THE HOME:
This small weatherboard cottage in Maryborough is home to Rosemarie, where she lives with her husband and their “very spoilt” pooch! The home is oriented on the block of land so that the front of the home faces south, which makes the rooms at the front of the home naturally cooler in the summer time.
The back of the home contains the kitchen, laundry and living areas. The kitchen is north east facing and has a large window to the east, which lets in the lovely, bright morning light in winter. However, it also means that the home is already starting to heat up from early in the morning in summertime, making it difficult to keep cool throughout the day.
THE CHALLENGES:
The north western side of the home is the lounge room and office, which becomes very hot in summer. There has been an external awning blind in place for years, but due to the difficulty in operating it, it had not been used until this year. Someone kindly came to assist Rosemarie to lower the external awning blind in summer, which was excellent. However, Rosemarie had since been unable to raise it during winter, meaning she was missing out on the lovely warming winter sun.
During heatwaves, Rosemarie is fortunate to have her bedroom facing south. The open window allows a cool breeze to flow through, so there are no problems sleeping during the hot weather. The back of the house is north facing and this is where the problem is during those long hot days.
“… The area that worries me is the heat that comes in
off the back verandah. The heat just knocks you.”
The northern verandah catches all the heat and concentrates it into back of the home which, unfortunately, is where Rosemarie spends most of her day. Because of the positioning of the windows (kitchen to the east and lounge room to the west) and lack of manageable shading makes daily living in the home quite uncomfortable. Rosemarie closes the central door facing the kitchen and laundry to try to keep the heat at bay and there is an air conditioner in the lounge room window.
THE SOLUTIONS:
Stopping the sun from hitting the glass makes an enormous difference to the comfort of Rosemarie’s home, so installing external blinds to the pergola and kitchen window (that can be easily managed by Rosemarie) was the top priority. Thorough draught proofing of the kitchen door and the front door was also important as these poorly fitted, rattling doors showed gaps around all the edges. The existing draught proofing had come off because the floor was not level, rising where the door opens.
ecoMaster’s range of draught proofing products ensured that the correct products were chosen and installed to last, ensuring Rosemarie and her family enjoy a much more comfortable home all year round.
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