Building for the Tropics

We cater to your design brief, budget, lifestyle and most importantly your personality which will form the basis of our concepts as we strive to keep your dream alive throughout the design process. Liam Gilligan Builders is passionate about designing innovative energy efficient and environmentally sustainable homes.

For all our clients we recommend Passive Design. By designing your home with an awareness of the local sun, wind
 and temperature conditions you can maintain comfort and reduce or eliminate the need for air-conditioning. This is known as passive design.

Orientation – Positioning of a building in relation to seasonal variations in the sun’s path as well as prevailing wind patterns. Good orientation can increase the energy efficiency of your home, making it more comfortable to live in and cheaper to run

 

Shading – Shading keeps your building cool by preventing materials from heating up and heat entering through glass windows and doors. Using generous eaves, planting shady trees around the building will reduce heating of external surface and tint windows

Ventilation – cross ventilation and roof ventilation avoid hot air trapped inside the building and in the roof space

Weather proof outdoor areas - In the tropics well-designed outdoor living areas are often the most popular ‘room’ in the house. It should have an insulated roof, be well ventilated, achieve shading by smart gardening and generous sized eaves and link outdoor spaces to internal living areas with large bi-fold or stackable sliding doors, bring the outdoors in

Windows and doors – I recommend louvres, bi-fold and stacker sliding doors to maximise breezes Insulation – Insulation is an essential part of a cool home. While there are many material choices for insulation, they typically fall in two categories: bulk insulation and reflective insulation.

Building for the tropics takes local knowledge and expertise and as a generational Cairns familiy business we know how to get the most out of your home in the tropical climate.

Each one of our homes is carefully planned to withstand high wind speeds through cyclone activity and blocks assessed for the ability to cope with large amounts of storm water run off.

Shading is also taken into consideration with our designs. If your home is not designed right, you run the risk of having a hot home that is expensive to keep cool, particularly over the long, hot and humid summer.

We are small team endeavouring to develop lasting relationships with our clients through effective communication and by ensuring that we understand your vision will become reality.