Passive House or High Performance? Start With Your Builder

Nathan is refreshingly honest about the early years of Newfound Building — the jobs he underquoted, the stress, and eventually the turning point when he committed to business coaching through Live Life Build. Simple changes followed: a structured inquiry form, clear business hours on the letterhead, and expectations set with clients from day one. Not complicated — but game-changing. From there, a second round of coaching through Future Builder pushed the business further, this time into job management systems and live cost tracking through their software, Wunderbuild. Nathan talks candidly about what that visibility over project costs has meant for how they run jobs now. Then came the building science side. A Passivhaus conference in Sydney introduced Nathan to the idea that a home could maintain a stable temperature year-round without artificial heating and cooling — and that was it. He was hooked. He signed up to the Certified Passivhaus Tradesperson course, dived into moisture management and vapour-permeable membranes, and started applying what he was learning to every project Newfound Building took on. Not every project will be certified passivhaus — but they all now meet a higher baseline: thermally broken double-glazed windows, ventilated wall and roof cavities, and quality weather-resistant barriers as standard. Nathan walks through what that actually looks like in a wall assembly — in plain language — including a really clear explanation of how moisture moves through a typical Australian home and why mould problems so often catch people off guard. There's also a passivhaus project in the pipeline: a build at Bellambi currently in pre-construction with Linden Thornley Architects, which Nathan is quietly very excited about. And his own family home — a renovation on a south-facing block — will push toward passivhaus performance, though whether it achieves full certification will depend on how far they can take it through the design process. Either way, he's planning to document the whole journey — and by sharing it openly, Nathan hopes to create a pathway for other builders, professionals and homeowners alike to learn, ask better questions, and raise the bar together.FIND NATHAN AND ALEXNewfound Building is based in Wollongong and builds across the Illawarra region.Head to their website to submit an enquiry — they've built a proper process around it, so you'll be in good hands from the first contact:newfoundbuilding.com.auAnd follow along on Instagram for project updates and a behind-the-scenes look at what building to a higher standard actually looks like day to day.I'm a Principal Planner and Accredited Energy Assessor. If you’d like to work with me directly in pre-design for your project in Greater Sydney and Surrounds, or use energy rating information to help make project decisions,head to www.sustainableholmes.com.au or message me on www.instagram.com/sustainable_holmes/I’d love to help bring your sustainable home vision to life!