passthepotato
Do you know the tare weight of your tandem trailer?
Realistically, your needs are fairly incompatible (1.7m height, $25k budget, 2,000kg towing (ideally 2,500, as most good braked tandems weigh more than 400kg with ramps and a spare), and wagon-type).
Since the height and towing capacity are non-negotiable, you may need to be flexible on other needs: 1: blow the budget, Audi A6 Allroad Quattro, or Volkswagen Passat Alltrack (must be recent models (post 2016?) for the 2t+ towing capacity) 2: SUV type but lower than 1.7m, Volkswagen Tiguan
Expect to spend more to have your towing capacity upgraded, and a good electronic brake control system installed.
Other contenders: Mercedes GLC (any diesel), although I can’t recommend owning one unless you hate money.
The flat roof doesn’t suffer water ingress during heavy/violent rain, only because it is a single sheet from end-to-end. This means if water flows backwards, it doesn’t go under another sheet, or under any flashings.
The asbestos, fortunately, is in good condition. The advantages: will not burn, does not rot or absorb moisture. It makes modifications a little more time consuming (adding power points, etc), because I have to do a lot of preparation and wear the right PPE, but otherwise it’s not a hassle to live with.
To give you an idea of cost, we paid AUD$1100 to have four panels (two inside, two outside) removed + disposed, and replaced with modern cement sheet. (Reason for removal, was so that a split-system aircon unit could be installed on that wall. Removing the asbestos first, meant that the electrician and aircon trades wouldn’t have to cut asbestos.)
How interesting - the bricks and blocks would act as quite a good heat mass to sort of, smooth out the temperature? (And chimney is the word we use also 😆)
Our cottage is built up on hardwood stumps, with a hard oak frame, and asbestos sheet cladding, both inside and out. The roof is almost flat, just a 2 degree incline, with corrugated iron sheets from end to end. Cheap and hollow 😀 hahaha
I don’t believe the government has any running initiatives to improve energy ratings on old houses, but there are certainly standards for new builds like you would have today. Generally speaking, because the summer sun disproportionately heats up our metal roof (and our ceiling cavity is not insulated), it will get to around 2-3 degrees hotter inside than it is outside, if no climate control is used.
The advantage on a sunny winter day, is that it can be 10 degrees outside, and 17 inside if we’re lucky :) (but of course that heat vanishes the moment the sun goes behind the trees.)
