Innovation, sustainability and smarter construction are at the heart of how we’re building homes for North Queensland, and it all starts with the foundations.
When you think about building a new home, it’s usually the things you can see that get the most attention. The layout, the kitchen, the finishes and the overall design. But some of the most important decisions happen long before the walls go up, involving materials and construction methods that will eventually be hidden beneath the finished home.
At Stonewood Homes Townsville, we believe building a better home starts with looking beyond what’s always been done. It’s about exploring innovative products, questioning conventional methods and making thoughtful decisions that contribute to quality, longevity, sustainability and everyday comfort.
That philosophy has led us to an exciting milestone: becoming the first builder in Townsville to use the innovative Biax Foundations system.
With our first Biax slab now poured, we’re proud to introduce a different approach to residential foundations and share why we believe innovations like this have an important place in the future of building.
What makes Biax different?
For decades, many Australian homes have been constructed using traditional waffle pod foundations. These systems use large polystyrene blocks to create spaces beneath a reinforced concrete slab, forming a network of structural ribs that support the home.
It’s an established construction method, but like many aspects of the building industry, advances in engineering and materials are creating opportunities to improve the way things are done.
Biax Foundations is an Australian-developed and manufactured system that replaces conventional polystyrene waffle pods with specially engineered pods made from 100% recycled plastic.
But Biax is much more than a change in materials.
Its innovative design creates a closely spaced network of reinforced concrete ribs, engineered to provide structural stiffness and strength while using materials efficiently.
The result is a foundation system that brings together modern engineering, practical construction efficiencies and a more sustainable approach to building.
Engineered for strength and longevity
A home’s foundation plays a critical role in its long-term structural performance. It must support the weight of the building while responding to the natural movement of the ground beneath it.
This is particularly important when building on reactive soils, which can expand and contract as moisture levels change.
One of the key differences in the Biax system is its reinforced concrete rib configuration. In the Biax 215 system, ribs are positioned at approximately 750mm centres, compared with 1200mm in the conventional waffle raft examined in Biax’s technical comparison.
This closer arrangement helps distribute structural loads and provides greater stiffness across the slab.
In a technical study comparing the Biax 215 system with a conventional waffle raft under modelled highly expansive soil conditions, Biax demonstrated improved structural performance, including greater resistance to certain forms of movement and cracking.
The study also identified advantages in flexural and shear strength, highlighting the potential benefits of its engineered design.
While no concrete foundation can be guaranteed to remain completely free from cracking, these findings demonstrate why the structural design of a slab deserves just as much consideration as the materials used to construct it.
Every foundation must still be individually engineered to suit the home’s design, site conditions and soil classification.
For us, this is what meaningful innovation looks like: exploring construction methods that offer genuine engineering benefits while maintaining the high standards of quality and structural integrity that every home deserves.
A smarter approach to sustainability
The environmental benefits of Biax are another reason we’re excited to bring the system to Townsville.
Traditional polystyrene waffle pods are bulky to transport and can generate considerable waste when cut or damaged during installation. Their lightweight nature also makes loose pieces particularly difficult to manage on windy construction sites.
Biax addresses these challenges through a compact, modular design.
Each pod weighs less than 2.5 kilograms and can be stacked for efficient transportation and storage. According to Biax, enough pods for a 180m² home can be transported on a single-axle trailer, significantly reducing the space required compared with conventional polystyrene pods.
The system also uses adjustable components that allow installers to accommodate different slab dimensions without cutting the pods, reducing offcuts and helping maintain a cleaner building site.
The pods are manufactured in Sydney from 100% recycled plastic and are themselves recyclable, giving existing materials another valuable purpose.
Beyond the pods, the engineered slab design can also provide opportunities to optimise concrete and reinforcing steel quantities, depending on the individual engineering requirements.
Considering the resources and energy involved in producing and transporting building materials, even improvements to the way materials are used can contribute to a more considered construction process.
For Stonewood Homes Townsville, sustainability isn’t about one particular feature or product. It’s about recognising opportunities to reduce unnecessary waste, make responsible material choices and consider the environmental impact of the building process as a whole.
Practical innovation on the building site
Some of Biax’s benefits are particularly relevant during construction.
The pods are secured together using a specially designed interlocking Keystone connection, creating a stable, modular arrangement before the concrete is poured.
This helps prevent pod movement during pouring, reducing the potential for concrete entering unwanted spaces and improving consistency in the construction process.
Biax also uses specialised design software to optimise pod layouts and calculate material requirements, helping streamline planning and installation.
Compared with conventional excavated raft slab construction, Biax can also reduce the need for extensive trenching and earthworks in suitable applications.
For builders working in Townsville’s tropical conditions, where heavy rainfall can disrupt excavation and construction schedules, these practical considerations are particularly valuable.
A more efficient construction process isn’t simply about saving time. It’s about reducing unnecessary material use, improving site management and allowing greater attention to be directed towards the quality of the finished result.
Building homes designed for Townsville
Introducing Biax is just one part of a much broader approach to how we believe homes should be built in North Queensland.
Townsville’s climate brings unique considerations, from intense summer heat and humidity to heavy rainfall, cyclonic weather and varying ground conditions.
We believe a home should be designed with these conditions in mind from the very beginning, rather than simply adapting a standard design to suit a block of land.
That means considering how a home is positioned to manage the sun, how insulation and glazing can help reduce heat gain, how shading and ventilation can improve everyday comfort, and how materials will perform in our local environment over time.
Thoughtful design decisions can help create homes that are more comfortable throughout the year while reducing reliance on mechanical heating and cooling.
While the Biax foundation system doesn’t replace these important thermal design considerations, it reflects the same philosophy: looking carefully at each element of construction and asking whether there’s a smarter, more efficient or more sustainable way to achieve the result.
Because true quality isn’t just about how a home looks on handover day. It’s about how it performs, how it feels to live in and how well it stands the test of time.
Building better, not just differently
Being the first builder to introduce Biax Foundations to Townsville is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of, but innovation isn’t about being first simply for the sake of it.
It’s about being willing to explore what’s possible.
We want to understand the products we use, the engineering behind them and the benefits they can bring to the homes we build.
Can we reduce waste? Can we improve efficiency? Can we make better use of resources? Can we build with greater consideration for our environment and the families who will live in these homes for years to come?
These are the questions that continue to shape our approach at Stonewood Homes Townsville.
Our first Biax slab might soon be hidden beneath a beautiful new home, but the thinking behind it is something we’re committed to carrying through every stage of the building process.
Because building differently isn’t about doing something new. It’s about finding better ways to build homes that last, perform and feel comfortable for the people who call them home.
And sometimes, that starts right beneath your feet.
Discover more about the innovative Biax Foundations system.
