Push for more ‘resilient’ houses to cope with future climate, as ‘we’re all footing the bill’ anyway
Three years after Greg Webb’s family home of more than 50 years burnt down in a Black Summer blaze, his new house is starting to take shape on his hillside block in Lake Conjola, on the southern coast of NSW.
But it’s no ordinary build.
Mr Webb has planned for this house to be disaster proof — going above the already stringent building codes to make sure his home remains standing when the next natural disaster hits.
A grid image of Greg Webb’s house construction.
Greg Webb has spent about $280,000 adding additional features to his new home to make sure it’s the top standard of resilience.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)
“I cleared timbers away, I had no shrubs near the house, but all of those features that made it a quaint holiday house were just wicks of ignition,” he said.
Scarred by the trauma of New Year’s Eve 2019, and the enormous life changes that followed, Mr Webb wants all Australians to be thinking about their homes in this way.
“I had to hide my wife under the house to try and get away from the ember and the violence of it all,” he said.
“I only wish that I had made my house more resilient for far less money than what I’ve got to spend now.”
He is not the only one.
Australian building like ‘fast fashion’
As the frequency, intensity and severity of natural disasters increases with climate change, there are growing concerns about the ability of Australia’s housing stock to withstand future climate conditions.
A graph showing the increase in extreme weather in Australia
The frequency of extreme weather occurring across Australia from 1981 to 2020. Increases in extreme weather have been primarily driven by heat.(Supplied: Actuaries Institute)
Recent extreme weather events have resulted in tens of thousands of people being displaced around the country, and a damage bill soaring into the billions of dollars.
In total, the federal government committed more than $3.5 billion to disaster recovery following the Black Summer bushfires, cyclone Seroja in Western Australia and the 2022 February/March floods in New South Wales, according to National Emergency Management Australia (NEMA).
Images from the black summer bushfires, the Lismore floods and Cyclone Seroja in Kalbarri
Images from the Black Summer bushfires, the Lismore floods and cyclone Seroja in Kalbarri, WA.(ABC News)
That cost is becoming unsustainable, according to Resilient Building Council chief executive Kate Cotter.
It’s also one she fears is being forgotten as Australia rushes to build more houses.
“The way we’re building is like fast fashion,” she said.
“Cheap, not thinking about the longevity of our building and what they’ll be exposed to over their lifetime, and it’s not sustainable.
“We need to change that so our homes and buildings are fit for purpose, and our communities are strong and sustainable.”
Kate Cotter points at screen on wall
Kate Cotter says recovery costs after natural disasters are becoming unsustainable for all Australians, not just those is disaster-prone areas.(Supplied: Resilient Building Council)
Ms Cotter is a part of a growing push from academics, governments and others in the housing industry for what is being called “resilience” in housing.
A resilient house is a home that can defend itself against extreme weather and disasters, so people have a home to return to after the event is over.
Explore Mt Resilience
Discover a town built to survive and adapt to extreme weather on your mobile in AR.
Read more
Someone holds phone in hand showing new resilience app
A new bushfire resilience rating is due to be launched in coming months.( ABC News)
It can be achieved by using more durable building materials, through thoughtful design, and by taking simple measures like moving certain items away from the house.
This goes above the remit of building standards, which are primarily designed to protect lives.
As part of the push, Ms Cotter’s team is developing a world-first, multi-hazard resilience rating, which assesses the strength of individual homes and offers ways to improve it.
Its first phase — bushfire resilience — is due to be launched in coming months, funded by federal and state governments.
The ‘how to’ and ‘how much’ of resilience
Mr Webb’s house is an example of top standard resilience, built from all the materials that remained of his original home after the fire.
“For the three months directly after, all I kept seeing was bricks, concrete and steel and so I said to myself, that’s what I’ve got to build my new house from,” he said.
Many of Mr Webb’s upgrades have been required by the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating on his house, which is in the highest risk zone, dubbed ‘BAL-flame zone’.
This alone has cost $150,000, and features bushfire shutters, a thermal barrier around the house, and steel downpipes.
Green starts to shoot from burnt ground.
The native bushland is one of the drawcards for those who live in Lake Conjola, but it’s also the greatest risk.(ABC News: Mridula Amin)
“There’s nothing combustible on the inner or outer envelope of this house,” he said.
“And the main thing is to keep the embers out, which I will.”
But Mr Webb has gone above and beyond even that, spending an additional $130,000 on features such as an aerated concrete floor, fire wrap within the walls and a tank room under the house for water storage.
Views over a large lake from the inside of a house with huge windows.
The sweeping views in Lake Conjola, on the NSW South Coast.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)
“That’s choices of my own to have that safety for me and my family in the future,” he said.
He has also given consideration to other extremes such as wind, over-engineering certain aspects of the house for extra protection in a severe storm.
Thoughtful design goes a long way
Ms Cotter said the extent to which Mr Webb was building resilience into his house was beyond what many people would need.
But it was a prime example of the materials and thoughtful design that could strengthen a house significantly.
Fortis House design graphic in front of storm
A free house design for resilient homes, known as the FORTIS House, was released in 2022.(Supplied: Resilient Building Council)
She said in some instances, resilience measures did not cost anything.
“For example, where you store things around your home which could break windows or ignite and set fire to your house,” she said.
“Or sealing up gaps in roofs, or raising your electricals [powerpoints] , things that could really be mainstreamed into the way we build that don’t cost much.”
Ms Cotter said everyone needed to think about their exposure to potential weather extremes, not just those in disaster-prone areas.
“What used to be seen as a regional problem or an isolated problem has changed because cities are being affected by floods or heatwaves or storms,” she said.
In a cost-of-living crisis, the extra cost may be a hard sell for some.
But Ms Cotter said Australians were paying regardless.
“We’re all paying,” she said.
“All of our insurance is increasing whether you’re in a high-risk area or not, and as taxpayers we’re all footing the bill for a very expensive recovery.”
Source ABC NEWS. Posted 24 Jun 202324 Jun 2023, updated 24 Jun 2023
