This is an email I received from Tom. Anyone with thoughts on this, please feel free to contact Tom directly or leave a comment here.

Hi,

My name is Tom Vanstone, and I am a timber framer in the uk, practising techniques hundreds of years old to make truly sustainable buildings that last for centuries.

My daughter was born in nz several years ago and we’re thinking of coming over this winter (for us, summer for you). I thought someone out there might like to learn a bit of this stuff, so I’m thinking of running a couple of courses out there, if there is a demand.

Pass the word around your timber scene if you like and get back to me. Theres a bit of what I do on my website www.devonoak.co.uk. Any info about who to contact would be much appreciated; I could do with partly financing our trip.

Cheers, Tom

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3895529a6160,00.html

Government departments and agencies will have to get timber and wood products sourced from legally harvested forests as part of a new policy announced yesterday.

Forestry Minister Jim Anderton announced the Labour-Progressive government’s policy on illegal logging and associated trade.

“We have a moral and environmental obligation to help address this serious global problem,” he said.

“But there are significant economic reasons as well.

“Illegally produced wood, for example, depresses world log prices by 19 per cent. It also helps fuel cheap and unsustainable processed wood products, like furniture.

“This hurts our own legal and sustainable producers,” Anderton said.

Policy objectives included:

Making illegal logging a focus of international discussion and action, including talking to Pacific neighbours and supporting regional co-operation on monitoring and tracking of timber and wood products to address illegal logging and developing bilateral arrangements to address illegal logging.

Encouraging stronger public and private sector awareness and action and developing ways of identifying legal products.

Making it mandatory for government departments and agencies to use legal timber and wood products and to ensure products were from sustainable, managed sources.

Supporting discussion on the potential for a multilateral agreement to stop illegal logging and do research on effects of illegal logging on New Zealand producers in international and domestic markets.

Anderton said over the next six months a strategy for international engagement would be developed based on the key policy objectives.

“Consumers can show their opposition to illegal logging by buying New Zealand-produced timber products, looking for certification on wood products that can confirm legality, or by asking retailers to prove that wood products are from legally harvested forests.

“If in doubt, buy New Zealand wood products,” Anderton said. –NZPA

URL: www.tuitrust.org.nz/index.php?PageID=15

‘HANDS-ON PERMACULTURE’ - deepening our land connection & designing for sustainable society

This is a highly practical, spiritually enriching course, where participants put directly into practice in-situ what they learn theoretically. Teaching style is interactive, reflective, dynamic and fun. Each day includes classroom tutoring, outdoor practical activities, community building and self-directed study. The course includes the standard international two week Permaculture Design Certificate curriculum, spread in an integrated way over the full duration, culminating in a main design project, applied on Tui land. The main teachers are Tui Community resdents and international permaculture tutors, Robina McCurdy and Huckleberry Leonard. [Read more]

I have received an email from someone alerting me to the fact that they couldn’t leave comments on the website. This has prompted me to redesign the layout and look of the site.

This is a work in progress and your comments and feedback would be much appreciated.

The Eco Timber website has been online for a little while now and has been receiving a fair bit of traffic.

I would really like this to develop into a useful resource and am very keen to gather people’s ideas and feedback on what they would like to see happen here.

For those who haven’t realised it, you can leave comments on any of the articles on this website by clicking the comments button at the bottom of each post.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,
Galen

Insulation helps smooth out extremes in temperature between inside and outside and can help in both the winter and the summer months keeping the indoor climate within a healthy and comfortable temperature range with a minimum of added heating or cooling assistance. It needs to be applied to the whole building envelope to be properly effective, but if you are retrofitting the ceiling is the most important as heat rises. (42% of heat is lost through the ceiling, 24% through walls, 12% through closed windows, 12% through ventilation and 10% through the floor.)

Criteria for selecting insulation material include a good insulation value or R value (the range is R1.6 to R2.4 depending on what part of the country you are in and where you are putting the insulation); ease of installation; fire resistance; insect and fungal resistance; not damaged by moisture; and not causing corrosion to other materials, particularly metals. A healthy and environmentally friendly insulation material includes the additional criteria of having no irritating particles, and no or low toxicity additives, and preferably from natural source materials.

Commercially available healthier insulation products

There are now many commercially available insulation materials that, although not necessarily totally natural, are a much healthier alternative to glass and mineral fibre insulation.

Wool has always been regarded as a good insulator for clothing, and has been developed into wool batts or loose fill. Keeping the loft of wool is important for the insulation value, and as wool tends to felt down the product needs to be bonded with resin or thermally bonded with polyester to keep its loft. Wool can absorb and release moisture without affecting its insulation properties. The addition of borax makes it fire retardant. Wool is healthier for the installer and the occupant, and better for the environment in its production and eventual decay.

Cellulose Insulation is generally made from recycled macerated paper, blended with glue and blown into the spaces between timber framing. One needs to be careful about what paper is being used, coloured printing inks can contain toluene and benzene. The glue used should be a water-based, PVA type, and the fire retardant should be borax. Glue is not needed for ceiling insulation, but it may need to be covered with a layer of building paper or timber boarding to prevent the paper and dust from blowing around.

Polyester Insulation is available in batt form, and provides a good alternative to those allergic to wool. It has been known to cause some allergies as a pillow stuffing, but this has been put down to the fact that the pillow cover fabric is not fine enough to prevent the smallest fibres from escaping. Although a synthetic product (therefore it takes longer to biodegrade), it is non-toxic and in fact gives off less fumes when burning than wool.

Pumice is a naturally occurring lightweight volcanic rock that is found in many parts of the world, but resources are limited. It is a sponge-like material, porous glass froth formed by expansion of gases when molten lava cools rapidly after a volcanic eruption. Due to its toughness and durability it has been used as a lightweight aggregate in concrete for over two thousand years. It is an inert material and therefore has no reaction with any of the ingredients of concrete and steel. It can also be used as raw material for under slab insulation, but it is difficult to compact.

Wood Fibre Cement Boards are composed of wood-wool impregnated with cement in slab form. They are light-weight, durable and strong. The fibres are mineralised, a procedure which retains the mechanical properties of the wood but stops the process of biological deterioration, rendering the fibres completely inert and increasing their fire resistance. They are then coated in Portland cement, bound together under pressure in order to create a stable, resistant, compact and long-lasting material. The slabs are normally used for wall and ceiling acoustic linings but they can also be used as an under concrete slab insulation.

Alternative Insulation Ideas

Several natural materials are eminently suitable as insulation materials but are either in the strictly experimental category – that is there is no product acceptable to New Zealand building standards – or there are overseas products not available in New Zealand. So to use them requires research and persistence to get them accepted by your local council. They include clay coated straw, perlite or vermiculite, cellulose board, wood fibre boards, coconut fibre board, flax slabs and hemp. Also a layer of bottles set in sand can be used as an under slab insulation.

For more information check out the following websites: www.planetaryrenewal.org; Construction Resources; Natural Building Technologies; www.buildgreen.ndo.co.uk; Woodfibre Floor Boards; www.wohngesund.at/daemmen/kokos

If you are interested in more information on Ecological Building Materials, the Building Biology and Ecology Institute has an Eco Products and Services List available for $20, which lists building products and related services available around the country.

For more information please contact:
Wellington Office – P.O. Box 1364, Wellington, ph (04) 801 8180.
Auckland Office – 1-697 New North Road, Mt Albert, ph (09) 479 3161.
Website www.ecoprojects.co.nz
Email bbe@ecoprojects.co.nz

The selection of the right paints and finishes for your house when you want it to be as healthy as possible is difficult, and must be made with care. Conventional paint is manufactured with technical and economic performance in mind, often at the expense of health and ecology. Natural paints are generally less robust than conventional ones, so you have to decide what performance do you require and how much are you prepared to maintain the level of finish. Choose your finish to suit the surface and your lifestyle.

The Building Biology and Ecology Institute has some basic guidelines with which you can assess the use of coatings and the products available as to their suitability for healthier and more sustainable building. They are:

1. Is it necessary to have a coating?
   Paint and surface treatments are primarily for protection of surfaces, but there are many materials that you can build your house from that do not need a protective coat. Make use of these, particularly on the outside where weathering means regular re-application of coatings. Inside the house, use coatings more for colour emphasis.
2. A surface treatment should not impede air and water permeability and the hygro-scopicity of a building material.
   The diffusion and moisture regulation properties of a building material are a vital part of maintaining a healthy indoor climate, your house should be able to breathe just as your clothes and skin does. Natural paints “breathe” readily, synthetic paints are more limited in that capacity.
3. A surface treatment should not create electrostatic charges.
   “Plastic” surfaces create electrostatic charges, which lead to a higher proportion of positive ions, which in turn affect the well-being of a building’s occupants. Natural paints do not create electro-static charges.
4. Use your sense of smell
   A paint or surface treatment should have a low or no odour, and smell pleasant. Remember that something that seems relatively unobtrusive on first sniff can be intolerable by the end of a day’s painting.
5. A coated surface should have a matt or low sheen finish
   A highly polished surface creates several problems: sound absorption is decreased and sound reflection increased; glare is produced; the possibility of skidding is increased; air and water permeability is decreased; and the hygro-scopicity of the material is decreased.
6. A surface treatment should either be durable or easily re-applied.
   Most people prefer low maintenance, but a simple re-application of a product such as an oil/wax finish without sanding and scraping gives an instant lift to a surface.
7. A paint or finish should preferably use naturally occurring and renewable ingredients.
   Natural ingredients are less harmful to people or the environment, but some of the healthier synthetic solvents make for a better product than natural solvents and are sometimes used in “natural” paints. This may be acceptable to many people, but make sure it is acceptable for you.
8. A paint or finish should not use solvents or binding agents that emit hazardous or unpleasant fumes.
   Most petrochemical solvents are hazardous, but natural solvents should also be treated with caution. It is best to use water-based paints, which have a much smaller percentage of solvent in them.
9. The process of manufacturing and using paints should not pollute the environment.
   Natural paint products use natural ingredients rather than creating them out of petrochemicals. They break down faster when washed out from brushes. All solvents contribute to air pollution, so use water-based paints where you can to reduce this problem.

There are several different natural paint systems available in New Zealand, if you wish to know more about these, as well as about other building materials, the Building Biology and Ecology Institute has an Eco Products and Services List, available for $20 email, $25 hardcopy.

Building Biology and Ecology Institute
PO Box 1364, Wellington,
(04) 801 8180, (0800) 223 272,
Website www.ecoprojects.co.nz
Email bbe@ecoprojects.co.nz

Bay Solar & Electrical Ltd. | PO Box 236, Takaka, Golden Bay

Global warming may be gathering pace, but forecasters predict a cold winter. So how do we warm ourselves without warming the planet?

It might not be enough in itself to halt climate change, but we can take some of the heat out of global warming through personal action. The clean, green solution is renewable technology. Here’s a bit of a guide.

Solar electric (PV)

Solar panels that produce electricity, or photovoltaics (PVs), are the first type of renewable technology that people tend to think of. PVs usually come in the form of ‘bolt-on’ panels . Ideally, they need to be orientated to the north, but can work in east or west facing positions. Over the course of its lifetime, PV’s installed on the roof can save the emission of upto 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Solar thermal

Solar thermal panels are used to generate domestic hot water. The simpler type consists of a large flat panel that absorbs heat from the sun, which is absorbed in turn by water flowing through the panel. The hot water is then stored in a hot water cylinder. The more efficient types are evacuated tube systems. Solar thermal power can reduce the average household’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 20 per cent.

Small scale wind

Small-scale wind turbines vary in size from the very small ones that you often see on boats to telegraph pole sized, free-standing units at the bottom of the garden. The type that looks set to become the most common is the domestic roof mounted bolt-on turbine. They can provide around one third of average household electricity.

Heat pumps

Heat pumps work essentially like a fridge in reverse, extracting ambient heat from the air, a body of water or the ground. The heat extracted from the environment is then channelled into homes, either via radiators or underfloor heating, and can be used for domestic hot water. For every unit of energy used to run the pump you get three to four units back as heat.

Bio-mass

Most typically for domestic usage, biomass means a wood-burning stove. Varying types use wood in the form of chips, logs or pellets. They are either stand-alone stoves to provide space heating or can have a back boiler connected to a central heating system or and hot water.

Energy efficiency

And don’t forget energy efficiency. Before installing any of the above technologies make sure you are first cutting down on wasted energy with simple measures such as fitting loft insulation, double glazing, draft excluders, low energy light bulbs and turning down heating thermostats. Simpler still, but surprisingly important: don’t leave electrical appliances on standby. I hope this has shed a little light on the subject and I am happy to discuss any needs or questions you may have.

Baysolar & Electrical Ltd
PO Box 236
Takaka
Golden Bay
New Zealand
Email: baysolar@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.baysolar.co.nz

Takaka, Golden Bay—November 30, 2005—If you ask discerning users what bothers them most about swimming pools and spas, they reply, “Whether they’re clean” and “The chlorine really gets me after a while.”

If you ask discerning pool and spa owners what bothers them most, they tell you about endless maintenance and how much it costs, and how much the chemicals worry them. “The storage, the mixing—chlorine’s so toxic—and the pool’s still not really clean.”

We’ve all had long, hot, summers with red pool eyes, and remember the kids with the green-tinged straw-like hair. Let’s face it, the traditional Kiwi pool is, at its best, blue and sparkly, but doesn’t taste or smell too good; at its worst it’s decidedly green and has a complement of resident wildlife.
Official New Zealand standards exist for swimming pools, but the latest fail to offer a comprehensive comparative study of alternatives to chlorine treatment, and don’t point out that non-chemical technologies can produce better results than conventional chlorine. Nor do New Zealand standards acknowledge chlorine’s limited ability to break down pathogens in the biofilm (or bio slime) that builds up in filtration piping.

Public pool operators in New Zealand are required to maintain levels of chlorine more than four times higher than EU regulations allow. Maximum upper levels were not given in the latest standards. With no upper restriction, NZ pools may reach or exceed levels of 10ppm, considered to be a state of super-chlorination.

More vitally, these standards also completely ignore the THMs (trihalomethanes) produced when chlorinated water bonds with organic matter. Colin Ingram, author of The Drinking Water Book, explains, “…. There is no question that chlorine creates toxicity when it bonds with some of the organic chemicals ever present in water. It forms THMs (trihalomethanes), which are known to be carcinogenic.”

Our children may be swimming in these conditions every time they use a pool.
In recent years some owners and users have made a shift to salt-based pools and ionisation, with varied results. Ionisation attacks bio slime very effectively, but some ionisers are more effective than others.

There is a real place for a genuine and uncomplicated alternative to chlorine—one that offers the best modern technology based upon price, performance, power consumption and ongoing costs, and one that considers users’ health and the wider environment.

EcoSmarte offers highly effective, trouble-free non-chlorinated technology for purifying pool water. EcoSmarte’s stand-alone chemical-free process combines solid-state technology to sanitise pool water, and using little energy. This state-of-the-art technology was originally developed by NASA for astronauts, and combines processes which deal with 1) biological control, 2) oxidation of organics and 3) removal of unwanted particles. These systems consist of a copper-ioniser, a titanium-based oxidizer, and proper filtration. Whereas most pools filters are undersized and overpowered, the EcoSmarte system is robust enough to work with standard sand-filters and improved glass-based filters.

Changing from a chlorine-based system to an EcoSmarte system is simple. Acid is added to the pool to lower its pH. An average-sized pool will also need 20 to 25kg of calcium chloride, which allows electrically charged copper and oxygen to be dispersed throughout the pool via a low amperage 12-volt control box. Once the calcium chloride has been added, the pool can be tested using a standard EcoSmarte test kit for pH and copper on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and only occasionally for calcium.

More remarkably, EcoSmarte technology is now used in not only the pool and the spa, but in houses, bore and town water supplies, cooling towers, and commercial and horticultural applications such as vineyards and golf course irrigation.

Brad Harwood Heising and his partner Jocelyn Kemp converted to an EcoSmarte system and have enjoyed a chlorine-free, trouble-free pool for the past six months. “We were so impressed with our new EcoSmarte technology that I became the NZ master distributor for EcoSmarte products in New Zealand,” said Brad. “I haven’t checked my pool more than three times during the past three months this winter because it has remained crystal clear which indicates that the water is in balance.”
Brad now operates as Water Care Naturally, a company dedicated to helping people find solutions to protect the quality of their water. If you are ready to consider chlorine alternatives, convert your pool or spa, or find out more, then contact Brad at info@watercarenaturally.co.nz or on (03) 525 8055 or visit the Water Care Naturally site at www.watercarenaturally.co.nz and make your move toward cleaner, kinder water.

Contact

Brad Heising, Water Care Naturally
Phone (03) 525 8055 • Mobile 021 051 3860
Email info@watercarenaturally.co.nz • Website www.watercarenaturally.co.nz

Source: Waikato Times | 16 January 2006

Councils charging hundreds of dollars for building consents for solar water heating are acting against the industry, says a trade boss.

Slow take-up of the energy-saving systems – which can slash electricity bills by 30 per cent using the sun’s free energy – is blamed on hefty costs to consumers of between $3000 to $7500.

About $500 of this can be fees to local authorities.

Councils are obliged under the Building Act to require building consents but set their own fees.

At the top end Thames-Coromandel District Council charges upwards of $490 – topping the $300 subsidy offered by the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority toward installation.

This is made up of a minimum of $350 for council administrators to check plans, $50 for a code of compliance certificate and $90 for each building inspection.

Solar Industries Association executive officer Brian Cox said fee levels were a “great concern” and blamed the problem partially on councils being fearful of making mistakes in the wake of the leaky building crisis.

The association was giving councils and the Building Officers Institute information about different solar water systems in a bid to cut processing time and costs.

He said less complicated systems could be treated as minor plumbing alterations, which did not require building consents.

“Pump circulated” systems – which did not require the installation of new water storage cylinders in the roof –- should be able to be checked off by accredited suppliers instead of requiring a building inspection.

Thames-Coromandel council spokesman Peter Hazael said fees were set high enough to cover the cost of staff travelling across a large area. The district had high growth and fees helped pay for extra staff to administer new developments.

There was no policy to reduce charges to encourage solar water heating, and the council ran a “user pays” system that left individuals bearing the cost of how they heated their homes.

Since 2001 annual sales of solar water units have increased from about 850 a year to 2700 –- but are far behind the association’s target of 10,000 units a year.

Energy officials are investigating a Green Party proposal to more than double this target to 125,000 units over five years by bulk-buying to reduce the cost to consumers.

Government energy efficiency spokeswoman Jeanette Fitzsimons said she received more letters on solar water heating than any other issue – with people wanting to install it but finding the price too high.

Savings would keep going up as electricity companies increased power prices, she said.