Wexford Traralgon Extension, Gippsland, Victoria

The Challenge

Homeowners Kelly and Matt initially bought their home in Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland as a stepping stone, but after moving in and falling in love with the area they decided to turn it into their ‘forever home.’

“We just love where we live. We live in a court. They don’t make those anymore. We love our neighbours. We’re 45 minutes to the beach, 45 minutes to the snow, and five minutes to my work,” Kelly said.

“So, we’re really happy here, and we just wanted to build on what we already had.”

Jay Langstaff from JSL Builders worked closely with Kelly and Matt to understand their vision for the home extension, adjusting the design to meet their specific needs.

For the upstairs extension, Jay recommended Bondor’s LuxeWall® luxury wall panelling based on his previous experience with the product.

The Solution

“When I had the first meeting with Kelly and Matt, they had a different cladding upstairs,” Jay said.

“I recommended we go with Bondor’s LuxeWall®, because I’ve used that before. It’s just a fantastic product.

“It’s very easy to install. It has very good insulation properties as well as low maintenance. Everything comes pre-painted, so for later on down the track, you don’t have to fix anything up.”

Jay designed the upper extension as a parents’ retreat. It includes a master bedroom, a dedicated retreat area within the master bedroom, a bathroom, and a study.

The extension was strategically planned to provide the family with additional living and working areas. The walk-in robe was a particularly important design feature for the family. The completed extension has effectively added a separate living room upstairs, giving the family more functional space.

Jay said the construction was remarkably quick, “we had the upstairs locked up and doing the breakthrough in about four weeks, including new sub-four walls, roofs, windows, and plastering.”

The LuxeWall® panels not only provided a practical building solution but also contributed significantly to the visual appeal of the home.

The VJ groove finish blends seamlessly with the existing home so that it appears to have always been there. Jay also kept the original guttering to break up the lines and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the extension.

To finish the home Kelly and Matt created a backyard “kids’ paradise” with a cricket pitch, Finska patch and basketball area.

“We knew what we wanted,” Kelly said. “It was really important that we didn’t want to ever go anywhere. So now we don’t have to. We can just stay here until we decide one day to downsize.”

Manufactured in Australia by Bondor, LuxeWall® luxury wall panelling offers an unparalleled combination of elegance, energy efficiency and durability. It includes a range of Matte & Metallic finishes and is available in different profiles to achieve any design aspiration.

This project was named the Best Renovation/Addition Under $350,000 at the MBV Regional Building Awards 2025.

Carlton, Victoria – Heritage Extension

The Challenge

As every renovator knows, taking on a Victorian-era home is always a labour of love.

When faced with the heritage-listed single-front Hawthorn brick Victorian house, Tony McKenzie of McKenzie Construction Group knew it was going to be a balancing act getting the restoration and modernisation of the Carlton home just right.

Starting with the heritage requirements, Tony needed to keep the first 5.4 metres of the house exactly as it was, which meant preserving the original façade and first bedroom while still modernising the interior.

Getting approvals was another significant challenge. Tony needed to maximise the living space of a home built with a small footprint. To make the most do the renovation, Tony sought approvals to build upwards to include rooftop decks with incredible city views. The planning process was complex, requiring careful negotiation and persistence.

Tony had to update the fire rating on the boundary walls, due to the proximity of the neighbouring houses.

Bondor’s LuxeWall FlameGuard® architectural wall cladding and boundary wall system provided the exterior walling solution Tony needed for reliable fire resistance, which is a crucial consideration in densely built urban areas like Carlton.

The Solution

From the intricate design details to navigating planning approvals, this project was a true test of Tony’s extensive renovation experience.

With 40 years in the building game, Tony knew exactly how to tackle these challenges, working closely with his partner Stewie and designer Emily Lewis to ensure everything was just right.

The result is a beautifully transformed property that preserves its heritage facade while offering a completely contemporary interior.

The completed home boasts three bedrooms, two living areas and two rooftop decks featuring stunning city views. Tony and Stewie maintained the historical character of the original façade and front bedroom while updating the interior with modern amenities.

The interior design, crafted with help from designer Emily, features light, contemporary finishes with timber grain joinery and matte finish elements. The top floor is designed as a parent’s retreat, with a master bedroom, private bathroom, powder room, and a balcony overlooking the city.

A standout feature is the rooftop terrace, which Tony described as a “cherry on top”—offering all-day sunshine and panoramic city views.

Tony chose Bondor panels for this renovation based on his extensive commercial experience, finding them to be a lightweight, pre-finished, and durable product.

He said using Bondor panels was a “no brainer” given their practical advantages and ease of installation.

“The guys at Bondor measured everything up, folded all the corners, and was virtually just our labour to get (the panels) up there by hand.

“As opposed to any other product, it was just a dream to work with,” he said.

The renovation successfully balances historical preservation with modern living, creating a unique and functional home in the heart of Carlton.

In Tony’s words, it was about creating something “virtually timeless”—a home that respects its heritage while offering modern comfort.

Manufactured in Australia by Bondor, LuxeWall FlameGuard® is an exceptional architectural wall cladding and boundary wall system crafted with a non-combustible Mineral Wool core. Designed to meet fire safety requirements for residential applications, it delivers a Fire Resistance Level (FRL) of 60/60/60. 

Sunpath Passive House

The Challenges

When Architect and Certified Passive House Designer, Niall O Healaithe of Sunpath Architects, was designing his family’s home in Melbourne’s Albert Park, he faced several site constraints and design challenges to achieve both the liveability and passive house certification he desired.

The property’s limited access and small lot size made it difficult to bring in all the necessary materials and prefabricated elements. Everything had to be carefully manoeuvred on site through the front garden, and later, through the front door opening into the home. Site constraints meant Niall also had to carefully consider construction techniques and building materials to maximise the home’s finished floor area.

Achieving the stringent building standards to meet passive house certification also posed a significant challenge. Airtightness and thermal bridge free construction are crucial for energy efficiency and minimising heat losses and gains. Niall needed a product that could create a continuous layer of insulation around the entire building envelope to avoid the thermal bridging associated with traditional masonry, concrete or framed walls on boundaries.

Bondor’s Equitilt FlameGuard®, a non-combustible and fire-rated walling product, provided the ease of installation, airtightness, and long-life durability Niall needed to meet passive house standards and create a highly energy-efficient home for his family.

The Solution

Drawing inspiration from historic shipbuilding techniques, Niall paired traditional post and beam structural framing with modern, high-performance Bondor building materials to achieve an innovative and aesthetic passive house design.

“The design has been really heavily influenced by maritime architecture of ships and sailboats and harbours,” Niall said, “I love sailing and the sea, hence the choice of location.”

“I wanted to build an ‘ark’ for our family that was close to the sea—connecting us back across the oceans, to my native Ireland—and that would guard us against the worst extremes of climate as it changes.”

He worked closely with skilled builder David Brewer of Feature Properties Vic, who also shares a love of the ocean sailing as well as practical solutions and high-quality construction.

For the structural design of the home, Niall and David used sustainably sourced timber to create a skeletal framework of vertical posts and horizontal beams. They then hung or fitted the walls and roof, including Bondor’s Equitilt FlameGuard® insulated panels, onto this timber frame.

The Bondor panels, with their continuous Mineral Wool core and exterior cladding, seamlessly integrated with the timber structure to create an airtight and insulated building envelope. The slim profile of the timber frame and attached Bondor panels also helped optimise the floor plan.

The panels’ fire-resistant core was also crucial for meeting fire safety regulations along the property boundaries with the neighbouring homes in very close proximity.

“I won’t be able to get in there in the future to clean them and paint them, so the pre-finished COLORBOND® exterior, which is guaranteed for 25 years, means there’s minimal ongoing maintenance required,” Niall said.

“The panel could all just get lifted in off the street by one crane operator and dropped into position and fixed in place by two people on the ground. It really helped in constructing the home in a confined space between neighbouring properties.”

The completed house achieves an eight-star energy rating and is certified Passive House Plus, requiring less than 15 kWh/m²/yr for heating/cooling. It also has consistent indoor temperatures of 21°C year-round, minimal heating/cooling costs, and high energy efficiency.

“The home reads as a language of exposed timber structure with the cladding panels like the hull of a ship,” Niall said, “There are porthole windows, rear and central decks, curved edges and handrails and rich luxurious finishes from the heyday of steam ships.”

Equitilt FlameGuard® is a non-combustible and fire-rated walling product with a non-ozone depleting Mineral Wool core, encased in BlueScope® steel pre-finished in COLORBOND® . The Equitilt FlameGuard® wall system not only has high thermal performance and energy efficiency but is fire-resistant walling panel well suited to long spanning applications which require Non-Combustibility, FRL or FM Approval for insurance purposes.

Aquatic Recreation Centre – WA – Equitilt Flameguard

The Solution

Bondor’s Equitilt® FlameGuard® non-combustible walling was recently used extensively on the $109 million Aquatic Recreation Centre and Dockers training facility located in Cockburn, WA. Equitilt® FlameGuard® architectural panels were fabricated using a premium metallic Colorbond® finish and functioned as a non-combustible (AS1530.1) wall cladding combined with high thermal performance achieved through Bondor’s innovative mineral wool cored wall panel. Equitilt® wall cladding created an exceptional architectural feature around all the function areas, offices and six basketball courts and aquatic facilities.

Sustainable Architectural House

The Solution

Leading architectural firm TONIC Design, relished the opportunity to explore the creation of a series of layered spaces with Bondor’s ‘all-in-one’ designer wall and roof systems in this inner city suburban street. Conceptualising spacious open areas with double height continuous walls and high raked ceilings, clean sculptural modern spaces with an easy connection to the external surrounds, delivering superior comfort and energy efficiency but without the additional cost.

Narellan Town Centre

The Challenges

The Narellan Town Centre, located in New South Wales, is the new hot spot for shopping, food, and entertainment in Narellan. With a three-year construction timeline, the Narellan Town Centre had a total size of 72,000 sqm to work with. The final product was designed to provide as a modern meeting place for the community, with a stunning façade to attract locals.

The Solution

MetecnoInspire® panelling was installed on the largescale shopping centre, Narellan Town Centre, with builders noting how much quicker it was to install when compared to corative composite facades. MetecnoInspire® panels provide excellent thermal properties and minimal structural support, with little or no fabrication prior to placement on the wall, leading to faster install times and lower labour costs. The project architect said “The design of the architectural façade is intended to give Narellan Town Centre a modern expression with clean lines and restrained articulation. Selecting the right building product was essential. MetecnoInspire® offered us an inspiring palette of colours that was enduring and respectful to the surrounding urban fabric, yet at the same time rejuvenated and repositioned Narellan as a new town centre”.

Yorkshire Apartments

The Challenges

Revived in 2016, the Yorkshire Brewery in Collingwood, Victoria, is a heritage listed six-storey building, which was transformed into a modern 15 and 17 storey tower residential complex. With construction beginning in 2014, builder, Icon Building Group, and architect, Hayball, paired with Cladding Systems to find a cladding solution for the project that offered great thermal protection, which was also cost effective, and aesthetically pleasing. These requirements led them to Bondor and MetecnoKasset®.

The Solution

By using MetecnoKasset®, $1 million was saved in scaffolding, as construction was made from the inside out, saving on space, and cost of scaffolding labour. The project manager from Cladding Solutions said they were “amazed at how quickly it all came together. With restricted vehicle access and a number of other limitations on construction, we found the speed and efficiency of MetecnoKasset® outstanding. The new installation method significantly reduced time and cost without compromising on an inspiring interior and exterior finish”. Since the completion of the Yorkshire Brewery, MetecnoKasset® has become the first façade system to pass the Australian Fire Standard criteria, AS5113.

Completed in August 2016, the Yorkshire Brewery refurbishment has turned into a contemporary new neighbourhood, boasting a range of restaurants and cafés in the area, as well as a selection of history monuments perched around the brewery.

381 Macarthur Avenue

The Challenges

FlameGuard® decorative architectural non-combustible wall cladding was chosen for the exterior walls of the corporate office campus, 381 Macarthur Avenue, Hamilton. The three-level building has been purpose-built to maximise light penetration for those seeking an A-grade office space.

The Solution

FlameGuard® was the walling product of choice for this project due to its excellent insulation attributes, but also for its fire-resistant ability. It is ideal for projects such as 381 said that the Non-Combustible Cladding FlameGuard’s® compliance with QBCC requirements made it a strong contender.

But what made FlameGuard® stand out from other options was the aesthetic finish that complemented the other gorgeous architectural features of the project. With the project size of 2700 sqm, Greystone Builders utilised FlameGuard’s® Non-Combustible Cladding to ensure the longevity of the building, where architectural compromise did not have to be made.