Pre-design

The first step is to have a consultation with you in your home in order to establish your needs, desires and style. We discuss what you want to achieve and establish your must-haves, nice-to-haves etc. We’ll ask you questions to establish some of the parameters you may not have considered.

Once we have the brief set, we arrange to visit your home to measure up the entire house, so that we can make sure that the basis for the design is correct. We also obtain information from the council, or your LIM to establish as much as possible about the existing situation. We then model this information in 3D to build a computer model of your house as it stands.

Design

Once I have your existing house modelled I then work through various options to achieve the desired end result. The computer software I use enables me to try out all sorts of possibilities in order to establish the ones that achieve your brief the best. I provide you with plans and 3D images showing you different approaches to the design in order to explore possible compromises and opportunities.

During the initial design I review District Plan requirements for the site. This means that the designs from the outset work as well as possible to achieve what you want within the applicable constraints. Information about any potential issues I identify is provided to you at this stage.

I will also advise any consultants who may be required on your project. These may include a truss designer and a structural engineer depending on the scale of your project.

This design process can really clarify what is important to you, what is not, and stimulate new ideas. We work together to tweak these layouts to arrive at one resolved design to proceed with.

Documentation

Once you have chosen your design, we put together all the technical information about how your renovation will be constructed.

The first part of this is producing the big picture technical information that can be used in early discussion with builders, the bank and with other consultants that may be involved in the project.

This includes structural information such as walls, floors and roofs, dimensions, cladding and lining types.

If a structural Engineer is required on your project, they can undertake their portion of the design based on this set of drawings.

Once all the information is back from any other consultants we compile it into our 3D model and check that it all works with the design. We then move onto the detailed drawings, which include construction details to show how the claddings, roofing, etc. will be constructed and made weathertight. We also compile a Specification outlining the installation requirements and including product information appendices, which contain further information and maintenance requirements for the products to be used in the build.

You will be provided with a copy of these documents to review. Once approved, we complete all the application forms and submit the complete set to council to review and grant the consent. The council may have questions during their processing time – if they do, we answer these promptly so that your consent will be granted as quickly as possible.

Resource Consent

If there are any aspects of the proposed building that do not comply with the district plan requirements for your zone then a resource consent application will be required. We’ll let you know at design stage or earlier if this is the case.

If so, we put together a package of plans and a report suitable to communicate the proposal for the council to assess and decide whether they will approve or not.

If neighbours’ permission is required, we will provide packages for you to give to them, with instructions on what is required.

Resource Consent is all about minimising any potential effects on the environment or neighbouring property amenity, so it’s always our aim to minimise any effects, include any affected parties early on and have open communication throughout.

Construction

This is when the real work begins! Once all the relevant consents have been granted by the council, your builder can get on and get started. While our role finishes once the consent is granted, we are available if any amendments are required during the construction process, or if you or your builder have any questions.