the natural flow of water across the terrain in the event of excessive rain and downpours. The underfloor space is often high enough for additional uses such as storage, a carport, or even as extra living area in the cool, dark spaces beneath the building. The underfloor area was sometimes decoratively screened at the perimeter with timber battens. Another advantage of being constructed on stumps is that the buildings are highly adaptive. Raising, lowering, reorienting, or completely relocating Queenslanders is relatively easy. The main living areas of the house, being raised from the terrain, are a series of rooms on a platform floor. Traditionally, planning and fenestration encouraged cross-ventilation for passive cooling in a variety of innovative methods, including fanlights, ceiling roses, and alignment of doors and windows to allow uninterrupted air flow. The veranda is the most typical inclusion in the plan, and can be used day and night as a semiexternal living space. In Brisbane, many people have tables and chairs for dining and a daybed or sleepout on their verandas. Whirly birds placed on roofs allow for hot air to be drawn out of ceiling spaces. The roof is a large and visible presence externally, and was traditionally steeply pitched. They are of varied materials, including slate and tiles, but are most characteristically sheeted with corrugated steel. The steel roofs could withstand torrential rains and be reused if damaged by cyclonic winds. Typically, the Queenslander is suited to the subtropical climate of Queensland of high rainfall and mild to hot, humid climate with average summer temperatures in the range of 23–36 °C (73–97 °F). However, the type is found across the state in both colder and hotter locations, usually with adaptations to suit. History With timber plentiful and the preferred building material in Queensland after 1900, a new product emerged to fill the need for housing stock – “Ready to Erect” homes provided by timber merchants with all of the pieces already pre-cut and readily available for ordering. The homes were cheaper than the other options for home building - either working with an established builder or employing an architect. However, it would appear that “ready to erect” houses (or mill cut houses) were more suitable to the Queensland house than those constructed in other Australian states or climates. The companies that offered this product in Brisbane were primarily Brown and Broad of Newstead and Campbell Brothers