HAWKE’S BAY FARMING LIFESTYLES August 2018
HOME & LANDSCAPING
The dream to build
Whether you are designing and building yourself, or buying set plan, there’s nothing more exciting than a brand-new house or fully-renovated historic home. Whether you are living on a farm, lifestyle block or in an urban setting, the kiwi dream is home ownership and no matter what scale you are thinking, it is important to have an understanding of council regulations for your area, contracts and exclusions, time frames for the project completion, costs and possible hidden extras. The time difference for project completion varies and generally unless you are buying a ‘house package’ an accurate final quote can be difficult, particularly if you are not set in your plans and ideas. Every ‘change’ you make once the build is underway will add to your costs as you are charged for such so ensure you have a set layout of the complete house design before starting. Ensure when you are asking for quotes that you are comparing the same things because at times cheaper quotes will leave out items you have to put in later, or under-quote on items your contractor expects you to change later. It is suggested that you allocate at least 10 per cent extra funding for unforeseen costs to help keep stress to a minimum. Websites such as BRANZ.co.nz and building.govt. nz have useful information explaining building codes, safety standards, sign
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SAFETY FIRST
ON THE FARM
LOOK OUT FOR YOUR WORK MATES
off and maintenance. BRANZ is an independent and impartial research, testing and consulting organisation inspiring the building and construction industry to provide better buildings for New Zealanders — transforming insightful research into accessible, actionable knowledge. When requesting a build with your own plans a good way to estimate the cost is to engage a Quantity Surveyor to price your project. Group home builders will generally be cheaper for one of their standard plans; however, these can be restrictive in the options you can choose. Designing with an architectural draughtsman will usually give you what you ask for, and an architect will give you a lot more, but you may find that
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Contact Pete Maclennan 021 416 971
what you want is more expensive than what you initially expected to pay. Check the reputation of the builder you choose and be wary of altering any contract with variations unless it is agreed to in writing and discuss progress payments in advance where necessary. Ensure your financial institution is reputable, have personal and builders’ public liability insurances in place before your build begins. With all builds, ensure you read and understand all the warranties that you are presented as these come with clauses such as ensuring you maintain and clean your roof annually and the warranty may exclude the use of specific cleaning products meaning your warranty is then void if these instructions are not followed.
BARRY WILSON • Commercial • Residential • Rural Work • New Houses • Renovations • Toshiba heat pumps & MORE! PH: 0800 500 551 E: barry@wiltrics.co.nz SERVING RURAL HAWKES BAY FOR OVER 36 YEARS!