EARLY-20th-CENTURY CHARM
The name "bungalow" is derived from the Hindi word bangla, meaning "a house in the Bengal style", a design embraced by the British during the colonial era. However the distinctively New Zealand bungalow style was more strongly influenced by Californian, English and Australian designs and principles. By the 1920s the bungalow was common throughout New Zealand.
Bungalows are mostly single storey with a gable roof with wider eaves, prominent barge boards, and a lower pitch than the earlier villas. They featured wide circular bow or bay windows and wide verandahs on the street façade. External claddings were weatherboard, brick and stucco with less external decorative details but with different materials used for contrast – for example shingles, stucco or asbestos-cement sheeting on the gable ends, below the bay windows or around the verandah balustrade.
The typical layout had a central hallway, the living room facing the street, and the kitchen and bathroom at the rear. Native timbers were often used in interior panelling to door height and for flooring. Windows were timber framed multiple units with a small upper pane and side opening casements below. The upper panes and fanlights above the front door or feature window beside it were often leadlights with clear textured glass or stained glass in stylised Art Nouveau designs. Projecting bow or bay windows were often cantilevered out over the foundation wall line, with a separate flat roof and internal window seat. Ceilings were lower than in the earlier villas, and were often decorated with timber battens covering the joints between paster ceiling panels to create a geometric pattern. Heating was an open fire with brick chimney and tiled or timber surrounds.
DEALING WITH PREVIOUS RENOVATIONS AND CHANGES
Very few bungalows still remain today in their original state, and most bungalow projects will have to deal with modifications that have already been made over the years. In many cases these changes – reflecting the techniques, materials and fashions of the 1960s, 70s or 80s – will not be adding value to the performance, the charm or the liveability of the home. Some may be the result of dodgy if well-intentioned DIY projects and not up to basic standards.
Today’s methods and technologies can solve such messy problems – but the renovation process will need a careful review of any earlier changes and conversion work:
Extensions to the back of the home to expand the service areas or create new living spaces
Enclosing the verandah to create an additional room
Removing walls to create open kitchen / dining / living areas
Installing additional or larger windows
Replacing wall linings and ceilings with plasterboard
Addition of minimal insulation in the roof cavity (1970s onwards)
WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND IN YOUR BUNGALOW – & RECOMMENDATIONS...
FOUNDATIONS & FLOORS
Concrete piles – original timber piles will most probably have already been replaced with concrete
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Continuous brick or concrete foundation walls – for brick walls and sloping sites
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Timber baseboards around the underfloor space
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Missing or inadequate piles and joists
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Sagging joists or bouncy floors
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Uneven floors
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Rising damp
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Cracked masonry
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No damp proofing membrane between concrete foundations and timber framing
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Limited ground clearance, difficult access and poor subfloor ventilation
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Foundation wall ventilation grilles deteriorated or blocked
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No underfloor insulation
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Sagging verandahs and porches
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FRAMING, INTERNAL WALLS & CEILINGS
Untreated timber framing, boards and tongue-and-groove:
● Native timbers
● Imported exotic timbers – cedar, redwood, Baltic pine, Douglas fir
FIX – Retain if sound; treat for borer if needed
Undersized structural timbers – rafters, framing, joists
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No waterproofing underlay resulting in rot or deterioration of framing
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No insulation in walls
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Retrofitted insulation may include urea-formaldehyde foam
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Linings – plasterboard, asbestos-cement sheeting, scrim and wallpaper over timber match lining
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Draughts and gaps – no airtightness
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Retrofitted plasterboard or hardboard
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Walls no longer square or out of plumb
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Dampness – mould and rot, mustiness and smells
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Lead paint
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Pre-1940s timber treated with creosote or tar
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Borer
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Rodent nests
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CLADDING
No waterproofing layers or building membrane
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Timber weatherboards with lead-based paint
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Rot in external timber cladding
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Brick – likely to have cracking
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Stucco and plaster – may have pebbles or shingle added for decorative texture – likely to have cracking
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Asbestos-cement sheeting or shingles – deterioration from water damage, moss growth
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No insulation in walls
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Retrofitted insulation may include urea-formaldehyde foam
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Narrow site access to walls on side boundaries
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Lead paint
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Lead flashings, nail heads and pipes
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Borer
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WINDOWS
Timber window frames deterioration and rot – windows jamming and sticking
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Bay and bow windows – cantilevered outside the line of the wall and eaves, with vulnerability to weather – deterioration of the cantilever structure and window framing
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Lead paint on sashes and frames
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Inadequate sealing and flashings
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Corrosion of flashings and hinges
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Internal condensation resulting in rot on internal framing
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ROOFS
Corrugated iron with lead nails / coatings
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Tiles – likely to have cracking or gaps
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Asbestos-cement shingles – likely to have cracking and moss growth
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No insulation or inadequate retrofitted insulation
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No roofing underlay
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Inadequate moisture control in ceiling space
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Leaks and historical roofing repairs
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Previous asbestos-cement sheeting under more recent metal roofing
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Ventilation grille or louvred window in gable ends – vulnerable to weather and likely compromised
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VENTILATION
No ventilation system except draughts and opening windows
FIX – Add balanced MVHR system with low-VOC ducting
Stuffy interiors – smells and mould
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