Turning ‘locally grown’ into sustainable building materials - In House Magazine 2020

Recently we caught up with Dan Gallagher, New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) Mid and South Canterbury President, and owner of Gallagher Trade Building Limited. Dan, who has been working on an interesting build in Southburn, south of Timaru was approached last year by owner Miles Anderson, to build a new 240m2 four-bedroom dream home, on family land which previously housed four generations of family members. The old farmhouse had done its dash and it was time for a new, warm and more sustainable home.

The build was started in November 2019 and although progress was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, Dan and his team are now back on track and are hoping to have it completed by October 2020. This new family home is being built directly in front of the old one, making the most of the beautiful landscape and sunsets. “The views are pretty stunning! You can see right up the Canterbury plains, out to sea and back up to the Southern Alps” says Dan.

When asked what was to become of the old home, Dan advised “After everything useful (and without borer) has been removed, the local volunteer Fire Brigade are going to have a small controlled burn, so nothing will be wasted.”

Speaking of waste and sustainability, Miles, South Canterbury sheep farmer/owner, and immediate past national chair of the Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Industry Group, wanted to use local building materials where possible, right down to his own sheep. As a result of this idea, both the insulation and carpet have come from wool products produced from his sheep, like the ones he’s been farming for 25 years.

Not only will the family home be insulated with a traditional Kiwi product, it will also have a covered patio made from Oregon timber grown on the same property.

The kitchen joinery will be made with wood from a shed on the farm which was built in the 1900s and blew down in 1981.

The shed was made from Blue gum which had been grown on the Lyalldale Estate in nearby St Andrews.

Miles is very proud of his sheep. “Wool insulation is biodegradable, renewable, sustainable and has great flame-retardant properties”, he says. “Wool fibres don’t end up in the food chain or waterways.” He is also a firm believer that if you need personal protective equipment (PPE) to install insulation, then how can that be safe?

He wonders if synthetic insulation will be the next asbestos problem to cause health issues.

From the photos, all the sheep look happy and Miles is all smiles that the wool can be put to good use in his new home. The wool batts were sourced through a local Christchurch company – Terra Lana – who specialise in recycled natural wool products including insulation.

See In House magazine article

We are so excited to have one of our recent builds featured in this months issue of Latitude Magazine. If you haven't got a copy, have a look at the Cochrane Residence here: case studies

Gallagher Trade Building is now on Facebook: facebook/Gallagher-Trade-Building