Browse Forums Building A New House Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 28Oct 17, 2019 7:10 pm powersquad Hello everyone, I have been member of this forum for few years but I always have been a lurker going through some amazing house builds of members in Australia. There is not an active community in New Zealand for new house builds like homeone so I have been gathering ideas and tips from the homeone community for past few years from various beautiful homes community members here have documented on this forum. We are now ready to build our own home here in New Zealand and thought it would give my neighbours across the ditch a perspective about a new home build in New Zealand. We bought the section in September 2018 from the subdivision developer and settled in November . During this one month gap, we gathered all our must haves, materials selection we had decided on and any wishlist to pass onto an architect that we hired to design us our dream home. After major issues at the local city council to get the consent plans approved and loads of $$ spent on engineering reports to supply to council, we finally got our approved building consent, 8 months after submitting it to council when at max it should take 20 working days. During the submission process of building consent to council, we had engaged 3 seperate independent building companies that are not franchises and only build bespoke homes to figure out who we would get with and their build price offer. This was a good experience as all three builders are good but we said no to one because their price came out quite high compared to other 2 builders. The winning difference between remaining two builders was that our chosen builder could start building for us quicker than the 2nd builder which we would have had to wait 5 months on for and our chosen builder works on cost + 8% basis so it is an open book contract where they supply me all the original invoices from their sub tradies and I pay them directly and pay the builder 8% margin on those sub tradies invoices. There are lot of tradies that we are going directly with that we are confident that we can project manage those easily to save the 8%. Below is what our final plans are. The work was meant to start today in terms of digging the land but it rained all day so that did not happen. Our move in month has been advised for mid March but we realistically think it will be mid April. Good news is that day light savings is ending this week so tradies will work longer most likely due to more daylight. The house is what you refer to in Australia in sq being 27sq where as in New Zealand we refer to it being in sqm which is 249sqm + 20sqm covered alfresco. Land size is 684sqm. One benefit you still see in New Zealand is bigger land size available although I have now seen 300sqm to 400sqm land in sub divisions now which are all filled with double storey houses. We are looking forward to keep this thread updated as the build progress happens with photos and our materials selection and hopefully get more ideas from this community and answer any queries regarding our build or New Zealand building code like double glazing in window and door joinery being mandatory for all new builds since 2009. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kia Ora! Plans look AH-MAZING! Following on with interest. Why do councils drag their heels? Hope the build journey is as fab as those sketches. cheers https://thomasarcherbuild.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html - Thomas Archer Homes - Custom Nouveau 41 Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 29Nov 01, 2019 4:45 pm Slow progress in the last couple of weeks. The builders mainly just fixed any framing issues they found and fully completed the roof installation and prepared for external cladding. The electrician has started wiring the house first for mains electrical and then after that I will supply the network wall mount rack panel and have 40 network cable runs across to various parts of the house and 3 internal fibre cable runs as well. Today all windows and some of the sliding door joinery have been installed and there was a big smile on the face when we saw it as it’s the perfect shade of gray powder coat colour we wanted to match the roof and green tint goes very well with it. All the door and window joinery is double glazed with argon gas in between and green tint on the outside glass. In the third photo which is the master bedroom, only half the slider has been installed and you can see the 5PM sunlight coming in via both the green tint panel and through the missing sliding door gap. There was virtually no heat experienced on skin when standing behind the tint panel. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 30Nov 01, 2019 5:17 pm Great to see some progress! Windows look amazing https://thomasarcherbuild.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html - Thomas Archer Homes - Custom Nouveau 41 Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 31Nov 15, 2019 6:21 pm Bricklayer has started his work. We went with a rumble face out look which shows rough edges. We are going with white paint on the brick so it will looks the photo below in white paint. All the slider doors have been installed as well and garage has plywood in front. Still waiting fo fo main front entry door to be delivered and installed and then we will be in rough lock up. I have run close to 40 data/network cable runs around the house. The 2.4M high sliding doors look huge and let in a lot of daylight and make the rooms look spacious so it was worth raising the ceiling height to 2.7M. We are going with 2.2M high internal doors. Really wanted 2.4M high internal doors but the cost was very high and would blow budget a bit. The photo of wood panels is from a company called Abodo which is based out of NZ but have now done various projects around the world with their wood. It’s sustainable wood and looks just like Cedar. We got it stained at the factory with 3 coats of this Swedish product called sioo:x which will protect it from weather damage. The colour of wood will naturally change over the course of 12months from blonde/brown to silver/grey. They had other stain colour options but we decided to leave it natural and apply the sioo:x coating on top. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 32Nov 16, 2019 7:55 pm Good progress? Hope the weather is being kind. https://thomasarcherbuild.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html - Thomas Archer Homes - Custom Nouveau 41 Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 33Nov 19, 2019 6:56 pm Blacktea2sugars Good progress? Hope the weather is being kind. Happy with the progress. Everything on target so far. We are not too worried if we did miss our move in date on Feb 2020 last week by a week or two. Weather is great now. Hardly any rain and longer days = tradies working longer during the day Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 34Nov 19, 2019 7:00 pm We just received photos of our stone bathtub and stone basins just recently finished their production from the supplier. The bathtub will be a challenge to carry and move into the bathroom as it weighs 200KG alone. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 35Feb 09, 2020 8:22 pm Apologies for not updating the build thread for so long. I have been very busy with work and looking after the house build and sort some issues. The scaffolding has been removed and Abodo wood has been installed in most areas along with brick for external cladding. The bricks will be painted white. GIB/plaster board has also started this week and insulation was completed last week. Insulation installers did a below average job of installing it correctly and is some cases even installing any at all so I did an inspection the evening insulation guys finished as GIB was starting the next day after council inspection the next morning for insulation. In few areas one of the cheeky insulation installers fronted up half the thickness of what we had specified on external and internal walls as he must have been trying to use off cuts and couldn’t bother putting full size thickness in. We told the builder that this is unacceptable and they made the regional manager for insulation brand come out who told off their recommended insulation installers and made them check it all and re do it properly. Our basins and bathtub also arrived from factory and looks great. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 36May 15, 2020 1:10 pm Hello everyone again. An update after 3 months. Coronavirus lockdown here in New Zealand was a lot stricter for both consumers and businesses compared to Australia so building site had no work done from 23rd March to 30th April. The painters have finished both on the outside and inside and garage door has been installed. The photos make the paint look dark but its actually a very light finish in person. We went same colour everywhere except for one entrance feature wall which is a subtle hint of pink that was hard to capture in photo due to darkness it shows via phone camera. Attic ladder was installed pre-lockdown. Next week, the tilers begin, kitchen joiner begins for part kitchen, laundry and scullery area gets installed and electrician will start installing LED lights and power points. Electrician and HVAC have cut their holes for LED lights. Hoping to have the house handover by end of June but COVID-19 situation if it gets worse again can delay the hand over. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 37May 15, 2020 1:56 pm KingTaco Looking really good! Remember to take lots of photos of the frames in each room so when you move in you know where it all is - helpful for curtain rods, clocks etc That's good advice! I took lots of photos of our previous house build (20 years ago) and when we purchased a fridge with water dispenser, I was able to see the water pipes in the cavity framework above the fridge recess in the photos (I knew it would be there somewhere, they don't pipe through the slab for taps and sinks). Our plumber friend was able to put a T-piece in, and a tap behind the fridge for use, so now we have chilled, filtered water anytime, along with ice! Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 38May 16, 2020 10:44 pm WOW! That is one striking house! I love the floor plan, so unique! Can't wait to see the progress Re: 100% Pure New Zealand. A Kiwi build journey 39May 21, 2020 12:20 pm It is now full steam ahead at the house. Tilers have started and almost finished waterproofing the 2 bathrooms. Tiles have arrived. They are heavy and big 1200 x 600 and we will get them laid in 1/3 stretcher bond format. We got bulk of our 1200 x 600 tiles in Metaline Steel Matt and the feature walls in Metaline Iron Matt. The big brown box in garage is also our 2 x kitchen splashback tiles which are 2600 x 1200 in Metaline Iron Matt as well. The tiler is going to have fun installing those I am sure.
Sparky has fitted off most power points. I will do the data cabling keystones and front covers sometime closer to handover. Kitchen joiner has installed the caraccas in kitchen, scullery and laundry area. He also installed the wardrobes in kids bedrooms and our master bedroom which I forgot to take a photo of but will post later when I am onsite next. Very happy with how tings are progressing now. The phone camera is adding greenish hue to photos for some strange reason while the actual paint is white. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Any advice on how to ensure the kit home granny flat that im thinking of buying will get council approval. The kit home companys wont release plans without a deposit and… 0 7222 That sucks! Hope it all works out. Good to move away from steel anyway for all your reasons, but it's also thermally poor. 16 17875 As is per usual for many of the past failed RWH regulations, it is probably traceable to a bureaucrat who's ego overrode the need to seek the appropriate expert… 1 1015 |