Building in Aotearoa

What are some of the unique challenges of building in New Zealand?

Firm: JMK Design and Build Ltd
Principal: Isaac Kake
Location: Northland
Staff: 7

I think there are three big challenges for us. The first is working in remote locations, because it can delay the delivery of materials if a driver doesn’t know where they’re going – GPS can only get you so far!

Site access is also a challenge and it can be really difficult due to long, steep driveways. Working in rural communities, people doing their own earthworks can also be a problem, as they don’t design access for heavy trucks.

In that same vein, owners doing parts of a job by themselves to save money can be another issue. I had one job where a farmer laid out the site using his farm machinery and it wasn’t level!

The third challenge is Northland’s climate – it’s four seasons in one day here. It means you need to have a contingency plan in case of rain to make the most of your time and labour, or sometimes you just have to carry on regardless.

Once you’ve been building in an area for long enough, you get to understand the weather patterns and it just comes down to smart planning.

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Firm: Court Construction
Principal: Cameron Court
Location: North Shore
Staff: 14

We work Auckland-wide and, like much of New Zealand, the topography can be a real challenge.

It is very rare for us to be presented with a flat site. This means that most projects include excavating and retaining, along with step footings.

This can open you up to some risk, with clay being exposed or slippage during adverse weather.

After working in other countries, where entire suburbs are created in one design, another thing that I guess is quite unique here is that houses are usually individually designed.

This means that each project presents new challenges and curveballs, which keeps things interesting.

I also think it creates builders with a much more extensive skillset.

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Firm: Stonewood Homes Nelson
Principal: Brent Stewart
Location: Nelson
Staff: 6

Delays surrounding consents and compliance are a big struggle for everyone in our region and throughout the country. It’s a challenge that causes flow-on effects to other parts of our work.

Although compliance is necessary, builds follow a process – any delays directly affect workflow at every stage, from development to build through to final compliance.

The inconsistency of inspector standards is one of our biggest compliance challenges, which can make our crucial planning difficult.

Not only do we inherit increased staff and contractor costs, but the homeowners waste money continuing to rent as they can’t get into their new homes. Delays also affect the margins of a fixed-price contract, as material costs will increase over time.

Our relationships with clients and subcontractors are also most at risk when timelines are blown out and that’s not a sustainable way to run a business. I’d like to see central government intervene and work directly with local councils to ensure residential building inspectors are more consistent with their decision-making.