Smart homes of the earth
News and Events

 

 


How Can I Get Started?
“It’s so hard to know where to start!”

One of the most frequent questions we get is “where do I start?”

 

If you want a new home here are some hints which may help -

Work out what you want – number of rooms, size of rooms, write your wishlist

 

Get the land and finances Work out how much you can spend, put together a budget including site costs (water tank, services, appliances etc)

 

Put together a rough timeline

 

Check out our designs online or ask us to see our designs

 

See our nearly finished showroom to touch and feel the walls!

 

Check out with Council what they want in a Building/Development Application

 

Then we’ll give you a quote so you know exactly where you stand

 

Viva Living Homes

Ph: 0450 480 460 | Facebook: Viva Eco Homes | Eco House Blog | www.vivahomes.com.au |


 

Strawbale wall raising and rendering workshop @ Murrumbateman
Easter Weekend 2010

We have finalised details for a 4 day wall raising working bee in Murrumbateman, NSW, approximately 20 kilometres south-east of Yass (NSW) or 40 kilometres north-west of Canberra ACT.

 

It will be run in conjunction with Frank Thomas of strawtech.com.au.

 

Join us from Easter Friday 2nd - 5th (Easter Monday) April 2010. Times: 08:00am to 05:00pm.

 

Fanny and Alec have chosen the Viva “Stepping Stone” design, it’s a 2 bedroom strawbale and poured earth home. It’s approx 140 square metres, and is one of our pre-designed plans with fixed price and fixed time-frame. Main features of their home includes: passive solar design, waffle pod slab, internal earth rendered cob walls, solar hot water system, tank & bore water, compost toilet and 5 star energy rating devices. Internal sides of strawbale walls will be rendered with clay while externally strawbale walls will be rendered with lime. Foundation/floor, frame, roof & bottom plate system will be installed prior to the working bee, ready to get into stacking of bales.

 

The working bee: is free of charge for participants, morning & afternoon tea and light lunches will be provided. In exchange for your labour you will be able to gain hands-on experience raising strawbale walls, making custom sized bales, installing top plate and pre-compressing and stitching straw walls. Some basic skills in mixing and applying first coat of clay render can possibly be learned. Camping with basic toilet & shower facilities on site is possible, BYO tent, bedding, torch, tarps, chairs etc. and BYO breakfasts & dinners.

 

What to bring for work: Please bring closed (work) shoes, gloves, long sleeve shirts, long trousers, some warm clothes for chilly mornings & evenings, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent and a water bottle. Please register with the owners of the project. Fanny & Alec preferably via email fannythornton@yahoo.com or ph: 0466 405 736 (Fanny). They will advise of directions to site, advise of local accommodation options and any other necessary details at that stage. Places are limited so book in early. Places will go to those who can go for the 4 days. We look forward to see you in Murrumbateman for this a great Easter weekend!

A Mortgage Broker we Trust!
We use them ourselves

So we know they’re good, get the best deals and know what they’re on about.

 

We have found the best thing is that they help us understand our money and finances rather than just try to sell us something. They educate us as well as find the best mortgage deal around and do all the paperwork for us.

You can speak with Alex at Wealth Concerns on 02 4621 4892. They have a mobile service and travel all over NSW.

New Building Code of Aust. (BCA) changes re Strawbale...
What it means for straw houses

There have been big changes to the BCA regarding building of homes since the Victorian fires. Normally it takes over 10 years to get changes to the BCA. However due to the ferocity and loss of life, the Government changed it quickly. They are in effect in Victoria already. How does strawbale homes measure up? The short answer is that they aren’t included in the BCA and would have to get individually certified by engineers (which is what currently happens). If you lobby the CSIRO and Ausbale to have them work together to get the fire rating specifications we could all benefit so that strawbale walls have a CSIRO approved standard. Currently they will not release them.

 

Ph: 0450 480 460 | Facebook: Viva Eco Homes |
Eco House Blog | www.vivahomes.com.au |
More videos to come on earth & strawbale building

 

 


 

Photos from the
Mudgee Small Farm Field Days 2009















Sam has been on TV, radio and in newspapers and magazines all around Australia. There has been a huge number of people opting for a sustainable home compared to a standard home which everyone has. It's so easy to live in a natural home these days, it's affordable and the finish qualitiy is there.


This is what Lynne at the Age, Melbourne had to say about us "It's great to see what your company does. Who would have thought you could build such beautiful homes. It looks amazing!"

Green Loans

Green Loans are interest free loans of up to $10,000 and are interest free for up to 4 years to help people make practical improvements to their home to save energy and water. The program offers a free home sustainability assessment and report. The report recommends specific changes that can help save money, energy and water. If you want to make any of the changes recommended in the report, you can apply for a Green Loan.

 

To be eligible:

  • You need to be at least 18 years old and either an Australian citizen or a permanent resident
  • Your taxable income needs to be under $250,000 a year
  • You must be living in the home. You can either be the owner of the home, the trustee of the home or one of the tenants listed on the rental agreement if you’re renting
  • You won’t be eligible if you live in a home owned by a government a corporate organization or a company
  • The home cannot be a new home and you may need to provide evidence that the home has been occupied for more than 12 months
  • You’ll need to give the government permission to access your water and energy records directly from your energy and water suppliers. This is so the government can calculate the reductions made by Australian households who participated in the program.

 

Loan criteria include:

  • Before you can apply for a Green Loan, you need to have a home sustainability assessment
  • Green Loans can only be used to make changes recommended in your sustainability assessment report
  • Loans can be for amounts up to $10,000 and are interest free for up to 4 years
  • You will have to apply for your green loan within 6 months of your home sustainability assessment
  • Applications for Green Loans will need to be made with one of the participating financial institutions
  • If you are eligible for a rebate as well as a Green Loan, you can apply for both

This year were at the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days again.

People travelled from all over Australia to see strawbale building and how it's done. The amount of interest from farmers to families was noticed.
Last year was a huge success with people travelling interstate to come and see how it's done. If you want to get dirty.... try your hand at rendering!



AREC are running a strawbale workshop from Monday 30th November to Friday 4th December 2009. Get in quick as places are nearly booked out.

Contact AREC for more information >





 
 


For a Christmas pressie, a lot of people want information so we’ve attached these articles for you:
• Just what makes a sustainable home?
 
• The most important things people have told us they want for their sustainable home. What do you want? Have your say
 
• Essential tips for building your own eco home + conventional vs an eco home and more...
We thought we’d send you a unique Christmas Card and present...
The Viva Christmas Card...humiliating ourselves for the environment!

 We thought embarrassing ourselves digitally was a better way to save on paper resources and reduce carbon emissions! Have a safe and wonderful Christmas from all of us. Check out your Christmas Card video clip of us dressed up click here>>

You can tell us just how bad we were... on facebook: Viva Living Homes
 
We've sent you some information if you're thinking of building your own eco home as a Christmas pressie!

 Just what makes a sustainable home?
Sam Vivers believes...
  “A sustainable home is made from natural materials (straw, earth, timber, stone) as a basic requirement, then designed solar passively and finished with energy efficient fittings - in that order. Many people believe the last point is what makes a sustainable home. That’s just one part of the mix. Do what you can, but if you’re building from the beginning, include the first points to really make a difference.” For more tips go to: 20 tips on what makes a sustainable house>

 What do you want from a sustainable home?
This is what our clients have said to us:

1. Fixed price contracts for financing and budgeting, so there’s no surprises
 
2. Set timeframes so they can plan their life and get on with it
 
3. Their house looks and feels great and they know it’s built with natural materials
 
4. A guarantee of workmanship to make sure the skills & products used will last
 
5. Licensed builder, for a set price, product & service (financing is also easier)
 
6. It works like a solar passive house ought to (reduced energy usage and costs)

Is this true? Have your say in 50 words, post on our wall in Facebook: Viva Living Homes (or email us) the top features you want us to provide.
 
For more on building your own eco home
we've written some tips for you...

20 tips on what makes a sustainable house>

Conventional versus a Viva Home>

To buy or design your own sustainable house>

5 steps to building your own environmental home>

Frequently asked questions about strawbale building>

Hopefully the above information gives you at least some useful hints to making your dream sustainable home a reality. Merry Christmas!
Viva's Sustainable Homes
"The reason we created these homes was so people can live their life and be green... and not have to give up their lifestyle" Sam Vivers

Sam was quite clear that one of the main factors was to design and build sustainable homes which would appeal to more people.

They’re for those who like contemporary Australian architecture – “...they’re not a ‘hippy’ house!”

 “You don’t have to be a “greenie” to build an eco home now. Most of our clients are professional people who are conscious about the environment and see the logic in building a sustainable home. They choose to reduce their carbon footprint and do the simple steps they can.

"Being green doesn’t mean a
loss in lifestyle.”

We wanted to create an affordable, architecturally designed home which is natural & sustainable.

Viva Living Homes are based in the lower Blue Mountains. They have built homes in the Blue Mountains, Mudgee, Hunter Valley regions and are now branching out to other parts of Australia including the north coast of Sydney.

Sustainable homes of the earth where we design and build. Fixed price contracts with set timeframes. Choose from one of our architecturally designed eco/sustainable homes.

www.vivahomes.com.au | Facebook: Viva Living Homes 
Ph: 0450 480 460


  
  
  

Earth | Straw | Timber |