong, durable and easy to maintain, they save trees and energy and promote a cleaner way of living. Choosing to live in a shipping container home is smarter and greener, and doesn’t compromise style or your hip pocket.

For more information

Container Build Group

Words: Stephanie Dunbar and Georgia Westgarth
Images: Supplied by Container Build Group P/L

Written by Stephanie Dunbar and Georgia Westgarth