The Wairarapa is full of beautiful villas and large turn of the century homes. A villa renovation is a dream for many of us, but if you are not prepared the reality can be disappointing... 1. Don’t rush it You develop a relationship with an old home—it can take time to reveal itself to you. Spend a year living in your home planning the renovation and watching the sun as it travels through the house from season to season. This way you will know the sunniest spots—where is a go

Whether it's a new building or a renovation, there's a lot of information to gather and assess before design begins. The most important decisions are the early ones: what to build, how much to build, where to build. It is crucial that these early decisions be well informed. This design phase known as Pre-Design. Let's take a look at a couple of essential considerations: 1. The Building Programme The "programme" is an accounting of the required spaces, their sizes and characte

Most clients who come to see me have the same question uppermost in their mind—“How much will the project cost?” With careful planning and using the correct process keeping within budget can be straight forward. Knowing your spending limits and developing a building budget will go a long way towards keeping you out of financial trouble on your project. Bringing a building firm or quantity surveyor into the process right from the start provides cost certainty and ensures every