NEW BUILD WORKSHEET

BUDGET

What was the total cost of the build? Jan: Excluding demolition, site preparation and landscaping, $753,000.

Are there any areas of your home you decided to save on and splurge on, respectively? We decided to save on our bedrooms by ensuring they were of modest size. After all, we thought, who lives in bedrooms? We splurged on extensive driveways, landscaping and a new tennis court as they were necessary to supplement the home. And how did your budget forecast compare to your actual spend? Our forecast for the new build was spot on as we had a fixed price, plus we had a good forecast for the provisional sums. Our budget for the demolition and renovation of the stand-alone garage and sleep-out was completely blown out. Furthermore, our forecast for the landscaping was way too low.

HONESTY BOX

Best lesson learned? Not to underestimate the importance of landscaping: planning for it well in advance, going thorough due diligence on competing contractors and getting a number of quotes. What would you never do again? Not adequately budget for landscaping, and make any assumptions about the presence or absence of asbestos in any demolition work.

Did you have any building setbacks or disasters you can share? Finding out that the demolition and building contractors would not touch anything without a certificate as to the absence of asbestos, then finding out the roofs on the old home and standalone garage had coating containing asbestos.

One thing you would change about your home if you could? We would extend the length of the lounge/dining pavilion area by at least another metre (maybe two).

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had in your home? The first Christmas. We had eight adults and five grandchildren aged 3 years and younger – the new home plus sleep-out coped admirably.

CONTACTS

Building team David Reid Homes Kapiti, davidreidhomes.co.nz, Tim Sunderland, 021 880 033

Kitchen Kitchen Elements, kitchenelements.co.nz

Louvre outdoor roof BD Building Limited, brcdunnett@gmail.com, 021572586

Joinery Stash Wellington Ltd, stash.net.nz

Interior design Wendy Elers Colour & Design, wendyelers.co.nz, 04 298 8000

Garage builder (standalone) Jamie Woodgate at Ultra Build, ultrabuild.nz