Sexy Black Cladding

The builders from Vic Restorations in Castlemaine have been cracking along at a furious pace after the Easter break. Although they specialise in renovating the period homes that make up the majority of the town, they are also experienced builders of modern houses. We travelled up this weekend to see the first sections of the black cladding in place. The product is a steel sheeting called Colourbond and is in their darkest shade called Monument.

Now some people have wondered about the wisdom of using black, especially considering the extreme heat in summer. Luckily, the angle of the sun will mean that the sides of the building will have limited direct sun during the hottest part of the day. It is more important to have a lighter coloured roof, so we have opted for shale grey. A couple of people have thought it will be too dark and depressing. We simply do not agree.

Think about it. Almost every woman will tell you that one's wardrobe staple is the little black dress. Think of how that dress makes you feel; sophisticated, simply stylish, well-dressed and sexy. This is how we feel about the cladding of the house. It will be sleek and stylish and it will nestle into the landscape calmly without making too grand a statement. (Jamie has his doubts about this paragraph because he does not want give the impression that he cross-dresses. For the record, it's a no!)

It is broken up by the Australian white cypress grid work. In some ways, this is reminiscent of Japanese furniture with the contrast of heavier and lighter elements. At the moment, the grid work is a natural timber shade, but we will leave this untreated so it will soften and silver over time. It will blend with the trunks of the eucalypt trees and complement the cladding.

The view from the south shows that the house is becoming less conspicuous, even though it is still quite obviously there. It is important to us to blend with the environment.
I wondered if the kangaroos may have avoided the property because of the building. I was pleased to find plenty of fresh scats on the ground yesterday, so it seems that they are still very much at home.

Another notable development is the installation of the three skylights. They are crucial to vent hot air from the laundry and bathrooms as there are only south facing windows in these rooms. They are double glazed to avoid excessive transfer of the outside temperature. These particular models are supposed to be a smart design that close themselves if it starts to rain. Hmmm, I am not sure we will trust this until we have seen it work!

                    

Windows are the soul?

I was going to start with some long-remembered quote about windows, then I couldn't think of one. I wasn't going to look up some naff quote from a book or poem that I've never read, so I suppose you're stuck with the cliche about eyes being the windows to the soul.

I don't know what it is about windows, but they really seem to give a building a sense of its identity. Maybe it is about enclosing a space, or maybe it is just they they are the first finished aspect of the building. Maybe it is the different texture of glass from the other materials that makes them stand out powerfully and make a statement. All I know is that the windows for our house have been installed and they are simply fabulous.

They have a black aluminium finish to the frames on the outside and will perfectly match the cladding when it is installed. They are sleek and gorgeous and highly functional. It was important to us that they opened fully to allow for good airflow. We do not like those hopper, top hinged windows that only open a crack. We have opted for double-glazing as it minimises the transfer of heat regardless of the weather. It is the best way to maintain the R values in the house, given that windows create a weakness in the overall insulative properties of a building.

We will need to shade the windows to the north in summer because the double glazing will not stop the direct sunlight from heating the house. It will provide protection from hot winds. In winter, the sun will gently warm the concrete slab and release the heat through the evening. The double glazing will prevent heat loss to the outside.

We will need to back this up with some interior blinds to increase the insulation. I am not really a fan of soft furnishings; I always think of them as dust catchers. In our current house, the windows and doors look out onto an enclosed courtyard, so we have no need for blinds and curtains. Unfortunately, the more open layout and location of the new house means that we need to avoid inflicting our every move on the neighbours!

When Jamie was taking a few photos in the late afternoon, I was pottering around, looking at the young fruit trees and listening to the evening birds calling. Looking up at the house, with the trees gum trees bathed in the last rays of the autumn sunset, I felt that I belonged here for the first time. I don't know if it was the windows being in place or the sense of the house being a solid shape, but I could finally imagine myself living here. This photo will always remind me of that moment.