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Merry Christmas from all of us at e-struct News!

Firstly we would like to thank each

of you for your lovely feedback

about our newsletter. We are

pleased to know that we’re pre-

senting you with pertinent issues

and showing you a little of what

we’re achieving as a company.

Secondly we are delighted to let

you know that the New Greek

Orthodox Church The Holy Epiph-

any is complete, the inauguration

ceremony has taken place and

generated such excitement in the

community.

Wising everyone a safe & happy

break over Summer. The e-struct

office will be closed between

Christmas Day and New Year’s

Day. See you in 2015!

Project Profile: Flinders

Rammed Earth Home

We have supplied not only structural design

services, but also soil testing, drainage de-

sign and energy rating for this project. The

clients have benefitted from the combination

of structural, civil, geotechnical and sustaina-

bility perspectives.

We wish the retirees many years of happi-

ness in their gorgeous home.

this issue

Project Profile P.1

Dirt Diggers’ Corner P.2

Staff Profile P.2-3

CPD Report P.2-3

I S S U E

D e c e m b e r

02

There’s something special about the Mornington

Peninsula that draws so many to build their

dream home. This area has a such holiday feel

that appeals to everyone. So when the opportuni-

ty to work on this original home arose in beautiful

Finders, how could we resist fulfilling the design

brief for two retirees’ dream home by the sea?

This original design cleverly combines modern

and natural materials resulting in inviting open

space. The sweeping lines of the structure form

gorgeous curves and contours drawing the eye

up to the incredible roof which optimises the feel-

ing of light and sky. This elegant home is both

welcoming and stunning.

Using rammed earth in non-load bearing con-

struction is gaining popularity, as we seek green-

er building materials that are also considered to

have excellent thermal properties. The added

bonus of using rammed earth aside from the

beauty of the subtle layering of the colours and

textures in the walls is the flexibility of this materi-

al in meeting architectural design outcomes.

In primary school, James was the kid in the class-

room who wondered how things worked. In high

school, he refined his question to “How does Maths

enable things to work?” So he set out to discover

how to answer this by studying Mechanical Engineer-

ing at Victoria University and he worked in this indus-

try for many years for Ford and for BAE Systems.

Growing up in the Dandenongs within

earshot of Puffing Billy’s whistle, James

was surrounded by lush bush land and

given a lot of leeway and encouragement

to explore this amazing environment. He’s

always been a fan of the outdoors, so

when the opportunity arose to combine

this interest with a career at e-struct, i t

was a win-win outcome.

Q: What is an LCA?

A: A Land Capability Assessment or LCA is a

mechanism used to assess the ability for a

parcel of land to cope with the effluent pro-

duced from human waste. In other words, an

LCA assists in working out how much liquid a

property can safely absorb from a septic sys-

tem. It is used in areas where mains sewer is

not available.

An LCA looks at several factors for

assessment including land gradient (slope),

rainfall, proximity to water bodies (or courses),

soil type and profile & others. This information

is then used in finding an appropriate septic

design and summarised into a report for use

advancing a project towards completion.

A septic system can be viewed as having two

parts. The tank that holds the black water (a

combination of solids and liquids from human

waste), the tank separates the solids which

settle to the bottom and the liquids which are then

released to the effluent field. This field has sever-

al variants but can be summarised as a series of

pipes used to disperse the liquids into the soil.

An LCA is intended as a guide to the type and

size of septic and effluent field required for an

individual property. Councils are now beginning

to place greater focus on septic design as part of

any planned works – either new construction or

additions to existing builds – for both residential

and commercial use. The onus is on the owner

to meet council requirements.

It should be noted that an LCA is not necessarily

a planning requirement but a health department

requirement and will be reviewed by council as

part of the building process. To avoid unexpected

extra expense part way into the development of

your project it is recommended that septic re-

quirements be established from the beginning. If

in doubt, please call e-struct.

Staff Profile

James Blair,

Geotechnical, Energy &

Sustainability Manager.

Dirt Diggers’ Corner—What’s the Dirt on LCAs?

Cont… P.3

6 Star Energy Rating

Latest

Developments

Energy Rat ing i s cur -

ren t l y goi ng through

la rge changes. The Fed-

era l & S ta te Govern -

ments have mandated

the mini mum qual i f i ca -

t ions requi red to be a

thermal per formance

assessor (TP A) , more

commonl y known as res -

iden t i a l energy ra ter ,

has i ncreased. Thi s i s a

common occurrence fo r

many p rofessi ons wi th in

the Bui l d ing I ndustry .

The b ig d i f ference here

is tha t the mi ni mum

qual i f i ca t ion i s to be

appl i ed re t rospect i vel y .

What th i s means is tha t

a l l cur ren t TP A’ s wi l l

have to upgrade thei r

qual i f i ca t ions to the new

mi ni mum s tandard. Thi s

new s tandard wi l l be

requi red to be achi eved

by the 1st Ju l y 2015.

The cur ren t qual i f i ca t ion

is a four day course

wh ich i ncluded two days

on energy ra t i ng theory

and two days on so f t -

ware t ra in i ng . The new

mi ni mum level i s now a

Cert i f i ca te 4 i n Nathers

Written By James Blair, Geotechnical, Energy & Sustainability

Manager

Find Moorooduc Hwy Plan Printing at our

e-struct off ice . We print colour or black &

white la rge format plans up to A0 , scan in black &

white up to A0 and laminate up to A2 .

For f r iendly and prompt service, emai l your p lans to

mai l@mhplanpr int .com.au or drop in to the of f ice!

It’s your

Moorooduc Hwy

Plan Printing

AS2870-2011 was the newest revi-

sion update for the design of residen-

tial slabs & footings. NCC, Vol 2, Sec.

3.2.4 references this code and speci-

fies some new requirements to be

followed.

The new code made some major

changes to the design of slabs &

footings which increased their re-

quired stiffness. The other big change

not readily known was the major

changes to soil classifications. The

introduction of Classes H1 & H2

(replacing Class H.) The level of as-

sessed soil reactivity of sites has also

increased.

An example of a typical site classifi-

cation where the previous revision

(1996) would classify a site as Class

M, App. D, Table D1 more likely

makes the Site to be Class H1.

The introduction of Appendix H,

Guide to design footings for trees,

has provided greater flexibility for

designing slabs & footings for trees.

Previously deep bored piers were the

most used solution for tree effects,

but the code provides systems that

allow for more standard footings to be

used (no bored piers.)

This revised code has provided a

more clear cut way of interpreting Soil

s & dealing with other issues such as

trees

CPD

understand it…

do it…

record it...

However, as Manufacturing

in Victoria presented fewer

opportunities for profession-

al growth, James looked

further afield and like many

headed out to Western Aus-

tralia, not for a Mining job,

but instead surveyed the

Pilbara to accommodate for

the housing boom caused

by the sudden increase in

the population of workers.

Immersed in ochre soil, he

developed a strong interest

in Geotechnical Engineering

and was offered the role of

Soil Tester in 2007 at

e-struct, after extensive re-

training.

“I am always amazed at the

differences in soil within the

same suburb and even with-

in the same property. It’s

great being a part of the

building process. It’s very

satisfying to be involved

from the initial stages of a

project and to watch it de-

velop over time.”

If you get to know James,

you’ll see how sustainably he

lives. He does not believe in

wasting anything and auto-

matically considers how the

choices he makes impacts

the environment. Being an

advocate for green living

practices, James showed an

interest in energy rating and

so has undertaken profes-

sional development to be-

come our expert in this field.

“Working to a 6 star rat-

ing is like solving a real-

ly tricky equation, frus-

trating at times but

great when it finally un-

ravels. I like the variety

my work brings and the

balance of office and

field work works for me.

It keeps life interesting!”

assessment . The d i f fe rence

is a 4 day course changed to

a most l i ke l y s ix month to

one year par t - t i me course.

The cost for most exi s t ing

energy ra ters i s between two

to three thousand dol l a rs .

Thi s i s a b ig cost to most

prac t i t ioners who a l so do

no t have the t i me to spend

on the course wi th bus i -

nesses to run. A lso wi th

90% o f energy rate rs onl y

doi ng less then f i ve ra t i ngs

a year , i t i s not economi cal

to up sk i l l to the new s tand-

ard . Thi s unfor tunate l y w i l l

resul t i n the number o f ener -

gy ra ters droppi ng to as l i t -

t l e as 10% -30% o f the cur -

ren t l evel . Thi s has been

in i t i a ted by i ndustry and

government to make energy

ra t i ng a occupat ion i nstead

of a s i del i ne .

Wi th the maj or t i ghteni ng of

energy ra t ing regul at ions as

wel l as g rea ter scru t iny of

TP A’ s as wel l , the reduct ion

of peopl e doi ng the ra t i ng

wi l l enabl e those l e f t to ab -

sorb the b ig cost o f upgrad -

ing thei r qual i f i ca t i ons w i th -

ou t i ncreasing costs grea t l y .

E -s truc t i s compl e t i ng Cer-

t i f i cate 4 i n Nathers Assess-

ment & wi l l be accredi ted in

t i me for i n troduct ion of new

s tandard (1s t Ju l y 2015 )

E-struct News Issue 02 December 2014

Residential & Commercial Rating

6 Star Assessments

FirstRate5 Energy Rating

NCC, Vol 2, Sec 3.12 DTS

NCC, Vol 1, Sec J DTS

Artificial Lighting Rating

WERS Glazing Spec.

Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD)

STEPS, SDS, STORM

Bushfire Management Statements (BMO)

Waste Management Reports

Site or Environmental Management Plans

Tree Root Protection Works Specifications

Structural Assessment for Planning Compliance

Erosion Management Overlay (EMO) Reports

Standard & Waffle Slabs

Strip Footings

Tree Effects Footings

Timber, Steel & Concrete Design

Tecbeam & Tecslab

Masonry & Hebel Design

Retaining Walls

Bracing Design

ICF Design

Swimming Pool Design

Basement Structure Design

Distressed Structure Reports

Preliminary Assessments

Drainage Design

Retention Systems

WSUD

Soakage Systems

Pumps Systems

Driveway Designs

Easement Drains

Outfall Drains

Culverts

Basement Drainage

Car Park Design

Open Channel Design

Overland Flow Path

Residential Soil Testing

Commercial Soil Testing

Distressed Footing Assessments

Tree Effects Assessments

Bushfire Attack Level (BAL)

Landslide Risk Management (EMO)

Percolation Testing (Soaker Drainage)

Land Capability Assessments (LCA)

Feature & Level Surveys (inc AHD)

DCP Testing

Flood Hazard Assessments

Wind Zone Assessments

Exposure Classifications

Energy Rating &

Sustainability

PlanWay

Geotechnical

& Soil Testing

Civil

Engineering

estruct

@estructengineer

www.e-struct.com.au

(03) 9770 1738

1300 E STRUCT (1300 378 782)

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mail@e-struct.com.au

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