[Wooba]

I'm wondering how homes in NZ are made. I read that they are often made of wood. Does that mean they are similar to North American homes? Wood frames with drywall walls and sheets of wood for the floors.

[mechidna]

I had asked my friend that a while back. According to her and her father this is what to look for in a house:

Houses: Inside wall construction made of pine timber.
Floors: The majority of new housing have concreate flooring.
Roofing: Brick or simulated brick tiling and in the case of our Iron Roofs a product called colour steel, as our intense heat can be a problem.
Windows: Mostly Aluminuim now adays not the old wooding casing. Very little double glazing in New Zealand.
Spouting: Mainly the Plastic type.
Inside Walls: A lot of companies are going for what they call jib solutions(Jib-boarding that is stronger than it ever was and soundproof All houses should be built, wired, painted(any labours), should be Master Builders Approved.
Every Council in the Land have different by-laws and some building codes so to ensure that they comply they are signed off by a Registered Building Inspector.
Before Building or Buying a house it is highly recommended that one as a LIM Report done, that is all about the safeness of the land, compliences in Stucture of the Building and boundries etc.-

Hope this helps. I really didn't understand a lot of it.

mechidna

[Beach Kiwi]

^ That pretty much covers it. :nice1

I read that they are often made of wood.

Most houses nowadays are made of brick veneer, that is, they have bricks outside, but a gib board (plaster board-like material) lined, wooden framed interior. They also have concrete roofing tiles, or Color Steel roofing - steel roofing that has the colour baked on so that it doesn't need painting for at least 10 years.

Another type of construction is monolithic cladding, which is basically a type of external plaster board, or fibre cement board system of wall construction. This system has had a lot of problems over the last 10 years with leaking and rotting, so either steer clear of buying one, or get it checked very carefully.

[Wooba]

Thanks for the replies..
Is gib board the same as drywall? I believe it's called wallboard in the UK.. it's basically sheets of gypsum.
I guess if place have concrete floors then there's no air ducts coming from the basement.. do house even have basements?

[Beach Kiwi]

Thanks for the replies..
Is gib board the same as drywall? I believe it's called wallboard in the UK.. it's basically sheets of gypsum.
I guess if place have concrete floors then there's no air ducts coming from the basement.. do house even have basements?

I think it's the same. Gypsum centre with strong, paper-like outsides.

And most houses don't have basements, although many have crawl space underneath - older ones mostly.

[RoadRunner]

Have they stopped using the problem materials and construction methods? In other words, if you buy a brand new house (or say one built in the last year or so), can't you feel comfortable that it will not have these issues?

How can a house get a "Master builder approval" if they have been built with these poor materials?

RoadRunner

[Beach Kiwi]

Have they stopped using the problem materials and construction methods? In other words, if you buy a brand new house (or say one built in the last year or so), can't you feel comfortable that it will not have these issues?

The problem was more to do with constuction, than the materials - fly-by-night builders who didn't know what they were doing. There has been a major change in the rules and inspection methods governing this type of construction now.

Houses built in the last two years would be a pretty safe purchase, but still get them checked by a qualified building inspector.

[RoadRunner]

Thanks Beach Kiwi!

[Beach Kiwi]

No problem! :nice1

[Vladimir]

Inside Walls: A lot of companies are going for what they call jib solutions(Jib-boarding that is stronger than it ever was and soundproof All houses should be built, wired, painted(any labours), should be Master Builders Approved.

And what are building materials for inside walls in apartment buildings? Jib-boards too?

[Timbo]

As a painter here in NZ for the last 2 years, I have yet to see a building which doesnt have either a gib (plasterboard), or Pine board finish internally.