Smaller Houses

Rebuilds and Smaller Houses

This page is dedicated to the cause of the smaller house: 150 sq meters or smaller. Every company makes big houses that smother the ground, consume large quantities of raw materials, represent an ongoing drain on energy resources, and cost the earth.

Listed below, in alphabetical order, are the companies that offer smaller houses. The list will grow very slowly because nothing wil be added until we have visited a show home and got a brochure. That way we can check they do have suitably sized house plans and get a bit of a feel for the range offered.

A few cautions:

Some house designs may be more quake-safe than others. While all will easily protect those inside from the force of a major earthquake, there may be structural problems inherent in the design (e.g. floor shape, roofing material, external cladding). As we can anticipate higher insurance premiums, perhaps on a scale that reflects a building’s design, and especially higher excesses, designs based on strength and durability ought to be more important than looks. Hopefully BRANZ or the Department of Building and Housing will issue buyers guides in association with the insurance companies.

Show homes tend to be built to show the best a company can do, which is good. Unfortunately they do not reflect the space and feel of the smaller offerings and so there is a risk of signing up for something that looks good on paper, but turns out to be less than you thought. Where ever we find a show home that is in our size category the address will be given.

Prices are very indicative and, for many, irrelevant. Where the rebuild is being done by your insurance company the driving factor is replacing what you had with something similar. If you are in the Residential Red Zone and take Option A, then price does become critical because you have a specified amount of money. When looking at plans and prices check what are considered to be an extra, in some cases extras could include garages, porches, and decks.

Click on the name of the company to go to their web site.

Initial Homessame as Lockwood Homes (see below)

Lockwood Homes

Timber interiors and exteriors. There is a show home at Hornby, opposite McDonalds, however it is much bigger than 150sq m. Lockwood homes have a range of smaller homes that look okay on paper but need a walk through. The web site allows you to download some of the plans (look for the Initial series) but unfortunately it is locked so they can’t be printed out. Not really user friendly; nice houses though.

Stonewood Homes

Mainly brick clad houses, although any cladding can be used at a cost. The city show home complex is in Papanui on the Main North Road (plus Kaiapoi and Rolleston and soon Lincoln – all of these show homes are over 150sq m). Stonewood Homes have just introduced a new range of smaller houses called the Bungalow Series (75 – 128 sq m) to fit below their First Choice Selection (142 – 149sq m). As at the 4th of August the Bungalow Series was not mentioned on the website, but brochures are available at the show home. The two city show homes are both over 150sq m.
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