Category: Fixed Abode

Passive House is a design concept which is applied to house construction in order to dramatically reduce the amount of energy buildings need to keep them comfortable to live in. The aim is to reduce energy consumption by up to 90%. The original idea of Passive House was to use natural means such as orienting […]

Insulation is a subject we are going to hear more about in the future as the world tries to reduce the amount of energy we are using. It is estimated that air conditioning currently uses around 10% of the worlds electricity consumption and the number of air conditioners in the world is expected to triple […]

There are many ways you can save a lot of money on a building project. But perhaps one of the most cost effective is to recycle an existing building. We are talking about recycling rather than renovation here.   What do we mean by Recycling? To recycle a building we strip out everything including the […]

DRAINS In our homes we have different types of drains which serve different purposes: *   “Black water” drains carry sewage from our toilets. This must go to either to a septic tank for processing or to a sewer (if you are on the government sewerage system). *   “Grey water” drains carry washing water from our […]

Mold and Mildew are common problems and found in houses across the world, they cause health hazards and damage to clothes, buildings, paper and wood. Let us look at what causes mildew and mould (or mold), what is the difference between them and what are the health hazards that they pose? What steps can we […]

Balinese traditional culture is one of the most amazing cultures in the world and probably the most visible aspect of Bali’s cultural treasure trove is its architecture. The elders of Bali are constantly considering how their culture can be preserved and protected and, to this end, have built a series of rules into legislation. Before […]

At around 1:30 in the morning on Thursday June 24th 2021, in the small town of Surfside near Miami in Florida, USA, a large section of a 12 storey beachside residential building collapsed. Over 150 people are missing. The building was completed in 1981 and had not been reconditioned since. The cause of the collapse […]

Living in Indonesia one of the important investments we will make is in our air conditioners. We expect them to run continuously for many years with very little maintenance and to not let us down particularly on those occasional very hot days. So what do we buy? There are so many to choose from. A […]

The wet season is ending and the weather is starting to warm up, now is a good time to think about your air conditioning. Are your air conditioners working well enough? Let us look at common problems with selecting and maintaining air conditioners.   How big an air conditioner do you need? It is important […]

I went to see a house the other day. Oh sure it was alright, you could move in tomorrow, if you don’t mind the nails some vandal had banged in the walls for pictures long ago discarded, or perhaps the doors that wouldn’t close. Then of course there was the running toilet, the ten years […]