Dario Bolzonello used his extensive experience in the building industry to bring something unique to the design and build of his one-of-a-kind family home in Plenty, Victoria.
“When I designed the house, I had promised my partner that I would build her a walk-in cool room and freezer to eliminate the use of three fridges and two freezers. I thought if a cool room can have a temperature of -18 inside and 21 degrees outside, why couldn’t I build an entire house using the same principles?” Bolzonello said.
A visit to Bondor led Bolzonello to the Codemark accredited LuxeWall architectural luxury walling system.
“I had the plans and vision, Bondor had the product. Unlike standard cool room panels, LuxeWall offers 900mm wide panels at any length and the finish comes with a range of COLORBOND Matt and Metallic finishes. Bondor could also supply folded external corner modules, finished with a concealed fix 'UniSmart' architectural trim and capping system,” he said.
Bolzonello decided to build the exterior of the house and the eaves entirely from LuxeWall panels. The 2.4 x 2.4 walk-in cool room and the 1.5 x 1.5 freezer are also included in the final design.
Featuring an area of 509 square metres, the home was designed and built by Bolzonello over a three-and-a-half-year period from 2017.
Located in the town of Plenty to the north-east of Melbourne, the home was designed around a fully tiled concrete pool/spa with four water jets and LED strip lights throughout the pool and surrounding spotted gum decking.
“We used LuxeWall for the vertical panels in both Surf Mist and Monument colour finishes, while for the horizontal façade, the panels were ordered to size with the only cutting needed for the mitre joint on the corners,” Bolzonello said.
“The panels were so quick and easy to install, my brother-in-law and I were able to fit them together without needing any other tradesmen. The panels also eliminated the need for external stud walls; all I needed was 20mm battens for the plumbing and electrical.
“But by far the most attractive feature of LuxeWall was that it creates a complete thermal shell for a perfectly insulated home.”
Design highlights of the finished home include 3.6m high steel front doors with double-glazed windows, a cinema room, 3m high ceilings throughout most rooms with a 3.6m high coffer ceiling in the lounge dining area, and a 3.6m long fireplace in the lounge, suspended 150mm off the floor to enable the return air from the air con units past the fire box to heat the room.
The home includes Cbus automation, which allows programming for any switch in any area. It also features a Holiday Mode, which when activated, allows the internal and external thermostat to open the high bay windows to control the temperature without using air-conditioning equipment.
LuxeWall’s high performance integrated insulation delivers superior thermal performance, helping to lower energy usage from inefficient heating and cooling, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the energy bill in Australian households.
