What is a Renovation?
Your renovation will be as big or as small as you decide – depending on:
Your needs and priorities
Your budget
The historical era of your home and the challenges, feasibility and opportunities with improvements
It can be a good idea to have a professional Home Performance Assessment or Energy Audit done before making plans – this will help you assess what it is you’re dealing with, and help you prioritise upgrades: insulation, windows, ventilation, heating
You can also get an assessment of any potential hazardous substances such as asbestos in old wall linings, floor coverings, roofs and claddings – asbestos will need to be removed and disposed of by a qualified professional
Questions to ask:
Compliance:
– Do you need a building consent for your renovation?
– Do you need your builder to provide you with a Building Contract?
Energy and comfort – is your home cold or damp in winter?
– Yes – prioritise insulation, ventilation, heating upgrades
– Not much – still assess moisture risk, especially in bathrooms and kitchens
Windows and airtightness – are you replacing windows?
– Yes – go for thermally broken, low-E double or triple glazing – upgrade joinery if necessary or retrofit new windows into existing timber frames – recess the new windows into the wall to align with the insul
– No – add airtightness layers, seals, and external shading
Ventilation and moisture control
– Do you have a mechanical ventilation system? – ensure it’s balanced, with heat recovery if possible
– Consider installing a balanced heat recovery ventilation system to help with moisture, air quality, and energy efficiency
Design efficiency:
– Do you need to add extra rooms or can you reconfigure the home within the existing envelope to make better use of the space?
A longer-term plan – can you stage your renovation over time as you can afford it?
– One room at a time – prioritise bedrooms, bathrooms
– One system at a time – insulation, windows, subfloor structures, cladding, solar panels
– What will be helpful to set up now to make it easier for later stages and avoid costly and wasteful removals of previous changes?
“Let’s make it clear, renovation is not just about painting or changing your kitchen, it’s way deeper than that.”
Julie Villard: Architect and Eco-Design Advisor, Christchurch City Council
“The good thing about renovations is you don’t have to do the whole thing at once, you can attack it systematically room by room... get a feel for what you need... think about your end goal.”
Dan Saunders: Dan Saunders Construction
“Lived on same site in 50s bungalow, cold and damp – put in an HRV system, even just that small adjustment had a huge impact on Victoria’s health – and the condensation on the windows – couldn’t believe that such a small tweak could make such a difference.”
Clayton Mitchell: Statement Homes
“Renovations are complex, the question is: how far do you go on them? – and how much money you invest in them as well.”
Duncan Firth: Solarei Architecture
“You treat the new homes and the old homes in the same way, you’re trying to achieve air tightness, efficiency, acoustic value and comfort.”
Simon Fenwick: Nest Residential
“The conversation is fairly similar to when we’re approaching a new house – have the same discussions about walls, insulation, windows... what’s their long term plan for the house, what’s affordable.”
Peter Davis: AD Architecture
