Written for homeowners, builders and project teams, including the many people planning an island build from New Zealand. Where an article touches engineering or local regulation, we say what is general guidance and what needs a qualified opinion on your project.
Most of an island build can be organised from New Zealand. Here is what happens here, where the shipping handler takes over, and what needs settling on the ground.
We do not publish prices, because every project differs. What we can give you is the full list of cost lines an island build carries, so your budget has no blank spaces.
Render · design intentSearch for cyclone proof homes and you will find plenty of promises. This guide explains what a cyclone rated home really means: how wind load travels through a house, what an engineer needs to know about your site, and which parts of the building the frame depends on.
Render · design intentIf you are weighing up container homes, prefab homes or modular homes for an island site, a steel-framed kitset is another option. This is a fair look at what each one is, what each does well, and what to ask before you commit.
Both materials frame good houses. Here is where steel framing helps on an island site, where timber is easier, and how to answer the cost question honestly.
A framing package is the structure of the building, not a house in a box. Here is what arrives, what you arrange separately, and what the quotation pins down.
Render · design intentSeven designs, one to three bedrooms, 36 m² to 112 m². Four questions narrow the range to one or two before you ask for a quote.
Steel framing on coastal sites lasts when it is specified for the site, not when someone says yes to “will it rust?”. This guide explains what protects galvanised steel framing from salt spray corrosion, and who decides each part.
The frame usually waits on site before it goes up. How it is stored in that time affects the coating and how smoothly assembly runs.
Ask it directly. If it is a good question we will probably write about it, and either way you will get an answer.
