Build & Renovate Today Issue #52

ISSUE 52 2026 BUILD&RENOVATE TODAY MAGAZINE - ISSUE 52 2026

Say hello to summer

Keep your home cool, calm and comfortable

Fresh colours Dulux’s playful and restful 2027 palettes

Landscaping special Jonathan Boucrée’s shade tips and summer planting

Building in the South

Christchurch density, Queenstown’s record year

ONLINE

Local crews, national backing Geeves Scaffolding has been operating for more than 15 years, employs over 200 people and has completed more than 300 major projects across New Zealand. The Southland team is one of eight Geeves branches around the country, giving builders in Invercargill and the wider region a local crew while the gear, engineering and back office sit behind them at national scale. The branch handles commercial, residential, industrial and civil scaffolding, plus formwork and propping, shrink-wrap. Safety is run the same way across all branches. Staff complete inductions and regular training, risk controls are written down and checked, site audits happen daily, and directors still take part in audits rather than leaving it to a folder in the office. Geeves works in oil and gas, rail, dairy and commercial construction, so the standard the Southland crew follows is set by the toughest sites the group takes on.

Difficult jobs get engineering input early. Geeves has in‑house temporary works engineers who design scaffold and propping solutions and provide peer review, which removes guesswork around loadings on suspended, cantilevered or heavily loaded structures. Councils and main contractors increasingly want that documentation before anyone climbs on, and having engineers in house shortens the wait. Southland weather is a constant factor. Shrink-wrap and temporary roofing keep trades

"Geeves works in oil and gas, rail, dairy and commercial construction, so the standard the Southland crew follows is set by the toughest sites the group takes on." working through winter, protect exposed frames or reclads, and create contained spaces for blasting, painting and asbestos work. It is one of the most requested services in the south and one of the simplest ways to protect a build programme when the forecast turns bad. Residential jobs sit alongside larger contracts. A reroof, reclad or two‑storey new build still needs compliant edge protection and a platform trades will actually use, and the

branch quotes that work with the same process it applies to a commercial site. Homeowners new to scaffolding are told what the hire period covers and what happens if the programme slips. The events side uses the same stock and crew. Stages, towers, seating platforms and marquee structures go up for community events, sports fixtures and concerts, put together by riggers who spend the rest of the year on construction sites. For builders, developers and homeowners, the offer is simple: talk to someone who lives in the region, get a free quote and advice on access before the job is priced, and deal with a branch that can scale up if the project grows. Contact general manager Mike Keen on 027 673 1135 or mikek@geeves.co.nz, phone 0800 GEEVES, or visit www.geeves.co.nz for the full range of services and branch locations.

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Mike Keen General Manager ï 027 673 1135 º mikek@geeves.co.nz

8 Basstian Street, Prestonville, Invercargill 9810

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12

In this issue... 12.

Time to play Dulux’s 2027 Play palette

16.

Material matters Fabric and texture for a warmer, lived-in home

Made for the shade

20.

A summer in the garden Plant, water, pick, repeat

24.

Rich and restful Jewel tones or calm, tactile rooms? Dulux covers both

34.

ISSUE 52 2026 BUILD&RENOVATE TODAY MAGAZINE - ISSUE 52 2026

Jonathan Boucrée on shade, big pots and the best seat

Say hello to summer

Keep your home cool, calm and comfortable

Fresh colours Dulux’s playful and restful 2027 palettes

Building in the South

Make your own garden planter

Christchurch density, Queenstown’s record year

Turn an old pallet into a planter in an afternoon

30.

Young Landscaper of the Year Canterbury’s Connor Sullivan takes the national title

36.

Cool by design BRANZ on stopping the sun before it reaches the glass

38.

Shop smart, live smarter What supermarkets can teach your front entrance

42.

Bill shifts who pays Who pays when building work goes wrong

44.

Building in the South Christchurch density and Queenstown’s record year

51.

New pool warnings now in force What sellers must tell you, and who has to fence

4 | www.buildandrenovate.co.nz

Landscaping special Jonathan Boucrée’s shade tips and summer planting

24

ONLINE

20 Cover image: Stylist: Bree Banfield Photographer: Lisa Cohen Colours: Dulux Clutha, Dulux Silverstream

18.

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DISCLAIMER: Please note prices listed here are recommended retail pricing. Prices are subject to change at the discretion of the seller. The information on this page is for information purposes only. AMark Publishing NZ Ltd assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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Summer’s on its way, and this issue is built for it. Our garden guide comes down to timing, from soil temperature to picking courgettes before they turn into marrows. Landscape designer Jonathan Boucrée talks summer shade, big pots and finding the best seat in the garden. Inside, BRANZ explains why summer comfort now needs the attention we’ve spent decades giving winter, and why the best fixes stop the sun before it reaches the glass. The Dulux Colour Forecast 2027 runs from playful stripes and berry walls to calm, tactile rooms, and we look at what supermarkets can teach your front entrance. There’s news worth knowing. A Bill before Parliament would change who pays when building work goes wrong, Christchurch has pulled back on density rules, and new pool warnings are now in force. We hope this issue of Build and Renovate inspires dream projects in your home this summer! Happy reading, the team at

PUBLISHER Academy Group - 38 Lowe Street, Addington, Christchurch 8011

MANAGING DIRECTOR Gary Collins

GENERAL MANAGER OF OPERATIONS

Kylie Palermo kylie@academygroup.co.nz

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ART DIRECTOR Jarred Shakespeare - 03 961 5088 jarred@academygroup.co.nz Design: Sarah Betman, Jessica Ann

PRODUCT CO-ORDINATOR MANAGER Amber Mundy - 03 961 5075 amber@academygroup.co.nz

HEAD OF CONTENT Ben O’Connell editor@academygroup.co.nz

ADMINISTRATION 03 961 5050 accounts@academygroup.co.nz

www.buildandrenovate.co.nz ISSN 2463-381X (print) ISSN 2463-3828 (online)

This publication is provided on the basis that AMark Publishing NZ Ltd is not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in these articles, nor for any error or omission from these articles and that the firm is not hereby engaged in rendering advice or services. AMark Publishing NZ Ltd expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication. This publication may include content created, edited, or assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice. Contents Copyright 2013 by AMark Publishing NZ Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission. You can read the full list of terms and conditions on: www.academygroup.co.nz/terms-conditions | www.academygroup.co.nz/competition-terms/

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Loburn luxury This 163sqm, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home on a lifestyle block at Loburn has taken the Regional Supreme House of the Year title in this year’s Canterbury Competition. It also won Regional Category Winner and Gold in the New Home $500,000 to $750,000 category, and has earned a place in the national Top 100.

The owner designed the house themselves, shaping every element around their long-term needs rather than settling for anything off the shelf. The form was inspired by a stealth bomber, with an oversized pointed cockpit flanked by a wing on either side. Those angles are practical as well as eye-catching, creating three separate outdoor living spaces. The home was also featured in last year’s Grand Designs TV series. Recycled timber takes centre stage. The exterior cladding and interior linings came from Loburn Sawmill, including freshly sawn 105-year-old cedar on the outside and Oregon throughout the interior. Corrugated steel trim adds texture, while polished concrete floors tie the spaces together. Colour and character come from bold, deliberate choices. Deep red barn-style sliding doors and feature walls, sage kitchen cabinets and a bright orange

wood burner sit against all that warm timber. The owner worked alongside the building team and sourced and repurposed materials along the way, with old Singer sewing machines reborn as bathroom vanities. “Character is at the heart of this home, expressed through thoughtful planning and a level of workmanship that never feels compromised,” the House of the Year judges commented. “What stood out to the judges was not only the finished result, but the clear partnership between builder and clients, with a shared vision carried carefully through every stage of the project.” The judges found that for all its quirks, colour and contrasts, the home hangs together as a cohesive whole. They saw it as a grand adventure for both the owner and builder T Dunn Builders. Living House NZ, Halswell Timber, Loburn Sawmill and Draftline were among the suppliers behind the build.

8 | www.buildandrenovate.co.nz

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Purlins and Girts – Cold-Formed Steel Structural Sections Purlins and girts support roofing and wall cladding systems in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. Freeman Roofing manufactures FR purlins and girts from roll-formed, zinc-coated high-tensile steel for a wide range of construction applications.

Freeman Roofing roll-forms these sections, punches them in-line, and cuts them to length. As a result, installation is more efficient and integrates well with metal roofing and wall cladding systems. In addition, this process improves consistency on site.

Supplying quality roofing products across New Zealand. We’ve got you. Talk to Your Local Freeman Roofing Branch For product availability, section selection, and project-specific support Call Timaru 03 688 7224 or email timaru@freemanroofing.co.nz Our team can help you select the appropriate purlin and girt system for your project. We can also provide supporting technical information where required.

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Key Features of FR Purlins and Girts • Manufactured from zinc-coated high-tensile steel • Cold-formed C-section profiles for structural efficiency • Available in a range of depths and thicknesses • Punched and cut to length for efficient installation • Suitable for both roof purlins and wall girts The optimised section geometry and material selection provide a strong, lightweight solution for supporting metal roofing and wall cladding systems. As a result, these sections are widely used across a range of building types. In particular, they suit lightweight steel construction.

Typical Applications Roof Purlins Purlins support metal roofing systems and transfer loads to the primary structure.

Wall Girts Girts act as horizontal framing members and support wall cladding systems.

Commercial and Industrial Buildings Designers commonly use these sections in sheds, warehouses, garages, and preengineered buildings.

Design and Engineering Designers must size purlins and girts in accordance with project-specific structural requirements, including span, loading, wind conditions, and bracing configuration. Therefore, engineers should select sections based on design calculations and verify them against span tables. In practice, this approach ensures structural performance. Freeman Roofing tests FR purlins and girts for use within the New Zealand construction industry. In addition, we provide section properties and span tables to support engineering design.

Important Considerations Structural Design A suitably qualified designer must select section size, thickness, and spacing based on load requirements and building configuration.

Corrosion Protection Zinc-coated steel provides durability; however, designers should also consider environmental exposure conditions when selecting material specification.

Compatibility Purlins and girts must align with the selected roofing and cladding system. In addition, designers must consider fixing methods and support requirements.

Family owned since 1956

Time to

play

Homes are getting brighter, bolder and more sociable, and the colour is following

A board game sits halffinished on the dining table. There’s a record on, a stripe painted around the wall and a bright orange balustrade on the stairs. Rooms like this are made for doing things in, not just for looking at. You can see it in what people search for. Pinterest’s 2026 forecast, built on its users’ searches, named a circus-inspired look it called FunHaus, with bold stripes, sculptural shapes and a touch of nostalgia. Houzz found the same mood when it compared searches on its US site in early 2026 with a year earlier. Searches for a “board game room” rose 45%, a “card room” 129% and a “playroom” 38%. Interest in a “mahjong room” grew more than twentyfold.

The Dulux Colour Forecast 2027 puts colour to the idea. Its Play palette is one of three in the forecast, and Davina Harper, Colour & Design Specialist at Dulux New Zealand, links it to life on screens. “In a world shaped by algorithms, endless content and digital noise, there is a growing sense of sameness and overstimulation,” she says. “The palettes reflect an urgent desire to create spaces that feel more personal, expressive and deeply human.”

Soft base, loud accents Most playful schemes follow the same pattern. A soft base does the heavy lifting and a few strong accents bring the energy. Dulux’s Play palette is built that way. The base includes Silverstream, a pale yellow-green, two blues, Birdlings Flat and

12 | www.buildandrenovate.co.nz

Balaena Bay, a cornflower, and Gonville, a mid-tone spearmint. The accents are Gillespies Beach, a rich berry, and Tokomaru Bay, a bright orange. A navy called Albeit and a warm brown called Whakapapa keep it grounded. “Together, these unexpected pairings encourage creativity, interaction and self-expression,” says Davina. Blue is the thread. Dulux expects homeowners to start treating it as a neutral, and in Play a blue wall often sits behind the brights where white once would have. The forecast’s styled rooms, by stylist Bree Banfield and photographer Lisa Cohen, push the idea hard. One layers three blues across the cabinetry, wall and ceiling. Another puts berry on the ceiling. A stairwell painted in soft Havelock Half picks out its balustrade in Tokomaru Bay orange.

“The palettes reflect an urgent desire to create spaces that feel more personal, expressive and deeply human.” - Davina Harper

Rooms for doing things The bigger shift is in what rooms are for. A playful home is one where people do things together, and the objects that go with that are coming back. Dulux points to record players, chess sets and board games as both things to use and part of the decor.

After years of “polished perfection and screen-led living”, its forecast says, “we’re making room for more play, spontaneity and self-expression”. So plan the space for it. Records deserve a shelf of their own. Recorded Music NZ found more than half the vinyl sold here since 2003 was bought in the four and a half years to late 2025. A cupboard for games, or a table that can hold a jigsaw for a week, earns its place too. Dulux pairs the colour with forgiving materials, such as silicone, rubber, pleated details and padded furniture that looks almost inflatable. Coloured glass and stone are an easy way to bring in a bright accent, and seams and piping are picked out in contrasting colours. Dulux calls the style “intentionally undone”.

Try it with a brush Paint is the cheapest way in. Dulux suggests a soft wall in Birdlings Flat with simple motifs,

stripes or organic shapes painted over it in Balaena Bay for a tonal look, or Whakapapa for stronger contrast. One of its rooms does just that, with a brown border running around blue walls. Stripes are central to FunHaus too, so a striped wall or ceiling ties both ideas together. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Dulux describes Play as celebrating “the charm of imperfect moments in everyday life”, and a hand-painted line that wobbles a little suits that better than a ruler-straight one. If a painted motif feels like too much, start with plain colour. Dulux rates painting all four walls as one of the easiest ways to change a room. Try blue walls with berry brought in through furnishings and décor, a pairing Dulux suggests and one that’s easy to change later. Test a sample pot in your own light before you commit. www.buildandrenovate.co.nz

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Material matters How to use fabric and texture to make a home feel warm and lived in A room can have the right paint colour and the right sofa and still feel flat. Usually what’s missing is texture. Fabric is the quickest way to add it, and it’s one of the few design choices you feel as well as see. A new collaboration between textile house James Dunlop and Australian interior designer Sarah Ellison is a useful guide. Their first release, Homage, began with a conversation about traditional mohair velvet and how to reinterpret it for Australian and New Zealand homes. Several years of work on colour, texture and materiality followed.

Start with how you live Sarah’s starting point is practical. “I’m designing for myself at the end of the day,” she says. “Being a parent with a kid and eating on the couch, practical stuff always plays a role.”

Before you fall for a swatch, think about who sits where, whether the dog gets on the furniture, and how much sun hits the room. Ask your supplier how an upholstery fabric wears and cleans. Keep the delicate weaves for cushions, curtains or a chair that doesn’t get daily use. Texture works through contrast. Velvet’s pile catches the light and deepens its colour, so it reads very differently from flat linen or a nubbly wool beside it. A few different surfaces in the same palette give a room depth without adding more colour. When you do want more colour, fabric is a low-risk place to try it. The James Dunlop team pushed Sarah past the warm neutrals she’s known for, and her fashion background brought something new to their palette. If your home leans beige, try a richer tone on a cushion or an occasional chair. Either is easier to change than a wall.

Old and new “I’m always trying to inject a kind of mood or a feeling or nostalgia into things,” says Sarah, “but then bring it forward and make it feel classic.” That idea runs through Homage, which takes a traditional material

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and gives it a more relaxed, modern feel. A velvet armchair next to a clean-lined timber table, or a heritage weave on a simple modern sofa, lets a room nod to the past without looking like a period set. Homage is the first chapter of an ongoing partnership and is available now through James Dunlop Textiles. For your own place, bring home samples, look at them in daylight and lamplight, and put your hand on them before you commit.

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Made for the shade Landscape designer Jonathan Boucrée of Lushlandscapes.nz on summer shade, big pots and finding the best seat in the garden. Jonathan Boucrée’s love of gardens started next door. He grew up in Louisiana, where his neighbour kept a vegetable garden between the two houses. “She grew cosmos out the front that seemed taller than me,” he says. “I’ve always been fascinated by nature,” says Jonathan. “Whatever I’m doing, I’m looking at plants and thinking about how everything is connected.” “Everything is so lush back home that gardening is almost easy,” he says. Plenty of New Zealanders want the same tropical look, but “you have to be in the right spot or choose the right plants, and that can be a real challenge.” New Zealand has its own advantages. “Here you can grow herbaceous perennials, which

you can’t do in Louisiana,” he says. Then there are the seasons. “Autumn lasts about a week there, and it’s my favourite time of year. Having it last three months is the best part of living here.” His favourite natives are the Asplenium ferns. “On any bush walk, I’m the one taking forever. I’m looking at all the small things happening on the forest floor.” With a hypothetical $500 to spend, he’d put it into one statement piece. “I’d buy a Japanese maple and plant it in a pot twice as big as you think you need. Spend more on the pot than the tree.” He’d put roughly $400 into the pot and $100 into the maple. A pot moves house with you too, which suits renters.

Jonathan Boucrée

Beating the heat

about fire,” Jonathan says.

Ask him what he wishes Kiwis did more of and he answers straight away. “Provide shade.”

“It’s not a question of if, but when. Using gravel and keeping planting back from the house gives it a break if a fire comes through, and it can save you money on insurance.”

“It doesn’t have to be a tree, but shade is a must,” he says. “A pergola in the backyard adds resale value, and it makes entertaining far more pleasant. You can add as much cover to it as you like.” To find the spot, he uses a lesson from one of his professors. “Walk around the property and sit down in different places. Ask yourself whether it’s somewhere you’d actually want to sit. You can feel where a garden wants you to stop and rest.” Lifestyle block owners have one more thing to plan for. “You can’t talk about landscape architecture in New Zealand right now without talking

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Leaving a legacy Jonathan thinks in longer timeframes too. Landscape architects work on fire and flood resilience and land use as well as backyards, he says, and most people don’t know the profession is there to help. “We’re taught to design sustainably and leave the world better off,” he says. “Plant a tree and let it grow. You might not be here when it’s at its fullest, but that doesn’t matter. It’s the decisions we make now that leave the world better when we’re gone.”

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A summer

in the garden

Most of what goes right or wrong in a summer garden comes down to timing. Plant too early and seedlings sit still in cold soil. Water every evening and roots stay shallow. Leave the picking for a week and the courgettes turn into marrows. The season has three jobs. Get the crops in when the ground is ready, keep them going through the heat, then keep picking and

resowing so the beds produce until autumn.

Plant when the soil is ready Go by a soil thermometer rather than the calendar. A basic one costs under $15 at the hardware store. Take the reading about 5 to 10cm down, in the morning before the sun has warmed the ground. That matters most in inland Canterbury and Otago, where a late frost can arrive well after the North Island has planted out.

Yates advises sowing beans once the soil is consistently above 20°C, and Kings Seeds suggests planting tomato seedlings out in October and November, once the frosts are over. Until then, keep seedlings in pots somewhere sheltered and bright.

White told RNZ that often works against the garden. “It’s healthy for our gardens to dry out,” she said. Gardens kept wet through very dry weather tend to have more root disease and soil problems than ones left to harden off a little.

Give the space to what you’ll actually eat. Salad leaves, herbs, beans, cherry tomatoes and courgettes all taste better fresh and cost more to buy. Maincrop potatoes and onions take up a lot of bed for a cheap supermarket return. Keep the numbers small, too. One courgette plant will keep two people going for most of the summer, and two or three tomato plants are plenty for a couple.

So, water deeply a couple of times a week instead of a sprinkle every evening, and do it in the morning so leaves dry before nightfall. Check the forecast before a timer kicks in after rain. New plantings are the exception, because their roots haven’t reached the deeper soil yet. Pots dry out quickly too, so check them every day or two when it’s hot and windy. A rain tank takes the pressure off the hose and the town supply. Store water on site where you can.

Flowers go in at the same time. Sunflowers, nasturtiums, snapdragons and Californian poppies can be sown straight where they’re to grow. Zinnias, petunias and poppies flower fast from seedlings, which helps if you want colour by Christmas.

Get through the heat The instinct in a dry spell is to water more. Auckland landscape designer Xanthe

Don’t leave soil bare. Xanthe says bare ground dries out fast and loses the value of its organic matter. Pea straw suits vegetable beds because it breaks down quickly and adds nitrogen. Lay it once the soil has warmed, though, because mulch holds the cold in as well as the damp. Lettuce and other leafy crops bolt in full sun. Shade cloth over the

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Keep picking and keep sowing

bed in the hottest weeks helps, or plant sweetcorn early on the north side of the bed so it shades lower crops later in the season. Watch the brassicas. White butterfly caterpillars strip broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Asian greens such as bok choy. Horticultural mesh or old net curtains make a good barrier, which keeps the butterflies off without spraying.

Lettuce and other leafy crops bolt in full sun. Shade cloth over the bed in the hottest weeks helps, or plant sweetcorn early on the north side of the bed so it shades lower crops later in the season.

Picking often keeps plants producing. Take lettuce leaves from the outside so the centre keeps growing, and pick beans and courgettes young, which prompts the plant to set more. Tomatoes do best trained to one main stem, with the side shoots pinched out and the stem tied to a stake as it grows. Deadhead flowers for the same reason you pick beans, because a plant setting seed stops flowering.

Going away over the holidays takes a bit of preparation. Give the garden a thorough soak just before you leave, move pots into shade and group them together, and mulch anything still bare. And when the courgettes win anyway, share them. Swap the surplus with neighbours, friends or a community crop swap, and pick up what other gardeners have too much of in return.

Gluts happen when everything is sown on the same weekend. Sow a short row of lettuce, rocket or radish, then another two or three weeks later. Yates recommends sowing dwarf beans every few weeks for a steady harvest rather than one big flush. Punnets usually come in sixes, so plan the rows in sixes. Keep a few seedlings in reserve, and when a crop finishes something can go straight into the gap.

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Small builds, fewer hurdles Kitset granny flats, sleepouts and expandable homes from Scandi Homes, built from Waitati Since 15 January 2026, a homeowner can build a single-storey, standalone granny flat of up to 70m² without a building consent, provided the exemption conditions are met and licensed building professionals carry out or supervise the work. The council still issues a project information memorandum before work starts, the Building Code still applies, and final plans and records of work go to the council when the build is done. A companion national environmental standard, in force the same day, lets these minor units go up without a resource consent where its permitted standards are met. The rules shifted again on 8 October. MBIE extended the exemption to certified composite structural products, including some solid timber and structural insulated panel systems used within their CodeMark certificate, and made it easier to connect a granny flat to existing water and drainage. MBIE says the change supports prefabricated and offsite manufactured homes, which is exactly the kind of building one Otago kitset company works in.

Falcon Brae Villa - 1 bedroom

Scandi Homes supplies flat pack and pre-cut kitset buildings made from Nordic timber, from a backyard cabin to a six-bedroom family home. Its sleepouts, including the 30m² Sprucescape and Ecovista, start at 10m² and are pitched as a teenage studio, parents’ retreat or guest room. The one-bedroom granny flats are the 48m² Greenfjord, 55m² Mistica, 56m² Fjordine and 76m² Norsken. The two-bedroom range covers the 72m² Visteca, 78m² Borealis, 81m² Skystera, 91m² Forestmist and 94m² Visteca- 2 bedroom Villa

The homes use mass timber walls, double or triple-glazed German windows and high cathedral ceilings, and the prefabricated components are made in 10 days. Custom flat pack designs are also available. Nordica, designed for adult children, ageing parents, holiday accommodation or a rental. The granny flats are designed to be assembled in three to four days. For a family home, the Skogspire is Scandi Homes’ expandable design. Its first stage, the Principal Mod, is a two-bedroom house with one and a half bathrooms, open-plan living and a kitchen and pantry sized so they won’t need changing later. Future Mods add a main bedroom and more rooms, up to six bedrooms, three and a

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half bathrooms and 203m², with a starting price of about $350,000. The three-bedroom Vikendell and Lumifrost run to 198m² and 203m². The homes use mass timber walls, double or triple-glazed German windows and high cathedral ceilings, and the prefabricated components are made in 10 days. Custom flat pack designs are also available. The kitsets are built by Mopanui Studios & Homes, based on the Dunedin-Waitati Road in Waitati, 15 minutes north of Dunedin. Owner Daniel Monckton is a licensed builder who leads three to four building teams, with draftspeople in-house. The business takes a project from design through resource consent and building consent to completion, and specialises in cabins, granny flats, sleepouts and holiday accommodation, with several builds underway. Its display room is open weekdays from 9am to 5.30pm and on weekend mornings from 9am to midday.

Eco-friendly, healthy, and customizable flat pack homes and backyard spaces.

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Rich and restful Picture two rooms. In one, deep berry and gold walls wrap around you and a gloss-painted door catches the evening light. In the other, soft green walls, honed stone and timber you want to run a hand over, with a pot of tea on the go. They look nothing alike, but both are about a home that feels personal and slows you down. Dulux, whose Colour Forecast 2027 covers both, frames them as a move away from “perfection-driven and digitally curated living”.

Jewel tones Jewel tones are having a real moment. The Pantone Color Institute sends a team to Milan Design Week every year to see where colour is heading, and at the 2026 fair ruby, garnet and amethyst stood out. These were deep, heavily pigmented reds and purples, often with a cool blue undertone, and they were layered one over another rather than used on their own. Pantone’s Jane Boddy called it “a modern interpretation of opulence”.

The finish mattered as much as the colour. Boddy saw high-gloss and lacquered surfaces make the shades glow, while matt finishes made them look fuller and deeper. Against a dark background they looked richer still. The Dulux Colour Forecast 2027 brings that richness home in its Treasure palette. Dulux calls it a shift away from stark minimalism towards “restrained maximalism”, favouring depth over decoration. “Dulux Treasure invites us to layer our homes with stories and materials that echo our identities,” says Davina Harper, Colour & Design Specialist at Dulux New Zealand. The palette pairs two berries, Omaui and Danseys Pass, with a deep blue called Precision and a smoky purple called Whangaroa. Golds such as Dipton and Arrow River bring warmth, and a teal called Plunge adds contrast. In the forecast’s styled rooms, by stylist Bree Banfield and photographer Lisa Cohen, one room wraps the walls and ceiling in gold with a berry wall in front. Another sets a purple

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wall against deep blue window frames, architraves and skirting. Dulux describes the effect it’s after as enveloping, and its rooms get there by carrying colour onto the trims and up over the ceiling rather than stopping at a single feature wall. Gloss is part of it, as it was in Milan. Dulux says high-gloss

finishes bounce light around a room and can lift both the sense of space and the atmosphere. It suggests starting with a gloss white such as Mt Hutt on a door, cabinetry or the ceiling, then going bolder with a berry. Velvet, drapery, marble and mixed metals finish the look. Patina is welcome, and nothing has to look new.

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and Tongariro, a light coastal blue called Puhoi and a warm wheat called Darfield. In Dulux’s styled rooms, walls in Matakanui, a muted tan, sit under a Tongariro ceiling, and Grahams Beach green walls rise to Puketī Forest on the upper wall and ceiling. Texture does as much work as colour. Dulux points to honed stone and wood grain, which soften sound, along with refined weaves, smoked glass, textured tiles and brushed brass. Sculptural furniture and handmade pieces suit it, and so do tea sets, candles and ceremonial seating. “We’re seeing a renaissance of gentle grids and Japanese-inspired latticework, bringing quiet order, balance and a sense of intention to interiors,” says Davina.

Where to start Texture and calm The other direction is about touch. Boddy saw it in Milan too, in clay tones and pinkish browns carried through clay, red marble, naturally dyed textiles, rugs and matt surfaces. “Texture was key,” she wrote. Dulux’s Sensory palette is made for rooms like that. It calls Sensory a tribute to mindful living, shaped by Japanese restraint and craftsmanship, and built around small rituals like lighting candles, making tea and breaking bread together. The colours are botanical greens such as Willow Flat and Puketī Forest, earthy browns Waipoua Forest

Both looks can start with a single room. For a calm, tactile space, Dulux suggests warm walls in Darfield, with greens and soft blue brought in through furnishings and accessories. A limewash or plaster-look finish on one wall adds texture, and a wool rug or linen curtains will do the same. For jewel tones, a gloss-painted door or cabinet is a low-risk first step. If you want more, pick one deep colour and take it over the walls, trims and ceiling the way Dulux’s stylists did. Jewel-toned rooms are built in layers, so there’s no rush to finish it in a weekend. Test a sample pot in your own light before you commit.

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The coldest part of the country Homeowners in Queenstown, Wānaka and Central Otago are building and renovating in the coldest conditions the Building Code recognises. The code splits the country into six climate zones for energy efficiency, and zone 6 covers Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago, Mackenzie and the western part of Waitaki. Nothing in the scale sits above it. Under the calculation method, a zone 6 house is measured against a reference building with an R6.6 roof and R0.50 windows, the highest glazing figure used in the reference-building equations. The rules are moving, and that matters most on new work. From 27 November 2026 the previous schedule method, the simple lookup table many builders have relied on to show their insulation meets H1, can no longer be used. The sixth edition of H1/ AS1 dropped it in November 2025, leaving the acceptable solution’s calculation route or full

modelling under the verification method. Anyone starting a build or a substantial renovation this summer should ask their designer which route the job is taking. Existing houses are a different problem. BRANZ’s 2015 House Condition Survey, still the most recent national picture, found that around half the country’s housing stock would benefit from retrofit insulation in the roof space, under the floor, or both. Through a zone 6 winter that gap shows up as power bills and window condensation rather than as anything you can see. Landlords have a firmer line to meet. Every private rental has had to comply with the healthy homes standards since 1 July 2025. For South Island properties that means ceiling insulation of at least R3.3 and underfloor insulation of at least R1.3 where it can be fitted. Tenancy Services can seek financial penalties of up to $7,200 from a smaller landlord for a breach. EECA widened Warmer Kiwi Homes in August 2025, bringing up to 300,000 more households into the scheme. Grants now cover 50% to 90% of ceiling and underfloor insulation for eligible households, depending on their circumstances and location. The home has to be built before 2008 and have no existing insulation in the ceiling or under the floor. Walls sit outside the scheme entirely. EECA puts the average saving at about $340 a year. Warmer Insulation works across Queenstown, Wānaka and the wider Otago region, fitting

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“In Central Otago, good insulation isn’t a luxury — it’s what keeps the winter outside where it belongs.”

insulation in existing homes and new builds and taking on sound insulation and commercial jobs. The company assesses the house first and quotes off what it finds, at no cost and with no obligation to go ahead. Whoever does the work, the first step costs nothing. Get up into the roof space with a tape measure, or have someone do it for you, and find out what’s actually there. Older ceilings often hold batts fitted decades ago that have settled, pulled away from the edges, or been shoved aside during wiring work. From the hatch it still looks like a fully insulated ceiling.

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Canterbury’s 2026 Young Landscaper of the Year named Connor Sullivan, a landscape architect with Canterra, has been named Registered Master Landscapers’ Young Landscaper of the Year 2026. The national final brought ten emerging professionals to Christchurch to test the breadth of their landscaping skills. Finalists sat written tests and interviews on Friday 18 September. On Saturday 19 September they moved through a full day of practical stations and delivered speeches at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. They were assessed across machinery operation, trailer and tool handling, soft landscape

“Connor’s result reflects the qualities this competition is designed to reveal: broad practical capability, sound judgement, confident communication and the ability to perform under pressure. He should be enormously proud, as should Canterra and the Canterbury landscaping community.” setout, lawn installation, profile setout, design, irrigation, plant identification, paving and hardscape construction. The programme also tested planning, health and safety, communication and the ability to work accurately under pressure.

Sullivan also received the Outstanding Achievement in Softscape Practice Award. He brings hands-on experience in landscape design and construction to his role at Canterra, with a focus on functional, enduring and sustainable outdoor spaces. As overall winner, Sullivan receives a prize package worth more than $8,000. It includes use of a Geely Riddara RD6 electric ute for October, a STIHL MSA 160 battery chainsaw kit, a Site Safe Health and Safety in Construction Scholarship, a DEWALT compound mitre saw and electric blower, a Primary ITO Prezzy Card and an Intelligro landscape supplies voucher. Registered Master Landscapers’ Rachel Louie says Sullivan’s result

reflects what the competition is designed to reveal. “Connor’s result reflects the qualities this competition is designed to reveal: broad practical capability, sound judgement, confident communication and the ability to perform under pressure. He should be enormously proud, as should Canterra and the Canterbury landscaping community,” she says.

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Cover that holds when it matters Umbrella Group’s Abby Esler on the gap between what cover costs and what it has to do Insurance is an easy thing to put off, and most people only find out what they actually bought at the worst possible moment. Abby Esler works in that gap. She’s an experienced, no-nonsense insurance adviser with Umbrella Group, which runs from offices in Masterton and Greytown, and she came to advising after years handling claims from the inside. Ask her where to start this year and she doesn’t hesitate. General insurance, covering your home, contents and vehicle on one side, commercial and business interruption cover on the other.

Natural disasters have pushed more claims through the system than at any point in recent memory, and every insurer is carrying that load. It raises a question most people never think to ask. Does the company holding your cover have the financial strength to pay out when a whole region claims at once? Abby puts that alongside the more familiar question of what the premium costs, because the adequate package is rarely the cheapest.

One misconception she would like retired. Advice does not have to cost you money. If your existing provider is already good value, Abby will tell you so, leave you where you are and take no commission.

stops trading, the point is to put you back where you were. The personal side of the book runs alongside, life, trauma, income protection and health cover. Umbrella Group places all of it across a wide range of insurers rather than a single book, so your circumstances decide the product. Every recommendation starts with the client’s needs.

Insurance earns its keep at claim time and nowhere else. If a house burns down or a business

If your cover has not been looked at in a while, that’s the conversation to have. “It’s our job to put our clients’ needs at the forefront,” she says.

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Make your own garden planter By Jacob Kennedy

Looking for an easy weekend DIY project? I decided to turn an old wooden pallet into a planter box, and it was surprisingly simple! With just a few tools, some recycled timber and a little creativity, I had a brand-new planter ready for the garden in a matter of hours.

The best part? You don’t need to be an expert at DIY to give this a go. Check the stamp on the pallet first. Use one marked HT, for heat treated, and avoid any marked MB, which means it was fumigated with methyl bromide, especially if you’re growing herbs.

What you’ll need: • • • • • • • • •

One wooden pallet Long wood screws Drill Saw Black garden mesh or planter lining Staple gun and staples Cardboard Compost or suitable potting mix Plants of your choice.

2: Build the

4: Add cardboard

5: Get

Using the leftover timber from the middle section, I cut pieces to create the side panels of the planter. I then used the small wooden blocks from the original pallet and screwed them into the bottom to add extra support and widen the base. Secure everything together using your drill and long wood screws, making sure the planter feels sturdy.

Next, I placed a layer of cardboard along the bottom of the planter to help create a base.

Now for the fun part!

planter box

and compost

Then I filled the box with compost, leaving enough room at the top for planting. Tip: Make sure your planter has adequate drainage so your plants don’t end up sitting in water.

planting!

I chose lavender and rosemary for my planter, but you can use whatever plants suit your space. Once everything was planted, I gave them a good watering, and that was it!

1: Cutting

3: Add your

The finished result

Start by laying your pallet flat and deciding where to make your cuts. I cut the pallet so I had two sections with three wooden panels each, leaving the middle section to use for additional materials.

Once the box is assembled, it’s time to line the inside.

One old pallet, a few hours of work and a brand-new planter box! It’s a simple, affordable way to give recycled timber a new purpose while adding a little greenery to your outdoor space. A perfect weekend DIY project that doesn’t need to cost a fortune!

your pallet

I used a regular saw, but if you’ve got a jigsaw, I’d definitely recommend using that to make the job a little easier!

planter lining

I used black garden mesh, cutting it to fit the inside of the planter and securing it with a staple gun. This helps keep the soil contained while allowing excess water to drain away.

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Affordable Concrete and Paving are Concrete and Asphalt Specialists located in Christchurch. We service the wider region which includes Rolleston, Rangiora and West Melton. For over 30 years, the family owned and operated team at Affordable Concrete & Paving have been providing exceptional value when it comes to concreting and asphalt in Christchurch. Whether it be concrete driveways, patios, paths, pool surrounds, playgrounds and car parks. We offer a full hard landscaping package to our commercial, civil and residential clients all over the Canterbury region.

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Cool by design We’ve spent decades learning how to keep our homes warm. BRANZ says average winter indoor temperatures are about 3°C warmer than 20 years ago. Summer now needs the same attention. BRANZ’s second Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP2) monitored temperatures in more than 260 homes around the country. It found 70% of householders said their home was warmer than they’d like at least some of the time in summer, and 22% said that was always or often the case. The loggers agree. Living rooms spent more than half their

evening hours above 24°C. A quarter of bedrooms were still above 24°C at 2am, and average overnight bedroom temperatures are about 2°C higher than BRANZ recorded two decades ago. Hot bedrooms mean broken sleep, and BRANZ says excess heat also adds to dehydration and strain on the heart, with older people most at risk.

Where the heat comes from The hottest homes were in Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, but the causes BRANZ found show up in houses everywhere. Modern homes carry much more glass than older ones, and unshaded

windows let in a lot of sun, especially low afternoon sun from the west. The house then holds that heat. Indoor temperatures typically peaked several hours after it was hottest outside and stayed up overnight. Upstairs bedrooms fare worst because warm air rises.

The Building Code sets no limit on indoor heat. MBIE told RNZ it’s working on overheating requirements, but they’ll be considered in the 2031 Code review rather than the 2028 one. Until then, cooling the house is up to you.

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Cheap fixes first

Building or renovating?

BRANZ’s main advice is to stop the sun before it reaches the glass. Curtains help a little. Awnings, shutters, louvres and external blinds help far more, and shade sails can come down for winter.

This is where the biggest gains are. BRANZ asks designers to think about the home’s orientation, the size and placement of its windows, windows that open for a crossbreeze, and proper external shading. Eaves suit northfacing glass. East and west windows need vertical shading, such as shutters or louvres, to block low sun.

Open up when the air outside is cooler than inside. About 81% of HEEP2 households already opened windows and doors for a breeze, and a cheap temperature and humidity monitor shows you when. Keep the air moving. Ceiling fans, portable fans or a heat pump on fan mode all make a room feel cooler, and fan mode costs less to run than cooling mode. For the long term, plant deciduous trees. They shade the house in summer and drop their leaves in winter, so place them where they won’t block the low winter sun.

BRANZ also says modelling can flag overheating risk before a home is built or renovated. The software is already used by hundreds of firms. Ask your designer to run it, and ask how the plan handles afternoon sun on the west side and how the bedrooms will cool at night. As BRANZ puts it, a wellperforming home needs to be comfortable in both winter and summer.

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Shop smart,

live smarter Picture the 8am rush at your front door. School bags on the floor, someone hunting for the car keys, a wet dog and a parcel nobody has opened. A supermarket would call that a bottleneck at the entrance, and it would have designed it out long ago. Retailers think hard about how people move, stop and find things, because shoppers want to understand a store quickly. The same principles that shape how we shop can shape how we live at home. Entrances are a classic choke point. A badly placed display stops people dead, so good stores leave room for someone to pause without blocking the person behind them. At home, that means a landing zone just inside the door. Hooks at child height, a tray for keys and mail, a bench to sit on while you pull boots off and a rack that keeps shoes off the hallway floor. Then walk your main routes, front door to kitchen and kitchen to deck, and move anything with a corner you keep clipping.

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Good flow takes the guesswork out of a space. When everyone knows where the bags go, they go there. Width matters too. A wider aisle helps wheelchair users, parents with prams and anyone pushing a full trolley. A generous hallway and level entry do the same at home, taking a pram today and a walking frame later.

Plan the back of house Some of the smartest planning in a store happens where shoppers never go. Retailers map how stock gets from the delivery bay to the shelf, because a good-looking shop floor soon stops working when staff wrestle roll cages through a cramped back room. Your house has a back of house too. It’s the route the groceries take from the car boot to the pantry, plus the laundry, garage and storage that keep the living areas clear. Renovation budgets tend to go on the kitchen everyone sees, and the scullery gets squeezed. Put the pantry or scullery close to the internal garage door, give the laundry a bench to fold on, and the whole house runs better.

Easy to find, easy to change Stores use lighting, tidy presentation and varied heights so shoppers can spot what they want fast. Dark shelving makes colourful packaging pop, open wire shelving cuts visual clutter, and tiered produce displays keep everything in view while still looking generous. Steal that for the pantry. Stepped risers stop the back row disappearing and clear matching containers show what’s running low. On open shelves, vary the heights and leave some gaps. Retailers are also moving from fixed shelving to modular

systems they can reset for Christmas or a winter range without a refit. Homes change too, as the nursery becomes a teenager’s room and the spare room turns into an office. Adjustable shelving and freestanding storage keep up without new joinery. Most shoppers never notice the width of an aisle or where the shelves sit. They just notice the store feels easy to shop. A wellplanned home gets the same reaction, from the people who live in it and from everyone who walks through the door.

Retailers think hard about how people move, stop and find things, because shoppers want to understand a store quickly. The same principles that shape how we shop can shape how we live at home.

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Real Estate with Heart A: 13 Canal Place, Twizel P: 03 435 0303 M: 021 919 089 E: coralie@coraliereid.co.nz www.coraliereid.co.nz

Your local agents for Twizel, Lake Ohau and Omarama.

Building, buying or renovating in the Mackenzie?

Whether it's a bare section in Twizel, a holiday home at Lake Ohau or a renovated family home in Omarama, we know the land, the market and the people. From sections and new builds to freshly renovated homes, we'll help you understand what your property is worth, what buyers here are looking for and how to get the best result. Weekly reports, honest advice and a local team who live where you're building.

Bill shifts who pays for building defects A proposed law would end joint liability, make home warranties compulsory and require designers to carry insurance When building work goes wrong, a homeowner can currently pursue any one of the parties responsible for the full cost of putting it right. That’s joint and several liability. The Government’s explanatory note says that’s put a disproportionate burden on councils and other solvent parties, even when their part in a defect was minor. The Building Amendment Bill would change that. It’s before Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee, which is due to report back by the end of December, so the detail could still shift. As introduced, it moves building claims to proportionate liability, where each party pays only its own share of the loss. That would apply when more than one party contributes to defective building work and a claim goes through the courts, adjudication or arbitration.

The gap, and how the Bill fills it The catch for homeowners is plain. If the firm responsible for most of a defect has gone out of business, its share may not be recoverable from anyone else. The explanatory note acknowledges that claimants “can no longer seek full recovery if a liable party is absent or insolvent”.

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To cover that gap, the Bill would make home warranties compulsory for new houses and small-to-medium apartment buildings, and for renovations worth $100,000 or more including GST, where the work includes restricted building work and needs a building consent. A warranty would have to cover defective work for at least a year and structural

defects for 10 years, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment would register the providers. Defined design professionals, including architects, designers, engineers and surveyors who contribute advice or other services to the design or compliance of building work, would need professional indemnity insurance for qualifying projects worth

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IRRITECH Questions worth asking now

$100,000 or more, including GST. New offences would apply for failing to meet either requirement. For residential buildings up to 10 metres high, contracts could no longer exclude or limit liability for defective work. Non-residential buildings and anything taller keep their current contracting practices. Proportionate liability would apply to work consented from a year after the Bill becomes law, or to work that does not require consent and starts from that date. A project being planned now could fall either side of that line. The Bill also includes a safety valve. If warranties or insurance become unavailable or unaffordable, for example because insurers pull out of the market, the requirements could be suspended for up to two years at a time.

When the bill for a defect is split between the parties, who you hire matters more. These are worth asking before you sign. • Can you offer a home warranty, and who stands behind it? • Does the designer or engineer on this job hold professional indemnity insurance? • Which parts of the work are restricted building work, and which licensed building practitioner is responsible for them? • Who else will work on the project, and are they licensed or registered for what they’ll do? A professional with a proven track record and the paperwork to demonstrate compliance is a sensible choice under today’s rules. Under the proposed changes, checking those credentials could become even more important.

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Lifestyle

Christchurch pulls back on density rules The city has withdrawn plans to extend national medium-density standards across more suburbs, so what you can build depends on your site Two Christchurch sections a few streets apart can now come with very different possibilities. That follows the city’s decision to withdraw the remaining parts of Plan Change 14 that would have extended the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) across more residential areas. The national standards would have allowed up to three homes of up to three storeys on many residential sites without resource consent, subject to other rules and qualifying matters. In September 2025, Christchurch City Council voted to ask the Government to let it withdraw the undecided parts of its housing plan change. The Government approved the request in November, and the council formally withdrew those parts shortly afterwards. The council could withdraw because it had already zoned enough land for growth. Legislation passed in 2025

allowed withdrawal if the operative District Plan had enough feasible housing capacity to meet 30 years of adjusted demand. This was based on high-growth household projections, with an additional 20% of demand. Christchurch’s assessment put the required capacity at about 65,600 homes.

Where the density goes Christchurch retained medium-density zoning around the central city and a range of suburban centres and surrounding areas. The amount of medium-density zoning increased by about 50% compared with the pre-Plan Change 14 position, covering almost a quarter of the city’s residential zones. Elsewhere, existing District Plan rules continue to apply. Stats NZ figures for the year to August 2026 show Canterbury consented 8,933 new dwellings, up 35% on the previous year and the region’s highest annual total in at least a decade. Christchurch accounted for 4,904 of them, up

31%. Selwyn consented 2,420 new homes, up 62%. It also had the country’s second-highest rate of new homes consented per 1,000 residents, behind Queenstown-Lakes. Waimakariri consented 820, up 20%.

owner must obtain a project information memorandum (PIM) from the council before work starts. Relevant work must be carried out or supervised by appropriately licensed building professionals.

Cross the city boundary and the rulebook changes again. Selwyn and Waimakariri operate their own district plans, so developers must check the rules applying to each property.

The owner must also provide the council with the required completion documents within 20 working days of finishing. No building consent or code compliance certificate is issued under the exemption, but the dwelling must still comply with the Building Code and other applicable rules.

Small homes, separate rules Since January 2026, an eligible new, stand-alone, single-storey home of up to 70m² can be built without a building consent if it meets the exemption’s conditions. The

Two further conditions are worth checking early. The site must not be subject to a natural hazard identified by the council, unless

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adequate provision has been made to protect the land and the building. The home also can’t be built across the boundary between two or more existing allotments. An owner who fails to send the required completion documents on time commits an infringement offence and can be fined up to $1,000. Changes that took effect on 8 October 2026 allow eligible certified composite structural products, including some structural insulated panel and solid timber systems. The changes also clarify when existing water, wastewater and stormwater connections can be used, subject to the relevant requirements and available capacity.

Before you draw anything Finding out what your site allows comes first. • Check the council’s current District Plan maps and property search to identify zoning and relevant rules. • Check site constraints and planning requirements early. A PIM is required before construction under the granny-flat exemption, but doesn’t replace other approvals.

• Find out whether water, wastewater and stormwater arrangements can accommodate another dwelling. • Work with professionals familiar with the relevant district plan. Identifying problems early can cost far less than discovering them during the consent process. Zoning determines what may be possible on a site. Local professionals can help turn those rules into a workable plan.

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Queenstown consents reach record pace No district in New Zealand consents more new homes per head than Queenstown-Lakes. In the year to August 2026, it consented 2,080 new homes, up 32% on the year before and nearly double the 1,113 it consented in the year to August 2021. That’s 38.7 homes for every 1,000 residents, against a national figure of 7.7 and well ahead of Selwyn, next highest at 27.6. The district’s annual total has risen

three years running, from 1,165 in the year to August 2023. It’s a record run. In its figures for the year to June, Stats NZ reported that QueenstownLakes had consented more than 2,000 new homes for the first time on record, accounting for more than two-thirds of new homes in the Otago region, economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said. The district’s population has more than tripled since 1996, mostly through people moving in.

Otago as a whole is at a high too. The region consented 2,987 new homes in the year to August, up 21% and the most in any year since at least 2016, when it consented 1,681. QueenstownLakes alone accounted for about seven in every 10 of those homes, leaving roughly 900 for the rest of the region. More is on the way. In February 2026, an independent fast-track panel approved RCL Homestead Bay Limited’s development in Queenstown, lodged in June 2025, with 2,800 homes and a commercial retail precinct.

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Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said approval took around six months from the panel’s appointment, making it the 10th project approved through fast-track.

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The Government estimates it will add $720.3 million to GDP and support around 4,420 jobs during construction.

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Southland is moving too Further south, the numbers are smaller but the growth is just as sharp. Southland consented 459 new homes in the year to August, up 31% and more than double the 220 it consented in the year to August 2016. The region’s total had barely moved in the two years before, at 337 and then 351. Invercargill accounted for 237 of them, up 34% and well up on the 151 it consented two years earlier. Southland District consented 180, up 35%, and Gore held steady at 42, up from 41. Elsewhere in Otago the picture is mixed. Central Otago edged up to 312 and has stayed between 271 and 312 a year since 2021. Dunedin was the exception, at 472 new homes, about 5% fewer than the 495 of the year before and well below the 621 it consented in the year to August 2022.

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All of that work draws on the same pool of people. When consent numbers climb this quickly, builders and the trades behind them can get booked well ahead, while the region’s existing homes still need maintaining and renovating.

Building for the southern landscape People move south for the lakes, mountains and high country. New homes need to respond to those surroundings, as well as the practical demands of the site and climate. Dunedin

The Government estimates it will add $720.3 million to GDP and support around 4,420 jobs during construction.

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Bishop tied the approval to housing costs, saying Queenstown-Lakes had the highest median sale price in the country in January 2026, around $1 million above the rest of New Zealand. The panel found the development’s independent wastewater approach adequate, with the option to connect to the council network later.

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Is AI on Pinterest hurting

design trends? Pinterest has long been the renovator’s scrapbook People save kitchens, bathrooms and reading nooks, then carry them into meetings with designers and builders. A growing share of what turns up in a search for a cosy living room was never photographed in a real one.

In 2025, the tech news site Futurism found AI-generated images often ranking in the top results for common Pinterest searches, home inspiration and DIY among them. Many linked back to content farms posing as helpful blogs and earning from display ads.

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In 2025, the tech news site Futurism found AI-generated images often ranking in the top results for common Pinterest searches, home inspiration and DIY among them. Many linked back to content farms posing as helpful blogs and earning from display ads. A photo of a finished room shows something that exists. A generated image shows something that looks possible, and the gap can be expensive. US design trade site Business of Home reports that tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney struggle with scale and accuracy, especially with patterns, textures and floor plans. A room that looks generous on screen may not fit. The furniture in it may not exist, and there’s no product list or second angle behind the picture for a builder to price. AI still has its uses. Designers interviewed by the same

publication use it to show clients concept views on the spot. The skill clients pay for is still knowing what to keep and what to question. Pinterest now puts an “AI modified” label on images it detects as generated. Under Refine your recommendations in settings, or in the menu on any Pin, users can also see less AI imagery in categories including home décor. It only catches what Pinterest identifies, and it reduces AI Pins rather than blocking them. Treat any image as mood and colour direction, not a plan. Look for named products you can track down and photos of the same room from more than one angle. Magazines, builder portfolios and awards entries have one big advantage. Someone has built what you’re looking at.

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New pool warnings now in force

Retailers must now spell out the barrier rules on every pool they sell, and the duty to fence still falls on the people at home Since 29 September 2026, manufacturers and retailers of pools have had to display updated warning notices. They must also appear online wherever a pool is advertised, sold or shipped within New Zealand. The notice was updated in March 2025, and the 18-month transition that let sellers keep using the older 2017 versions has now ended. The new notices alert buyers to the barrier rules, warn about the drowning risk and point people to information that helps them use a pool legally and safely. The notices are new, but the rules behind them aren’t.

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the certificate was issued. For a pool that didn’t require building consent, the date depends on when the council was notified of the pool or became aware of its existence. An independently qualified pool inspector can carry out the inspection, and the council may accept their certificate. If the inspector finds the barrier doesn’t comply, they must notify the council within three working days. Small heated pools are also subject to inspection requirements in certain circumstances, although a qualifying safety cover can provide an alternative to a physical barrier. Fences and covers

Who’s responsible for the pool Any residential pool that can hold water to a depth of 400mm or more must have a physical barrier that restricts access by unsupervised children under five. The Building Act sets that rule, and it covers in-ground pools, above-ground pools, spa pools and the portable and inflatable pools that turn up in South Island backyards every summer. The duty isn’t only the owner’s. The law names the pool owner, the pool operator, the owner of the land and the occupier of the property. A tenant occupying a property with a pool therefore has responsibilities too. The purchaser of a pool under a hire purchase agreement is also covered, as is a lessee in certain circumstances where the premises aren’t subject to a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act. The barrier must meet the Building Code requirements that apply now. A pool installed after 1 September 1987 can instead meet 52 | www.buildandrenovate.co.nz

Any residential pool that can hold water to a depth of 400mm or more must have a physical barrier that restricts access by unsupervised children under five.

the code that applied when it was installed if a building consent, code compliance certificate or certificate of acceptance was issued for its barrier. Councils must ensure residential pool barriers are inspected at least once every three years, within six months either side of the pool’s anniversary date. For a pool with a code compliance certificate or certificate of acceptance, that date is when

Most garden fences up to 2.5 metres high don’t need a building consent. A fence built to keep children away from a pool is different. Pool barriers aren’t covered by the general exemption for fences, so a building consent is generally required for the barrier even when the pool itself is exempt from consent. On a standard swimming pool, a cover doesn’t replace a barrier. Only a qualifying small heated pool can rely on a compliant safety cover alone, and installing a cover for that type of pool doesn’t require a building consent.

Water off the network On lifestyle blocks and rural sections there’s often no council main. Water comes off the roof, out of a tank or up from a bore, and the household depends on its own storage and supply. Water-storage tanks have consent rules of their own, and the limits depend on both capacity and height above ground. Under the relevant exemption, a tank holding up to 35,000 litres and sitting directly on the ground can be installed without a building consent. The capacity limits reduce as the tank is raised, to 16,000 litres at 0.25 metres, 8,000 litres at 0.5 metres, 4,000 litres at one metre, 2,000 litres at two metres, 1,000 litres at three metres and 500 litres at four metres. Other conditions apply, and tanks outside the exemption may need a consent. The time to plan all of this is before the slab is poured. Where the pool goes sets the fence line. Where the tank sits sets the plumbing runs. The rules are national, but councils administer inspections and consents locally. Builders and suppliers who work across the South Island can help owners navigate those processes, from a Nelson subdivision to a lifestyle block outside Gore.

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The builder's builder Darryl Gardiner spent 24 years with one well known Nelson building firm, starting as an apprentice and finishing as a foreman. The projects he ran there included an extensive Nelson house that won the Master Builders Supreme Award for New Zealand. In 2005 he took that record and started Gardiner Building Contractors. The company has since won Registered Master Builders’ House of the Year awards in 2008 and 2010. It’s a Registered Master Builder, its builders are Licensed Building Practitioners, and it works across Nelson, Blenheim and the Tasman region from a base on McPherson Street in Richmond. The work splits four ways. New homes, renovations, alterations, and light commercial for owners building, expanding or relocating smaller premises. On a new build the company will work from your architect’s plans, or take you through the design if the house is still an idea. Either

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way it manages the whole job, organising consents and coordinating subcontractors so you deal with one team. Renovation asks for something different, and the company is direct about it. A renovation, in its words, “requires a different level of expertise compared to building from the ground up”.

“35 years of building in the region — with the experience to get the details right, from the first plan to the final finish.” The existing building sets the constraints, and the skill is in the planning, the problem solving and the precision that follows. The Ulster Street villa in Wakatu shows what that buys. A wellloved older home was opened up into a light-filled, modern house while the warm and timeless feel that made it worth keeping stayed intact. Falcon Brae Villa sits at the other end of the scale, a five-star eco lodge high above the Motueka River in Tasman, built with the natural materials and bespoke detailing that setting asks for.

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Most jobs sit between the two. Alterations run from a cosmetic update to a complete redesign of the layout, and the request that comes up again and again is a better connection between

inside and out, which is a structural question rather than a decorating one. Kitchens and bathrooms come through the same team under Gardiner Kitchens and Bathrooms, the company’s specialist arm for lifestyle kitchens and custom bathrooms. Same crew, same trades, same standard, which matters if the kitchen is this year’s job and the rest of the house is next year’s. The promises are unfussy. Timeless design, the highest standard of workmanship, competitive pricing with no hidden costs, and clients kept informed at every stage of the job. 35 years of work in one region is easy to check. The houses are still standing in Nelson, Wakatu, Richmond and up the Motueka valley, and the people living in them took the same phone call you’re thinking about making. Talk to Darryl and the team about your build, renovation or premises on 0800 033 939 or 027 484 0719, email gbc.ltd@xtra.co.nz, or see the projects at gardinerbuildingcontractors.co.nz.

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