Passive House
What is Passive House
Passive House is an approach to achieving healthy and comfortable buildings. It is a clearly defined standard and a quality management system that produces buildings that deliver on all aspects of occupant well-being while consuming very little energy. The temperature is even throughout the home and operates typically between 20 and 25 degrees year round, while consuming minimal energy. Passive Houses consume between 75%-90% less heating energy than a conventional house.
Benefits of Passive House
Enhanced comfort
A very poor 16 degrees is the average NZ inside temperature during winter, at this temperature the risk of respiratory illness increases. At less than 12 degrees, there is a higher risk of strokes and heart attacks.
A Passive House is built airtight, with managed air changes per hour. With an airtight home it is easy to achieve and maintain 20-24 degrees throughout the entire home, no temperature variations from room to room, and no cold drafts.
Enhanced Health
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ reports that one in six New Zealanders live with respiratory illness – that equates to 700,000 people. It is estimated that the yearly costs associated with respiratory disease are $5.5 billion.
A Passive house has a constant flow of fresh filtered air flowing through your home by using a mechanical ventilation system to filter dust pollen and pollution from incoming air, and also exhausting stale internal air
Moisture Elimination
A Passive house removes moisture before it becomes a problem in your home.
Damp, poorly ventilated houses encourage mould growth. If people have underlying health issues, damp, mouldy homes can worsen breathing problems.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) estimates the average New Zealand family produces around 8 litres of moisture in their homes every day.
Proven Measured Performance
The ultimate high performing home is a ‘Certified Passive House’. This home has been tested, measured, and internationally certified (& verified) to perform thermally at an extremely high level with little to no heating and cooling requirements.
Resolute Construction are Passive House specialists in the Kapiti and greater Wellington region. Director Hayden Nation is a passionate advocate for Passive House and is constantly looking to improve the build process to create actual measurable results.
Extreme Air Tightness
- Airtight construction ensures that only fresh filtered air enters the home
- A Certified Passive House requires air leakage to be tested near completion and must be below 0.6 air changes per hour.
- Airtightness is beneficial in keeping heat in and out of your home, ensuring the great internal climate you experience in a Passive House.
High quality insulation
- The unique nature of a Passive House means they’re perfectly calculated for the individual climate. This means the amount of insulation needed is tailored to the climate your home is in.
- To prevent heat loss and to stabilise the internal temperature, floors, walls and ceilings are thoroughly insulated.
Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation (MHRV)
- An MHRV system continually draws filtered outdoor air into living spaces and bedrooms and exhausts stale air from bathrooms and kitchens. This delivers fresh, tempered air to the home.
- These systems use very little energy as they move relatively small volumes of air
- This concept of heat recovery is proven to be an efficient and healthy choice for your home, with the outgoing air, heating the incoming air at 90% efficiency.
High Performance Windows and Doors
- Windows are the biggest source of heat loss and gain in all buildings. This is no different in a passive house, although the loss and gain are much more balanced.
- Dependent on climate either double or triple glazing is used for windows and doors to maintain indoor climate and minimal energy use.
- A critical element for Passive House success is high quality insulated frames that seal tight.
No Thermal Bridges
- A thermal bridge is a physical pathway from inside to outside the building through which heat can move easily. Thermal bridges often results in mould, condensation, drafts and other discomforts. This effectively keeps heat in like a thermos flask.
- Poor quality windows, uninsulated concrete slab edges and steel framed buildings are all examples of common thermal bridges.
- With Passive House the aim to eliminate thermal bridges within the home
Passive House Planning Package design software (PHPP)
- A high performing home doesn’t happen by accident, precise planning and intentional design is essential.
- Energy efficiency is woven into the fabric of every Passive House using the world’s most powerful design tool, the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). This tool allows us to determine the most suitable form of the building and instantly shows the impact of design decisions on the building’s energy efficiency.
WHY CHOOSE RESOLUTE CONSTRUCTION?
Resolute Construction provides great customer service with exceptional communication and a transparent building process. We strive to achieve your complete satisfaction and to exceed all your expectations from concept throughout completion.
Respectfulness
While working in your home we will treat it and its surroundings with respect. We encourage a clean well-presented site.
Commitment
We are committed to providing you with the best outcome for your investment.
Creative Solutions
We are forward thinkers, constantly considering fresh solutions and options to get you the best possible result.
Master Builders
Safety Is Our Priority
Resolute Construction is dedicated to ensuring a safe work environment on every building project. The safety of all staff, contractors, customers and site visitors is paramount.
The best guarantee in your town!
SEE WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
It's all good hearing from us, but it’s our clients that tell the real story. Read some of our testimonials below and if you would like to speak to a previous client just reach out and we will put you in touch.
"Outstanding Communication!"
- Peter
Hayden and the team at Resolute Construction were awesome.
They were professional at all times, their workmanship was of high quality and they communicated extremely well.
During the job the Covid lock down was announced but they worked hard to finish the job in time before the lock down was enforced.
Outstanding Communication!
"The end result has exceeded expectations!"
- Nellie & John
Dear Hayden,
We would like to thank you and your team for the fantastic effort and very fine result of the renovation.
Resolute Construction carried out an extensive renovation of our beach house. It ended up quite complicated due to a very poor alteration by a previous owner. Hayden did a wonderful job of project managing. Communication throughout was excellent, consulting with us every step of the way. Despite the building problems the project was completed within the deadline and to a very high standard. The sub trades Hayden engaged were excellent as well.
The end result has exceeded expectations. We are ‘over the moon’. Hayden is extremely up front and honest, all costs totally transparent. We highly recommend Hayden and his team."
Step 1
Initial Contact
Once the online form has been filled out, someone from the Resolute Construction team will be in touch to discuss your ideas, budget, and timeline and try to get a clear picture of your requirements. If we both agree we are a good fit, we will send an email questionnaire for you to complete containing some questions that will give us some background and help us get on the same page with your vision. This will help our first meeting run smoothly. We will then book a date for our first meeting.
Step 2
Site Meeting
Our Managing Director Hayden Nation will meet you in person to discuss your lifestyle and unique vision for your home. This will also allow us to go through the questionnaire in more detail.
This meeting is a chance to bring ideas, photos, plans and any other information you might have. We will give you an insight into our build systems and processes.
We will be able to create a pathway forward by discussing timelines and general requirements and be able to move onto finding an architect. (If you already have an architect with concept plans, please move to step 4)
Step 3
Design Brief
We will put together a design brief that will outline your vision, needs and requirements. Choosing the right architect for the project is a very important step. Through our network, we will help you find and choose a suitable architect for your dream home.
The architect will design an initial set of concept plans that fits within your design brief, and you will get a better visualisation of what your dream home will look like. We can now work out any special council requirements and a scope of works.
Step 4
Preliminary Budget
At this stage we will be able to provide you with our clear terms of engagement and a sample Master Builders contract for your appraisal. Our Preliminary Budget is a proven extensive pricing and due diligence process which will help you understand the investment and timeline of the project. When the boxes have been ticked and you are happy with the design and budget, the architect can move onto the detailed drawings.
Step 5
Detailed Drawings
Step 6
Detailed Pricing
We can then proceed to pricing your forever home with our open book pricing policy. We will keep you up to date on the process as we engage with our highly experienced network of professional subcontractors to ensure the process is thorough, clear and accurate.
Step 7
Quote Presentation
When the quote/estimate has been finalised, we will arrange a meeting to present the quote and go through every aspect of the detailed costings. This is a perfect opportunity to ask all the tough questions, and to ensure all budget concerns are satisfied.
Upon acceptance of your quote, we will formalise and sign the contract documents and apply for your 10-year Masterbuild guarantee, and present you with a detailed timeline and program. A start date will be agreed. We will ensure all council preconstruction requirements have been satisfied.
Step 8
Meet the Team & Communication
Before construction starts, we will organise for you to meet our dedicated Site Manager, along with our friendly team of builders. We will set you up with our Resolute Construction App that will allow access to our cloud-based project management software. This means you have live access to every aspect of the build with documents, daily log reporting, daily photographs etc. This allows a consistent and transparent communication portal throughout your entire build process and helps to create a successful and STRESS-FREE building experience.
Step 9
Construction
We take over your site and start to build your new home. Once construction starts, you will:
1. Receive daily logs via our Resolute Construction Project Management App
2. Your Site Manager will provide you with weekly site reports
3. We will invite you to fortnightly site meetings with Managing Director Hayden Nation and the Site Foreman
These meetings will keep you informed as your forever home takes shape and will ensure that the project is running smoothly. It will also allow us to keep ahead of any variations you may request or changes that may be necessary.
With any variations or changes that may crop up, we will promptly update costings, budgets and timelines. We will also make sure to:
- keep you informed through this process, so you are NOT surprised with any unforeseen costs, charges or delays
- keep the programme reviewed through the construction process and communicate changes as they become necessary
- work through our 300-point Quality Control Checklist as each stage progresses.
Step 10
Completion
Once Construction is complete, we will engage professional cleaners to spotlessly clean your new dream home, ready for you to take possession and move in. Even when your home is complete, we will keep in contact to attend to any minor issues that may arise. We will take care of your council compliance requirements and close off all 10-year Masterbuilders Guarantee requirements on your behalf.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FROM HERE?
Request a FREE Consultation
The first step is to have a 100% FREE no-obligation consultation with Hayden. Whether you’re just starting to plan or you’re nearly ready to start your build, we can help you out.
Receive a FREE gift*:
A $1000 Interior Designer Consultation with a local expert to help make your dreams a reality..
*When you decide to contract Resolute Construction to work on your project.
REQUEST A CONSULTATION
Our director, Hayden Nation, will personally conduct the session, which is normally valued at $300. However, we are offering the session FREE to people that are seriously considering building a dream home to help them make informed decisions towards the next step.