Bright Build

NZ Government needs to ensure that alternative approved plasterboard options (e.g Board A = Gib Braceline BL1) are recognised by Local Building Consent Authorities as a direct substitute, WITHOUT requiring an amendment to Building Consents. Consent amendments cause additional delays (often taking weeks/months to process) and create further costs for homeowners.
Practical help from Government would be to facilitate and expedite bulk shipments of these approved plasterboards into NZ building supply merchants so that all builders can have equitable access to product.
Given construction is responsible for employing 10% of the Kiwi workforce (June 2021) - that's over 275,000 livelihoods at stake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOSSFICwD2g

NZ Govt's GIB taskforce 'too little, too late' - building company director | AM "We don't really want to risk this becoming another talkfest." The director of a building company tells AM the Government's GIB taskforce is "too little, too...

Bright Build's Jacob is getting ready to compete.
The countdown is on to this year’s Master Builders CARTERS Apprentice of the Year regional practical challenge.
Come down and show your support this Saturday 19th June at Carters Distribution, 50 Parkside Road, Gracefield from 9am.

"Why would you want an airtight home? That’s not healthy.”

Airtightness is a key component of a Passive Home. The less external air that can be passively exchanged with the interior will reduce heat loss (in winter), heat gain (in summer), and make your home more comfortable.

Sound crazy to want an airtight home? Have you ever wanted to make a draught bigger in the middle of winter? You want less uncontrolled ventilation - think less draughts, better sealing windows, and even around any joins in the building structure. Ventilation heat losses can account for a big proportion of all heat losses if you have have simply increased insulation, but not considered airtightness.

This photo shows Bright Build taping along the joins of SIP panels to ensure that there are is no exchange of air between the interior and exterior.
The less “gaps” in the exterior building envelope construction, the less opportunity for your comfortable interior air to mix with the exterior air (which is colder (in winter) or warmer (in summer)) .

But of course, you still need fresh air. Look back at our post on mechanical ventilation, and how this creates a constant stream of fresh air continuously coming into your home.




























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Bright Build's Jacob Lidiard is an entrant in Registered Master Builders "Apprentice of the Year 2021". It takes commitment as there is quite a process even to enter, including a substantial submission on a recent project you have been part of. Congratulations on challenging yourself Jacob.

During 2020 the number of apprenticeships in New Zealand has grown by 12,000 - a 17.6% increase over 2019. And women, Pacific Island and Maori apprentices grew by an even larger factor of approximately 30% compared to the previous year. Higher rates of mature apprentices were recorded too. This growth and increase in diversity will surely help the construction sector going forward.

With colder months approaching, are you dreading condensation on your windows? Double-glazing is the requirement for new windows in New Zealand’s Building code, but don’t mistake Building Code with a healthy home. A common misconception is that aluminium double-glazed windows will stop condensation. But if you are using standard aluminium framed double glazed window joinery, you will still have crying windows on cold mornings.
To avoid all that moisture forming inside your home and creating damp and mould, the window joinery need to have a “thermal break” between the panes. This thermal break is a non-conducting layer between the two aluminium faces of the window, so that the temperature difference cannot cause condensation inside. And with no more condensation; you have a healthier, drier home.
When selecting new windows - make your home healthier by specifying “thermally broken” aluminium or timber double-glazed windows. And for the best possible thermal performance - triple glazed is the gold standard in window joinery.



























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The New Zealand Registered Master Builders House of the Year offers a few prestigious Regional Lifestyle Awards each year.

If a home has reached the threshold to receive a Gold Award (scored over 1,800 points out of a possibly 2,000) and has entered the Regional Lifestyle Award category, it is eligible to win the category for that particular home (e.g. Kitchen - Heart of the Home).

All the homes that have won Gold Awards in that category are ranked by score, with the highest scoring winning that category for their Region.

To see Bright Build’s high-performance home that won the Wellington/Wairarape Heart of the Home - Kitchen Regional Lifestyle Award in 2019, copy and paste the link below:

To see Bright Build’s entry in 2019, copy and paste the link below:
https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2019/ww-11704-1-14/

With access to improved, well insulated construction - New Zealand will reap real health and cost benefits. The flow on effect will be real savings for our public health systems as the need for medical assistance for respiratory conditions will decrease. It’s a true win:win - better health and cost savings. So why is this not a legal requirement for ALL homes in New Zealand?

Kitchen Islands are incredibly versatile. When designing a kitchen with an island, think about how you would like to use it. Do you want it to be a place for people to sit and eat? do homework? food preparation area? This will dictate the width of the island, and the amount of clearance you need. If the island is designed as somewhere to sit, remember you need a wider bench to incorporate the overhang, and also clearance behind the seats for people to access the seats/walk past.

Heating and cooling for residential purposes accounts for a large share of total energy demand. For example, in the EU, heating and cooling in buildings and industry accounts for HALF of energy consumption (figure estimated by the European Commission).

Ultra-energy efficient Passive House techniques only require a fraction of the energy used by a traditional home to heat and cool. As a result, there is less demand on the grid, which in turn reduces the need for the creation of additional power generation.

Whether from renewable energy sources such as wind or water, or non-renewable - the infrastructure of electricity generation systems still take a toll on the environment. Even the much vaunted wind farms utilise huge turbines, line infrastructure, visual and sound pollution. So instead of creating more energy farms, we need to build smarter and utilise what we have.

The initial round of New Zealand Registered Master Builders House of the Year involves houses being judged against others in their region. Once these results are in, the Top 100 homes are selected according by the Judges. These homes are in an elite class, and are award “Gold Reserve” status.

To see Bright Build’s entry in 2019, copy and paste the link below:
https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2019/ww-11704-1-14/

Urban Habitat Collective apartment complex is scheduled to start building in March 2021. However rather than being a developer-led project, a group of like-minded owners are combining to build the 24 apartment complex. This had led to a focus on quality, liveability, sustainability and better outcomes for the residents - which are made up of retirees, young families, and one-third with a variety of makeups. The individual dwellings are supplemented with common areas including: guest bedroom, rooftop areas, storage, laundry, workshop, garden and decks to enable a more social community.

https://www.urbanhabitatcollective.nz

An entry hall sets the tone for the interior of your home. We particularly loved the hallway created as part of this alteration. Even a narrow space such as this can be made into a style statement with careful use of colour, texture and materials. The addition of pegs for coats and bags, a mirror and a slim fit dresser provide interest and functionality. And the open shelf above the pegs is light and airy, but still perfect for holding extra items.

Carpentry and Build Design:
Photography:
Stylist:

Not only are the majority of homes in New Zealand too cold in winter, they are also too hot in summer.

AUT have studied overheating in New Zealand homes, and found some of our houses are overheated up to 75 per cent of the time in summer.

One of the key principles in passive homes is to ensure adequate insulation AND ventilation. Many Kiwi new homes have large expanses of glass which let in a lot of solar gain. Also concrete “heat sink” floors that receive direct sunlight will build up heat over the day - and release it at night leading to disturbed sleep due to heat. Add in insulation layers and window stays that limit window opening - and if you have a two storey standard built home you will most likely be very hot upstairs over summer.

Overheating affects comfort and can also be detrimental to your health.

Passive homes use sunlight angles, shading and mechanical ventilation to design home where overheating is very rare, if it does occur at all.

The New Zealand Registered Master Builders House of the Year offers a few prestigious Regional Lifestyle Awards each year.

If a home has reached the threshold to receive a Gold Award (scored over 1,800 points out of a possibly 2,000) and has entered the Regional Lifestyle Award category, it is eligible to win the category for that particular home (e.g. Sustainable home. ).

All the homes that have won Gold Awards in that category are ranked by score, with the highest scoring winning that category for their Region.

To see Bright Build’s high-performance home that won the Wellington/Wairarape Sustainable Regional Lifestyle Award in 2019 , copy and paste the link below:

https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2019/ww-11704-1-14/

The Superhome Movement in New Zealand has just launched New Zealand’s very first Healthy Home Design Guide this week.

If you are thinking of building and want a strong, resilient, durable, efficient and kind both to the environment and it’s human inhabitants - then make sure you read this guide. Available for free at http://healthyhomedesignguide.co.nz/

Love a good bath? So do we - especially when it is a nice deep one like this! However every positive has a drawback…..and with deep baths it’s that they can make bathing small children difficult. The higher side height can make it awkward to lean over when your small ones are in the bath.

But…..children are small only for a short amount of time, so you need to weigh up the functionality you need now if you need to bathe small children, or if you want to future-proof and have a deep luxurious soak available for the bigger people in the family.

Thermal Bridges are the one bridge you do not want to cross!

A Thermal Bridge is the area of the building envelope where it is easier for the heat to escape.

Heat likes to flow from warmer areas to the cold (it’s the Second Law of Thermodynamics for those of you that love physics!). And the heat looks for the easiest way to get to the cold. And when it finds this - that area becomes a thermal bridge.

Every junction has a potential to create a thermal bridge. In a home these are commonly around windows, gaps in insulation, floor slabs, where wall framing meets other framing, penetrations through the wall and roof.

And each thermal bridge is a motorway for the warmth in your home to accelerate and head straight outside - requiring more heating and additional cost.

But it gets worse….

A thermal bridge not only acts as a funnel removing your warmth, but on the internal point of the thermal bridge the temperature is decreased compared to the surrounding interior area. This colder spot can create condensation and moisture inside a the building. Which leads to the potential for mould and worse …..you get the picture.

Passive House design works to eliminate these thermal bridges. So your interior temperature stays inside, and your building stays drier (and healthier!)

The New Zealand Registered Master Builders House of the Year has a number of entry categories, e.g. Renovation unto $500,000, New Home $450,000-$600,000.

The homes for each category are judged, and if a home receives a Gold Award (scored over 1,800 points out of a possibly 2,000) it is eligible to win the category for that particular home (e.g. New Home over $1million).

All the homes that have won Gold Awards in that category are ranked by score, with the highest scoring winning that category for their Region.

To see Bright Build’s entry in 2019, copy and paste the link below:
https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2019/ww-11704-1-14/

As land gets more scarce in inner-city Wellington, multi-level apartment buildings with body corporates have been the main housing developments to date.

The idea of building terraced town-houses that are freehold and with their own roof-terrace green space is being tested in a development in Te Aro. Each property has its own entrance - which removes the need for shared lobby spaces or communal lifts (certainly a plus in Covid times). It will be interesting to see how the public respond to this different housing model which offers the benefit of more sunlight and freedom from body corporate fees.

(Disclaimer: Bright Build has no links to this development in any capacity and this not an endorsement).

To find out more about the exempted work, copy and paste the below:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/122516727/fourstorey-townhouses-with-rooftop-garden-no-body-corp-for-sale-in-wellingtons-te-aro

If you are having trouble with choosing a wall colour of a child’s bedroom - you can’t go past a neutral wall. It doesn’t have to mean boring!!

As they grow, simply changing the accents in the room such as cushions, duvet and artwork, can instantly change the personality of the room to age and stage of the bedroom to match the child.

Most new homes built to meet the New Zealand Building Code requirements are not well insulated, leak heat and are costly to keep warm in winter, and difficult to cool in summer.

Many people believe that if their house meets the New Zealand Building code it must be a good home – rather than understanding their house is only just meeting the legal minimum requirement.

Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) has found that consumers need to understand that the Building Code and Standards are a legal minimum only, but can, and should be, exceeded.

An analogy might be the safety of a 1960’s Mini, versus a 2020 Volvo. Both might achieve a Warrant of Fitness – but the standard of build, safety, reliability, fuel efficiency and comfort offered by the late model Volvo offers a far superior comfort experience and added health protection for the people inside.

Registered Master Builders House of the Year judges visit each entry. Scoring is out of a possible 2000 points (1300 Workmanship and 700 Design, Style and Functionality).

To receive a Gold Award, a home must score over 1,800 points.

A Gold Award is considered 80% above industry standard, and a home must receive a Gold Award to be eligible to win the category for that particular home (e.g. New Home over $1million) or be considered for the region's Lifestyle Award (e.g. Best Bathroom).

To see Bright Build’s entry in 2019, copy and paste the link below:
https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2019/ww-11704-1-14/

It’s good news that Building Consents are now not required for some common, low-risk building work such as sleep-outs, sheds, carports, outdoor fireplace and ground mounted solar panels.

Be aware that kitchen and bathroom facilities in a new building ALWAYS require a consent - so this isn’t the chance to run wild and build a granny flat with kitchen and bathroom without a consent. Any plumbing work to a new or current building still requires a building consent, and any electrical work will still have to be carried out by a registered electrician.

Another item to check is the amount of site cover on your land. Each council has a maximum site cover allowed - make sure you know what your site cover percent is, and then calculate whether your new building will keep you within the limits.

And please remember - that a Building Consent exemption is not an exemption to build to a lower standard. The building work must still comply with the Building Code and other legislative requirements, such as those under the Resource Management Act 1991, the Electricity Act 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

It is the building owner’s responsibility to check whether a building consent is required. If the work that you are planning to carry out falls outside of the specified requirements, you will need to get a building consent. If you’re not sure if you need consent - get professional advice before you start.

To find out more about the exempted work, copy and paste the below:
https://www.building.govt.nz/projects-and-consents/planning-a-successful-build/scope-and-design/check-if-you-need-consents/building-consent-exemptions-for-low-risk-work/new-building-consent-exemptions/ #:~:text=New%20types%20of%20building%20work,9%2C000%20(if%20lodged%20separately).




















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Wellington may be a windy city, but it is also sunny. Did you know that on average Wellington receives over 2100 hours of sunshine a year? A 30 year study of the total sunshine hours from 1981-2010 found that on average Wellington is sunnier than many other New Zealand centres such as: Whanganui, Hamilton, Auckland, Taupo, Queenstown, Palmerston North, and Dunedin).

So get that sun working for you!

Solar panels can (and do) work well in Wellington. Depending on your roof shape, pitch, construction, shading and sun orientation it may be well worth considering solar panels for your home. Ideal scenarios involve roof orientation to north/north-east/north-west, but other configurations can work too.

To check out Wellington’s sunshine hours from 1981-2010 compared with other New Zealand locations, copy and paste the below:
https://figure.nz/chart/KCFvVXndcpjM8Rfx