DadAgain

I have a problem...

Until last year our house was bearable in the summer. Air-con kept us cool, decent insulation in the roof kept the cool air inside and shade all around the outside of the house seemed to do a decent job.

Then last summer *the* storm hit and cleaned up our front yard. As a result last summer we noticed that despite the back (south side) of our house remaining nice and cool, the front (north side) of our house stays hot. he simple reason being the north facing wall cops full sunshine all day long and works like an efficient storage heater...



So what can I do? The answer needs to be cheap(ish) but needs to passly wifely approval. If it were down to me I'd be screwing some kind of steel mesh a couple of inches off the wall and coating it in aluminium foil - but no doubt that would not pass the asthetics tests.

We could plant more stuff - but it'd take years to grow high enough to have any useful shadey effect and once its grown it requires constant maintainance which I *suck* at.

So give me some ideas? How can I stop this wall getting sun and turning my living room into an oven?

NickyC

I'd suggest that most heat is coming in via the window.
So the first thing to do is to shade the window with an awning.
Then plant some fast-growing non-evergreen trees to shield the wall.

DadAgain

nah - its the wall that gets hot (warm to the touch today - on a hot january day it'd be too hot to touch) - and stays warm well past sundown as the bricks retain the heat.

NickyC

What, hot on the inside?

You're supposed to have your living rooms in north-facing rooms for optimal energy efficiency. Those walls and windows should be shaded with decent sized eaves, though. Doesn't look like you've any eaves there, though!

In addition to (or instead of) the window awning, build a pergola and plant a vine over it to provide shade?

paulry

Shade cloth?

Or something like this:

ABCDiamond

I would consider some shade sails for that area..

scottishcelts

Shade sails would have been my option too

paulry

Latticework similar to the above image might do the trick

NickyC

Take a read of this for some good shade ideas - http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/resources/4338.pdf

fish.01

Can you get the wall insulated (eg. foam injected through plasterboard).

Alfresco

Are you not allowed to put up a proper carport type structure with/without planning permission?

I've seen loads of houses on Oz websites that have canopy/carport type structures already built on the house and around the sides.

paulry

I would guess that there are rules governing that - especially in Australia. But maybe a wood-framed (non-permanent) construction is allowable?