Upper Yarra co-ordinator of the event Grant Eastwood and proud sustainable home owner Sioux Dollman.
By Mara Pattison-Sowden
Sioux Dollman is building her dream house.
Although carpenters, plum-bers and electricians have been working on the Warburton house, Ms Dollman has also played an active part by letting her creative flair run wild on the finishing touches.
Ideas are beginning to take place in every room, with the aim of making not just a beautiful house, but a self-sustainable home.
Ms Dollman said she wanted to design a house that would last for her daughter’s grandchildren.
“I wanted to be warm in winter and cool in summer and I don’t want to have all these great costs,” she said.
“It’s good for the planet, I’ve shopped local, and I haven’t used anything nasty.”
She said the house had a lot of thermal mass with its cement render, and the insulation in the walls was straw bales.
“It has a six-star energy rating, with double-glazed windows, energy saving and LED lighting, solar hot water and a water jacket in the wood heater,” she said.
“I want to be comfortable and don’t want to have bills in the future.” Ms Dollman is opening her house to the public for the ninth annual Sustainable House Day, which showcases the country’s most environmentally sustainable and innovative homes that invest in renewable energy, recycling and other practices designed to reduce their carbon footprint.
Upper Yarra open houses are located in Warburton, East Warburton and Mt Toolebewong and will be open from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 12 September.
Full house addresses are available on www.sustainablehouseday.com.
