R-value (insulation) typical straw bale houses have very thick walls and thus are well insulated. Snow is roughly R-1 per inch. Brick has a very poor insulating ability at a mere R-0.2 per inch; however it does have a relatively good thermal mass. Note that the above examples all use the U.S. (non-SI) definition for R-value. When determining the overall thermal resistance of a building assembly such as a wall or roof, the insulating effect of the surface air film is added to the thermal resistance of the other materials. In practice the above surface values are used for floors, ceilings, and
Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner the resources sector and academics. In March and April 2011 the ABCC held a series of Roundtable events in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, to provide a forum for all industry participants to discuss the issues surrounding unethical practices and reach industry-wide solutions. The ABCC released its Report on 29 November 2011, which outlined ten recommendations aimed at eliminating sham contracting within the building and construction industry. The recommendations range from looking at the legislative definitions of ‘employees’ and ‘contractors’, developing Whole-of-Government regulatory responses and examining how the ABCC might better conduct its core work investigating breaches of Australia’s