Best Houses Australia TV Segment

Best Houses Australia

Heritage Rebuild and Extension, Scarborough

Our heritage rebuild and extension in Scarborough was lucky enough to feature in a segment on Best Houses Australia and was also a finalist in the 2015 HIA-CSR NSW Housing Award in the extensions $200K – $600K category.

This home had a 150m2 extension consisting of 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 living, 1 courtyard and double garage with a storeroom plus a heritage renovation with 3 bed, 1 bath, 1 kitchen and 1 laundry. This build took us just 6 months to complete.

The interior featured polished concrete floors with the original floor boards used on the stairs. The clients’ vision was to achieve a modern open living space with views to the beach and plenty of space for their family to expand in. The project gallery for this home can be viewed here

Take a look at our segment below where Alistair, Denny and the owners talk you through their goals for the home and its features.

Business of the Year

32 Degrees Building are the 2016 Business of the Year Award and Local Business of the Year for Outstanding Service and Trade Award across Camden-Wollondilly

This year we received the prestigious Business of the Year Award and the Local Business Award for Outstanding Service and Trade Award across Camden Wollondilly. Following our recognition in the area we were approached by the Camden Advertiser for comment on receiving the award and to gain further insight into the company and our involvement in the community;

Can you please tell me a little about 32 Degrees Building?

Located in Smeaton Grange, 32 Degrees Building Pty Ltd. is a local building company specialising in first floor/second storey additions, ground floor extensions and custom new homes. Our main focus is to provide families with additional space in their home so that they don’t have to move from where they are already settled. We provide our clients with high-quality craftsmanship, a personalised service and guaranteed customer satisfaction.

Alistair, Denny and the team have been building in the area for over 10 years providing their services right across South West Sydney. The past year has seen the company grow from 11 team members to the present 31 (6 office, 25 onsite) and we are continuing to take on additional team members as the company expands.

What makes your business unique?

We pride ourselves on the communication we have with our clients. It’s very important during the building process to communicate with our clients so that they are aware of what is happening and the processes involved. We ensure that our clients have an onsite and office point of contact to answer and respond to any questions they may have during each stage of the build. We also coordinate appointments with our product suppliers so that our client can visit their showrooms and speak to a dedicated representative to discuss and make their selections for their bathroom/kitchen etc…

We find that most of our clients still live in the house when we are building an addition or extension so we do as much as possible to minimise and reduce the noise, dust and disruption to their daily lives.

We employ a team of local tradesmen and apprentices in order to manage the quality of the work that we produce and to provide young members in the community the chance to gain themselves a trade. We continually work with our team to develop and enhance their skills in all facets of the residential building industry.

How did it feel to win the business of the year award?

We were overwhelmed to be honoured with the award and we have received such a great response across our social media streams since it was announced. From our clients, suppliers and subcontractors past, present and future to other local businesses in the area the response has been very positive and we are extremely proud to have been selected to receive such a recognised award.

Why do you think you were chosen as the winner?

Over the past year our team have really focused their energies on ensuring that we are providing our clients with first class customer service and quality craftsmanship.

This is something that we strongly emphasise and take great pride in.

We also work closely with MWLP and regularly take on work placement students to give them an opportunity to gain insight into the building industry and carpentry trade to assist them with their future career decision. We also provide sponsorship to Macarthur BMX Little Sprockets and Narellan Vale Public School and have where possible attended local events and provided support to the community.

We feel that it is a combination of these factors that this has contributed to and resulted in our recognition within the community.

Is there anybody you would like to thank?

We are extremely thankful and appreciative to everyone who voted for us to win the award, to all of our clients, suppliers, subcontractors who worked with us/is going to work with us and for the continued support we are receiving in and around the area.

We would like to say a special thanks to Denny, our Project Manager for his time, commitment and focus over the past year to developing and training the team onsite. We would also like to thank our team onsite and in the office for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the business and their trade.

You can read the article in the Camden Advertiser here

Building in a bushfire prone area

We recently completed an extension and deck in Orangeville that was in a bushfire prone area and had to comply with BAL-FZ requirements. For those of you that are unfamiliar with being in a bushfire prone area, BAL-FZ means that the home has been classed as being located in direct flame zone and that there is an extreme risk to life and loss of the home should a bushfire occur.

Bushfire ratings are as follows;

BAL-Low (Very Low Risk)
BAL-12.5 (Low Risk)
BAL-19 (Moderate Risk)
BAL-29 (High Risk)
BAL-40 (Very High Risk)
BAL-FZ (Extreme Risk)

The BAL rating may determine the types of materials you are able to use or, additional materials that are required when building or extending your home (eg. bushfire shutters).

Bushfire Shutters at our BAL-FZ First Floor Addition in Lane Cove North (Click photo for full gallery)

What measures should you take?

If your property backs onto bushland or even a Council nature strip you will have to obtain a BAL Risk Assessment Certificate from a qualified consultant to determine your Bushfire Attack Level. The report will outline the BAL rating on each elevation (yes, your BAL rating can be different on each side of your home) and advise you of the measures you need to take to maximise the safety of your family and your home and ensure you stay protected.

Building in a bushfire prone area: flamezone

The home in Orangeville was classed as BAL-FZ as it was in a location where it was deemed an extreme risk to bushfire so there were a few requirements that we had to ensure that we undertook when building this extension to comply with the RFS and Council requirements;

The deck was constructed with a cement based product with no gaps between the boards for embers to get into
The subfloor brickwork still has to have ventilation, and so a metal gauze with no more than a 2mm aperture was used to cover the weep holes and stop embers from getting in under the home.
The cladding we used was a minimum of 6mm thick with no gaps between the boards.
The windows were made with 6mm toughened glass and aluminium frames
Bushfire shutters were installed – you can have either manual or automatic
The roof and deck frames were made of steel
For the eaves we used firecheq plasterboard and importantly we ensured that all gaps and holes were sealed to stop potential embers getting into

If you are in a bushfire prone area and thinking of building an extension or addition, speak to us, we are able to provide you with advice and guide you in the right direction.

Watch our video

Watch Alistair, the builder out at the deck extension in Orangeville talking about how we met the BAL-FZ requirements.