Regulations and Resources

Building or renovating is a highly complex undertaking, full of risk but with an abundance of reward if it all comes together.
Kiwis love their homes and we love to make them better, but managing the risks means having to do some homework around the rules and regulations and not just abdicating responsibilities to your building professionals. The hardwork starts here…

If You’re Building This:

• any structural building including new buildings, additions, alterations, accessory buildings (sheds if bigger than 10m2), and re-piling
• plumbing and drainage
• heating (fireplaces), ventilation and air conditioning systems
• siteworks for a building
• retaining walls higher than 1.5 metres, or retaining walls with a building or driveway near the top
• fences higher than 2.5 metres and any swimming pool fence
• swimming pools
• decks more than 1.5 metres from ground level.

…then you need to understand some of the regulations around building and the processes involved.

Building Industry Resources – from Websites to Product Listings
You’ll also need to be in contact with your local council, you’ll need to make decisions around products for your home, keep on top of your budget, manage the building project even if you’re not the project manager.  You’ll see contacts for industry organisations in case things don’t work out well, hints and tips around designs .
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We have an abundance of resources for your build in this website, from details on:

• Regulations
  
• Council contact information
• Industry Associations
• Use our Budget Checklist to keep on top of your costs – Don’t let cost overruns blow your home building project budget.
• Check out the Builders’ Checklists in our ‘BoB – for Builders’ website here…See what they need to keep under control.
• Find great products for your build by browsing our Product Showcase here…

But you should start with the rules here…

Design Guide
Be sure to check out our Design Guide website – articles written by architects showcasing a project they’ve done. Our 2015-2 edition covers strategies for ‘affordable architecture’…check it out here…
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