The world is a changing place, and we are seeing this in our climate and weather patterns. The change isn’t consistent, floods and temperature extremes are becoming more frequent, and often we are unprepared for these events. When it comes to our house, even though the weather in NZ is pretty comfortable for 2/3 of the year, we should be able to fully shut all of the doors and windows and still be healthy, comfortable, and well ventilated inside when the weather outside is not cooperating.

Houses That Work Houses, buildings, whatever – we are talking about those that work (and those that don’t)! It’s the devil’s advocate argument when we talk about improving your home performance – “Oh I’ve never had that, and it’s always worked before.” However, there’s a reason why there is a whole science behind why we do the things we do as building engineers – it’s a holistic approach which considers the whole building as one altogether.

Let’s talk about the Healthy Home Standards! It’s been a buzz for quite some time (years in fact) in the industry, and we tenants are ready for change. The standards were bought about to help renters live in more warm, dry and comfortable homes which also affects the landlords. But we are going to dive into the renter’s perspective – as that’s why these standards were introduced!

We are here, it was inevitable and now it is here. Winter. And we are desperate to know what the best heating options are for winter! We dive in to some options on the market – fires, heat pumps, electrical heaters, the good, the bad, and our favourite in the list of warm hugs.

Ok, it’s cold outside – like 5 degrees, but the inside of the house isn’t any better, and we are all looking for those magical winter fixes! You know the ones that are sold to us through repetitive advertising claiming to fix all the problems – no more mould, goodbye condensation and hello heat! Let’s check out our favourite four…

This episode: Magical Winter Fixes

On this episode, Gab learns about Starblock Retrofits. What a starblock is, how this one was improved, and whether the retrofit went far enough. 

This episode: Starblock Retrofits.

On this episode, Gab learns about air movement. What’s the difference between ventilation and infiltration, how to stop drafts to keep warm during the winter, and how to properly move air to keep cool during the summer. Episode 12, Air Movement.

On this episode, Gab learns about shading. Why it’s important to keep up cool, and why exterior shading is what we should be asking our landlords for. Episode 10, Shading.

On this episode, Gab learns about allergies. What flares them up, how to reduce allergens, and how to keep them out of her house. Episode 11, Allergies

On this episode, Gab learns about how she should set up and use her house during the spring. How to keep it warm, how to keep it cool, and small, easy, low hanging improvements to keep her house happy and healthy as it starts to warm up. Episode 9, spring has sprung.