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Michael Como
Director
COMO BUILDING
Registered Certifier
Building Surveyor
Building Regulations Consultant
Bach. Building Surveying & Inspection CQU
Assoc. Degree Construction(Civil Major) USQ
Builder Licence 40505 since 1988-2025
"Forging construction experience since 1977-2025 in Sydney NSW Australia"
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PLEASE NOTE- The intention of this blog is to provide useful information related to building custom homes in whatever form and related skills including environmental and contractual information. We review all comments & delete those we deem inappropriate or non-relevant.
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MC 2010 -2025
Latest Blog Posts
Building with Principles of Energy Efficient Design 2
Commonwealth Government Initiatives In 1992, the Federal Government committed Australia to a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. In the first decade of the 21st century, the environment has become an important issue and as such, the Federal Government has put a lot more money and effort into schemes to help the environment. Now each…
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Consumer Building Guide NSW- Things To Look Out For
Be wary of: 1. A salesperson, builder or tradesperson who encourages you to sign a contract quickly to avoid a price increase. This is usually just a sales pitch. 2. A builder who suggests you get an owner-builder permit while they organise all the building work. This can be a ploy by a builder who…
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Building with Principles of Energy Efficient Design 1
Ecologically sustainable development is arguably the central challenge of our time. We need to continue to develop and build to maintain our way of life. But we need to do this more efficiently and effectively to also maintain the ecological processes on which life depends. We need to embrace the principles and details of ESD…
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Environmental Issues 10
Wastes Climate change is real. It is no longer acceptable to pollute the air, water, or soil-the essential elements on which life depends. Cleaner, non-toxic production is a new necessity. New ecological awareness has been placed on the biological role of these elements for plants and animals and their interdependence with plants and animals in…
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Environmental Issues 9
Resource Depletion Building materials use up enormous amounts of energy, water and other resources, whether they are metals, ceramics, glass, timber, plastics or fibres! Some of these resources are running low and so we are forced to use poorer reserves and cart them greater distances, using more energy. Depletion of the world’s scarce resources is…
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Environmental Issues 8
Deforestation Vigorously growing a forest of trees is the best possible remedial measure for this problem. Using energy from the sun and ‘photosynthesis’, trees convert carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients into living tissue while giving out life-giving oxygen-in other words, helping the fight against climate change. Trees also help maintain productive soils, retain soil moisture,…
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Environmental Issues 7
Eutrophication This is a big word that refers to what people in country NSW and elsewhere already know: that waterways are dying due to the excessive amount of nutrients (especially phosphorous and nitrogen) washed into them. Constant use of fertilisers and other chemicals (including those used in construction) affects the soil and leads to deadly…
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Environmental Issues 6
Toxicity There are many chemical substances made by humans that are toxic to humans and other living creatures. Pesticides, heavy metals and other carcinogenic compounds have spread through air, soil and water to cause widespread environmental pollution. In my opinion, treated pine could be another source of toxicity ( we’ll see what the future holds…
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Environmental Issues 5
Smog Smog and haze have become an unfortunate part of many cities wherein many parts of the world never see a blue sky or the stars at night! Sydney now sees but a fraction of the stars visible 100 years ago. Smog occurs when nitrous oxides and hydrocarbons (petrol fumes, turpentine, solvents) combine with sunlight,…
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Environmental Issues 4
Global Warming/Climate Change With increased greenhouse gas emissions and the thinning of the protective ozone layer, a series of significant changes are predicted by experts. The Earth is getting measurably warmer. The polar ice caps are melting, leading to rising sea levels which is of particular concern to low-lying countries, Islands and waterfront property owners.…
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Environmental Issues 3
Ozone Depletion The ozone layer protects us from extremely harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Yet the natural balance of ozone (O3) has become disrupted by manufactured chemical compounds called CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which earthlings have used in foams, aerosols, air-conditioning and refrigeration. Halon used in fire extinguishers and other chemical solvents also has the same effect,…
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Environmental Issues 2
The Greenhouse Effect In a natural and desirable process: the sun produces light and radiation (warmth) to the Earth, at night some of this warmth re-radiates back from the Earth out into the universe, some gases trap the infra-red radiation thereby creating ‘greenhouse’ conditions that keep a balance between warmth and coolness that sustain life. …
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