House for a Kayaker

Midland Townhouses
Midland Townhouses
Mahogany Inn; front View
Mahogany Inn; front View
Forrest St, Peppy Grove; Corner detail
Forrest St, Peppy Grove; Corner detail
Forrest St; Rebuilt Side verandah
Forrest St; Rebuilt Side verandah

Residential Additions

It was built in 1946 as a two-bedroom + sleep-out bungalow, with rear and side verandahs, and a separate wash-house. The house now has; metal roof; reflecting heat stack-effect ventilation for coolin
50 Harper St; Photo; Clodagh Irwin
50 Harper St, Woodbridge c1946, built  as a two-bedroom + sleep-out bungalow, with rear & side verandahs,  plus wash-house, now has; 
  • stack-effect ventilation for cooling, via large banks of louvre windows upstairs; assisting cross-ventilation below
  • Low E glass to all new windows, sub-floor insulation, wall insulation, ceiling insulation, roof insulation
  • Rainwater storage, into a 9,000L tank
  • vegies and herbs, we use a compost bin; low maintenance, native-species & fruits; Permaculture garden
  • Solar hot water, with instant gas back-up
  • 3.5KW PV cells on the roof
The new layout gives us two offices, three bedrooms plus a guestroom in the old wash-house, all in a modest footprint.
In terms of sustainability, we have retained and restored the timber-framed structure and most of the original claddings and linings, while exploiting passive solar principles. 
The house has been featured in a  Solar Open Day,  and was nominated for the Institute Architecture Awards in 2007

Parkerville House extensions allowed an already large house to have an open plan Great Room with a new gable facing to the South overlooking the valley. The actual floor area was barely increased but the amenity added was considerable. Other alterations were mainly to the wet areas.