Any timber frame house build in the last 10 years has to made from treated timber. The older houses tend to be made from Kauri or Rimu hardwood - these are so hard that you cannot nail Gibboard (plasterboard)to it as the nails just bend, they have to be screwed up, and in some instances pilot holes drilled first as ?the screws still cannot penetrate the hardwood. Good news for a sturdy construction, a blummin nighmare for any alteration works - worth a note Stevey.

A high proportion of new weatherboarded houses & older ones that have been re-clad, are boarded with cement based planks. Often termed hardiplanks. Once given a couple of coats of good masonry paint, they only need maintained as much as a rendered or pebble-dashed house here in the UK. Another external finish starting to emerge is render on ply (either hand trowelled & smooth, or sprayed and roughcast), which "looks" a more solid contruction and needs painted every so often.

Any modifications made to house - moving internal walls (even non-load bearing) or changing a boiler location - need approval from building control. This is a rule that you ?must stick to if you ever intend to sell your house. My brother was advised by his solicitor to pull out of a sale as the owner had carried out quite a bit od "DIY", all of which was to an acceptable standard - but hadnt been approved. Retrospective approval can be obtained, but not as easily as getting approval before or during the works.

Anyone tried allrealestate.co.nz for listings? - bit easier to navigate than realenz.co.nz

Cheers


Nick