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Newsletter July 2010This month (July 2010):
How to Halve Your Heating BillI hear it every day... high ceilings, must be cold or very hard to heat. That's simply not true. When I went to school heat rose to the ceiling and the attic was always very warm - don't ask what we did up there coz I can't remember. If you pump heat into a room, regardless of ceiling height the temperature up there could be as warm as 35 deg c, and at the floor, where your toes are, maybe just 10 deg c. This is a problem that most NZ homes have and either don't know or don't know what to do about it. There are just 2 ways to have the air temperature at the floor at say a cozy 25 deg c: 1. Turn your heating unit, whatever that may be, way up to 'high'. This would mean that the temperature at the ceiling could even reach 40 deg c and your energy bill will be just as high. 2. You could turn your heating unit down by half (or even lower), install a ceiling fan or 2 (have it sucking up not blowing down otherwise you'll feel the draft) and you'll use all of the heat you've generated. A nice looking ceiling fan will cost round $400 to supply and (retro) fit and it would only probably cost about 10 bucks to run if you had it going on full all year. Wal-laa - easy, why don't those with 10 degrees in science, and whatever, get it? Examples of 4 different locations and styles: 
Aluminium Exterior Windows And Doors V WoodenOver the past decade that we've been designing and building period replica New Zealand homes and buildings, and including in our show-homes, we've only ever installed aluminium external window and door joinery. Except for the show-homes the decision to use this material has been that of our customers. I'd agree that on first consideration, the thought of designing and building a house to look old using aluminium joinery would seem like not being in keeping with the desired look we are after. In fact I believe that most who read this article and have not seen our work would almost certainly be revolted by the thought of using aluminium joinery in this way. This is because we've all seen attempts to retro-fit aluminium joinery into original old period houses and I agree it looks absolutely dreadful. The reason for this is because it's done on the cheap and with no thought to or consideration of attention to detail. Aluminium joinery has come a long way in the last 40 years and in reality, combined with the effort we’ve put into detailing the finish internally and externally around the joinery unit itself, the end result is simply stunning and very sympathetic to our NZ period architecture. In fact most people, including architects and builders, struggle to tell the difference until they come up quite close or even touch them. Aside from looking the part what are the benefits? The aluminium joinery unit is easier to construct and gives a better quality double-glazed unit. The aluminium joinery unit is by far more airtight. Even though aluminium conducts temperature, because the aluminium joinery unit is far more airtight the building will be more energy efficient. But just because the joinery units are installed with double-glazing and you can't see condensation forming on the glass does not mean your house is not full of moisture. Having a relatively airtight house means, combined with an effective heating and ventilation system, you can have control over your internal environment, including the internal moisture content. The aluminium joinery unit is more cost effective to manufacture and more friendly on the environment and our carbon footprint. The fact is wooden windows and doors are made from wood. The aluminium joinery unit requires far less maintenance. When I refer to the window joinery for a period home or building they are generally manufactured in a style called 'double-hung' i.e. the windows have vertically sliding sashes. This means that the wooden vertically sliding window joinery must slide up and down in a wooden track. And so that the wooden window travels relatively smoothly in its wooden track it must be relatively loose fitting. A loose fitting window will not only rattle in the wind but will also be drafty (called 'good natural ventilation'). But also when the vertically sliding window moves up and down in its wooden track by the very nature of this movement over a short period of time the paint in the track and on the window will rub off. When the paint rubs of the moisture will penetrate in - when the moisture penetrates in the wooden joinery swells - and when the joinery swells the window jams and sticks. There are of course another couple of reasons why wooden joinery may be stuck closed. 1; if a window (or door) is closed shut before any painting from maintenance has dried and is hard. 2; the window (or door) is nailed shut because it no longer works properly from a general lack of maintenance. Moss Brothers are realists, not purists. Our goal is provide an end-result product that looks and feels the same an old period home while seamlessly incorporating finishings, fixtures, fittings and materials that are either low maintenance, desired by today's consumer or required but current Building Act requirements. We don't believe it's our job to talk you into or out of using any material unless we know it's not fit for its intended purpose. You'll see in some of our past project photos that some clients want internal access garaging for their cars - not to many people had cars 100 years ago (or under-floor heating, or microwave ovens, or dishwashers, or....). But we've still manage to sympathetically include them into the design. But it is our job to give you the reasons why (the benefit of our knowledge) we might use one material over another and to explain the benefits and advantages or disadvantages of the same. Are they a visually acceptable replacement and alternative for wooden joinery in a period replica home? You be the judge. 
Kind Regards Julian Moss
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