The Greening of Gavin

Liveable Home Update – Glass Brick Window

@ By 7 Comments

I mentioned that I would be providing updates as we made our home more livable, so here is the next installment.

Today we had a single glazed window unit replaced with a glass brick window, effectively giving us a very colourful double glazed window.

The old window had an aluminium frame that conducted so much heat during the summer.  The glass rattled and there were gaps around the frame.  It was about as effective as a hole in the wall.

Before Glass Brick

Single Glazed leaky window

As you can see, not a very thermally efficient window.  The aluminium is an extremely efficient conductor of heat, as is the single pane of glass.  Not something that is welcomed when you are trying to keep the house cool on a 40°C day in summer!

Outside view single glazed window

Outside view single glazed window

There were massive gaps between the brick and the window frame.  You could slip a piece of thick cardboard through the gap.  The gap didn’t go all the way through, but it was a gap none the less.

The new window was installed by The Glass Block Shop, which is located in Bayswater, Melbourne.  Nice friendly bunch of people who were a dream to work with.  I have no affiliation with them, they are just who we chose.

Anyway, Kim designed a pattern and the installer turned up today.  Here are the types of glass bricks that Kim ordered.

Coloured glass bricks

Coloured glass bricks

They are lovely colours.  Mr Man the Installer took about four hours to remove the old window and fit the new one.  We were told that the old one would be recycled.

Empty window frame

Empty window frame

Maybe we should have fitted a door instead?  Just joking.  With the frame installed, it was time to fit the glass bricks.

Installed Glass Brick Window

Installed Glass Brick Window

The new frame is hardwood that we will oil for the finish.  The entire window looks magnificent!  From this angle you can’t really see the pattern; it looks much better when there is some light shining through it.

Outside Glass Brick Window

Outside Glass Brick Window

And the outside view.  No more gaps in the framework.  It now completely draught proof and airtight.

Close up Glass Brick window

Close up of our Glass Brick window

It looks absolutely stunning.  This will certainly go a long way to keep the heat out!

One window down, four more double glazed units to go, which will be installed across the north of the house.  Our chosen double glazing company will be measuring up next Wednesday, with installation estimated six weeks after that.  We have already paid the deposit and have the rest of the money to pay the remainder, but unfortunately that is all we can afford at the moment once these are installed in the lounge, my study, and our master bedroom.  We have to save up to double glaze the rest of the house.

The good news is that we have been told that we can fit secondary glazing on the three windows on the south side of the house, including the glass sliding door in Kim’s office that leads to the pool area.  This will reduce the cost for these windows by about half and they should be just as thermally effective. I better start writing some more eBooks to get a bit more money in the bank!

We are looking forward to being much more comfortable at the front of the house this summer!

Preparing For Roof Insulation

@ By 7 Comments

To get the best coverage for our roof insulation, we had to make sure that we could get the insulation in to as many places as possible.

In our roof, this posed a bit of a problem.  When we first moved into our house in 2000, one of the first things we did was install R80 style downlights.  Effectively, we cut holes in our ceiling creating gaps in the air tight integrity of the home, allowing heat to escape in winter and enter in summer.

So before the installers arrive (due on 15th September) we installed downlight mitts over each of the light fittings.  We sourced them from this online store; http://efficiencymatrix.com.au/product/loft-mitt/.  This is the 120mm version.

Downlight mitts

They look a bit like the sorting hat in Harry Potter!  These mitts cover the downlight fitting so that the insulation can be placed around it tightly.  They also stop draughts emanating from the light fittings as well.

Just a word of caution if installing these in your roof over downlights.  You cannot fit them over halogen downlights because these types of lights are just too hot and may cause the mitt to smoulder.  You can only use them if you use compact fluorescent lights or LED.  We have a mixture of both, which emit very little heat.  There is a different type of downlight mitt for halogen downlights, which are much smaller and designed for this additional heat.

I will post further updates as they occur over the next two weeks.  Kim and I are very excited and hope it all goes to plan.

Liveable Home Update

@ By 13 Comments

Well we have gone and done it!  We have taken further steps towards a more liveable home.

Kim and I have placed a deposit on the roof insulation, the double glazing at the front of the house, and paid to replace one of the lounge windows with glass bricks.

We had to tighten our belts but the great thing is that we have saved enough money by paying triple payments into the mortgage offset account, that essentially, all the work will be paid for with cash.  It will just take a little longer clearing the mortgage, which I am ok with.  I would rather have a more comfortable home during the extremes of summer than retire early in a hot box!

Glass brick window designWe saved some money from our workshops and I even drew down on the money I saved from eBook sales and the small amount of advertising revenue from the blog to pay for the glass brick window.  Thanks to all of you who bought an eBook or looked at an ad, we can pay cash for this window as well.

The insulation gets fitted in September, and the glass brick window next week.  The double glazed window units will take six weeks from when they are measured, which happens some time next week as well.

Kim designed a pretty cool glass brick pattern.  I like it a lot.  It will be the feature eastern window in the lounge area.  It should quell her desire for a stained glass window, and make the room a little more interesting.  Besides that, the bricks act like a double glazed unit and is well insulated.

So there you have it.  More about the progress when the installation of each item occurs.

Oh, by the way, we are still going strong with the Brass Monkey Challenge.  I will have a final update on our quest to go the entire winter without using the built-in natural gas heating once the gas bill arrives.  That in itself should be an interesting exercise.