Big House Little House

"Weathertex has a great variety of products and textures which help enhance my designs and bring them to life. I like that the products are designed and made in Australia from natural hardwood with the large 3.6m sheets providing a more seamless finish with less visible joins."

Chris Brumby Director - Big House Little House

Jace Townsing of Urbane Build, with the trusted expertise of Building Designer Chris Brumby of Big House Little House created this stunning family home that not only matched their brief but was friendly on their budget too.

The goal was to create a minimalistic home, utilising an efficient selection of materials which enabled the building to settle back into its surrounding landscape and hero the sweeping views of the northern Toowoomba hills. Really, there was no more suitable product then Weathergroove Natural 75mm by Weathertex.

Chris and his clients drew inspiration from authentic burnt timber but at 5 times the price of fabricated alternatives, it just wasn’t a practical decision. Weathertex Weathergroove architectural panels were the ideal solution.  The natural premium looking timber finish made it

With 3 young boys, Jace and his wife benefit from the cladding having a textured finish to it. Generally flat black surfaces can scratch and scuff easily. Chris adds, “a bonus to the product selection was the fact that it has a rough sawn textured finish, so it hides all manors of sins if the boys are out there kicking a footy into it or riding past on their bikes and putting a little scratch.” Being in a rural setting, cobwebs and bugs on the outside are a little more disguisable compared to a flat matte finish, which Chris says he notices a lot on his own shed which is clad with this alternative.

Typically, efficiency in design refers to that of a sustainability meaning. Weathertex cladding is very much an all-natural product; made 97% of hardwood and 3% of natural wax, it is responsibly sourced from Australian forests, and it is Global GreenTag certified. However, the appeal of using Weathergroove panels for this project was the ability to be efficient during construction, an important factor for this ownerbuilder. Time less spent cladding was money saved on trade labour and a nearer completion date. The Weathergroove panels held high value in time efficiency on the Keira residence as the panels are a generous 3660mm in height and 1200mm wide, meaning they go up super quick and cover the full height of the dwelling without the need for additional joins. The quality of the corner strips and joining brackets that are required and supplied by Weathertex have smaller profiles then competitor products, making for neat and seamless transitions.

As the architectural panels are made from timber, they are easy to cut onsite and install. Chris noted, “unlike dust from fiber cement sheets, the timber dust when cut is far more sympathetic and nicer to work with.” It really is a practical solution. Cost efficient, good looking and Australian owned and made, which Chris mentioned was a growing emphasis from clients off the back of the pandemic. It is also worth mentioning that the Weathergroove Natural range, as well as other Weathertex products are rated as high as BAL 19, making them suitable for a wide range of rural properties that may come into bushfire prone zones.

Additionally, Weathertex Weathergroove Natural range is the only timber range on the market to have a 10 year warranty not to rot, crack or split.

The client absolutely adored their finished home. Not only did they enjoy looking at the house, Jace loved that it was a piece of cake to build because the Weathergroove comes in that big panel, so they weren’t stuck for weeks installing it. Chris says, “the entire home was clad in 2 or 3 days, so the build

efficiency of the home was pretty impressive.”

For a 252 square meter home, this minimal design packs a lot in. Chris and Jace were keen to use the single cladding for cost and time efficiency and to keep the home consistent inside and out. “We tried to keep the house as simple as possible so you’re just focusing on the outside, focusing on the view, you’re not really distracted by anything on the inside, so it was really just about trying to be consistent.” On closing comments pertaining to the choice of material selection, Chris concluded in saying “It’s just a good solid external cladding which goes together well, looks good, is easy for the boys to install onsite, and being made of natural products it’s a win for everyone’s health”.