Joe and Merylese Mercieca at their passive home in Yellow Rock. (Hamish Dunlop) Hamish Dunlop talks with Joe and Merylese Mercieca at Blue Eco Homes about the journey from a ‘fibromajestic’ home in Warrimoo to their newly completed Passivhaus in Yellow Rock. They discuss how sustainable design and building methods can support human health and […]

A fully accessible, exceptionally energy efficient and multi-generational home won NSW sustainable builder Blue Eco Homes the highest accolade, the 2023 HIA Australian GreenSmart Home at the prestigious 2023 HIA Australian GreenSmart Awards announced today. The home also won HIA Australian GreenSmart Custom Built Home, partnered by COLORBOND steel. This is the third time Blue […]

West of Sydney, the Blue Mountains rises dramatically from the suburban sprawl. It’s known for its soaring sandstone rock formations, native bushland and quaint villages. This World Heritage-listed wonderland is counterbalanced by the ever-present extremes of nature. High temperatures, low rainfall and periods of high winds makes it one of the most bushfire-prone areas in […]

Yellow Rock resident Bethany Mercieca has been named the Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) Australian Apprentice of the Year.

Name: Beth Mercieca Role: Apprentice Carpenter, Blue Eco Homes Location: Blue Mountains, NSW 🇦🇺 Instagram: @chickenchippybuilds Brief role description/main responsibilities. As an apprentice carpenter, my main role is to assist the carpenter tradesperson onsite with whatever tasks are needed, whilst also learning and improving my skills. With the course I am doing it is completely […]

Growing up with her dad working in the construction industry, Bethany took any opportunity she could to go to the job site with him. Her passion for construction grew and once she completed her schooling, she started work as a labourer. She quickly realised that she loved being on site more than anything and made […]

The Sharpest Tool in the Shed: Tradies Taking the Lead In the conversation around the quality of Australian buildings, the workmanship delivered by tradies often comes under fire. But even when homes meet the requirements of the building code, study after study shows Australian homes are still often too cold in winter, too hot in […]

Show #215 – Building a true Eco Home with Blue Eco Homes LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S SHOW ON iTUNES, STITCHER OR SPOTIFY OR LISTEN RIGHT HERE: Love our new show tune in the intro/outro? It’s talented Australian independent artist Melanie Horsnell’s song “Birds”. So proud to support this wonderful Aussie artist and have her grace the show with her wonderful words and […]

Women Driving the Passive House Industry is iPHA’s newest interview series which aims to highlight the remarkable women working in the Passive House community. The iPHA team interviewed a handful of the many women who’ve contributed substantially to the growth of the Passive House Standard around the world. Here’s our third interview featuring carpenter-in-training Bethany […]