Building a new house is exciting - but we recognise it can be daunting, especially if it's your first home. If you‘re thinking of building a new house in the beautiful Far North, this article is designed to provide transparency around the build process and outline how J&R Builders can support you along the way.
STEP 1 - Design
Assuming you already have your land, the first step is designing your home. We find it is helpful for budgeting if our customers have a general understanding of average square meter build rates before starting the design process. This helps to ensure the size of your home is appropriate for your end budget.
Once you have an idea of the size you would like, you can choose one of our standard plans which are easy to modify, or you can work with one of our local architects to customise something unique for your property. If you already have plans from your own architect, we can use these.
STEP 2 - Building Consent
A building consent is official Council permission for you to undertake a project that involves constructing, altering, demolishing or removing a building. It certifies that your project complies with the:
· Building Act 2004 and regulations – the main law on building work
· New Zealand Building Code – the performance standards for all building work, covering areas such as structural stability, fire safety, access, moisture control and durability.
Council will grant a building consent once they are satisfied the proposed building work will comply with the building code if the work is completed according to approved plans and specifications. We will look after this process and liaise on your behalf with the Council to obtain your building consent.
STEP 3 - Fixed Price Contract
The first step in preparing your fixed price contract is for you to visit our experienced consultants to choose your fixtures (ie: flooring, taps, joinery, kitchen) so they can be accurately quoted. We obtain quotes for all other aspects of your build (ie: timber & materials, gibb stopping, painting, plumbing etc), based on the Council stamped plans. Using stamped plans and making these choices in the early stages, guarantees accuracy and ensures no surprise costs during the build.
If you need a little more time to make some choices we can work with you to allocate a budget in the contract for certain aspects of the build. This allows you to get a fixed price build contract with the flexibility of making some of the final decisions around building fixtures at a later stage.
During this time, you can also start choosing and confirming colours and the other finer details of the build. We can provide you with as much, or as little, guidance as you would like.
STEP 4 - The Build
Once you have accepted your quote, a contract and 10-year Halo Residential Guarantee lodgement is then completed and building work can officially start. At this stage you will be appointed with a project manager who will oversee the build through to completion. Our project managers collectively have over 45 years of residential building and commercial construction experience. We are experienced project managers and pride ourselves on delivering projects on time and on budget.
We will provide you with a building timeline so you have an idea of the proposed timeframe & milestones along the way. If you are living far away from your build site, we are happy to email photos during the build to keep you up to date on progress. We encourage “walk throughs” with you on site during the build to ensure you are a part of the process and can visualise your new home. It gives both parties an opportunity for any feedback or changes (if necessary). Prior to the Code of Compliance being signed off with Council, we will do a Practical Completion walk through with you so we can ensure that you are happy with your new home. We pride ourselves in being honest & transparent with our customers, so this walk through with you gives you an opportunity to confirm all the details are 100% to your satisfaction prior to moving in.
If you are considering building in the Far North, contact our friendly team on 09 4061123. It's free to have a chat and we are happy to answer any questions you may have about how the building process works.
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