Home Performance: What It Really Means In Building

What does performance mean when it comes to building your dream home?

The energy rating that you're going to get from that home.

What are some good areas for them.

To start putting solar on a home, putting insulation in there, tinting your windows.

Hey guys, welcome to the Builder's Edge. I'm Norm Wales from Norm Wales Constructions. Now, for me, the whole purpose of this podcast here is, is to bring a little bit more awareness around the construction industry. I've been feeling for many, many years that there's not enough helpful information out there to support you guys to make the right choice. Now, we are a smaller family independent building company and we're not here to build everybody's home, but we would definitely love to be able to work with you to facilitate your dream home. But every if we don't build your new home, we want you to be able to make the right decision in choosing the right builder for you. So hopefully the information that I'm able to provide through this podcast can be informative and helpful that you can now create your dream home. So I hope you enjoy and thanks for watching.

So, Norm, in this episode I want to talk about balancing cost versus the performance of your home. What does performance mean when it comes to building your dream home?

So I guess the performance side of things there is also about like the star rating, you know, how that build is impacting, I guess the footprint of, you know, the block itself there, you know, the energy rating that you're going to get from that home, you know, it's, it's a five star, seven star, nine star, etc. Like when it comes down to making your home energy efficient and, you know, I guess a green home, like a smart eco home.

There'S many things that can be, you know, put into that. Like it might be a matter of putting extra layers of insulation, you know, up and over the roof and in the ceiling and through the walls, you know, so that's all going to boost the, the R value and the overall star rating there. But when it comes down to, I guess the making your home eco friendly and as well it's also about using different materials. So instead of working with a natural timber deck, you might go with an eco groove deck. So an eco groove deck would never have to be sealed or painted ever again, you know, so it comes down to really what you're wanting out of your home.

So how would one actually balance the cost? Is it, as you just said there, is it what they want? But is it kind of like, is there a way for them to decide with the Builder like, like certain areas of the home, depending what they need, can perform better than others.

Yeah, definitely. Like it could be just small things with just even putting tinting on, on the windows. You know, stop all the heat and that penetrating into your home. Keep your home a lot cooler. So these definitely are things that should be brought up with your builder when looking at designing your home. You know, looking where the, the sun rises, where the sun sets, you know, that the heating and cooling and the airflow of your home is, you know, critically important and having an enjoyable home.

I mean for the, we'll call it like the typical family that goes off and builds their, their forever home. And perhaps, let's talk about a, a scenario where perhaps performance isn't something that's top of mind for them. They're just more interested in the aesthetics, the, the actual footprint of the house, perhaps, perhaps the, the block of the land or the backyard.

What are the general standards of performance in a home? Like when you, when, when performance isn't the main focus, how does that home still perform?

Yeah, so you obviously always got a minimum star rating. That's why you need to get an energy efficiency report done for each and every build. So you've got to make sure that the new home you're constructing does comply with, with the energy rating. But it does come down to, you know, young families and people making decisions on, you know, do we get a little bit more of a larger home or do we bring things in a little bit more and make it a bit more of an eco friendly home? Because the unfortunate side to it is that going, you know, the eco friendly side of things there it is a little bit more of an outlay, you know, so if you go from a, you know, timber deck to a composite deck, you're going to pay a little bit more to start with. But your outgoing cost, year after year, it'll soon pay for itself because you're not sealing that deck again, you know, investing in solar on your home there, you know, that'll sort of pay for itself over the next three to five years. So little things like that are definitely going to help, you know, same as, you know, insulating your home. You know, if you insulate the home, you, your air conditioner is not going to work as hard. So all those sorts of things are definitely going to help you long term if you're looking to invest long term that way. But it unfortunately is a little bit more of an outlier to start with.

Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. It's like any investment right it's always the initial cost that, that hurts. But then in the long term that's where you see the benefits of it. What else are the upsides? So you just mentioned there, you've got the solar, you mentioned the example of the decking. It could be the installation which therefore the heating and cooling system doesn't have to work as hard. What other benefits can homeowners see by focusing on a performance built home?

Yeah, look, the, the main benefits of operating on a performance built home there is to lower the energy cost in itself there. So you will start saving on your electricity bill, you know, and the biggest thing is like you're doing a great thing to the environment, you know, so it's another way giving back in its own small way, you know, so if everybody's on board with that, you know, obviously the pollution and you know that that's out there now with the whole, I guess the world we live in, there's so many people there now. So if everyone does their little bit to add to it, it's definitely going to help us all, you know, in the long run.

Yep, love it. So if somebody's looking to engage a builder, they're considering a performance built home, what are some good areas for them to start?

Look, it's just work with the simple areas there like depends on the investment they're willing to make. But you know, putting solar on a home, putting insulation in there, tinting your windows, you know, and if you work with most good reputable builders there, like I know for ourselves we do, a lot of this is standard, you know, and by having little bits and pieces like that in there, it's that happy medium between it there, you know. But it really comes down to the investment that you're willing to outlay and then weigh that up to. Is that actually, you know, worth going that far or not?

Yeah. For somebody who, who perhaps hasn't seen the cost of building a performance built home, what, what sort of price differences can they expect? And just talk percentages because I'm sure it's too hard to talk actual dollars and figures.

But yeah, look, all numbers will vary there but you know, it could be as little as 1 2% up to 5 to 15% depends on how far they go because there's many different other elements that you can add into the home there. But you know, just spending a couple of percent on your home extra, the return on your investment long term will definitely outweigh itself. So it's definitely worth the investment for a long term.

Yeah. So if somebody's looking to stay in that home if it is their favorite forever home. If they have to perhaps spend an additional 2,3% but in the long term run they can save 10% or something over X amount of years. It's worth it.

Yeah, 100. It definitely is worth it there. And you know, it's just one of those things to being smart about it as well. You might be able to do some parts of it during the construction and then other parts you might be able to still continue to add on when it becomes more affordable.

Yeah, yeah, love it. I mean you, you guys build in the Bundaberg area, so do you find that you guys are talking to many homeowners who are wanting to build sort of performance built homes?

Look, lucky enough for us, like in Bundaberg we're pretty much got Hawaii where that's a perfect 23 even in winter, you know, like it's a really good, you know, climate there. So we're quite lucky in that regards. But we still do work with people there trying to be a little bit smarter with the homes there and give back a little bit there as well. But I guess our customers we work with are more long term to what they're trying to crack. So our customers invest in themselves a little bit more for the comfort of the home. You know, just so they got that, you know, all year round heating and cooling, you know, it's little things that they don't have to spend a lot more for. They can get big gains out of.

Yeah. Love it, love it. So balancing the cost. So working out what you would like from the home then working out the ROI of the long term. Any other final advice you'd give to balancing costs versus the performance? Performance of a home?

Yeah, look, the main thing is, look, if you're looking at standing in your home over the next three to five years minimum, it's well and truly worth the investment. And anything beyond that, it's well and truly going to, you know, be a great asset there for yourself. But if it's something that you think is just a quick investment side of things, that you're only going to be there for 12 months, two years maybe. I still believe it will. It's a good selling point. But you know, it depends on how far you went with that whole eco style there, how much you put in, it may not be as good of a return on your investment for a short period, but I believe the world we're living in now, it's more appealing to people to go down that path anyway.

Yep. Love it. Well, thanks so much for that, Norm. We're going to wrap up this episode with a Get to know your Norm question, so if you can grab me a question there.

Thank you.

Alrighty, Norm, question of the day. What's a habit or routine you can't live without and how does it. How does it impact your day?

Habit of routine you can't live without and how does it impact your day?

Look, for me, I. I'm a bit of an early riser.

So, yeah, look, I'm pretty much always. Eyes are open by 4:00am, like, I don't need no alarm clock there. I think that has definitely become a habit. I said I. I am a morning person. I do enjoy getting up before the sun.

I think it's. It's a good habit, to be honest, because I find it gives me more quiet time in the mornings there. I get a lot done there before most people start their days, to be honest, but it's. It's just refreshing and it becomes, you know, an enjoyable part of my day, to be honest with you. So it's, yeah, definitely been a bit of an early rise, I would say.

Love that. So good. Well, as always, Norm, thank you so much.

All right. Appreciate it. Thanks, mate.

Cheers, mate.