Share Your Open-Plan Home is in the Past By Jason Duop / 27 June 2016 Give me some space. Open-plan homes were a perfect choice in the 50’s when optimists thought everyone could live together in harmony and family should always be together. But the 50’s were sixty years ago. And oh boy, have times changed. The shift from open plan to broken plan Architects are trending more and more […]
Share Are These New Zealand’s Ugliest Buildings? By Jason Duop / 2 May 2016 Architects, designers and anyone who doesn’t want eyesores, shield your eyes. The New Zealand population have spoken and agreed these are some of the ugliest fmaous buildings from around the country. Flick through the gallery and choose for yourself which one decides the title of ugliest building in NZ. You might even see a building […]
Share Read This BEFORE Buying a House in Auckland By Jason Duop / 28 April 2016 Are you considering buying a house in Auckland? Housing costs may not be your biggest concern. Auckland City Council building inspectors reckon you should be much more concerned about the safety of your home. Auckland city council is currently failing about a third of all homes inspected. Yikes. Council members have been surprised by the […]
Share Warning: Videos of Building Horror Stories Don’t Shock Council By Jason Duop / 14 February 2016 A lot of videos have been circulating Facebook of shobby construction. Vidoes so bad you think, “Wow… I”m so glad this isn’t in New Zealand” only to find out the video was shot in Auckland. Or Timaru. Or two towns over from your house. If you haven’t seem them, check out these videos on Stuff – but […]
Share Christchurch Recycled Brick Home Takes Rubble to Ritz [Photos] By Jason Duop / 27 November 2015 When the Christchurch earthquake hit in 2011, it left mass destruction. It also left more bricks than the city Government could deal with! Christchurch has been long known for it’s rustic and antique buildings, built with bricks in rich hues. So what happened to all these bricks, you may ask? A little bit of good ol’ kiwi […]
Share Standard of Renovations Prompt Electricians To Compensate By Jason Duop / 28 February 2015 It’s a story told all too often. Someone contracts a renovator only to be shocked with how poorly they performed. Kerrie Hardgrave shared her experiences on a website after she felt ripped off. However this story does have a positive twist! Three electricians were prompted to work for free to complete unfinished and uncertified wiring. One of those […]
Share NZ Welcomes First House Building Factory By Jason Duop / 9 February 2015 New Zealand’s first factory turning out finished houses has opened in Wellington, aiming to produce up to 500 places annually. Even though this is less than the 1250 annual homes by the planned Auckland house factory, it is still an impressive feat! Sean Murrie, Matrix Homes chief executive and director, said “People are building components […]
Share How to build a house: Find a builder By Jason Duop / 25 January 2015 The prospect of building a house is both exciting and terrifying. Eager home owners often want to rush the process because their vision for a home is overwhelming and they are nervous to get the project through right away. Unfortunately all this anticipation and restlessness leads to many overlooking the most important part of building […]
Share Record year for commercial property sales By Jason Duop / 11 January 2015 The road in construction is never straight; there are always bumps. Take for example the Auckland housing market – one step forward seemed to bring two steps back… and media scrutiny! However this year wasn’t all bad in the New Zealand property market. Quite the opposite actually! The volume of commercial property sales in New […]
Share Church has Big Vision for Site By Jason Duop / 31 December 2014 The Majestic Church in Christchurch has big plans for it’s new site. The church wants to build a chapel, auditorium, art studios, cafe apartments and a multi-story carpark building. You may have figured this is no small family church! Backed by 900 members, the church has 900 members willing to support the rebuild. The church […]