Learning how to be resilient to climate change and how to build that resilience into our homes is a passion for Integrity New Homes. We know our clients are aware of climate change, and the homes we provide them need to be both constructed for that reality and also contribute to the task of saving the planet.
Flooding is one of the major hazards to humanity and is closely linked to the extreme weather events of climate change. Catastrophic weather events, such as floods and bushfires, or storms and heatwaves, and storm surges, can unleash a catastrophic result and send costs into the stratosphere. Catastrophic weather, such as bushfires, floods and heatwaves, can also threaten to undermine ecosystems. Our safe places to live and work are threatened, and our homes need to become more resilient to climate change. Flood preparedness is no longer a subject for low-lying farming communities but is the new normal for all homeowners.
Builders' adaptation for robust construction methods must start earlier, and home-owners need to build a resilient and sustainable home now to cope with the climate crises of the future. This includes construction which has more capacity to deal with a higher-than-normal intensity of rainfall.
This commitment to resilient housing is why you will never see a box gutter designed into an Integrity New Homes standard design as they are prone to capacity constraints during extreme weather and have been known to consistently contribute to flooding and water damage in the home.
The way builders can build flood resilience into new homes is a proper understanding of the design and construction of eaves, eave gutters, box gutters, downpipes and onsite stormwater detention systems. These designs are made with reference to the Australian National Plumbing Code AS3500.3. Integrity New Homes franchisees have access to fit for purpose calculators and training for the design and construction of these building elements to comply with the recently updated code.
Green building is a highly emotive requirement of many of our clients and that is why many of our Integrity New Homes franchisees have taken up the opportunity to achieve Greensmart endorsement from the Housing Industry Association. This training ensures home builders have the skills to deliver housing that is both robust enough to withstand the impact of climate change but also mindful to reduce future harmful effects on our environment.
Many building materials are harmful to the environment. That is why the selection of environmentally friendly building materials is at the front of mind when building. The carbon dioxide emissions from the building are dangerous, both to the environment and in the building itself. As new homes require a concentration of embodied carbon, the methane released from its exposure to the climate impacts the transportation of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
From that perspective, poorly planned buildings will cause problems for our planet as continuing to emit greenhouse gas emissions will, in turn, exacerbate climate change. Limited resources mean that our existing building materials need to be re-engineered and constructed to meet the climate resilience requirements. We are here to ensure that any resilient housing upgrade you make is capable of delivering significant savings in carbon emissions.
More recent storms and floods can also encourage mould growth in buildings. Proper eave and roof ventilation systems are critical in promoting airflow through the roof and wall cavities which in turn reduces the harmful effects of rampant mould growth in these unseen places and thereby improves the long-term health of the occupants.
So if building a new home that is both resilient to the changing climate and favourable to the environment is something you are passionate about you have found the right builder at Integrity New Homes.
