The Truth About the Building Industry in Australia
Let's be blunt: the Australian building industry is in a mess, and it's a mess we've created ourselves. We have changed the way we build homes without understanding the fundamental physics that govern them. This has led to a building crisis where many of our homes are rotting and full of mould, and we're acting surprised when the outcome was entirely predictable.
A History of Building Errors
Older buildings were able to function because they had a constant flow of energy moving in and out of the structure without any resistance. This meant that even though buildings got wet from rain or moisture movement, the energy from a heater running would dry out any moisture issues in the structure. Being energy inefficient is what saved these buildings.
Then came the energy crisis, and people started complaining about how much money they were spending to heat and cool their homes. To combat this, we insulated our homes like crazy, which saved energy by providing resistance to heat movement. As a result, we changed the physics of the building.
But here's where we made our biggest mistake: while we reduced the drying potential of our buildings by adding insulation, we did not make them more airtight. The outcome? Water vapour would move through the structure and condense, but with little heat now passing through, there was no way for this moisture to dry out. So, now we have energy-efficient buildings that are rotting and full of mould. We changed how we built our homes, but building physics has never changed.
The silly part is that Australia is repeating the mistakes made by other countries. We're following a path that New Zealand, the USA, and Canada have already taken, knowing exactly what the outcome will be. These mistakes cost a fortune to rectify, and yet we continue to make them.
The Truth About the Building Industry in Australia
So why is this still happening? Because our national construction code still allows building materials and practices that are considered outdated by international standards. We still permit steel framing, foil-faced sarking, and single-glazed windows. There is a lack of forward-thinking guidance and no incentives to encourage the recycling of demolition waste, and there are no mandatory pre-plaster or waterproofing inspections.
In Victoria, there is no mandatory licensing for trades, and this issue is still being debated. We have a regulator who has been accused of corruption multiple times, which has eroded public trust. Add in layers upon layers of red tape at the council level, and you have significant hurdles and delays for building projects. And people wonder what is wrong with the building industry!
The government is aiming to build 1.2 million homes in five years. The reality is that the more shoddy homes we build quickly, the more we will need to fix in the near future.
At Carland Constructions, we believe in building homes that are built responsibly and simply built better. Our approach is founded on the principles of building physics and a commitment to quality over quantity. We build homes that just feel better, and that starts with acknowledging the problems in our industry.