Sustainable Homes Melbourne

Name: Sustainable Homes Melbourne
Address: 84 Moor Street, Fitzroy, VIC, 3065, AU
Telephone: +611800683697

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Transforming rundown old homes into beautiful, comfortable sustainable homes we can all be truly pro

03/11/2026

Not everything in a heritage home comes with a manual.

There is bluestone protruding from the wall here in two spots. My best read is that it was a bearing point for an under purlin that would have run across beneath these rafters, the same way the existing brace does. But we are working it out as we go, because that is what old buildings ask of you.

Every heritage home has moments like this. Details that do not show up on any drawing because nobody drew them. You have to look at what is there, understand how it was built, and make a call.

That is part of what makes this work worth doing.

01/11/2026

The courtyard is not an afterthought. It is the centrepiece.

Herringbone brick underfoot, vertical timber cladding wrapping around three sides, a bistro table that actually gets used. This is a private outdoor room sitting between the old part of the home and the new extension. Sheltered, planted, and completely hidden from the street. You would not know it was there until you were standing in it.

From inside, the glass brings the whole thing in. Sitting at the kitchen bench looking out through full height glazing into a green, timber-lined courtyard changes the experience of being in that room entirely. It is not just a view. It becomes part of the space.

From outside, the timber makes the extension feel like it has always been there. The materiality is warm, the detailing is considered, and the herringbone brick ties the ground plane back to the character of the original home.

This is what a rear extension can be when the brief is about how the home feels to live in, not just how many square metres are added to it. The courtyard did not cost extra space. It created space that did not exist before.

29/10/2026

Two terms you will see in every building contract. Most people do not know what they mean.
A provisional sum covers labour and material together. A concrete slab is a good example. The concreter’s time and the concrete itself, priced as one item.

A prime cost item is different. It is an allowance for something not yet selected or that may change during the build. Tiles are a common one. We might put an allocation of $60 per square metre. When the time comes, you choose your tile. If it comes in at $65, you pay the difference. If it comes back at $55, you are credited the difference.

In both cases, the builder must provide invoices. You are only ever paying the true cost of what goes into your project. Nothing more.

Episode out now wherever you get your podcasts.

This is House of Meaning.

27/10/2026

This is the fourth coat of paint. They are still patching.

When it is done it will look like two pack. Flawless, seamless, the kind of finish that makes people think the walls were always perfect. What they will not see is this part. The sanding, the patching, the refining between every coat until there is nothing left to fix.

That is what the standard actually looks like before it becomes invisible.

25/10/2026

Fairfield. A project where the details do the talking.

Double ovens built flush into full height cabinetry. A splashback that commits to its pattern. Timber benchtop, stainless sink, and greenery that earns its place in the room. And a pantry that is actually designed for the way people use a kitchen. Proper shelving, a dark runner down the centre, nothing wasted.

This is what happens when interior design is part of the process from the start and not bolted on at the end.

22/10/2026

The number one thing I tell people at the start: do not rush the design.

If we get it right on paper early, the construction runs smoother. There are fewer surprises on site, fewer decisions being made under pressure, and the process from start to finish is cleaner. That is where the real work happens, and it pays off.

So here is what to realistically expect. The design process alone can take anywhere from nine to eighteen months depending on complexity. Construction is typically up to twelve months for a new home. A renovation or extension often comes in around nine months, though more complex ones stretch to twelve or beyond. At the higher end, a near passive house build can push past twelve months on site.

The honest answer is this: from the moment you first sit down with a design and build company, to the moment you walk through the door of your finished home, allow two years. Not one.

Plan around that timeline and the whole experience becomes a lot less stressful.

This is House of Meaning. Episode out now wherever you get your podcasts.

20/10/2026

The OSB plywood going up on every wall is there for one reason: the wall wrap needs something solid to bond to. Without it the adhesive backed wrap has nothing to grip. Simple fix, done early.

The roof structure on this project is deliberately minimal. Just purlins and a couple of UC beams. That is intentional. We are using Bondor Metecno insulated panels for the roof, which are essentially two sheets of steel roofing with XPS insulation sandwiched in between. Good R-value, clean installation, and because there are no rafters or ceiling joists, there is nothing for heat to bridge through.

That is the key point. Every rafter in a traditional roof structure is a thermal bridge. A path for heat to bypass the insulation and transfer straight through. Remove the rafters, remove the bridges.

Combined with the insulated slab below, this building will have one continuous unbroken layer of insulation from the floor to the roof. No gaps. No weak points. No compromises.

The envelope is the most important part of any build. This is how we treat it.

18/10/2026

The connection between inside and out is not an afterthought. It is something we design from the beginning.

When those doors open, the kitchen, the living space, and the outdoor area all become one. That is the brief working the way it should. Timber floors running through, warm cabinetry, pendant lights over the island, and a bedroom that is quiet and simple without feeling sparse.

A home like this does not happen by accident. It comes from knowing early on how the family actually uses their space, and building around that rather than around a floor plan template.

Designed by Architect Hewson

15/10/2026

The first question a new client asked us was: what's your aesthetic? I put that to David, our in-house architect, and his answer was direct.

We do not have one.

And that is not a gap. That is the whole point. Our process is client-driven. We are not walking into a first meeting, collecting some information, and then presenting a finalized design. That is not how it works. Good design does not start with the architect's preferences. It starts with the client's.

If you come to us with a brief, we are not going to put our stamp on it and hand it back. We are going to work through it with you.

Full conversation with David available now wherever you get your podcasts.

This is House of Meaning.

13/10/2026

You need the right light to see the quality of a paint job. This is it.

Wall to wall deep red, panel moulding, not a line out of place. This is the kind of finish that only shows up when the prep work was done properly. No shortcuts on the surface, no shortcuts underneath it.

Address

84 Moor Street
Fitzroy, VIC
3065

Telephone

+611800683697

Website

http://www.sustainablehomesmelbourne.com.au/

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