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00:00.
00:12Gone are the days of the couch potato.
00:14These days, it's all about exercise
00:17and how much we eat and drink and sleep.
00:21But there's one frontier that remains unexplored.
00:24Where and how we live.
00:27Oh.
00:29So, what if you wanted to build Australia's healthiest home
00:33right in the heart of the big smoke?
00:37What would that even entail?
00:39Oof.
01:10The feathers all in formation.
01:15So, what are your thoughts on these ones here?
01:17It looks like they've just got a fancy, like, headpiece on.
01:20They feel like they can't see very much.
01:25Pigeon shows are typically where you'd find builder Matt Carlin
01:29and marketing manager Nicole Pearce.
01:31Is that just their feathers or that's their body?
01:33I don't know.
01:34Because see how this one's like...
01:35Or maybe it's like a mating thing.
01:37Brr, brr, brr.
01:39Do we like pigeons?
01:41Do you like pigeons?
01:44Nah, I wouldn't say they're my favourite animal.
01:46Actually, I don't like them at all.
01:49Pigeons are weird.
01:51Put it this way, don't go to the zoo to see a pigeon.
01:53No.
01:59But that didn't stop them spending $750,000 four years back
02:04buying a ramshackled old pigeon racing clubhouse
02:07in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner west.
02:10As you can see, it's definitely not up to livable standards.
02:13Not enough windows or anything like that.
02:15The shed's cooked. It needs to go.
02:18It's a small block, but it's in a really great location.
02:21There's beautiful parks.
02:23It's close to the city and it's close to family
02:25where we've grown up in Williamstown.
02:28On a super-tight 191-square-metre block,
02:32the site was exactly what they'd been looking for,
02:35except for one giant drawback.
02:39Unfortunately, there's a lot of industry around.
02:41We've got the freeways, we've got the ports,
02:44there's also existing refineries,
02:46so it is one of the worst suburbs of air quality in Australia.
02:53It's been a lifelong problem for Matt,
02:56who suffers from chronic allergies and asthma.
03:00Whilst I had a pretty good childhood,
03:02like, I was a kid that did have asthma.
03:05I remember being young.
03:06I was on the nebuliser at this time
03:08where I'd have a random asthma attack.
03:10Mum and Dad would take me to the children's hospital.
03:13As I've grown older,
03:14I've developed probably a lot more hay fever and allergies.
03:17I feel like I live off antihistamines.
03:24Happy day!
03:25But it's also been a huge motivator.
03:30When he's not building houses,
03:31he's a part-time podcaster,
03:33taking the building industry to task
03:35and exploring ways to build healthier homes.
03:38I'm going to say to you,
03:39I have a huge issue
03:41what some trades charge for what they're doing.
03:42We're working out what a trade should work.
03:46The issues with building in Australia
03:48is essentially we're building tents, glorified tents,
03:51that are cheap, poorly constructed.
03:54The goal is to be responsible.
03:56And I think he's building an energy efficient,
03:58a comfortable, healthy, resilient, durable building
04:02that is essentially going to be the healthiest home
04:04that we can possibly build.
04:06Arguably maybe the healthiest home in Australia.
04:10Did he say the healthiest home in Australia?
04:13That's a big call.
04:19Hello.
04:19Hey, Matt.
04:20How you going?
04:21Hey.
04:22I was expecting to see a pigeon racing clubhouse right here.
04:26It's gone.
04:26You couldn't keep any of it?
04:28No, it's gone.
04:29It was unlivable.
04:31It was falling apart.
04:32Structurally not sound.
04:34But we managed to, when we demolished it,
04:36able to recycle most of the stuff through timber and stuff.
04:38So that will get repurposed elsewhere.
04:40In the local community, our friends and family,
04:42it's always going to be affectionately known as Pigeon House.
04:45Is that a good thing for you guys or...?
04:47We're happy with it.
04:48We've leant into it a little bit with the design as well.
04:50Right.
04:51So double storey, big large circle windows, pitched roof.
04:55Okay.
04:55So we're still paying some homage to the Pigeon Racing Club.
04:59Alright.
05:00So apart from being modelled somewhat on a pigeon house,
05:04what's going to make it special?
05:05We're building a passive house.
05:07So we are going for the ultimate form of building what we call the gold sticker.
05:12But it is a very healthy house.
05:13We're not doing just the structure and things like that.
05:16We're going for inside materials.
05:17We're trying to be as healthy as we possibly can.
05:19Okay.
05:20So passive house and all of those sustainability principles right down through every dimension.
05:25We've looked at everything I would say from energy to water to the materials that are going to the building.
05:29Everything.
05:29I do want to get the Australia's most airtight house.
05:33Yeah.
05:34I know that sits at about point one hour exchange.
05:36Some are officially on the books.
05:38I'd love to break that.
05:39Oh, I just heard a challenge being thrown down.
05:41There's a challenge and it's going to be tough and the results of the improvement on that doesn't really change
05:48much the building at such a small detail.
05:50But I would love to be like, hey, I got that to that.
05:52It sounds like that you're on a real crusade.
05:54There's a lot of negativity around building at the moment.
05:57Like, let's be positive.
05:58Like, every Australian wants to be in a healthy, comfortable house.
06:01But we want to prove that's possible.
06:03If we design our houses correctly and orientate our houses correctly to get that free sun,
06:06and we build airtight and we remove those air leakages, our heating cooling bills go down, our comfort goes up.
06:13So it's just taking pride in what we build.
06:17Designed by Alterico Architects, this three bedroom, two storey home gives a nod to the old pigeon shed on the
06:24outside,
06:25while packed with Scandinavian and Japanese design influences inside.
06:30Neutral tones and clean lines throughout with a bright white concrete slab on the ground floor.
06:36But the key driver of this design is not how it looks, but how it operates,
06:42invoking passive house design principles developed in Europe in the late 1980s for maximum energy efficiency.
06:49With features including solar panels, water recycling, air filtering, triple glazed windows and sustainable timber throughout.
06:58The insulation will be amped up and the walls wrapped inside and out to create a continuous thermal envelope,
07:06which will keep the house at a year-round 20 to 25 degrees Celsius without the need for heating or
07:12cooling.
07:13For a relatively simple design, it'll be an environmental powerhouse.
07:20Now, that all sounds great, but it also sounds like the main reason people don't do this is because that
07:25becomes very expensive.
07:27Building is expensive. Like, we're in a climate where building is...
07:30That's a yes.
07:30Yeah, of course it is. It's kind of like you're taking a pretty ordinary sedan and you're supercharging it.
07:35Yeah, well, if you're going to do it, you do it properly.
07:37So, for me, like, it's protecting the structure from water.
07:40So, like, I'm all about wrapping the outside correctly and, like,
07:42I can't wrap the birthday present from Nicole, but I can wrap the house.
07:45Like, it's those things that, like, I want to really get into.
07:48That's what I'm more excited about.
07:50So, what is all this going to cost you?
07:52We are looking at $950,000.
07:55If you'd said that just with an ordinary house on the scale of the site that I'm standing on,
08:00I'd say probably a good outcome for that.
08:01Yep.
08:01But with all the high spec you're going for, I'm already going to...
08:06I'm starting to shake at the knees a little bit.
08:09And if you go over the budget?
08:10I can't go over budget, like...
08:12OK, it's a hard line.
08:13It's going to look pretty bad as a builder going over budget for your own house.
08:16Like, that's what we've allocated, that's what we can afford or are willing to spend on it.
08:20I understand that things can go wrong, so there is a contingency,
08:22and look, we'd love to do it for under a million.
08:24How long is this going to take?
08:2712 months, we're hoping for.
08:29You actually stumbled when you said 12 months.
08:31It's like, I don't actually believe that number myself.
08:33Yes, I'm going to be the one that's sitting there being like,
08:37OK, where are we up to?
08:38What's happening?
08:39What's happening next?
08:40We're a bit behind on this bit.
08:41Yeah.
08:42But it is going to be treated as if it's one of Matt's projects.
08:45OK.
08:45So we think that we're going to be able to stick to that timeline.
08:48You have an amazing project you've described here.
08:51Very ambitious in a very tight little parcel of land here.
08:54You've got a lot to squeeze in.
08:56Yeah.
08:56I can't wait to see how you pull this off.
08:59Same here.
09:00Yeah.
09:05Matt's setting the bar pretty high for himself.
09:08And with health and the environment as the key motivators,
09:11it's no wonder.
09:13But there's a reason why more of us don't build this way.
09:16It's a lot of money to put towards how the house functions rather than how it looks.
09:22Not to mention that we're a mostly temperate climate here in Australia and throwing the windows and doors open has
09:28become something of a national pastime.
09:30So while this may become Australia's healthiest house, will it be something that will inspire others to follow suit or
09:40just a curious experiment?
09:41Because I'm not sure Bird Box Living is for everyone.
09:56Before Matt and his team can start building up, they've got to go down.
10:00I don't know if that's where.
10:03I don't know if it's where.
10:04I think it's just the clay.
10:06Digging a hole for the 5,000 litre recycled rainwater tank for the loos, laundry and garden.
10:13And while the 195 square metre site might be cleared, below ground, it's anything but.
10:20It's a rock there.
10:25That's a rock there too.
10:28There's one rock there and one there and I'm hoping they're two separate ones.
10:35Shit.
10:36Gonna be slow going, isn't it?
10:42I knew we should have brought the bigger machine.
10:46Due to the size, we just don't have the ability to get a big machine.
10:49We had a big machine now, just to be able to scoop them all out.
10:51So size, size of the site does make it a lot harder to get bigger rocks out like this.
11:04Shit, it really went in.
11:06That's not the big one either.
11:07No, I know.
11:08If the digger can't lift them out, here's a novel idea.
11:18Oh, there you go.
11:22And there's a lot more where that came from.
11:32Four slow going weeks on, with the small digger eventually clearing the rocks, the rainwater
11:38tanks in the ground and 42 cubic metres of concrete are going down for the slab.
11:45But this isn't any old concrete.
11:48As a globe, we use enough concrete per week to build a whole of Manhattan.
11:52There's a lot of concrete.
11:54And concrete is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emissions products in the world.
11:59Like, it counts about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
12:01I think only gas and coal are bigger.
12:04So the whole thing is we want to improve in that area.
12:08You can see they're, like, in the corner working out, like, their base.
12:12This, we're using an eco-packed concrete, which is reducing the amount of carbon in the concrete by 70%.
12:17It uses things like fly ash and slag and other coal byproducts.
12:22It's usually a little bit more expensive, but I think in five to six years, this should be just standard
12:27concrete mix.
12:29We are. Happy days.
12:40Two weeks later, with the eco-slab set, the timber walls can go up.
12:45But first, they need to be wrapped in a waterproof membrane to protect the thermal insulation,
12:51help with air tightness and create a moisture barrier to stop wood decay.
12:56That is slippery.
12:58For a high-tech home, there's a lot of low-tech cutting and sticking.
13:04Well, there would be if it wasn't so wet.
13:10I think it actually has to be really dry.
13:14That's not... No, that's not gonna stick.
13:16So, we were going to put down our external membrane on our ply, which is an adhered product.
13:21So, it's essentially thinking of it like a little children's book where we contact paper the frame.
13:27So, it needs to stick in here quite tight to it.
13:30When it's wet, it won't adhere.
13:32So, that's more the frustrating part.
13:37What is the radar?
13:41So annoying.
13:43And it might be a little more rain, though.
13:48Just pull the pin.
13:50It's just not magically gonna get better.
13:56Man, it sucks.
13:59If building Australia's most passive house in the rain in 12 months isn't daunting enough...
14:05Have you read the instruction booklet?
14:07Have you read the instruction booklet?
14:09No.
14:09Exactly.
14:10And I did.
14:11And I made eggs on it and nothing stuck.
14:13There's another unexpected development.
14:17Um, yeah, we have had something pop up that's going to put some additional pressure on the timelines and getting
14:25the house finished.
14:27Um, Maddie and I are very fortunate that we are expecting a new addition to the family come June.
14:34The baby will arrive before the house is complete, but I'm always asking what the timeline looks like.
14:40If we can bring that forward, um, any further.
14:43We just obviously like to get, um, ourselves and the little one, um, into our new house as soon as
14:49possible.
14:51It's just one more spinning plate Matt has to deal with.
14:55So, running a business, moving house, building a own house, trying to get this podcast up and going.
15:02Have a child.
15:03Make things harder.
15:04You know, what's the saying?
15:06Um, if you've got to run, run faster.
15:09So...
15:09I think, uh, Matt's going to be in for a little bit of a surprise.
15:26It's now six months into the 12 month Passive House Pigeon Club transformation.
15:32The walls are wrapped and upright.
15:38And today, Matt's imported triple glazed windows will hopefully seal the deal.
15:45Today we've got windows going up, so they come about three weeks ago from overseas and we need to get
15:49them in as quick as we possibly can.
15:53We're just trying to push as much as we can in these drier months to essentially get to a point
15:58where once it gets to those cold or wetter days where everything's inside.
16:03Also, Nicole is 12 weeks pregnant, which is exciting, but it does give us a little bit more motivation to
16:09push a little bit faster.
16:10So I've got a lot to do.
16:13Three, two, one.
16:16These windows set the bar for insulation.
16:20The three layers of glass slow the heat transfer through the windows, but also prevent any air or water leaks
16:27and fight the risk of condensation and mould, a nightmare for asthma sufferers like Matt.
16:33So don't drop it.
16:37Alex, do you want to set up a hose?
16:39I want to flood test this window to make sure it's watertight.
16:42I want to test our windows in the sense of like, we get one shot of putting them in, yeah?
16:46And if they leak, well, then that defeats a lot of the purpose of the building.
16:52But that is one thing I'm a bit nervous on.
16:54Go for it.
17:01I'm literally looking for like, a drop.
17:06It's never going to rain this much on a window.
17:08So we're simulating and seeing the amount of water.
17:11Like, if it works under this, we know it's going to survive.
17:17Yeah, hey.
17:19I've got it in this corner somewhere.
17:23Where it's coming in, I don't know, but there's a fair bit in there.
17:29I've got a water drop at the top here too.
17:32And that's where the line is in the water drop.
17:35Somewhere up there.
17:40It could be something as simple as, like, the team have put in a screw and this is the membrane.
17:45And we're talking a hole that's like, maybe that big.
17:49It's so tiny, but that is enough to cause that leak.
17:53So catching that early is like a huge win for us.
17:58We will fix it, flood test the rest, come back next week once it's all dried out, flood test it
18:03again.
18:03And we keep doing that until they're alright.
18:08Matt's on a mission alright.
18:11And he's not alone in the fight for clean air in and around Yarraville.
18:17Residents in Melbourne's inner west are calling for filtration units before the opening of the Westgate tunnel later this year.
18:24Under the current design, the tunnel will have tall, unfiltered ventilation stacks.
18:29Locals are worried that won't do enough to reduce pollution.
18:34They're building all these new roads, which is great, but the problem is all the fumes from the cars have
18:41been congregated into one little spot.
18:43And they've decided not to filter any of the air that comes out of that.
18:47So it's now already a suburb with pretty poor air quality and it seems like it's just about to get
18:54worse.
18:55It's the reason why I decided to build the way we do. It's all about taking back control and being
19:00able to have a say in the air quality of our home.
19:16So when was the last time you came here on site?
19:19Oh God, about a month ago I'd say.
19:21If there's one person who's not surprised by Matt's drive and determination, it's his dad, Ross.
19:28How many glazes?
19:29Triple, triple glazes.
19:30In the building trade for many years himself, today the old dog's learning some new tricks.
19:36Look at the ceiling with the wood inside. Nothing like that when I was a kid.
19:40As Matt begins the difficult task of adding a thermal layer to the inside of the house.
19:46You can hear, there's no, you can't hear the noise from outside.
19:48You can't even hear the radio downstairs, upstairs at the moment.
19:51Like once it's all shut up you will not hear a thing outside.
19:54Which is another level of comfort. Everyone thinks thermally.
19:57But sound, air quality, like odours and smells, vibrations, like we're covering them all.
20:04Well they reckon that Melbourne's the highest asthma capital of the world now.
20:07Did you hear that today?
20:08Is it really?
20:09Yep.
20:10So a house like this will help, that kind of thing.
20:12Been around a fair bit.
20:13It's totally different than when I was a kid.
20:15My dad was a carpenter and then his dad was a carpenter.
20:19And so like I say, you can see how things are changing and how things are improving.
20:22Bricklay is going to start in two weeks.
20:25Matthew was getting a thing called passive houses, I wouldn't have a clue what a passive house was.
20:28So he's probably teaching me more than what I'm teaching him these days.
20:32You don't need many staples to hold this up and if you do it correctly.
20:35We can just, you get staples in spots where the tape's going to hide it.
20:39So the whole idea is we don't want to have staples in the middle here
20:42because if that blows off that can become an air leak in the future.
20:46But while Matt might be the passive house pro,
20:49it's not stopping the apprentice passing on some fatherly advice.
20:53No.
20:53I've got to kind of cut that.
20:55You're going to cut it?
20:57Yeah, I've got to cut it to fit it in.
20:59Wouldn't you do that over here first?
21:00No, no, no, no, no, no.
21:02Matthew, wouldn't you cut it over there?
21:03No, no, no, no.
21:04Because if I go here, then I can pull that across.
21:07You're going to have it too short then.
21:08I don't want to have to pull it down because you made a mistake.
21:11No.
21:12I'd be doing that corner first.
21:13Yeah, I'm trying to work it out.
21:16Seriously, I couldn't have picked a harder room to start this with.
21:20Fair dinkum.
21:23Don't cut your hands.
21:24I'm not going to cut my hands.
21:26Jeez.
21:28Oh, yeah, we have our arguments, don't worry about that.
21:30But it is his house and he's the builder which runs his projects
21:33and everything like that, so I've got to back off a little bit.
21:36How many houses have we built together?
21:40Like...
21:40Three?
21:41Did we fight?
21:42100% we fought.
21:45I don't mind a bit of questioning, a bit of to and fro
21:49just to make sure that you get the result.
21:51That's the only way you can improve.
21:57There's no doubt about it, building's a stressful game at the best of times
22:01and Matt's still a long way from home base.
22:05This is your neighbourhood, right?
22:07Yeah.
22:07And this is your neighbourhood cafe?
22:09Yes, this is the local.
22:10Something Nicole is very aware of.
22:15Matt is throwing so much at this.
22:17You know, I mean, he's deep, deep into this.
22:19Like, how's he going?
22:22I think he does sort of hide the stress when he does come home.
22:28Yeah.
22:28Being pregnant, I don't think he wants to put that stress on me.
22:32But he's really good at recognising that.
22:35You know, he's really good at sort of just saying, this is getting to me.
22:38I'm worried about X, Y and Z.
22:40He then also says, oh, I've got to get this done for the house,
22:43but then I've also got to talk at this conference, record this podcast.
22:47That's right.
22:47So it's all of those multitude of projects.
22:50He finds really exciting, but all of that on top of each other.
22:55Yeah.
22:55And with a little one on the way.
22:57Yes.
22:58Yes.
22:58I mean, that is such great news, obviously.
23:00But of course, it's just another level of life event that is happening simultaneously here.
23:06I mean, are you able to sort of relax?
23:07Yeah, I think my nature is sort of the calming nature to Matt's storm and chaos.
23:14Every time we chat, there's maybe another week or two that's been added to the timeline.
23:20But I think at this stage, again, I've got another project to be focused on.
23:25Yeah.
23:26Look, a house is important, but I think you've got your eyes on the right priorities here.
23:29Yeah.
23:29So it absolutely sounds like you've got it sorted.
23:31Yeah.
23:34As competing interests go, Baby definitely trumps build.
23:39Especially one that's taking longer and costing more than your average build.
23:45Take the $25,000 heat recovery system being installed on site to filter and purify the air.
23:54This is a photo of a filter we changed out recently out of a HIV system that had been in
24:00for about
24:01six months.
24:03And the filter on the left is the new filter that we put in.
24:05So you can see the colour difference.
24:07You can actually see those different bugs and stuff in the filter as well,
24:10which has been brought in from outside.
24:12Originally, I was a bit of a cynic.
24:13But then when you experience it and build it from the ground up and you can feel it and you
24:17can see it,
24:17yeah, you soon get convinced that these things are good for homes
24:21and you start to do them on your own homes like I am.
24:25What I'm looking at here is the lungs to our house.
24:27And that is going to provide us with fresh, clean air that's filtered.
24:32And what this is doing is practically filtering out all the particulates and pollutants in the air
24:37and allowing us to breathe in some nice, healthy, clean air.
24:42So for me, this is the ability to reduce those sort of things
24:46and just feel that the air that I'm breathing in my own house is quality.
24:53Does every house need this to this level and this expense?
24:58Probably not.
24:59But what price do you put on your health?
25:05What price indeed?
25:11But in a temperate climate like Australia, will passive houses ever really take off?
25:18This is classic conservation heritage.
25:22Architect Karen Erdos, who designed a number of passive house projects,
25:27including this old beauty in Annandale, thinks yes, with a few provisors.
25:33So your classic Victorian terrace, yeah?
25:35Absolutely classic.
25:36It's in the middle of a conservation area.
25:38It fits right into its streetscape.
25:41You've got the French doors down here, the Rhode Island balustrade,
25:43even a beautiful parapet with a name on it, Warrain.
25:46So it's got all those classic Victorian details around it.
25:50But it doesn't look like a passive house.
25:52You would never know it's a passive house.
25:53And we had those constraints.
25:55Being in the conservation area, we had to keep it looking exactly as is,
26:00and there's nothing about it except the plaque on the wall
26:03that tells us that it's a passive house.
26:06So what's it feel like inside?
26:08Should we go have a look?
26:08I'd love to.
26:09Let's go.
26:19So, here we are.
26:20Here we are.
26:21Oh, beautiful.
26:22You know, really contemporary sort of terrace feel.
26:25Nice and bright and light.
26:28I feel those things already.
26:28It's very open.
26:29Yeah.
26:30So it's not your classic terrace in that we've come in through the side.
26:33Yeah, yeah.
26:33So the whole front room stays intact.
26:35It's just such a beautiful flow from the big front room there
26:38right through to the backyard.
26:39You can see the green pulled in in both directions,
26:42which is just gorgeous.
26:44Yeah.
26:44And the big transformation was originally it was a lot of smaller,
26:48darker, not particularly friendly or healthy feeling spaces.
26:54Yeah.
26:54So the idea was to open it right up and despite the orientation,
26:59get as much natural light in as possible.
27:01Yeah, mission accomplished.
27:02And it's quiet.
27:03It's quiet.
27:04Yeah.
27:05It's very quiet.
27:06How nice is that?
27:06There's nothing happening from the street.
27:08Yeah.
27:08Yeah.
27:09So this is excellent.
27:10And then the light in the backyard calling us through to,
27:12I can see the addition.
27:13Yes.
27:14Yeah?
27:14Yes.
27:14Could we have a look at the kitchen?
27:15Yeah.
27:15Let's go have a look.
27:18Oh, I like this.
27:19That's very clever.
27:24With three bedrooms upstairs, what really stands out is the house has retained all its
27:30old heritage charm.
27:33Because while it's one thing to build a new passive house, it's another thing altogether
27:39to retrofit an old house.
27:43So what was so hard about making this home a passive house?
27:47And what was the kind of like the financial addition you had to put on all of this to make
27:52it work?
27:52So this one was a particularly tricky challenge because of the heritage overlay.
27:57Best practice is to come from the outside and get your insulation and your membranes and
28:03so forth on the outside of the building.
28:06Because of the heritage overlay, we had to do things on the inside.
28:09So that was a particular challenge in this case.
28:13A lot of people would say, and of course it's a real thing, is the cost associated with
28:17it.
28:18And I mean, I hear numbers like 20, even 30%, you know, in addition to a standard build to
28:23get a passive house.
28:24So it's like, look, I'd love to, but I just can't.
28:28I mean, how do we get around that?
28:30Look, it's the conversation of the day.
28:32Yeah.
28:32I actually experienced this for myself.
28:35Oh, really?
28:35I just did a renovation and I wanted to walk the walk.
28:39I talk a lot about passive house.
28:41I do it for my clients and I really wanted to have a passive house.
28:45It came down to budget and there was just too many areas of the house that we would have
28:50had to completely strip back and redo that we were otherwise not going to touch.
28:56Right.
28:56So it was a devastating moment when I realised that we just couldn't do it.
28:59It wasn't attainable, but we did the best that we could within our constraints.
29:05And this is like the real story.
29:07Let's do the best that we can.
29:10Yeah.
29:10So let's use the high performance windows.
29:12Let's get the mechanical ventilation in there.
29:15Let's get all the insulation in there.
29:17Yeah.
29:17Let's design out those thermal bridges.
29:19We're going through all of the passive house principles here.
29:23And let's get the building working as best as we can.
29:27So what about the critique that passive house gives you a kind of a slightly dead feeling inside?
29:33Because it's all so controlled and it's, do you, I mean, how do you respond to that?
29:38I've heard, I've heard an argument a lot that I'd like to hear the birds outside.
29:41Yeah.
29:42I'd like to hear the noises outside.
29:43And that's really great if you have birds outside to listen to.
29:46But if you're under a flight path or next to a train line or a busy road and all the
29:52noise that is not necessarily desirable,
29:55it's really welcome to shut that right down and have this quiet oasis.
30:03So what I'm hearing is all the principles that passive house lays out are absolutely things we should continue to
30:10build on.
30:10Yes.
30:11But we shouldn't be put off by the zealous application of every single part of the passive house kind of
30:19regime.
30:19Yeah.
30:19Because, you know, getting close is the goal.
30:22Look, I would call passive house the gold standard.
30:24Yeah.
30:25You can.
30:26Great.
30:26Let's do it.
30:27It's almost like an insurance policy.
30:29You pay insurance premiums for your house.
30:31Yeah.
30:31This is like an insurance policy that you'll have a robust, well-built, high-quality and healthy home.
30:38Yeah.
30:38That will last the test of time.
30:40So, I mean, it feels good.
30:42It feels really good.
30:43It's really nice standing right here.
30:45Yeah.
30:45Are you sure I can open those doors?
30:47That door's open.
30:50Absolutely.
31:14Yeah.
31:19Absolutely.
31:29Yeah.
31:34And now we've got 18 pallets of bricks coming off.
31:39So they've got to have room to mix and move and probably got about 10 minutes to do a week's
31:43work.
31:44Yeah.
31:45Alex, bring your car here so I can get all the metal and put all the metal in the back
31:48as
31:48well.
31:49Yeah.
31:50Just run these inside, yeah?
31:53All right.
31:54Climb down.
31:57If you go straight, you'll be on it.
32:02The crew barely have time to catch their breath, as the next challenge is laying a ground-breaking
32:11internal infill slab for the floor.
32:14We are using a white concrete, so that's super exciting.
32:18When you install concrete, we usually put a steel mesh in there, a reinforcement bar.
32:25We know steel is a massive contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
32:29Steel is heavy.
32:31So we've thawed a bit outside the square here and we have found this glass fibre reinforcement
32:36bar.
32:37And really what they're going to do here is they're going to pretty much cut this up themselves
32:41and make their own mesh inside.
32:43It will be three times as strong as a standard steel mesh.
32:49Way easy for these guys to install.
32:51You can see how light this is, like a tenth of the weight.
32:54It is also cheaper.
32:56That's the crazy part.
32:59It's a game-changing product.
33:02Molten glass fibres are wound into spools, pulled through a resin bath, and then cured
33:11to give the bars their strength and durability.
33:21You can pick up 80 rods on your shoulder versus 10.
33:26It's lovely because you just walk it all in.
33:31I mean, I think it will end up being very much being the future just for the ease of use.
33:40My way I could carry this many.
33:43I wouldn't even attempt to carry this many if it was steel.
33:47Hi.
33:48You don't have to go to the gym today.
33:49No.
33:53Unfortunately, not everyone on site is impressed.
33:57Hey, Finn, Finn, Finn, no peeing inside.
34:00Every dog's...
34:02Everyone just peeing all over your house?
34:04Finn, what are you doing, you rascal?
34:07You cheeky boy.
34:09It brings out the white in the concrete, don't worry about it.
34:21Let's hope so.
34:23Because while Nicole's had her mind on bigger things, the one thing she's adamant about
34:31is white concrete.
34:32You can see it.
34:33Come here.
34:34And not just any white concrete.
34:37It has to be the right white.
34:40There's been a lot of discussions, Pinterest boarding, inspiration to show exactly what's
34:47in my mind of what I'm wanting for this.
34:49The flooring will have a huge impact on the overall look of the house.
34:53But I do understand that concrete, you can't 100% control and say this is exactly what I want.
35:06Concrete's hard because you're so dependent on the weather, the drying temperature, the humidity in the air,
35:11how much you work it, how much water's in the mix.
35:13There's so many factors.
35:15You can over vibrate it as well.
35:17Like, we don't want to see stone, so you can go for it too.
35:21We know that we've given it its best chance.
35:23We've got 10% white oxide through it to whiten it up.
35:26We're going to sort of roll with it and see what happens.
35:29As the concrete sets, the colour lightens over time.
35:34How much white I will crack?
35:35What?
35:36How much white I will crack?
35:3930, 40%.
35:41I don't want to get too white.
35:44Now you're worried about being too white.
35:47I can't win.
35:49Now she's wondering how white it's going to go.
35:51It could be too white.
36:05At the end of the day, Nicole's back for a site inspection.
36:15And that's what the finish will be like inside?
36:18Yeah, that's what we're trying to get it like, yeah.
36:27And the verdict?
36:29Happy days.
36:31Happy days.
36:35Still married.
36:40The interior cladding also needs to meet Nicole's approval.
36:44They want to use a revolutionary variety of sustainable timber,
36:49but have not seen it firsthand.
36:51So Matt's making an early morning dash to the factory in Adelaide
36:55before locking it in.
36:57But with Nicole almost at full term, this is the worst possible timing.
37:06Nicole at any point now could give me a call and be like,
37:11it's time.
37:12Baby's on its way.
37:15So that's super exciting.
37:20But I don't like uncertainty.
37:24I have no control over that, which is something that's like,
37:27gets to me a little bit because I like control.
37:30In Australia, 49% of log trees are deemed unfit for building.
37:37But here, low grade pulpwood veneers, usually used for paper,
37:42are being transformed into premium hardwood.
37:45What would normally be waste,
37:47we're going to convert this into solid timber.
37:50We do that via rotary peeling.
37:52So if you're coring an apple, essentially, peeling it,
37:56you're going to use a lot more of the products.
37:58You don't create any sawdust and you recover 65%
38:02from the log rather than the traditional sawmilling of 33%.
38:05Wow, such a huge increase.
38:09All the timber used here is from sustainably managed forests,
38:13which is right up Matt's alley.
38:18This is the start of the process here.
38:21So we've taken the veneers.
38:24We've cut them in a guillotine into strips.
38:28Yeah.
38:28So they're all threadable wide.
38:31From there, it's getting applied with glue via that roller.
38:34The glue we use is water-based and toxin-free.
38:38Yeah.
38:38Then it's heading into the ovens where it's making the glue really tacky
38:42so that we bond it together and all adheres.
38:44So this becomes like a big log, essentially.
38:47Yep, big solid timber.
38:48Wow.
38:51Once this process starts to the end,
38:53you're producing 300 kilos of timber within 20 minutes.
38:5820 minutes?
38:59Yeah.
38:59So we'll go from these strips into a block in about 20 minutes?
39:02Absolutely, yeah.
39:03Wow.
39:04As long as we get this timber looking like the timber outside
39:07and we can match it as best as possible,
39:10I think Nicole's going to be hopefully quite happy
39:12because you know what it is.
39:13It's a happy wife, happy life.
39:16Yeah, absolutely.
39:16Is it still going to look like timber?
39:18Like, is it still going to have the characteristics
39:20where the grain comes through?
39:21And because we've used real timber in other places in the building,
39:25will it match?
39:26I've prepared this for you, Matt.
39:28Just have a look at what a finished product could look like.
39:30That's not stained.
39:31Yeah, okay, cool.
39:32And that's stained.
39:33Jeez.
39:34It feels like timber too.
39:35Like, even the weight.
39:38Like, you wouldn't know that this has just come straight out of a machine.
39:42I feel pressure because I want Nicole to be really, really happy with the end result.
39:45It feels, it looks like everything that we wanted, the characteristics are there.
39:50If she's happy with what we have here, we'll be pressing prints and putting this awesome material in our house.
39:54And really, the best bit out of it, like, she hasn't called me saying there's no baby issues or nothing's
39:59happened.
40:00So, I guess that's the big winner I've added today.
40:11This transformation will only be a win for Matt if he fulfills his quest to build the most airtight house
40:18in Australia.
40:21As the project enters its final phase, he's on the hunt for any little air holes that would create a
40:27draft.
40:28We're just doing a little bit of leak detection today.
40:31So, we've actually got, like, a DJ smoke machine.
40:33And we're going to just smoke out as much of the house.
40:38And the whole idea is just to see if you can see any movement in any section.
40:43Make sure everything is as tight as we can be.
40:45Go for it.
40:50This is one of the areas I'm really concerned about.
40:55See, it just goes.
40:56See, over here, you see how it just disappears?
40:58There's actually a fair bit happening up here.
41:00But I knew this would be a tricky spot.
41:01I can see insulations are here.
41:02So, there's a massive gap.
41:06Like fixing a puncture, Matt needs to tape over each and every hole.
41:12But the more tests they do, the more leaks they find.
41:19I know this is one here.
41:21See?
41:22And through here.
41:24Oh, there's heaps through here.
41:25Look at that.
41:26It's not even taped.
41:27Ah, is this another tricky junction then?
41:30We might as well try all these tricky ones through here.
41:33Oh, I can hear that.
41:36Yeah, you can hear it.
41:39When I set out, I had no idea on how complex this project was.
41:44Oh, that's smashing in here too.
41:48This is going to be the hardest one.
41:51But I did set out with an expectation of trying to build Australia's most airtight house.
41:55So, it's going to be pretty hard.
42:00What started as a crusade has turned into an obsession.
42:22To say that Matt's taken the battle for Yarraville's air quality right to his front door is an understatement.
42:30It's now over a year since he started building his and Nicole's giant air filtering machine of a house.
42:38And I'm fascinated to see how it's all worked out.
42:43Matt has thrown everything at this.
42:46He's researched it to within an inch of his life.
42:48And what I'm worried about is this whole thing is going to look like a Meccano set of technical solutions,
42:54but not actually be a family home.
42:56Now it's finished. It's all done. It's all buttoned up.
43:00Let's see if they got there.
43:12Look at this. This is picture perfect. And there they are. Look how comfy the dog is.
43:17I know. I know.
43:18It's her house really.
43:20Can I come in? Of course.
43:22Come in.
43:28Congratulations, both of you. Thank you.
43:30This was such an epic project for you both, wasn't it?
43:33Yeah.
43:33You put so much into this. I know you just obsessed over every single nail that went into this place.
43:38Just a little bit.
43:38This is an act of love, I think.
43:40There was passion everywhere.
43:42Yeah, there's a lot of passion. A lot of passion. But yeah, I'd say we're pretty proud, yeah.
43:46I mean, from the street, it looks very calm.
43:50I mean, that was a goal from my perspective, aesthetically.
43:54From Matt, he had, you know, the healthy home part behind everything, every decision.
44:00So is it working?
44:01Yeah. As good as it's looking?
44:03Yeah. Well, I think it proves that you can mix sexy with healthy.
44:06Oh, sexy. We went somewhere else. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
44:10Well, the whole place just looks so well put together.
44:14And it's cutting such a beautiful picture.
44:17Paying homage to the old pigeon racing clubhouse, the double bird box facade is a nod to the past.
44:24While creating a contemporary and unique design.
44:29What's it like in there?
44:30Do you want to go have a look?
44:31Of course I do.
44:32But inside is what it's all about.
44:34Anthony, this is our dining and kitchen space.
44:38Oh, this looks incredible. Like, well done.
44:40There's such a sense of tranquility in here.
44:43I mean, this is exactly what you wanted, right?
44:45Yeah, I think the thing with healthy homes is it's not just about energy efficiency and air quality.
44:51It's also about sound.
44:52Yeah.
44:52It's really comfortable inside.
44:54I can feel myself just kind of like relaxing in here.
44:56Maybe it's the colour palette. It's quite stripped back.
44:59Yeah.
44:59I know you had that very much in mind from the very beginning, right?
45:02Yeah.
45:02I know some people find it a little bit boring, a little bit beige, but that's what I wanted.
45:07This, to me, is relaxing.
45:09Like, I'm not too overstimulated, it's not too overwhelming.
45:12I feel nice and relaxed in there.
45:14I entirely get there.
45:14I think it's a big part of a healthy home is that sense of you need to actually sort of
45:18calm down.
45:19And it needs to calm you down.
45:20Yeah.
45:20Yeah, I need to be calmed down too.
45:22When you get home from work, I can imagine.
45:25The other part of that, of course, is the concrete on the floor.
45:27Yeah.
45:28Is it white enough?
45:30Yes.
45:31Are you sure?
45:32I think it ties in with the rest of the house.
45:34The tone of the house, the texture of the floor ties into the walls as well.
45:38That's what we were aiming for the whole time.
45:41I mean, another thing in here that I really, really like is that you've got the dining
45:45table connected to the kitchen, but the living room is over there.
45:49Yeah.
45:49Out of the way.
45:50It's not some big open plan thing where it's all happening all the time all at once.
45:53Like, it feels like there's a great sort of modest scale that sets up for little moments
45:59of interactions, which is perfect, yeah?
46:01Yeah.
46:02So Noah's in your life now.
46:04So we've got a little one that's going to grow up in here.
46:07Yeah.
46:07Are you worried about it marking?
46:08Like, whilst it looks beautiful now, it's got to be lived in.
46:11Yeah.
46:12So if we make some marks along the way, who cares?
46:15Yeah.
46:15Every house takes on its own story, doesn't it?
46:17Yeah, exactly.
46:18In a house that was more about function than form, there are a few design surprises.
46:25This is the first thing I unpacked when we moved in.
46:27Of all the stuff we had to unpack, this is the whisky collection.
46:31Now I see the colour.
46:32Yeah.
46:33Yeah.
46:33So much colour.
46:34There's a place for everything and everything in its place.
46:38Yeah.
46:38Yeah.
46:40While the sneaky whisky cupboard might not fit with the Scandi wellness retreat vibes,
46:45the main bedroom suite, also on the ground floor, oozes serenity and calm,
46:50the perfect spot to sleep it off.
46:54And this is Noah's future playroom and we've got two bedrooms.
46:59Upstairs, the only exception to Nicole's muted palette, the main bathroom.
47:06That had free reign of that room.
47:09With pops of bubblegum pink and warm terracotta, while down the hall, baby Noah's domain.
47:17All soft and floaty and a little bit ethereal.
47:21It's pretty spectacular, isn't it?
47:22Yeah.
47:23It's pretty damn cool.
47:24What a great effect that is.
47:26The round window, the curtains, a really soft light coming through.
47:29It's almost, it's almost church-like.
47:31That is really unexpected and pretty powerful, actually.
47:33I love it.
47:34Yeah, you see it from the front, but then you come inside, it's a whole different feel to it.
47:37Yeah.
47:39The eco-friendly, manufactured pulpwood floors look great.
47:44Especially something that's man-made, it's pretty cool.
47:47Yeah, and this is...
47:48As does the textured, non-toxic lime paint.
47:51Every surface has something a bit tactile about it.
47:55If the walls could talk, they'd tell of the struggles to get here,
47:59belying how comfortable it all looks.
48:03But just as important to Matt is how it operates.
48:07Now we've got to prove that it can perform as advertised.
48:10Yeah.
48:12And certifier Drew Croker is ready to put it through its paces
48:17with an air pressure test which measures air tightness.
48:22Matt, you must be feeling a bit nervous right now
48:23because you have been going to so much trouble to get this to work.
48:28So this is a big moment.
48:29Pressure test coming up.
48:31What are we actually shooting for here?
48:32I'm aiming for Australia's most airtight house.
48:35Drew, in your experience, what's the best reading you're aware of in Australia?
48:40Alright, 0.1.
48:41Oh, wow.
48:42It was 11 years ago.
48:4311 years ago.
48:44Okay, no pressure, right?
48:45No pressure at all.
48:47And just remind me, what's passive house certification standards?
48:500.6.
48:50So way below passive house.
48:53Alright.
48:53Are we all ready for this?
48:54Yeah, we're ready, yeah.
48:55I'm nervous for you.
48:55I'm nervous for me.
48:56Alright, let's do this.
48:57Alright, let's do it.
49:10Under 0.1 is the magic number.
49:19I think it's coming to a rest.
49:21I don't think we're going to make it.
49:27It's not getting lower.
49:31Not quite.
49:32Yeah.
49:32And it looks like we are around 0.2...
49:38Yeah, 0.26.
49:400.26.
49:41Yeah.
49:44Alright, so we didn't make it.
49:46Yeah, we didn't make it, yes.
49:48So you've definitely passed passive house certification.
49:51We're panels of fence past that.
49:53Way past that.
49:53So this is like gold, gold, gold standard.
49:56And we're just a little bit away from the best in Australia.
50:00So it's aiming for like a record.
50:01Yeah.
50:01Sometimes you miss them and that's okay.
50:03Yeah.
50:03Absolutely right.
50:04While it might not be the claim Matt was hoping for, it's pretty damn close.
50:10And certainly nothing to sneeze at.
50:14Well, I just want to say congratulations.
50:16And it's beautiful to see Noah sitting here with both of you.
50:19Yeah.
50:19This is what the family picture, this is what it's all about, isn't it?
50:22Like it's absolutely spectacularly gorgeous.
50:24Yeah, it is.
50:25The passive house is one thing, but you had bigger ambitions than that.
50:28It's a healthy home.
50:30And I'm just excited that that's where this little one's going to grow up.
50:32Yeah.
50:33A big part of the house too was the quality of the air.
50:35Yeah.
50:36Parts per million of all sorts of bad things that are around us in big cities.
50:41How's that working out specifically?
50:43There was times last week that it was above 15.
50:45And we look at the data over there and we're sitting at around two.
50:49Right.
50:49So the difference inside, outside is you can't even compare them.
50:53Oh, it's like orders of magnitude.
50:54Yeah.
50:55It actually scares the pants off me thinking about the air quality that's just outside that door.
50:58So let's just go to budget then.
51:00You had a budget of about $950,000 in mind when we first met.
51:04Mm-hmm.
51:05I think I said I'd be happy if we did it for under a million.
51:07And did you?
51:08Yeah.
51:08We were under budget.
51:11Slightly.
51:11By about 20 grand.
51:12But that's at my cost as a builder.
51:14Right.
51:15Just shy of a million bucks for this.
51:17That's a pretty good price for such a quality build here.
51:21But what kind of premium in that amount did you pay for the passive house?
51:27It's around, I would say, $40,000 to $55,000.
51:29So that 5% value on that.
51:32Mm-hmm.
51:33So it's a very small amount of money to get a huge amount of gain.
51:36Yeah.
51:36I mean, the benefits in the long-term running of the home, I get.
51:39Yeah.
51:40Any other benefits that come from the passive house decision?
51:42Yeah.
51:43We have the ability to access a green loan.
51:45So we will be able to get about 40 basis points lower on our interest rate for the first
51:49five years, which on this project, on the million dollars equates to about $25,000.
51:53That's not a small amount of money.
51:54Yeah.
51:55And if they decide to extend that for the duration of a 30-year loan, there's $100,000 in savings.
51:59Mm.
52:00That's...
52:00And no-one's talking about that.
52:02So that's a pretty healthy recognition of the benefits of going for passive house,
52:07but from a financial perspective as well.
52:08Yeah, there's more...
52:08Yeah, the financial perspective is well documented.
52:10Time-wise, you said you'd be in in 12 months.
52:15Yeah.
52:15And had a baby along the way.
52:1714 months.
52:18Yeah.
52:18You did have a beautiful baby along the way.
52:20So, all right, I'm going to forgive you those two months.
52:23I think that's very fair.
52:24Just, when you think ahead to the years you're going to spend here in this home,
52:27what's the thing that makes you feel like this was all worth it in the end?
52:31I'd say that all the hard work we've done to get here is something that makes it worthwhile.
52:36Oh.
52:36Usually our build house is for other people, but this one's for us.
52:39Yeah.
52:39And that's pretty cool.
52:41That is very cool.
52:42Oh!
52:44Yeah.
52:44Yeah.
52:45Yeah.
52:49At last, the work and the wait are over.
52:54Matt and Nicole can take a deep breath to stop and celebrate the moment in their own private sanctuary.
53:03I like the contrast of the colours.
53:05Nicole gave me a bit of free range on this one.
53:07Yeah.
53:08How cool is that?
53:10This beautiful family home is a gift.
53:13Woo!
53:16For now, and for the future.
53:21I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for all your support.
53:25We're so excited to finally be in our house and to have you all here.
53:30So, here's to the house.
53:31Cheers!
53:32Cheers!
53:38I'm already imagining Christmas Day at that table over there, don't you reckon?
53:42Oh!
53:42Fantastic Christmas, but even greater time is moving forward.
53:45Excellent.
53:45Cheers to that.
53:46Cheers.
53:46It's all about family.
54:00You know, in the end, I'm not sure it really matters whether or not this is Australia's
54:04healthiest home, because it's experimental, ambitious and highly instructive.
54:10Matt and Nicole have tried and tested new materials and technologies and shown not only
54:16that they work, but that they look great too.
54:19Best of all, in the end, they've built a safe, sustainable and healthy home that is a great
54:25conversation starter.
54:26Here's hoping more and more people are up for the chat.
54:46How was the show after a form?
54:50Well, in the end of the credits are published in 2018.
55:00It's really exciting!
55:00One thing.
55:00You
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