Open Homes Australia S6 E3: Creating a home with unsupported roof spans using SolarSpan®

The Challenge
When the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in the prestigious Melbourne suburb of Balwyn North featured in Season 4 of Open Homes Australia, developer Bojan Gangur of Blue Cube Developments was approached to recreate the luxury home for a keen homebuyer - his sister-in-law.
The challenge was that Blue Cube had to reimagine the sprawling 603.8m2 Balwyn North home’s design for a 450m2 footprint on a smaller suburban block at historic Coburg in Melbourne’s inner north.
Recreating the high upper floor internal ceilings, a key feature of the Balwyn North home, on the smaller Coburg block while meeting council setback requirements was especially challenging.
Blue Cube also faced significant supply chain issues and delays in procuring timber roof trusses and cement-based products for the garage.
The home façade needed to be contemporary but also reflect the historic aesthetic of the Coburg, one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs.
Blue Cube chose Bondor’s SolarSpan® and LuxeWall® to meet these challenges.
The Solution
Mr Gangur said SolarSpan® insulated roof panels provided the perfect solution to allow for 2.7m high ‘cathedral’ ceilings upstairs while meeting council setback requirements from the neighbouring properties.
“The setback distance from the neighbouring properties increases the higher the building goes, so given the width of the Coburg block, we need a solution that could achieve both the desired internal heights while meeting setback regulations.
“Even if we were not facing an acute shortage of roof trusses, a traditional roof build for this home would not have achieved the desired high internal ceilings upstairs and the space and light that the owner was looking for.
“SolarSpan® roofing allows for long unsupported spans, meaning we could eliminate internal load bearing walls needed with a traditional build for a nice smooth finish inside.
“SolarSpan® also offers excellent thermal insulation, so we selected COLORBOND® Surfmist® to meet changing regulations mandating lighter roofs on new homes.”
LuxeWall® was selected for the home’s facades, to overcome shortages of the previously selected concreate based product while offering affordability, longevity, architectural good looks and ease of installation.
The lightweight roofing and cladding panels were all measured and prefabricated offsite, for quick and easy installation without the need for additional training or trades.
“Within one day we had it all up, which did save a lot of money, plus the homeowners get the long term benefits of lower energy bills due to the R rating of the external and roof cladding,” he said.
Mr Gangur said the availability of light, neutral colours of the panels was another deciding factor for the project, which combined well together with timber look, greystone and white finishes inside and out.
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