Grand Homes 11 Countess Close | Page 8

PROPERTY 80 PAETAWA ROAD, PEKA PEKA LOCATION This sea side property with an unobstructed sea view to Kapiti Island has an area of 1990 square meters and a beach frontage of 34 meters. It has a 10 meter wide ,51 meter long strip of land giving beach access. This 51 meter wide strip of land along the beach frontage cannot be built upon and is considered beach reserve. DESIGN The design of this house makes maximum use of the solar gain as well as the seaview and privacy. SOLAR GAIN All bedrooms, bathrooms and laundry, also kitchen and living room areas have windows facing the midday sun. The lower level sun rays in the winter months penetrates the rooms and creates maximum solar gain. The eaves above the windows prevent overheating over the summer months with sun rays at a steeper angle. Single glazing on the north facing windows maximise the solar gain. Single glazing of north facing windows is acceptable by increasing the insulation value of the other exterior walls. The few windows facing south are double glazed. VIEW The living room, dining and kitchen area, entry pool area, also main bedroom and bathroom have windows facing the west giving a sea view towards Kapiti Island. PRIVACY Complete privacy on the west side of the house, privacy on the East Side (entry area is maximised by screen and trees planted on the boundary) CONSTRUCTION All exterior and some interior walls, roofs, also floors are constructed in reinforced concrete. The building cost for this type of construction is considerably higher than the standard timber framed home, but maintenance costs are minimum. Exterior walls and some internal returns are constructed with 250 wide Polystyrene blocks with a 150 reinforced concrete infill. Exterior surfaces have galvanised mesh reinforced cement/sand plaster finish. All interior surface with the exception of the few timber framed walls which have gibraltar board finish have also cement/sand plaster finish. The roof areas are covered with a fibreglass reinforced waterproof membrane. INSULATION Using Polystyrene blocks on the living room and bedroom wing give 100 mm of thick insulation. The concrete roof over these areas have an insulation of 60 mm of thick polystyrene. The walls of the lower games room have a 40 mm polystyrene insulation. The roof over the domed pool area also has a 40 mm polystyrene insulation with a cement/sand plaster finish. HEATING The living room wing has two heat pumps but provision has been made for possible installation of gas fire heating. ENGINEERING Spencer Holmes Limited in Wellington undertook the structural calculations and supervision of construction.