Month: February 2015

Her previous construction experience was a bookcase, but that has not stopped Lily Duval from building her own miniature house.
The 27-year-old is two months into the build, and is on track to have most of the construction finished in another couple of months. She is building her house directly on a trailer on communal land in central Christchurch. At 5.5 metres long, 2.5m wide and 4.2m high, Duval’s house fits under the New Zealand Transport Authority’s definition of a light simple trailer.
It requires no building consent.
Her house will cost $30,000 all up, which includes $8000 for the heavy-duty trailer.
via Tiny home a true mansion – news – the-press | Stuff.co.nz.

Christchurch man Bevan Thomas built his own “tiny house” from scratch last year and had seen “hundreds” through it over the past few months.
He believed the tiny house movement was becoming increasingly popular in New Zealand as people looked for ways to live with less impact on the planet, or to avoid being “tied to a half a million dollar mortgage”.

“There’s been phenomenal interest in it. It’s surprising actually how well the concept is taking off.”
Thomas built his moveable house after returning to Christchurch to look after family and finding himself at a loose end.
via Interest growing for tiny homes | Stuff.co.nz.

Stefan Cook is revelling in the fact his new home cost $438,000 less than the average Christchurch house price.
Cook has now finished building his 3.4-tonne home, complete with a mezzanine bedroom, living area, kitchen and bathroom. The house measures 8 metres by 2.45m and is 4.1m high.
It was built on top of a custom-built trailer so it could be moved and did not require a building consent.
Cook did not have experience in building but it took him only 12 weeks to get it to a ”liveable” standard.
The building cost $22,000 – an amount he would save within two-and-a-half years by not having to pay rent – and most of the materials were salvaged from demolition sites, which helped keep costs down.
via Tiny home at a tiny price | Stuff.co.nz.

Christchurch student fed up with high rental costs is building his own “cottage on wheels”.
Stefan Cook is constructing the 2.5 metre by 8m transportable house in a bid to beat the rising cost of student housing and survive the Government’s withdrawal of student allowances for those undertaking post-graduate study.
The 34-year-old geology student at the University of Canterbury said he had been paying up to $160 for a room in a Christchurch flat during the first two years of his bachelor’s degree and expected his $15,000 project would pay for itself within two years.
via Student thinks small to beat rental trap | Stuff.co.nz.