Source
https://www.earthsong.org.nz/resources/documents — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood — House Materials Schedule Stage II(b) 2006
The real materials spec of a NZ eco-build — grounds the D04 materials lever + CR_049 timber
Earthsong’s own house materials schedule: a concrete bill-of-materials for a rammed-earth, natural-materials community build. Descriptive primary (no costs/embodied-carbon numbers) — grounds CR_049’s untreated-timber embodied-carbon figures in a built example and documents the D04 low-impact materials approach. data_quality high (primary spec).
Summary
The materials specification for Earthsong’s houses (Stage II(b), 2006): 350 mm and 400 mm rammed-earth walls (vertical galv steel rods at 1200 mm centres, no horizontal rods; Techdry seal to internal kitchen walls only), untreated timber framing (Heart Lawsons cypress walls, Heart macrocarpa/cypress roof) on a 100 mm concrete slab, Western Red Cedar board-and-batten + 0.4 mm Colorsteel/Zincalume roofing, and macrocarpa joinery/benchtops/cabinets finished in tung oil (natural finishes throughout). Insulation is modest by modern standards (R1.8 exterior walls; R1.8/R2.4/R3.6 ceilings — a pre-2008 envelope). Services: Beasley Prestige solar water heaters (180 L for 1–2-bed, 330 L for 3-bed) with frost valves; PE site pipes + Fusiotherm hot/cold internal plumbing; electric oven + gas hob; and 2/16 mm cable pre-run to the roof space for future PV — confirming the Interviewee account (INT_006) of designing for later solar.
Key claims
- claim: "STRUCTURE & ENVELOPE (natural / low-impact materials). Walls: 350 mm and 400 mm RAMMED EARTH (vertical galvanised steel rods at 1200 mm centres, no horizontal rods; Techdry seal to internal kitchen walls only). Framing: UNTREATED Heart Lawsons cypress (walls) and Heart macrocarpa/cypress (roof) on malthoid DPC. Floor: 100 mm concrete slab on polythene DPC, reinforcing mesh (two-storey) / un-reinforced (single-storey bedrooms), coloured-oxide + tung-oil finish; upper floors macrocarpa beams + 300x50 macrocarpa flooring, and Stahlton pre-stressed concrete to wet/living areas. Roof: corrugated 0.4 mm Colorsteel Zincalume. Cladding: Western Red Cedar board-and-batten. The untreated-timber choice is the low-GWP end of the CR_049 EPD range."
source_location: "Materials schedule — Foundations/Ground Floor, Earth walls, Timber framing, Upper Floor, Cladding, Roof rows"
- claim: "FINISHES, INSULATION & SERVICES. Natural finishes throughout: macrocarpa/cypress interior linings and joinery in tung oil, gib with EcoPaint. Insulation (as-built, modest): thermal R1.8 (100 mm Novatherm) to exterior walls, R1.8/R2.4/R3.6 to ceilings — a pre-2008 envelope well below current H1. Services: Beasley Prestige SOLAR water heaters (180 L for 1–2-bedroom units, 330 L for 3-bedroom) with Hitachi frost valves; PE site pipes + Fusiotherm internal hot/cold; electric oven + gas hob + rangehood; CAT5e data; smoke detectors mains-wired; and 2/16 mm cable pre-run cupboard-to-roof for FUTURE photovoltaics (confirms INT_006 / the case record)."
source_location: "Materials schedule — Insulation, Interior linings, Kitchen fittings, Electrical & data, Water heaters rows"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
A real NZ eco-build materials spec that grounds the D04 materials lever in a built example. The untreated macrocarpa/cypress framing sits at the low-GWP end of the CR_049 timber EPD range (CR_049 / low_carbon_construction), and the rammed-earth walls + natural (tung-oil) finishes are the bio-/low-impact materials approach OT_045 describes qualitatively. The as-built R-values (R1.8 walls) confirm a pre-2008 envelope below current H1 — consistent with the model treating older stock as needing a performance uplift. Two small energy datapoints: the solar-HW cylinder sizing (180/330 L, informing the DHW-storage cell) and the pre-run PV cabling (confirming Earthsong’s design-for-later-PV, INT_006). Primarily descriptive — it validates and grounds existing evidence rather than adding new model numbers. Feeds D04 and the earthsong_ranui case.
Research targets
Research gaps
- None — descriptive materials primary; grounds existing D04/CR_049 evidence.
Connections
Links to
Concepts (1): Low-Carbon & Bio-Based Construction
Sources (1): CR_049
Cases (1): Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood
EDT domains (1): D04: Sustainable Habitat & Building Technology
Referenced by