Having purchased a beautiful two-and-a-half-acre block of land just outside of Melbourne it was time for Andrew Walsh to build his long-planned country-style home. His first consideration was where to position the house on the block.
Maximising the bush view was central to making that decision and the location he chose had a two-metre across-site fall. The home Andrew built measures 296sqm and features a 231sqm wrap-around deck which adds to the country look while providing plenty of outdoor relaxation space. Andrew limited the height of the floor to one metre so there would be no need to add balustrading, thereby ensuring the deck maintained an airy, open feel.
The character home is crowned by a Colorbond roof with a 28-degree pitch. Andrew chose a dark colour for the roof, its deep tones harmonising with the colour of the decking. Designed for the Victorian climate, the house, which has an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area, also has a 6-star energy rating. To achieve that, Andrew used sub-floor installation batts, wall batts and double glazing to the windows.
To enhance the country look of the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house, he opted to go with a bearer and joist style flooring system rather than a concrete slab, and as the block is in a bushfire zone and an area that is at high risk of termites, Andrew didn’t just want the flooring system to be made of steel, but the house frame and roof trusses, too.
“Choosing Spantec was simple. I already had a working relationship with them and I knew the quality of product on offer, so it was only natural to have it for my own home,” says Andrew.
“What really draws people to their system is simplicity. Being able to get the floor frame, deck and powdercoated outdoor roof frame all from the one place was a time-saver — and they also offer an in-house design and engineering package. I emailed them my architectural plans and they provided a full set of construction drawings the installer could build off along with certification for footings and bracing.”
When the floor system was delivered to the site, there was no guesswork involved. “Due to the size and complexity of the project, all the bearers and joists, which were pre-cut in the factory, arrived onsite pre-labelled. These labels not only specified the size and length, but also the bearer and joist number that related back to the supplied construction drawings,” says Andrew.
“The adjustable Ezipiers meant that the installer could throw the floor down and level it at a later stage. Also, the supplied brackets enabled the flooring system to be simply screwed together. Another benefit of the Spantec system is that the maximised spans meant fewer concrete piers were needed than would have been the case with traditional building methods.
“For the second stage of the build, Spantec designed, engineered and provided the wrap-around pergola roof in a beautiful, gloss-white powdercoated finish. This system also came cut to size from the Spantec factory. The end result was a floor, frame, deck and pergola that were accurate, straight and true to size — and as they were made from galvanised steel, they are strong and durable.”
The success of this project can be attributed to the owner’s attention to detail and Spantec’s superior product range and extensive industry experience. Spantec pioneered steel flooring systems in Australia and has been designing and manufacturing galvanised steel floor and deck kits for 29 years. The flooring systems are lightweight, long-spanning, straight and true to size. Manufacturing tolerances are perfect, products are cut to size so there is no wastage, and the systems are easy to assemble.
In addition to manufacturing and supplying the Boxspan and Ezipier brands, Spantec offers a design service, produces site construction drawings and can provide in-house engineering certification. Spantec can produce building solutions for a wide range of projects, from kit homes and granny flats to homes that need to be built on sloping blocks or in bushfire prone areas.
The company is based in the Southern Highlands of NSW but products are available state-wide.
For more information on the complete product range, visit the Spantec website.