Full Show Podcast: 28 December 2025

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to The Resident Builder podcast with Peter wolf
Camp from US Talk sed B from Stummer backyard jobs
to big Renolds.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Let's talk it through.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Call oh eight hundred and eighty to eighty The Resident
Builder with Peter wolf Camp Youth Talk sed B.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
A house sizzle even when it's dark, even when the
grass is overgrown in the.

Speaker 4 (00:36):
Yard, even when a dog is too old to bar,
and when you're sitting at the table trying not to starve.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Sisor home, even when we are ben long, even when
you're there loone houses a long, even when there's gold,

(01:12):
even when you go around from the ones you love,
your most screamed and broken pains, A beeing in front.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
Of the locals lisble.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
When they're going and leaving their.

Speaker 4 (01:26):
House, even when wilbran, even when you're in there alone.

Speaker 5 (01:43):
Years old, A real good bolt visible on Sunday, August,
the twenty eighth day of December. So New Year's Eve
is looming, and as I understand that it's been well,
I feeling tumultuous a couple of days in terms of weather,
maybe not quite what you expected for Christmas Day or
for Boxing Day. And I did see some pictures I

(02:06):
think of what looked like either sleet or snow or
hail on the ground in the South Island. So a
white Christmas for some in New Zealand, which is a
little bit unexpected, RIGHTIOH, Well, good morning and welcome along
to the show. My name's Pete wolf Camp, the resident Builder.
And this is for the last time this year, in
twenty twenty five, the Resident Builder on Sunday, on a
Sunday morning here at Newstalk c B. So if you've

(02:27):
got a question, it might even be something like, you know,
you've ended up being gifted something at Christmas and you
really don't know what it is or how to use it.
And on a serious note, and I might come back
to the circle back to this a bit later on.
If you have been given some tools, particularly tools that
are very good at cutting things skill saws, chainsaws, looppers,

(02:47):
et cetera, et cetera, and you're not terribly familiar with them,
there might be an opportunity perhaps to chat with someone
who is a little bit more experienced at using those
tools before you launch into using them. If you're a
little bit unfamiliar with them, but hopefully you've had a
great Christmas, perhaps in the Christmas stocking some new tools
or some and they can be sort of a bit

(03:10):
of a blessing and a bit of a curse. It's
always good to get new tools, but they might also
have been given to you as a bit of a
reminder that there are jobs to do. There are always
jobs to do. Christmas in New Zealand at Aroa is
always a time for us to get out, whether it's
a bit of painting, whether it's some hard landscaping, whether
it's some remedial work. After a year at work, we

(03:32):
come home and then spend time working on our houses.
So if you've got a project that is underway, you've
got a project that you are thinking about, you've got
a project that you know you need to do but
you're not really too sure as to where you start
with it. Well we can talk about all of these things.
Happy to talk tools and equipment and gear that you
might have got over the Christmas break, and certainly we

(03:55):
could do a little bit of a sort of look
back over the year. I've said this probably too often
during the course of the year, but it has been
a year of significant change for building legislations in New Zealand.
In large part obviously driven by the current government who
came in saying they wanted to make some change, and
they certainly have. What these changes look like going forward,

(04:19):
what impact they have on building projects, what impact they
might have on our productivity, which is always a bit
of an issue that will be really really interesting to see.
But we can talk a little bit about looking back,
we can look forward as well, but mainly it's your
projects and what you would like to get done. So
if you've got a project that, like I say, is underway,

(04:39):
or perhaps you like to get into it, or you're
thinking about planning it, or you've got a new build
planned or an extensive renovation plan for twenty twenty six,
all of these things, we can talk about all of it.
If this sounds a little bit different, and it has
done over the last four shows, I guess the yes.
I've moved locations again. We're at a different continent, we're

(05:01):
back in the Southern Hemisphere, and today, as it happens,
I'm bringing you the show from Los Angeles. We arrived
here two days ago and we'll be departing in two
days time, heading back to New Zealand. So a show
from alas I look out the hotel window over it's
actually quite an interesting site, sort of looking out over

(05:23):
La Basins, fairly flat, so you can see in the
distance downtown LA. You can also see what looks like
an oil refinery, and we can kind of see the airport,
and if it wasn't so foggy, I could probably see
those hills on the Hollywood Hills as well, or those
houses rather on the Hollywood Hills. So that gives you
a picture of where I am. And I think a

(05:45):
little bit later on today we'll go out for a walk.
It's a much nicer today today than it was yesterday,
where they had fairly significant rain for California, a little
bit of flooding up in the valleys, and I think, well,
I don't think they're really used to it. And I
have to admit that for all of the years that
I've been to Los Angeles, and I can't think the

(06:06):
first time I was here, or how many times i've been,
I don't know that I've ever actually experienced rain here,
So quite an unusual experience. But today is bright and sunny,
and we're talking to you about your projects. Eight hundred
eighty ten eighty is the number to call of course,
the text machine works and I can see the text
from here. It's nine two nine two or zb zb

(06:27):
from your mobile phone. So if you've got a text
a question you'd like to text it through. That's the details.
Emails up and running as well, Pete at newstalksb dot
co dot nz. While I've been on the road, which
has been for about a month now, there are a
couple of text messages that I will get back to.
My apologies if I haven't been as prompt perhaps as

(06:49):
I have been in the past, but I will get
back to those in the next couple of days, probably
after we get home. I think the next session that
I'm doing will be back in the studio. It'll be
a panel discussion on the third, so on the Saturday
and the next Sunday, back in the studio with you
as well. Eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number
to call quick text. I'm installing hybrid flooring throughout my house,

(07:10):
starting in kitchen. The kitchen floor is raised nine millimeters
was cement board to encapsulate some old asbestos liner. How
should I go about raising the lounge to meet this
plywood cement board. My subfloor is nineteen seventies tongue and
groove flooring. I would probably go for the plywood in

(07:32):
mainly because it's a little bit easier to use. So
if you've already packed up the kitchen floor to as
you say, encapsulate that asbestos that might be in the liner,
it probably will be, then that would be the way
to go throughout the floor. If the floor has already
had a bit of polyurethane on it, I would be
very tempted to try and scuff that back a little

(07:53):
bit before you would ply some adhesive, And I would
certainly do some adhesive underneath the poly underneath the plywood,
and ideally an adhesive that you either reply with a
notch tal similar to as if you were tiling, to
make sure that you've got an even coverage of adhesive
rather than dobs, don't do little patches of adhesive, or

(08:16):
you can buy a specialist polyurethane adhesive which you would
also apply with a notch trowel, and that will expand
slightly and take up any voids, because what you don't
want is any drumminess between your tongue grew flooring and
the plywood that you're putting down on the top. If
you're going to use the polyurethane glue, which is like
gorilla grip, then what you really need to do is

(08:39):
make sure that you've got some weights to hold that
down as well. Now, Made of mine, who's obviously listening
and is one of the most explored experience flooring guys
that I know, has just text me, so we might
go to the break, I'll check out what he's telling
me to tell you, and then we'll come back and
talk to THEO who's on the line as well. So
the lines are open. The number to call eight hundred

(09:01):
eighty ten eighty back in a moment.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Sawdust, Stunshine and solid Advice, the resident builder with Peter
Wolfcab call, Oh, eight hundred eighty eighty youth talk ZEBBI.

Speaker 5 (09:14):
Well, first up, I'm going to call it. I'm going
to say jet lag, right, and I'm going to use
that as an excuse, and I think it's a valid one.
We've been in a number of different time zones over
the last couple of days, so I've been in the UK,
briefly in Europe. We've traveled south obviously to get to

(09:34):
Los Angeles, and I somehow in my head I pictured
that we were further south than we were as an
in the southern Hemisphere, but thank you to the Texters
have called through to say that, no, the equator is
still some way south and I am still in the
Northern Hemisphere and won't be in the Southern Hemisphere until
we're back on the air New Zealand plane heading home
to Auckland. So I'm just going to call it jet lag, right,

(09:58):
because I really did like geography when I was at
school and I should know better. But thank you for
pointing that out. My good mate Phil Roade, who runs
Freedom Flooring, has simply suggested that the previous text to
call them and they'll sort it out professionally. Hey, look,
if you want a professional, certainly Phil and his team
at Freedom Flooring would be the guys to go to,

(10:18):
or you could ever go yourself. Oh eight hundred appreciate
the text for oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty
is that number to call in A very good morning too, thea.

Speaker 6 (10:27):
Good morning feeders of the season to you, to your producer,
I hopefully run for you to start today. The hours
of building permissible during the week and in the weekends.
What are the hours that the builders are allowed to work.

(10:49):
And does it make a difference whether it's a noisy
type of building banging or concreting or compared to silent
like painting or carpet lane or something like that.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
I think there are differences in terms of whether it's
noisy activity or as you say, you know, if someone's painting,
how would you know, right, and it's the radio that
will give them away? I it does. It can change
a little bit. Generally, if you go to your local
council's website and simply type in building hours, it will

(11:24):
bring up a summary. Most of the time it's like
seven o'clock in the morning till seven o'clock at night,
sometimes through till nine o'clock at night. Depending on the
type of activity. It will often have a decibel rating
linked to it as well, So over a certain decibel
you can do only four restricted hours during the day.
You can still continue to do work later, but at

(11:45):
a lower rate typically. And there's also a difference between
residential and commercial. So some commercial sites, like I went
to a commercial site before when I was still back
in New Zealand, they're working two shifts, so they're working
day and night. On this particular project, and obviously they've
got a resource con permission to do exactly that. But

(12:09):
I think the short answer is, you know, in a
residential street, would I expect a builder to be on
site on a Sunday morning using a drop saw? And
so no, I wouldn't. And I think you'd find that
there's almost no circumstances where that sort of thing is permissible,
certainly around this time of year public holidays, so Christmas Day,

(12:29):
Boxing Day, typically you would expect that no work would
be undertaken on those days or my own sins, I
guess many many years ago, I had some guys working
with me. One of them wanted to work. It's often
tough for tradees around this period of time because there's
so many public holidays, and so one of the guys said, look,

(12:50):
can I work Auckland Anniversary Day and just carry on?
I said, yeah, go for it. Anyway, it lasted till
about nine o'clock before noise control came down and he
was told to go home. So typically it's you know,
Monday through Saturday, certain hours during the day, certain types
of activity kens Sundays and public holidays.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
Generally, it's been excellent.

Speaker 6 (13:12):
Thank you for your clarity something.

Speaker 5 (13:14):
Obviously this is happening near you.

Speaker 6 (13:18):
Yes, we've got a conflict going up a couple of
doors along and they seem to think that Sundays are
permissible and they're banging away and I just find it
quite disturbing. But I just wanted clarity on it in Vinet,
So thank you very much.

Speaker 7 (13:34):
Great.

Speaker 5 (13:35):
I think there's a couple of things. The other thing
that you can do THEO is actually ask for a
copy of the resource consent, and the resource consent will
typically say for that site, what the hours work are
and look, you'd like to think that you know going
down there during the week asking to speak to the
site supervisor. There'll be a site safety board out on

(13:57):
the front of the board that should have someone's name
and telephone number attached to it. You could text them
or give them a call and just say, hey, look,
can you explain why you're working on a Sunday please?
And if they say it's okay, then you would say
I need some evidence for.

Speaker 6 (14:12):
That excellent device. Thank you very much, all.

Speaker 5 (14:17):
Of the very best your THEO. You take care, all
the best and happy New Year. I feel that it's
now the time to say exactly that We've done the
whole Merry Christmas thing very much. Happy New Year, which
is just, of course a couple of days away. The
lines are open. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty
is the number to call. Someone steps through. I'm extending

(14:37):
the driveway fence by about thirty meters. I've hired a
post hole drill. Should I have used an excavator and
then explete of hard work from Doug? Look thirty meters
with a postal war if it's a handheld one or
the two person ones two man ones. There's plenty of
funny videos online where people have the bit has got

(14:58):
stuck and the people holding the device then end up
spinning around like clothes on a washing line. It's happened
to me. I'm sure tap into a bunch of other people. Yeah,
look excavator, postole borer. You'd have it done in a
couple of hours as opposed to a day of pretty
hard slog listens for next time, Doug. Oh eight hundred
eighty ten eighty is the number to call. If you've

(15:19):
got a question, give us a call right now. Oh
eight hundred eighty ten eighty. Text them through by all
means nine to nine two. The emails up and running
as well. It's Pete Atnewstalk SB dot co dot NZ
show today pretty much all for you guys. So whatever
is on your mind is what we'll be talking about
today on the program. Root Climb past as always will

(15:40):
join us at around eight point thirty this morning. It
is now six twenty five at news Talk SEB. If
you'd like to join us, give us a call right now,
Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty. The lines are open.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Sorting those sum effectses before the barbecue crowd arrives. The
Resident Builder with Peter Wolfcam call Oh eight hundred eighty
ten eighty News Talks B.

Speaker 5 (16:01):
Your News Talks heb Pete wolf Camp, the Resident Builder
on this Sunday, twenty eighth of December. So the new
year is looming. We can talk about what it's been like,
and she was, I don't think you'd find a builder
who wouldn't have said that it's been a pretty tough year.
I bumped into an architect during the course of the

(16:22):
year and was at a couple of sort of architectural
conferences where one of them group described this as the
toughest year in terms of trading in fifty years now.
That's a long memory, but it is indicative of just
what a challenging year it's been for most people this year. Okay,
the lines are open, the number to call, Oh, eight

(16:43):
hundred and eighty ten eighty, someone's text through as well.
That's nonsense, Pete. They can't stop you from working on
a public holiday Christmas Day and Good Friday. Well, yeah
they can. Actually, that's the whole point of the Resource
Management Act. It's also the whole point of noise restrictions
and the I suppose allowing of people to have some

(17:04):
quiet time in their neighborhood rather than just having to
put it up with the activity next door. Obviously, I'm
in the States at the moment. In Los Angeles, someone's
text through. Hey, look up on the Hollywood Hills. They're
unsaleable due to the fear of fires. The celebs have
moved out of town. There was a part of me,

(17:26):
which is kind of a shame to say, I was
kind of interested. We take a drive to look through
that areas that was devastated by the fires, just to see.
I guess what it looks like now, how quickly the
rebuild is going, Whether we get to that you never know,
and thank you for the tips too. Apparently the tarpet
is amazing and so few New Zealanders go there. You're right,

(17:50):
I've heard about it. I've seen some exhibits about it.
Haven't been yet. Might be able to change that in
the next couple of days, Ridy Oat, let's get amongst it.
The lines are open. The number to call eight hundred
eighty ten eighty and Rachel a very good morning to you, good.

Speaker 8 (18:04):
Morning, happy new ye and all the rest goes. I
think it's going to be a good year this year
for everyone. But I'm having problems with the neighbor's trees.
He's told me that he's actually planted them to block
my view. At this stage they're blocking all my son too.
He's planted. I'm on a flat surface, but protection drops

(18:26):
away from him and he's done at the bottom quite
a bit belowe The trees are enormous. One's the biggest it.

Speaker 9 (18:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (18:34):
He I can't talk to him because it's a long
term disagreement between the two ofists. And is there a
publication where you can find out exactly what you're entire
to do that? I know this stuff about it. It
drops this fruit drops on your place since you're you know, yours,
But we're dealing with a tree. A tree goes right

(18:55):
across three sections here, so it's not quite a bit
of Briton, and there's no if I do cut down
some branches, there's no way to get them out of
the property excepting maybe going through my place there. So
I just don't know quite how to handle it.

Speaker 5 (19:13):
Obviously, it's an issue that is an issue for a
number of people, and over the course of the year
with Ben Johnson actually he's a lawyer, property lawyer on
the show earlier this year, and we'll get him back
again talking about exactly that issue. So let's say a
neighbor has planted a tree and it's grown the.

Speaker 8 (19:33):
Whole length of the section, several trees right.

Speaker 5 (19:37):
Yes, Essentially, I think it's going to become a legal
thing where you can enforce your rights, such as they
are under the Property Act, to have the neighbor either
trim the trees or control the trees. Certainly, any branches
that hang over your boundary, you're entitled to cut them
off directly on the boundary, so wherever the boundary is

(19:59):
vertically up from there, you can remove any of those branches.

Speaker 8 (20:04):
You can drop once, can just drop it. It's his
responsibility to get rid of what's the rubbish.

Speaker 5 (20:11):
Well, actually you have to give them back. That's part
of the law. So if you cut a branch off,
you actually have to give it back to the neighbor.
I guess otherwise it would be considered theft. And I'm
aware of one situation where a neighbor who had quite
an extensive view, they had a covenant over their neighbour's

(20:31):
property that dictated the height that they could keep their trees,
and it was a surveyed height. There was a way
of determining exactly the height, and every year or two
years they I think they paid for an arborist to
trim their neighbor's trees in order to protect their view.

(20:52):
But slightly different situation. The person who wanted to protect
the view was a lawyer, so they were obviously able
to draft all of these this themselves if you wanted
to do it. I suspect if you've got a neighbor
that's perhaps you know, not cooperative, then it's going to
be an issue for a lawyer unfortunately. But I believe

(21:13):
there are rights there. They're in the property Act.

Speaker 8 (21:17):
You had a guy on a few weeks ago that
named was it the company's section two?

Speaker 9 (21:22):
Was that?

Speaker 4 (21:22):
What on?

Speaker 8 (21:23):
Am I imagining things?

Speaker 5 (21:24):
But if we were talking no, that that might have
been Mike Thornton. We were talking about this the introduction
of mandatory or compulsory building warranties. So Ben, another lawyer
specializing in property law, was on much earlier in the year.

Speaker 8 (21:42):
All right, so I'm trying.

Speaker 5 (21:44):
I think, given that your neighbor is uncooperative, it's going
to be a a legal issue unfortunately.

Speaker 8 (21:53):
Thank you, Thank you, all right, right, thank you telling.

Speaker 5 (21:56):
When this thing's happened, but they do happen quite a lot.
Thank you, Rachel, and all the very best to you.
Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty the number to call
Danes just text through as well. Pete Seasons, greetings, Thank
you very much.

Speaker 7 (22:08):
Diane.

Speaker 5 (22:09):
We've had our dining room ceiling light fitting replaced. We
now have two holes to fix and one has a
metal piece slightly proud of the ceiling. It is a
fitting that was used previously to put a screw in
that splays out inside the ceiling, so like a rule plug.
Should I be looking at somehow carefully knock it inside
the ceiling. If so, how best to do this and

(22:29):
is there a way to remove it? Many thanks and
save troubles home. Thank you very much, Diane, It's much appreciated. Yeah,
a couple of holes in the ceiling like that. If
it is just the remainder, typically with a like a
rall plug or or an expanding a toggle. Once you
take the screw out, there's just the toggle left. So
if you've taken the screw all the way out to
remove the fitting, just with a small screwdriver, you could

(22:53):
poke that toggle back inside the ceiling and patch the ceiling.
Quite a difficult It doesn't sound difficult, but it's quite
a difficult patch to do on a ceiling because if
you were just to apply a little bit of stopping
compound or some filler into that and send it back,
it's really hard to get that flush. You almost need

(23:14):
to make a slightly bigger dent there that you can
apply some stopping compound to feather it out over sort
of three four hundred millimeters around there, and then pigmented
seil or a billboard sealer over that. And I would
I hate to tell you this diet. I'd be very
surprised if you could just paint that area of the

(23:35):
ceiling and not have it look quite obvious, particularly even
if you've got exactly the same paint. If that ceiling
was painted a couple of years ago, it would have
changed color slightly just due to age. And I would
imagine that you're probably up for having to paint or
repaint the entire ceiling just to make sure that it's
not that obvious. But good luck with that. Look, if

(23:57):
you got stuck into it today, you'd be finished by
twenty twenty six. You get it done this year. Oh,
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. I'm sure that out
there there are people rushing to get projects finished because
they said I'm going to do it in twenty twenty five,
and you want to get it done. If that's you, hey, look,
all all power to your arm. I hope it works
out for you. I eight hundred eighty ten eighty is

(24:20):
the number to call. The lines are free. Obviously, texts
are good, but calls are better. So give us a
call right now on eight hundred eighty ten eighty. People,
wolf Camp resident, build it with you this morning. As
it happens from Los Angeles back in the studio in
Auckland from next Sunday. So looking forward to getting home
after a bit of a journey away for the last

(24:40):
couple of weeks. I eight hundred eighty ten eighty is
the number to call another quick text just with regard
to working, and I guess around this time of year
it's particularly topical, isn't it. You know, if there's a
bill of that's under pressure to get the job done,
are they going to be working Christmas Day? I remember
a guy that worked with us, gosh a long time ago,

(25:00):
like thirty odd years ago, didn't observe Christmas, didn't feel
that it was his kind of holiday. They were stoppers actually,
and they said, well, we'll just come in work Christmas Day,
and they did and again stopping. It's fairly quiet, right,
it's not going to disturb anyone. It'd be very different technically,
I suppose maybe they shouldn't have done anyway, so a

(25:22):
long time ago, but yeah, they came in work Christmas Day.
There will be the temptation at this time of year
to be you know, maybe working second of January technically
it's public holiday. And then of course around the country
we've got things like Auckland Anniversary Day, White Tonguey Day,
and so on. So lots of public holidays, and if

(25:44):
you're under the pump, there's always the temptation to get
that work done someone else's taxed through. Maybe Auckland's different,
But I've worked virtually every public holiday except Christmas Day
and Good Friday for the last thirty years and never
been a complaint or even question. Hey, look, it may
change around the country. It would depend on the type
of work that you do. But my own experience was

(26:05):
I did have one guy who was working on a
public holiday and he got sent home by the old
noise control people. Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty is
the number to call back after the break.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
If it creaks, leaks, cracks or squeaks some is the
time to get it sort of call oh, eight hundred
eighty ten eighty. The resident builder with Peter wolfcab News
Talk zeb.

Speaker 5 (26:27):
Turns out it's a little bit more complicated and involved
in terms of what types of work and what noise
regarding or related to construction work is permissible, and so
on and so forth. So anyway we'll go into that.
I've because it does change from Council to council. So
I'm going to stick with Ugland Council because I'm more

(26:50):
familiar with that, and I'll give you a brief rundown
of what type of work can happen. Turns out working
on a Sunday is okay, except there are rules, so
we'll have a look at those rules in a moment.
If you'd like to join us, we'd love to hear
from you this morning on a Sunday morning in a
news talks ab. It's a great time I have a chat,
So I call us now. Eight hundred and eighty eighty
is that number to call? Philip A very good morning

(27:11):
to you.

Speaker 9 (27:13):
Yes, point pee. I've got a second bedroom on my
house facing south. It's got a gable at the bedrooms
about four and a half years wide, with a gable
above her. And there's no eve on that gable. It's
it's clad with above the brick. It's a brick house,

(27:35):
so there must be some sort of framing above the
bridge and up up to the roofline, and that's the end.
Gable is colored in that fibrous plaster shooting stuff that
you call quarter and stick or something. So I have
a join so that there's two batons going. It was

(27:57):
about eight batons on on that that cladding, and so
I have a join in that fibrous plaster stuff.

Speaker 10 (28:05):
What do you call that?

Speaker 9 (28:06):
Sbesto shooting or something is what it was called.

Speaker 5 (28:10):
Look, if it's older, you know, if the house is
sort of nineteen seventies and earlier, then it'll be some
form of fiber cement sheet. And yes, most likely it'll
have asbestos and some of it's quite flat profile is
the typical.

Speaker 9 (28:23):
That's right. So if here's the baton over the top
of there, so I had leaked a mold inside the room, yes,
and so that baton had failed, has gone rotten, and
so there's a joint in those in that fire was shooting.

(28:45):
Should I seal that fire was shooting up the gap
in it or leaving the air gap behind it and
put a new baton over it, or is there a
better way of doing it?

Speaker 5 (28:56):
Well, I guess the baton was probably installed at a
time when we didn't have access to the ceilants that
we do have today. So I think that if the
baton has failed, I'd pull that off. I'd clean the
gap between the two sheets and do some good UV
stabilized celant like a pseudal or a fix all or
something like that, toop that into there, and that'll stop

(29:18):
the weather driving in there, because typically the baton will
have two little grooves on the back that stop water
tracking around behind the baton. But if that's missing, then
water will go directly in there. The other thing to
consider it sounds like that's the most likely source of
the leak. The other thing is if you don't have
much of an overhang, how is the barge detail finished

(29:42):
on the where it connects to the roof. Is there
a flashing there or is it a coppery tile roof.

Speaker 9 (29:48):
No, it's a scalonized iron. So the flashing comes across
from the iron down and it's got a bargeboard flashing
with shaped and that's all quite sealed up and quite
tight there. Okay, it doesn't make sense. So it can
get from from that join there all the way. There
must be some sort of framing sitting on top of

(30:09):
the bricks, and then get past the stud, the past
the wall, the past the stud, and then then get
into these. It just got fibrous plaster on the walls.

Speaker 7 (30:21):
The old, that old.

Speaker 9 (30:25):
What you called fibrous plaster. It says that that doesn't
that that actually doesn't absorb moisture when you google it online.
So do I need to take that off or will
that actually dry out?

Speaker 5 (30:40):
Do you know whether you've got any insulation in the
ceiling cavity?

Speaker 9 (30:44):
Yes, the cel there's definitely an insulation, and the ceiling
cavity is I can sorry.

Speaker 5 (30:55):
If it's safe. Can you get up into the ceiling cavity,
get along there and just see whether the insulation itself
is damp or whether there's you know, if if the
insulation's damp, or if you pull the insulation apart, can
you see where the water has been pulling on the ceiling,
because you're right, you know, if the leak has occurred

(31:17):
in the gable cladding, and it's got to then move
from there over the brick, over the brick cavity, over
the timber framing, and then into the side of the room.
It's not impossible. It happens. You know, water will travel
quite a distance, especially if it's been a long term leak,
and then that's become a pathway for you know, it

(31:39):
might be a couple of years since that batterIn came
down but ideally you'd want to go up there and
if the insulation is damp, maybe put a dehumidifier up there,
or just lift the insulation drape it over the supports
for the trusses. That sort of let some airflow get
in there, because if you've had that much moisture for
that much time, your chances are you're going to get

(32:01):
a little bit of mold growth in there as well.
The other thing that will help if you dry.

Speaker 9 (32:07):
I can see the fiber board. It doesn't appear to
be any It doesn't appear to be any paper between
the fibers. You should, yeah, the fiber board. You would
have thought there would have been you know, black paper
underneath that firewater. They don't.

Speaker 5 (32:25):
Yeah, not back then, not back then. So it would
be fiber cement sheet direct fixed to the timber framing.
That'll be absorbing a bit of moisture as well. A
little bit of rain tracks in through there. If it's
south facing and you get a bit of a southerly
that will help push that moisture in. That'll probably be that.
But it sounds like if you deal with the flashing junction,

(32:48):
good bead of zealant in their cot of paintings required,
that should save it. And then if it is still
quite damp inside the house, you know, if you've got
a dehumidifier, or if you go and rent once for
a little while, that will suck all of the last
of that moisture out there, and when you redo the painting,
it'll be ticky boot Okay, awesome.

Speaker 9 (33:11):
It out.

Speaker 5 (33:12):
I would see it out absolutely, Okay, take care you,
thank you. I mean, it is amazing how far moisture
it will travel. But also if it's a long term
water leak, the potential for damages is quite extensive if
it's if it's sat there and sort of rotted away
for a long period of time. Funnily enough, I was

(33:35):
reading an article came up, it was actually in the
New York Times originally just the other day, about automatic
switch off devices that are triggered by the presence of
a water leak. And look over the years of doing
the show, and years of being involved with sort of

(33:55):
remediation and repair on either rental properties or schools and
that sort of thing, I've often thought there's got to
be some sort of way of having a sensor installed
inside a building that alerts you to water leaks anyway
this article I can finish reading all of it. But
it's a really simple, well relatively straightforward device, but it

(34:18):
does require senses and a device that will turn off
your let's say, stop valve on the water main if
water is detected by some of these senses that you
could put around the house. So imagine if in the laundry,
maybe in the bathroom, on the bathroom floor, and possibly
in the kitchen, you were to install a sensor which

(34:41):
ran back to the controller that sat over a simple
valve on your water maine that if either of those
detected water where it shouldn't be, it would simply activate
this little lever and that would turn off your automat.
It strikes me as not quite as simple as I

(35:04):
hoped it would be. But at the same time, you know,
if you've got something that turns off your water because
it detects a water leak, you don't want it to
turn off every time you jump in the shower and
the machine thinks that your house has sprung a leak.
It just strikes me as something I'm going to do
a bit more reading on it because so many people
that I know have had you know, they come home

(35:26):
from holiday, they've opened the front door and the water
is literally just pouring out from upstairs, or you come
home after it could even be just a day and
the bath upstairs has sprung a leak, and the ceiling
and the lounge has collapsed and it's crashed down onto
the couch and there's water pouring out through the side
door and all the rest of it, you know, left

(35:47):
to its own devices are fitting that pops off and
floods the house can do as I'm sure a number
of people are sitting there listening to the show right
now thinking, yep, happened to me. It would be great
if there was a system whereby water my house would
detect the fact that I've had a leak and then
turned it off to at least restrict the damage, because

(36:09):
certainly I've again heard and being to houses where someone
has fitting has let go on a let's say, a
water pipe throughout the house. Cold water, hot water, it
doesn't any matter which one, and it's run flat out
for a day, half a day, two days, three days,
four days before somebody notices it, and by that time
there is quite extensive damage. Anyway, I'll do a bit

(36:33):
more reading on that one oh eight hundred and eighty
ten eighty is that number to call someone else? Just
talking about the noise restrictions working restrictions. Someone else's text
through and said, Pete, do the working noise restrictions to
homeowners working on apply to homeowners working on their own property?
I skill saw a nail gun renovating a deck. Pat
My understanding is they don't. So if you, as a homeowner,

(36:57):
choose to work at home and start as soon as
the show finishes at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning
building the deck full of enthusiasm after having listened to
the show, it doesn't sound like there's anything that anyone
can do about that, apart from just apply or hoping
that you'll be a good neighbor and maybe you'll you'll
desist and start again on Saturday. I have had a

(37:20):
quick look at the Auckland Council website information on this,
so in a nutshell within the let's not worry about
the CBD so in residential areas Monday through Friday from
six thirty till seven thirty, it's all about descibels, so
sixty decibels, so that's you can arrive for work and

(37:42):
get your tools out, but no power tools. Seven thirty
till six pm. Construction work can proceed at high levels
up to seventy five decibels. To be fair, if you've
ever put a discibel reading next to a I don't know,
impact roll or something like that, it's probably going to
be higher than seventy five. From six till eight you
can work, but it's down below seventy. Sundays it's seven

(38:05):
thirty till six up to seventy five decibels. Outside of
that time it's forty five decibels Sunday and public holidays.
Construction workers own is permitted, but the noise level is
limited to fifty five decibels. And if you're wondering where
it is that you take that reading, it's actually from

(38:28):
the boundary. So if someone's working smack bang in the
middle of the site and they're exceeding forty five decibels,
you can't take the reading from next to the person.
You have to take the reading from the boundary, and
I think it's like one meter inside the boundary. There's
one project that I was involved in where the neighbors

(38:50):
were particularly upset at the work that was going on
and would make a number of noise control complaints, and
so we started to monitor ourselves, and as I recall,
that was pretty much the rules. Look, if you've got
a smartphone, you can download a dissibel reader and that'll
give you an interesting insight. It's certainly interesting to do

(39:10):
if you are making noise, just to see what's as
a planer, louder than a skill saw, louder than an impactrial,
louder than table saw, that sort of thing. And look,
the other thing is, no matter what you're doing, if
it involves any sort of noise above a conversation, make
sure you're wear any hearing protection as well. Radio, we've
got new Sport and Weather coming up top of the

(39:32):
hour at seven o'clock. I'm just checking because it's not
seven o'clock where I am. It's ten o'clock in the
morning in Los Angeles right now. But if you've got
a question of a building nature, oh, eight hundred eighty
ten eighty is that number to call. I think one
of the things that we're probably try. I'm just thinking
ahead to next year as well.

Speaker 4 (39:50):
Well.

Speaker 5 (39:51):
We'll get a couple of our sort of experts back
on the show. So already we've talked about Ben Thompson,
it is who was our expert in terms of property law.
In the last couple of weeks, of course, we spoke
with Mike Thornton, who is our legal expert in terms
of construction and construction defects and those sorts of things,
that there's going to be significant changes with the introduction

(40:13):
of the mandatory warranty scheme. It's going to be really
interesting to follow that and track that along, and we'll
get some of our other experts back in twenty twenty six.
As this is our last show for twenty twenty five
your News Talk CEB, we'll take a little bit of
music up to the news sport and we're the top
of the hour at seven. Give us a call now.
The lines are open. The number to call eight hundred
eighty ten.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
Eighty sums out tools out. Your summer DIY starts here.

(41:15):
The resident builder with Peter Wolf can call eight hundred
and eighty ten eighty Used Talk Zippy.

Speaker 4 (41:24):
Welcome to the Hotel California.

Speaker 5 (41:30):
Such a love, such a long.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
Lace, such a love based.

Speaker 5 (41:37):
Ready roll Hotel Californa.

Speaker 2 (41:43):
Any time here, anytime of here.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
You can find here.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
A simply twisted, she got her Mercedes bends.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
She got a lot of pretty prey by.

Speaker 11 (42:01):
Arms.

Speaker 5 (42:03):
How did that send?

Speaker 2 (42:04):
The good Yards.

Speaker 5 (42:18):
Hosel California. I don't know that that's the name of
this particular establishment that we're staying in, but I am
in California at the moment. We are. Family's here and
heading home back to Auckland a couple of days time,
so my last show on the road. It's probably a
bit of thankfulness about that. Eight hundred and eighty ten
eighty is the number to call this the resident builder

(42:39):
on Sunday. We're talking building, we're talking construction, we're talking
rules and regulation that govern what you can do when
you can do it. And certainly this morning it's obviously
quite topical given that we've had Christmas Day, Boxing Day,
We're about to have New Year's Day, second to January
or second New Year's Day. Then, of course a bit
later on it'll be various anniversary days, Aukland's Anniversary Day,

(43:02):
at the end of January. I've got wait Tony Day
coming up, those sorts of things, and there is at
this time of year the temptation to just keep on working.
So can you continue to work on public holidays. Well,
there seems to be it's not as quite clear or
straightforward as just a prohibition on types of work. It's

(43:22):
all about dis ol ratings and the other thing that
because what we're talking about earlier on the show about
a construction, like there's an apartment going up next to
Theo's place by the sound of it, or a townhouse
multi unit development going up, and people are working there
on a Sunday. It will be even if the let's

(43:43):
say it's Auckland Council, and let's say the Auckland Council
rules allow for construction work to happen on a Sunday
between certain hours, it has to be of a certain level.
But their particular resource consent, they may have given up
that privileged let's say of working on a Sunday in
order to get the resource consent through, in which case

(44:04):
the resource consent say there will be no activity on
site or there will be no construction activity regardless of
the sound. So there's kind of like competing rules and
regulations around this whole thing. But certainly, if you're looking
forward to a relaxing time off over summer and there
is activity next door, I can imagine the frustration. Or

(44:25):
if you're a homeowner and your neighbor's got a new
chainsaw and he's desperately keen to try it out on
Boxing Day, I can also understand the frustration with that.
Don't think I've ever been there and done that myself,
but sorely tempted, I suppose with a brand new tool
at Christmas time. Right, we're talking all things building and construction.
If you've got a question about building, about the rules

(44:46):
the regulations, now is the perfect time to call. Eight
hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number. Text messages
they're working fine, that's nine two nine two or ZBZB
from your mobile phone. And if you'd like to email meet,
you're more than welcome to do exactly that. It's Pete
at Newstalk ZB dot co dot InCD So, like I say,
the line are open. Texts are great, but calls are better.

(45:08):
Now is a very very good time to call. We've
got lines free for you. Any projects that you might
be considering, or you're wondering what the rules and regulations
are going to look like. The other significant change I
think that's happened during the course of this year has
been the introduction of legislation that will allow four seventy
square meter simple standalone dwellings or granny flats for want

(45:31):
of a better term, that will be built or could
be built in your backyard without necessarily requiring a building consent.
I suppose the challenge with that announcement is that it
is seen by some people as being there are now
no rules regarding these types of buildings, but there are. Yes,

(45:53):
you might not need a building consent, but you're still
going to need a set of plans. You're still going to,
I presume, need to show that the building is compliant
with the building code, in which case, if a builder
is working on their own, would they be able to
sort of off the top of their head construct something
and be able to assure somebody that it's compliant with

(46:14):
the building code. Maybe, but to be blunt, not that
many builders would be able to do that. Then you're
going to have to inform the council. So you're going
to have to go to them to tell them what
it is that you plan to do, where you're going
to put it. So you're going to need a set
of plans to present to council at that stage, and
there is still the possibility that council might decline your

(46:37):
application given that you know it might not fit in
terms of infrastructure or ability to sustain extra services, et cetera,
et cetera in the area right now, by the way,
it isn't law. It will come into effect shortly, but
right now it doesn't mean that you can start building it.
And I'm sure there's people out there ready to go,

(47:00):
wanting to start building these little seventy square meter units
in the backyards. Oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty. We're
talking all things building and construction. And Jeremy, a very
good morning to you.

Speaker 10 (47:11):
Yeah here a you bet it's a lovely day, very well, yeah, yeah,
it's a beautiful day here.

Speaker 12 (47:18):
It should be bad, but which is not terribly uncommon.

Speaker 5 (47:23):
I know people give Wellington a hard time, but I've
certainly been there on days where it's just absolutely glorious.
And it's that you can't beat Wellington on good days.
You don't have many of them. Right now, how can
I help.

Speaker 10 (47:34):
Jeremy, Well, we've got a sort of probably seventy eight
eighties house and it's got aluminium windows in it, and
I mean they look great, you know, they look at
a very good condition. Are they worthwhile retro glazing? You know,

(47:57):
some of the rubbers are starting to come out, which
is easy enough to get redone, sure, but we're just
wondering whether it's worthwhile retro glazing them with double glazing
or can you triple glaze them. The only issue is
you'd have to get new sashes for the sashes because

(48:21):
they're only you know, single, they're not they're not like
the modern extrusion. They're only a single will only take
a single pain yep. So the option is, you know,
we either get them retroglazed or we take them out
and put new ones. And so what what's the actual story?
You know?

Speaker 5 (48:42):
I mean, these things are never quite as simple as
they seem. So you're right to have identified the fact
that a bit of single glazing that you've gotten your
aluminium joiner at the moment is not giving you a
great deal of protection from the cold outside and wanting
to retain the heat inside. So I think what's really
important is that we look at windows as two components. Right,

(49:05):
there's the glazing and then there's the frame or the
joinery itself. So if you were to upgrade the glazing
by taking the single glazing out and replacing with double glazing.
That will be much more thermally effective. So that's a
good thing. What it's not dealing with is the issue
that you've got aluminium framing. Aluminium joinery is a very

(49:28):
good conductor of heat, right, So potentially if there's heat
inside your house and you've trapped it from going out
through your single glazing, it's going to find it's going
to put more effort into getting out through your aluminium
and you could do an upgrade, but it won't stop
that particular feature then, So that then gets you to

(49:49):
start thinking about, well, hang on, what about you know,
if the hardware's a little bit old and the hinges
are starting to get a bit old, and the rubbers
are starting to come out and all the rest of it.
Depending on the type of joinery, whether it's how easy
it is to get to, whether it's fixed with the
architraves on the inside or rebated jams, or whether it's

(50:12):
you know, how it's fixed or attached to the planting
on the exterior, the planning could start clean loot.

Speaker 10 (50:19):
The planting is actually brickwork, so I've put them in before,
and you know, you can just they're not. They haven't
got architraves around. You could just pull them out from
the inside, but because you know, when you look at it,
it's probably going to cost to do. We're in a

(50:41):
sort of semi detached flat and it's in very good condition,
and even the aluminium journey is in very good condition,
considering it must be. You know, it's getting close to
fifty years. But you know, you weigh it up, it's
probably going to cost you fifty grand to put them
into you know, into the what we've got, and whether

(51:04):
it's worthwhile just you know, red glazing them and getting
good curtains because you know, I've been sort of listening
and in lots of cases they say, well, you know,
good good thermal curtains. And we've been in We've just
been in this house for a year, so we've been
through a winter with just one heat pump and some

(51:25):
oil color meters and it's quite it's quite livable. You know,
we're not shivering or sweeping in their clothes sort of thing.
You know.

Speaker 5 (51:34):
I mean, there's always that thing of good, better, best, right,
So depending on budget or inclination or those sorts of things,
you could go, hey, look if I go from single
glazing to double glazing. That's better without a doubt, right,
And all the evidence is there, the numbers are there.
I can tell you that it'll be seven times more

(51:55):
effective to go from single glazing to double glazing, and
there's evidence to back that up. Then you go, okay,
well if I do, if I've got if I'm then
at good, could I be better?

Speaker 11 (52:05):
Well?

Speaker 5 (52:05):
Yeah you could. You could look at the frames and
say if I pulled those out and replace them with uPVC,
for example, then I get the benefit of new seals,
new hardware, it's going to be more air tight. Then
that gets me to better. So then you know, I
think what's really really exciting at the moment is that

(52:27):
we're starting to be aware of all of these options.
So yes, you could do this if you did that,
plus replace the frames like with the uPVC. So the
guys that I know at Dark Joinery who do the uPVC,
they've got sort of resellers right around the country who
will come do a site measure and then simply they'll

(52:49):
arrive back, they'll pull your existing aluminum out, they'll replace
it with the uPVC frame that will fit exactly into
the hole and with it will come in the double glazing.
One of my actually one of my nephews did it
on his place a couple of years ago. Made a
dramatic difference, right, And this was an old home well
actually similar inteag to yours, weatherboard, timber framing, old timber joinery.

(53:15):
They simply pulled the sashes out and inserted a liner
into that space, So it was a really simple swapover.
But by going to UPBC, they also ended up with
new hardware, new handles, new hinges, and really thermally effective frames.
Plus the double glazing went into it and in the

(53:36):
house like that, and they spent time putting insulation into
the exterior walls. You know, it's a dramatically different house.
And what I'm saying is, I think what's really exciting
about the development of building science at the moment is
that we can actually measure and quantify all of these things.
So if I go double glazing, that's going to be
this much better. If I go double glazing plus uPVC,

(53:58):
it's going to be this much better, And potentially you
could then start to work out what are my savings
energy wise as well. Look, it's it's all there as
options it's good better. Best is how you have to
determine what you're going to do.

Speaker 10 (54:16):
Yeah, well this is a brick you know, a brick
house in very good condition.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
It's yep.

Speaker 13 (54:23):
Andior walls No, No, that's because I've just pulled out
a wall and it's on a corner and I've reentulated it.

Speaker 10 (54:36):
But there is there's no insulation in any of the walls.
But I mean we didn't find it unbearable, you know,
for a winter in Wellington.

Speaker 5 (54:45):
I mean look again, from a you know, from a
building science point of view, you'd go, Actually, if you're
going to put money basically into double glazing and replacing
the frames and not insulate the walls, I hate to
say it, but there's not a lot to be gained, right,
You've got to think about the thermal envelope. You've got
to think about a sort of holistic approach to insulating

(55:07):
the building. Arguably, you know, and because in each of
your rooms with an exterior wall, just do a calculation
how much of its window, how much of it is wall.
If the majority is wall, then by putting insulation into
the wall, you're going to get more benefits. So I'll
tell you what actually one of the here's another thing

(55:30):
if you want to do a bit of summer reading.
So the Super Home Movement, who released the Healthy Homes
Guide a little while ago, have just released a guide
for people doing renovations. So if you search for Super
Home Movement and then search for their renovation guide, it
will it may not give you the answers, but it
will tell you about the questions that you should be

(55:54):
asking and the sort of impact that different things could
make to your house. So have a look at the
renovation guide from the Super Home Movement.

Speaker 14 (56:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (56:04):
Well, the other thing that we've got to weigh up
is that we're in their seventies and you know, whether
it's worth while going through all that because he does
you know, notose teen years you might be at a
retirement home, you know, and if you can bet.

Speaker 5 (56:16):
That's right, And these are the constraints that we all
work with, right, It's it's you know, do I you know,
you get a certain amount of money to live on
and all the rest of it, do you tip it
into a house or do you take a.

Speaker 10 (56:28):
Trip exactly for the winter, going to Indonesia or something
like that for the hard part and just coming back
warming up.

Speaker 5 (56:39):
I think in all the years, I've never had someone
suggest that rather than insulate your house, you just go
to somewhere warmer over the winter. But hey, look, if
it works for you, it works for you, Jeremy. I
really enjoyed the conversation. But and again, I just think
it's so exciting that we've got so much more knowledge
about how our buildings work in order to make really

(56:59):
informed decisions about where am I going to put my
effort and my money in terms of getting a better
building that's going to look after me and my family.

Speaker 10 (57:07):
But when I when I listen to you, and when
I look at how old we are and the type
we've got, it really comes down unless you're going to
pull the walls off, we're probably better getting good thermal
curtains and perhaps putting in retro gazing for a little

(57:30):
bit that if anybody else wants to do it in
the future, they can, you know, they can put the
insulation in, or if I feel like it, I just
go room to room and put the insulation because it's
because you're really only looking at each room as two
walls to the outside typically yes, walls, yeah, yeah, Okay.

Speaker 5 (57:51):
Really enjoyed the conversation Jeremy, my wife.

Speaker 10 (57:54):
My wife will be My wife will be very happy.

Speaker 5 (57:56):
You're off the hook. All the best. And as I
mentioned to Jeremy, this is when we spoke actually with
Dan Saunders actually who's a carpenter in christ Church, heavily
involved with the super home movement. Just in being November
December that we chatted with him. So the super Home Movement,

(58:18):
which is a collection of people involved in building science
and building efficiency and so on, the energy efficiency, have
got together to produce the super Home Guide Healthy Homes
Guide a couple of years ago, but now they've done one
that's very much focused on renovation. So if you're in
your house a little bit like Jeremy, and you're going
where do I start? You know what's going to give

(58:40):
me the greatest benefit because all of us are constrained
by budget. Check out the Super Home Movement's Renovation Guide,
which is recently released. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten
eighty is the number to coour. We'll take a short break.
We'll talk to Steve in a moment. And one of
the you know, if I'm traveling and someone said, why

(59:01):
don't you just have a whole day and not worry
about work. I like what I do, and in traveling
around it's been really interesting to see different building methodologies
where different countries are at. And the house that we
stayed with some friends for a period of time, which
you know, genuinely cold. It was two degrees the other

(59:24):
morning and will be for months on end in that
part of the world. They'd done a great job of
insulating the house, of putting in really good quality joinery,
really good quality glazing. They had a heat recovery system
within in the house of mechanical ventilation, heat recovery system,

(59:46):
and the house was just a delight to be and
given that when you stepped out, genuinely it was breezing cold.
So if you do a good job in your house,
it'll look after you. We'll come back after the break.
It is seven five.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
From summer backyard jobs to Big Rednos.

Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Let's talk it through Call oh eight hundred eighty resident
building with peterwolfcab News Talk ZBI.

Speaker 5 (01:00:11):
Someone sets through about sort of you know, how is
it that I'm well, technically, I guess on holiday, but
I'm still out there looking at buildings and looking at
building methodologies and housing and legislation and so on look
to be blunt. It's because I really enjoy it. I
find it endlessly fascinating. So the opportunity, and I mentioned

(01:00:31):
this last week on the show. I was at an event,
let's say, and was talking to someone who works for
one of the large group home builders in the UK.
So I don't know where we're at with building consents
in New Zealand, let's say in twenty twenty five or thereabouts,
but we're probably somewhere around thirty thousand building consents or
thirty thousand projects underway. The person that I was speaking with,

(01:00:54):
in the company that they work with or work for,
they do twenty thousand houses. Just then, right that one
company produces twenty thousand houses. I think our largest builders
would be doing about I don't know, sixteen seventeen hundred
in total. So it's the incredible scale of it. And

(01:01:14):
certainly driving around, because we were in London for a bit,
we also north of London watching the developments, what was fascinating,
just very very briefly, most of the developments the houses
look like old fashioned houses. Basically where I was, where
I was and where we were driving around, I didn't
see a lot of new developments, let's say suburbs Greenfield

(01:01:38):
developments that were what I would call modern architecture. You
drove around and what you saw was a two story building,
basically square, with a single ridge hip on it, reasonably
steep pitched in red brick. That was it, and there
was just hundreds of them going up. It was quite fascinating.

(01:01:59):
Oh one hundred eighty ten eighty is that i'mber to call.
I also find that I can't resist going to a
hardware store when I'm traveling as well. So thus far
I've been to hardware stores across parts of the UK.
In Paris briefly and a little bit later on today,
I'm going to walk down There's a place called Harbor

(01:02:20):
Freight Tools which is up the road, and there's another
place called Ace Hardware which is a little way down
the other way. So I think I might find that
I'll spend a little bit of time in both of
those hardware stores today as well. The lines are open
the number to call. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten
eighty Steve, Good morning to you.

Speaker 7 (01:02:40):
Oh good a mate, compliments to you and your family
this time.

Speaker 5 (01:02:44):
Thank you, into you and yours.

Speaker 7 (01:02:46):
Yeah cool, I've got a bit of a summer backtime
project on the go, and I'm just going to get
your thoughts around. I've thought it use bits of retaining
and decking and sending a little bit of landscaping for
quite a number of years, and I kind of just
sort of like used under the radar heights and just

(01:03:11):
the standard building practice code for building those various things
and didn't really go too hearty on communicating with the
council and getting compliance. That are what I did this sometime,
putting in shade styles where they were connected to the

(01:03:32):
house and the hole had to be inspected that the
pole went in clients I had to deal with. So
I've got a new little property, it's four years old
at the beach here in New Zealand, and at the
back I've got a twelve meter by eight meter bit

(01:03:54):
of grass there which I've excavated down, put in three
strips where my little deck is. I put a little
deck in and it's three point five meters four point
eight meters with fix hundred center on the joist and
it's all been braced up, snogged up and uhtle screwed together.

(01:04:16):
I've used the Ka Kads materials that's nice and straight
and true, and I play instead of digging. I've not
done any digging into the ground. I've placed it on
top of top blocks, the little recycled plastic feat have you.

(01:04:43):
Are you familiar with those?

Speaker 5 (01:04:45):
I think I have seen them around.

Speaker 7 (01:04:49):
I've never done normally. I just put a full or
four post and concrete it in right, and even just
just attached your yeah choice to that. But I thought
I do this because out the back there there is
at least one, maybe two soakholes with the concrete lids

(01:05:10):
with the rings, and that's because of the driveway out
the back. I'm pretty sure the drainage goes out and
into this. I want to leave it all permeable, and
I didn't really want to go into the ground and
to see everything that's going on there. That is sure
that has been complied with the building of the building.
So I've got WPC decking on top and that's work.

(01:05:34):
I've never worked with that before either. So that's looking
really good and solid and straight and true. My question
is three point five by four point eight meter deck
that's flat on the ground for one hundred and fifty mils. Obviously,
is the height of the material. So that's the height
of the deck. Do I need any compliance to that?

Speaker 5 (01:05:59):
No, no, you don't in the sense that that sort
of work can be done under Shida one of the
Building Act, which is the work that can be done
with it necessarily requiring a building consent saying that it
does need to comply with the Building Code. And I
guess what you've created, let's say, is it's not technically

(01:06:23):
within let's say three six o four, right, which is
the guidelines for light frame timber construction. You know, if
you did do it in accordance with three to six
o four, you probably have a hole in the ground
with a certain amount of concrete, a post which wouldn't
be one hundred by one hundred, it be one hundred
and twenty five one hundred and twenty five. You could
figure out your spans for your bearers, the span of

(01:06:45):
the joists and so on. So by having let's say
concrete pads and these tough blocks and so on and
so forth, you would you'd have to get someone to
look at it and prove the design. The only way
that that would ever be an issue is, you know,
because in the you probably haven't exceeded site coverage. It's

(01:07:06):
not obviously particularly high. No one's actually ever going to
worry about it, I think.

Speaker 7 (01:07:12):
So, yeah, that's that's why I use that material because
it's not going into the ground, so it's not permanent permanent,
so it's just sitting on top. So I put in
one hundreds of milo crush of dust, but and whack,
whack it all down and leave it all out, and
then got all these tough blocks level, and then I
placed the joist into the slot in the tough block,

(01:07:36):
and and then I've put a couple of those kind
of like on each corner, I put a one of
those things that you screw into the ground, and then
your skirt to the framing, just as an extra anchor.

Speaker 5 (01:07:50):
Yeah, I think that while it sounds like you know
what you're doing, so you've you've made a good job
of putting it together, it's low risk in the sense
that it's so close to the ground and it's demountable.
So if you if you needed to adjust it in
some way, let's say one of those pads sinks a
little bit, or you could just try and lift a

(01:08:12):
couple of decking boards, slide a shim under there, or
something like that, So I look, my feeling is that
you're probably okay, and I don't know that anyone's ever
going to come along and trouble you about it, so
I think you'll be fine, mate. Oh, eight hundred eighty
ten eighties and to call. We'll talk to Denise straight
after the break. We'll take that break right now.

Speaker 2 (01:08:31):
Sawdust, Sunshine and solid advice.

Speaker 1 (01:08:34):
The resident builder with Peter Wolfcab call eight hundred eighty
ten eighty Youth Talk z B.

Speaker 5 (01:08:41):
We're talking all things building in construction. Eight hundred eighty
ten eighty is the number to call. Actually, I'll tell
you what a quick text message. Pete, the owner of
Harbor Freight Tools, has one hundred and seventeen meter souper
yacht that's currently parked up in the coromandle Nick if

(01:09:02):
you just want to say that, I'm going to pop
into one of his stores and about I don't know
three hours time, and if he could line me up
with a good old trading discount, I'd be stoked. He's
obviously doing very well. Denise, greetings to.

Speaker 11 (01:09:15):
You, good morning, Happy Christmas.

Speaker 5 (01:09:19):
Good morning to night.

Speaker 11 (01:09:19):
I'm not quite sure whether this is important enough for
your show. Sometime back. I heard you mention about neighbors
trees blocking views. Yes, that's what I want to talk about.
I have a house opposite me that used to belong
to me, actually, and it's the people in it haven't

(01:09:42):
said to me what. It's a young man and he's
gone somewhere at the house has been empty for about
three months. And I'd like the tops of some trees
trim that blocked my ocean view. And I've asked him.
He said he'd have to ask his wife. Then I
asked the real estate that was handling it. It's not

(01:10:04):
on the mark at the moment. They said they didn't
n for anything. And then I asked the mother who
said she was handling everything. And then there was a
guy there yesterday and asked again. I offered to have
a professionally dale. And it's a lot of trees. It's
at the back of the like it's as you enter

(01:10:25):
the house as a very big, big driveway. Once you're
in the house, you don't look back this way so visibly.
It really doesn't matter to them. And when I was
in there, I chopped one side because it was in
the neighbors gato. I chopped it out side because it
was the sun down the bottom the fig tree.

Speaker 5 (01:10:43):
Was annoying them.

Speaker 11 (01:10:44):
There's one more, but anyway, it doesn't affect you. You
just in the house. You do it properly. And I'm
wondering what I could do next. Do I have any comeback?

Speaker 5 (01:10:58):
Well, I guess you can't do anything without the landowners
or the property owners permission, and while you've made inquiries,
you haven't receive that permission yet, so I've got hold
of But at the same time, you know, I mean,
you sound like the perfect neighbor. If you're prepared to
do it and at your own expense and having professionals
come in and do the work. You know, there's no

(01:11:20):
real downside for the neighbor. It's just getting the consult
from them. So I think if you can get the
consent get the work done, it's great. Otherwise, as my understanding,
as there are provisions within the Property Act for you
to make an application and to have it enforced, but
it just sounds like no one's prepared to say yes

(01:11:40):
when they're quite likely that they would say yes.

Speaker 11 (01:11:44):
Yeah, he's a very wealthy young man and I don't
even know where he will and he had it on
the market didn't sell. Whether or not he blames me
for that, I don't know. I stopped to him, but
you don't know if there's any recourse nothing.

Speaker 5 (01:12:06):
I think it's just it's going to come down to
if you can try and persevere with contacting the owner
and as soon as they say yep, hey, look go
for it, you know, will agree on a whole tool,
will agree on an extent of the work, get a
professional arborist to come and do the work that would
keep the owner happy. I think you're on the right track.

(01:12:27):
It's just getting that consent.

Speaker 11 (01:12:30):
I know. I did bring them and start at my
house to show him which ones, and he said had
a look, and he said his wife would be a
grief He didn't include her. So then I never heard again.
The mother said he would handling. It's never heard again.
So I've just stuck by it.

Speaker 5 (01:12:48):
I think it's just perseverance. Unfortunately, there's stage niece, but
it does sound like you're on the right track with it,
and it sounds like the neighbors at least open to
having that discussion with you. So good luck with that.
All the very best to you, Pete. The greetings and
how can I help.

Speaker 14 (01:13:06):
You know, I speak to you about three weeks ago
that regarding this prolific cleanting on this house, and I've done.

Speaker 5 (01:13:14):
All my clean again.

Speaker 10 (01:13:15):
Just say that again, that modific cleanting stuff.

Speaker 14 (01:13:20):
Monelis, Yeah, that stuff, and they had an open home there,
and I haven't been back on the site obviously because
it's not an open home there anymore. I'm still going
through the process of the banks and that get the
approval for the It hasn't gone through. But I'm not
too sure that Scott there, because I can't have him

(01:13:41):
back on the site. I'm not too sure with the
Scott the cavity or not the cavity. Would you touch
a place with that stuff on it hasn't got the
cavity on it.

Speaker 5 (01:13:53):
It's not a use or no answer, unfortunately, you know,
depending on the type of clouding, depending on how it appears,
and so on. In terms of figuring out whether it's
got a cavity. The easiest thing to do, if you
happen to be in the area and you're entitled to
go onto the property is you just go and look
at the bottom of the cladding, and if you can't

(01:14:14):
get down there, I just use my phone and take
a photograph shooting sort of back up and that will
give you an idea. And if what you see behind
the cladding is like a white PVC strip with a
whole series of slots in it, their little drainage ventilation
holes in it, and you can sort of get your
hand up there and feel it. So if the cladding

(01:14:35):
is let's say hard against the block or concrete slab floor,
then chances are it doesn't have a cavity. But if
there's a bit of a gap, and if you take
a photograph and you can see the cavity closer there,
then you'll know that it's a cavity. I guess the
benefit of the cavity and the reason that we introduce

(01:14:55):
them into the Building Act is that in the event
that the cladding itself leaks, And there was a lot
of discussion and people were saying things like, all claddings leak, right,
So that's why we're going to provide the opportunity for drainage.
So if water gets through the exterior cladding, it can
then drain down the cavity. And also because there's ventilation

(01:15:18):
in that space, it allows drying to occur as well.
So that's the point of the cavity. And it also
gives you, I guess, a bit of time where you
might notice that the cladding's in poor repair and that
water might be getting through the cladding and rather than
it going directly onto the timber framing and causing rotten

(01:15:40):
decay and so on, it gives you a bit of
time as well. So, yeah, if it's got cavity, i'd
be without signing off on the building, without seeing it,
I'd be a lot more confident about saying, hey, it's
worth considering the building. Without a cavity, it's a whole
different set of risk that you're taking on.

Speaker 14 (01:16:03):
Yeah, I know, got to study on it. And even
now that I'm going for the bank approval and I'm
seemi attached to it because I know the history of
it was my mum's place, and I was happy the
way they did it. They put that bass on, they
put that building paper, they white building paper. I was
happy to the prices when they did it. I was
quite to be honest, I wouldn't the street, but I

(01:16:25):
don't think I would have got head and did it.

Speaker 13 (01:16:26):
I wasn't.

Speaker 14 (01:16:27):
I didn't like the process. I was happy with the
process and they did it. So, but it's just above
those windows, above the the early windows and the top
of his feet. You've got about three in the mill gap.
It's only developed the cracks in that area. So I've
spoken to a guy here and you plumb about it.
He does the repair on them. If so, we do
that thermal test on the moisture test on it, he said,

(01:16:50):
But I see, But he said he didn't know how
much that sort of costs he's got. He's been on
the side either obviously, but they can't at present time.
And he said it can be and can't be fasially
go to do those set things. I just said, but
he said, that's three pair of what you actually give
me a quote and do we go on the site
and never look at it. So basically, if it's just

(01:17:11):
those spots above the window, right between the every windows
and place, not a problem. But I'm just asking whether
would you would you touch one or not if it
never cavity on it? Would you.

Speaker 10 (01:17:26):
Emotional?

Speaker 5 (01:17:29):
I think unfortunately, Peter, the answer is not as straightforward
as that. And so I'm you know, without seeing it,
without understanding the building, without getting a sense of it,
I'm not going to give you an answer on that.
I think it is fair to an encounter to that.
I've never been of the opinion for as long as

(01:17:50):
this has been sort of a topical issue in terms
of model ethic clouding to say that all buildings built
in that style are going to be a problem. I
think there's there's good reason to know that, or to
be cautious, but also thorough investigation, individual buildings will perform
slightly differently and will be more robust, and that might

(01:18:11):
come down to the skill of the builder or the
type of architecture and those sorts of things. So look,
I wouldn't discount it, but unfortunately, without seeing it, I'm
also not in a position to give you an answer
of such a definitive nature. But good on you, and
it sounds like you're doing your due diligence as well.
All the very best to your peek. Eight hundred eighty

(01:18:32):
ten eighty is the number to call. We'll take a
break and come back with a couple of comments straight
after that text Grade ninety two ninety two well gives
a call eight hundred eighty ten eighty back after the break.

Speaker 1 (01:18:45):
Sorting those summerffixes before the barbecue crowd arrives. The resident
builder with Peter wolfcab. Call oh, eight hundred eighty ten
eighty youth talks that be.

Speaker 5 (01:18:56):
You and news talks that'd be And it's interesting, something's
gone completely different on the screen. But not to worry,
we'll sort that out. Eight hundred eight eighty is the
number to call, right, Yes, this is rather confusing. I've

(01:19:17):
something's changed on my screen. Not to worry. Someone takes
through and said, look, I made the comment about some
of the towns that we were sort of driving through
and mooching around have quite extensive new bills happening in
the surrounding area, and I was struck by the fact

(01:19:37):
this is back in the UK, just north of London,
in an area actually not too far from Milton Keynes,
funnily enough, which is a planned city of from the
nineteen fifties. People have very strong opinions about it, but
who was fascinating to go through it? Either way. We

(01:19:58):
were looking around that area and I was struck by
the subdivisions that were going up. These are from large
group home builders who are literally building tens of thousands
of houses a year, that they were very very similar
and they were what I would say, in traditional architecture,
relatively simple straight sizes, so rectangular, two story, some were

(01:20:22):
three stories, some would detached, some were semi detached, often
with really simple rooflines, brick cladding. Basically the whole thing
was brick, simple joinery and so on. And someone has
texted through to say, all, yeah, that's how you get economy, right,
use the same materials over and over again, similar designs,

(01:20:43):
really straightforward designs, not lots of complex junctions and flashings
and all the rest of it. That's how it works,
and that's how you get affordability. Now, I don't think
that we're building at ten thousand dollars a square meter
in New Zealand for affordable housing. Certainly, I know that
some people are spending that amount, but that's not that common,
i'd have to say. But what I did, what I

(01:21:04):
found was fascinating. On occasion, I was out with my
mate and we stopped by a decent size, you know,
at one of the big barn hardware stores, and had
a bit of a mooch around, looked at tools, some
of which I recognized brands you recognize that sort of thing,
but also towards the back of the shop. You could
buy windows off the shelf. So there was a window

(01:21:25):
frame and it had the double glazing in it, and
there were a series of standard sizes and you could
literally just rock in there, pick them up, put them
in the back of the van and drive off to
the building site. That's worth considering here. I think that's
where we probably need to go. The other thing that
was fascinating is looking at the insulation that you could
buy in some of the polystyrene sheets that are not

(01:21:46):
that readily available in New Zealand. Too big to put
in a suitcase and bring home, but very very tempted. Right,
we've got new sport and we're the top of the art.
We're back after eight o'clock. Remember Red Climb passed from
May thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:21:58):
From summer backyard jobs to big rednos.

Speaker 1 (01:22:01):
Let's talk it through call oh eight hundred and eighty
ten eighty the resident building where Peterwolf News Talks, News
Talks b.

Speaker 5 (01:22:10):
We're we're on the road, bringing the show from LA
as it happens actually and back in the studio next week.
So let's talk building, all things construction and building. And
it has been a great opportunity. Actually I mentioned just
for the news like going to a large hardware store
Builders Merchant really is probably a better way of describing it,

(01:22:30):
just north of London, and finding there that you could
buy basically standard size windows in a UPBC frame with
the double glazing literally off the shelf and off to
the building site. And also in the same store installation
you know the dense polystyring pr board that is around

(01:22:53):
in New Zealand but not sort of readily available, so
finding that they're some for underlay, some for roof areas,
some for wall areas, that sort of thing, fascinating to
see them there. And staying in a house that was
I guess by New Zealand standards, high performance, good double glazing,
good joinery, well insulated, well heated, reasonably air tight, had

(01:23:18):
a heat recovery ventilation system installed in it, so lots
of really nice, fresh filtered air, despite the fact that
because it was one degree outside you needed to keep
the doors and windows closed and certainly when you open
them up you felt it. But being able to wander
around pretty much in jeans and a T shirt and
those sorts of conditions and not eye wateringly expensive to

(01:23:43):
heat as well, so been an interesting insight into how
they do it in different parts of the world. Righty oh,
we've got root at eight thirty, but right now we're
going to talk to Alan. A very good morning winding peak.

Speaker 7 (01:23:56):
The end of the season.

Speaker 15 (01:23:57):
Yeah, look, I'm here in Orkland. Yeah, I'm here in Orkland,
and we've had some few weeks of some very warm weather.

Speaker 11 (01:24:07):
I have a I.

Speaker 15 (01:24:08):
Live in a two level townhouse that has a pitched,
long run iron roof. I have insulated the ceiling in
the in the attic, you can actually stand up in
the attic.

Speaker 7 (01:24:20):
So I've got up.

Speaker 15 (01:24:21):
There and insulated it and that made a little bit
of an impact. But in the over the summer months
that that area gets incredibly warm, and as I got
the stairs, obviously the temperature in the in the townhouse
increases considerably and it's quite uncomfortable at night because of

(01:24:42):
the So what would be the best practice what to
ventilate the attic area. That's that's my question to you
this morning.

Speaker 5 (01:24:53):
Yeah, I mean, this has become a real topic of discussion,
and there was a whole lot of articles earlier in
the year about people who were moving into new three
story townhouse, let's say, in a brand new development and
finding that the third story bedroom was like almost forty
degrees when they came home at the end of the day.

(01:25:17):
It won't just be one thing, There'll be a combination
of things. So one of the things that I think
we don't do particularly well is think about shading. That
often we design without any consideration as to where the
sun is at different times of the year, and so
the optimum that we want is that we get passive
soul again in winter when we want our houses to

(01:25:38):
be warmer, but at the same time, that exact same window,
if it's got some shading to it, or if it's
of a certain size and so on, will mean that
it's shaded during the summer months. But we not that
many people designing houses think about that. It's growing, which
is awesome, So shading is a part of it. Ventilating
that roof space. I know exactly what you're thinking, and

(01:26:02):
I'm probably going to do it this summer as well.
Thing at our place, we've got an set of attic
stairs so I can get up into the roof space.
I know that on a really warm Auckland day, it's
going to be forty forty five degrees in that roof space.
So the insulation that I've added to the ceiling is

(01:26:23):
then working to try and stop that heat transferring down
inside the house. So you know, typically we think about
ceiling insulation, I want to keep the rooms warm, I
want to stop that escaping to the outside, So it's
working that way. Insulation works both ways. So in summertime,
it's working to try and stop that forty degrees getting

(01:26:43):
inside my house where I'd like to stay at maybe
twenty two twenty three degrees. One of the things that
I'm thinking about doing is actually installing a roof vent,
you know, one of those sort of swirly ones, right,
so it's got a vent, the wind catches it and
it will actively extract. Then I'm probably going to go

(01:27:04):
one step further install one of those, but also install
it with like a trapdoor on it, so that in winter,
when I don't mind having that heat, I want the
benefit of that roof space warming up because it's going
to help keep the house warm. I'll put like a
panel or a trapdoor on it. Effectively, that will allow
me to close that off. But in summer time, like

(01:27:25):
right now, it will be there and it will be
helping to extract and ventilate that space. So that's one
option for you. The other thing is that I think
sometimes if we know that our houses are overheating, we
just need to pull the curtains earlier. Now it's not
as effective as having shading on the outside of the building.
So again think about you know, southern France, Italy, Portugal,

(01:27:49):
grease and that sort of thing. What do you see
on houses? You see shutters on the outside. So when
it gets when the sun comes around and it's starting
to get warm, you can leave the window open, close
the shutters. That provides ventilation, but it also provides shading.
The shutters do the shading. You know, we don't see
in any houses in New Zealand with shutters, but I

(01:28:10):
actually think that, you know, going forward, you might see
reintroduction of shutters or modern shutters. And I saw some
joinery the other day that actually had a louver or
a screen built into the joinery. So when it gets
really hot in the summer, you just roll the screen
down and it's on the outside, which makes it more
effective than drawing the curtains on inside. But drawing the curtains,

(01:28:33):
having some blinds that sort of thing, reducing the amount
of soul again in your upstairs areas, and that there's
west facing areas that will make a difference as well.

Speaker 10 (01:28:44):
Yes, thanks babe.

Speaker 5 (01:28:46):
So's it's a range of things, and it's you know,
the reason that there's so many solutions is because it's
not always a straightforward These are complex issues and so
often you need to attack it from different points, different fronts.

Speaker 10 (01:29:00):
Yeah, it was just.

Speaker 15 (01:29:01):
The attic area that I was more concerned about.

Speaker 5 (01:29:04):
So maybe a roof a roof ent is probably not
a bad idea. I just think that the problem with
that is that in winter time you want that heat.
So is there a way of restricting the heat loss
and winter but allowing the ventilation in summertime. The other thing,
of course, is if air is going to be escaping

(01:29:24):
from your roof space, it's got to be replaced. It's
not going to create a vacuum, in which case will
you end up creating drafts. But chances are underneath the
iron and all the rest that there's enough space there
for you to have air flowing into that space and
then being extracted out at the at the ridge. Basically, yes,
thanks to all right, yeah, all right, if I get

(01:29:47):
round to that project, I will let you guys know
how I'm getting on. Brendan A very good morning to you.
Hello Brendan, Hello Brandan.

Speaker 7 (01:30:01):
There you go.

Speaker 12 (01:30:01):
Can you hear me now?

Speaker 7 (01:30:02):
No?

Speaker 5 (01:30:03):
Yeah, gotcha?

Speaker 7 (01:30:05):
Good gold because very.

Speaker 12 (01:30:09):
Good. It's just a couple of things. I've been building
for some years and just retrained as an architect over
the last fewyear several years. And as one of the
lectures that we were at was involving the insurance industry,
and we had one of the heads of the insurance
industry in New Zealand, Australia speaking with us and they
made the comment they insure against risk, they don't insurance

(01:30:31):
against insuring against certainty. Now, it was in regards to
things such as climate change, that kind of thing, you know,
retreat from coast, et cetera. One thing I was looking
at the other day is this new Granny flat rule
where suns where meds can be built at the back
of the property. And in that rule it does state
that you need to notify counsel and council can comment

(01:30:53):
and make recommendations. However, as long as you fit the criteria,
you don't need to adhere to those recommendations. You can
go ahead and build what your originally propose, so which
I found intury thing, and I ask one of my
local council people, how does insurance it with that, because
if there isn't an issue in the future that counsel

(01:31:16):
sort of fort saw, would insurance pay out. Now, Interestingly,
a contact I've got through government worth insurance industry has
turned around and said, I doubt insurance would be very
keen to make good on that claim. That would be
something that I don't think they're thought of here because
if counsel come back and say we recommend you make

(01:31:36):
these changes and it's not adhered to, I think that
would be an out for the insurance industry. So something
that I just want to flag with your listeners is
that if you look at this grainy flat rule, make
sure that if the council make recommendations, even though you
don't have to adhere to them, I would very strongly

(01:31:56):
recommend that you look at what they're asking and look
at a pragmatic solution to and state in those the
other the other place, in regard to stun and housing,
one of the things that came up during the study,
architects now designed about three and a half to four
percent of the houses in New Zealand. The rest are
designed by group home builders. The rule in architecture is

(01:32:19):
if the sun it's into your house, it's too late.
So houses with eves, you're right, are going to come back.
Shading which is very very young, well used in Europe,
that will also come back. And if you're basically buying
these houses with no eaves on them, sort of their flush,
they've just got the gusses overhanging. Yeah, highly recommend. Because

(01:32:42):
the sun acting on the side of the building is
also something, especially up in Aakland, that contributes massively to
the increasing heat in the every evening. And from what
I've seen anyway, and especially the new housing and then
the last.

Speaker 5 (01:32:56):
It's remarkable too because you know, I've seen guys nowadays
especially you know, I think back twenty odd years ago,
before CARED, it would have been phenomenally complex to figure
out where the sun's going to be at what time
of day, on what part of the year, and how
that might impact on you know, where your sight is,

(01:33:17):
the elevation, the orientation and so on. Today, obviously with
computer programming and so on, I'm not saying it's simple,
but it's much more achievable in a shorter period of time.
So it's kind of like there's no excuse for not
knowing how that building in that location, that elevation, that
orientation is going to perform at whatever day of the

(01:33:38):
year you want to choose. So, you know, again, I
think we've started to understand that the optimum is that
we get sun into parts of our buildings when we
want it to be warm in the middle of winter.
But as the season changes and the sun is stronger
over the summer period, that's when you know, if we've
got an overhang and awning, we've got our windows recessed,

(01:34:00):
and possibly we've just got a small extension to the
cladding around the building around there eyebrow is possibly enough
to allow sun in the winter and shade in the summer.
You know, it is actually kind of simple, but it
seems like we're put on the bodoth.

Speaker 12 (01:34:17):
It's a huge difference. The other thing that I've seen
in Europe spent some time there, the windows a lot smaller.
In New Zealand, we go over the top with windows
because on plan sets, and I'd recommend to anyone having
a house designed, your plan set will look amazing when
someone fills the walls with big, huge windows, have it

(01:34:38):
think about what those windows are looking at looking out
from the inside, because often you see these houses they
look fantastic and you realize the actual window is three
meters from a boundary that looks at a three story
flat next door.

Speaker 5 (01:34:52):
Yes.

Speaker 12 (01:34:53):
Yeah, in Europe they make windows a lot smaller, have
the windows so that they're focused on garden, or they're
focused in such a way that they actually give you
a view, so to speak. I'd have to be a
big resuit. In Europe, they put the windows higher on
the building, so they have smaller windows, are higher, give
you a lot better license the building, but don't have
those issues with the transfer.

Speaker 10 (01:35:14):
Of energy, et cetera.

Speaker 5 (01:35:16):
And the other thing I.

Speaker 12 (01:35:17):
Would say is look in the last few weeks, I've
had many friends who I've been popping into for Christmas
to find they're doing their own renovations. Before anyone starts
their own renovation, to please contact the build it with
someone and say, hey, can you give me some advice
and pay them one hundred dollars bucks give them something
for their time, but can you just give me some

(01:35:38):
advice on what it takes to do this I've just
seen a couple of people who have cut their lawn
out near the right near the roadway for a car stand,
only to cut to high diggers and cut through the
fire cut through a drainage bullet that's been traveling behind
the retaining walls. They were going to put some shingle

(01:35:59):
down on the mud and then you know, it would
look pretty and as I mentioned to them.

Speaker 7 (01:36:03):
It doesn't quite that work that way.

Speaker 12 (01:36:05):
So just please, yeah, a little bit of advice. Just
understand the undertaking you're about to dive into, because I
know that Mum may have brilliant ideas of what it's
going to take, but what you see is a tip
of the iceberg compared to what it takes.

Speaker 5 (01:36:21):
Yeah. Absolutely, Hey, good on you for making that transition.
You'll be a loss to the building industry, but it
sounds like you'd be a pretty damn good architect to
work with. Really appreciate it. Bringlan all the very best
and some really interesting points. We're going to pick up
on it again in twenty twenty six as some of
that legislation comes into action, particularly around the standalone dwellings

(01:36:42):
simple standalone dwellings granny flats in the backyard. You know,
how's it going to work with insurance? It's going to
be a really important issue. Radio It is eight twenty one,
remember rud At eight thirty. After the break, we'll be
talking to Michael.

Speaker 1 (01:36:56):
Sawdust, Sunshine and Solid Advice, the resident builder with Peter
Wolfcab Call. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty News
Talk Zebbi your.

Speaker 5 (01:37:06):
New silk said Be is standing by, so we'll get
to him in just a moment. Michael, good morning.

Speaker 16 (01:37:13):
Hey, I thought us just about her first house is
and I'm just giving her a hand with a few
things we're looking at, putting a deck on. I was
listening to you the other week and you were mentioning
that Quilla might not be the best option. I was
just wondering what your thoughts are on what.

Speaker 5 (01:37:28):
Would you use. Oh no, it's not that Quill is
not a good option. It's just that you need to
be mindful of the fact that it contains a great
deal of SAP, and if it's brand new Quiller, then
you will have that SAP being released. So there's just
ways of working with that. So either get it delivered
to site, stack it and let it weather there for

(01:37:50):
a bit or if it is going to be built
in an area where there's some concrete paths nearby or
can drip on something, you need to just protect those
concrete paths. But no as a as a timber itself.
I've used it, I don't know how many times over
the year, and certainly it's very popular. There are other
alternatives as well, So the most recent one that I

(01:38:12):
did I used Vitex. People are starting to talk about
composite decks as well. You know, if it's a budget thing,
then you can still look at soft woods as well.
In terms of pine necking, you know, there's a number
of different options, so that it's just the sap that
drops out of the brand new queler is the issue.

Speaker 16 (01:38:32):
Right, Okay, Yeah, because from a cost point of view, yeah,
I definitely probably don't want to go pine. But I
was looking at some of the composites, but they're a
lot more expensive. And the ibad I I could see
was the vale maintenance free.

Speaker 5 (01:38:45):
Yes, And again you know, if you're in a position
where like even with hardwoods, I would still maintain that
ideally you want to seal them, so let them flash
off for a period of time, give them a thorough clean,
and apply a sealer to them. I know that that
changes the color a little bit, but I think that
you know where people go, oh, look, I'm going to

(01:39:05):
do hard and I'm going to let it gray off
and it'll look really nice and weathered. Yes, that happens,
but you also get quite a lot of mold growth
on it as well. And I think that you won't
get the longevity out of it if you don't seal it,
so you know, use a hardwood biomeats, but I still
think you need to put a sealer on them of
some description.

Speaker 16 (01:39:26):
Yeah, and I was looking at getting itsing pre oiled.
Any thoughts on getting it great?

Speaker 5 (01:39:32):
Yep, it's coming from the manufacturer that way.

Speaker 16 (01:39:36):
Okay, And last question I've got for you is a
plumbing question. So it's a nine nine and for some
reason they've put in a low pressure hot water cylinder
and it's not one of those Felton mixes on it.
And I noticed that if the water's not fully on
over the left on hot water starts coming out the pipe.

Speaker 14 (01:39:58):
On the roof.

Speaker 16 (01:39:59):
And I was just wondering if you've any ideas or
suggestions on changing it over.

Speaker 5 (01:40:05):
If it's an you build, I'm a little bit surprised
that they would go for a low pressure system.

Speaker 16 (01:40:11):
No nineteen eighty nine.

Speaker 5 (01:40:13):
Oh okay, that's yeah, fair enough. Yes, yes, it might
be something the Ajax valve so pressure tempering valve. Look,
it's best to get a plumber in. I rang my
plumber two weeks ago to go and look at a place.

Speaker 7 (01:40:31):
You know.

Speaker 5 (01:40:31):
The overflow relief valve is their full relief for overflow.
It shouldn't be running all of the time, and generally
it's a setting thing. Might even be a little bit
of dirt trapped in there that can sometimes impact them
as well. But either way, local plumber whose experience come
check that, make sure it's all okay and you're off.

Speaker 16 (01:40:54):
No worries, thanks mate, Oh mat.

Speaker 5 (01:40:56):
All the very best. Take care. And I have to
say I do love those stories where it's you know,
mum or dad going hey, look, son, daughter have bought
a place and now we're out there helping them out
with it, which I think is always an awesome thing.
Oh eight one hundred and eighty ten eighty. We've got
a couple of really good texts about, you know, the
sort of I suppose simple design that we've moved away

(01:41:17):
from some basic principles in terms of having a roof
that has some eaves that will provide some shelter, provide
some protection from prevailing winds and rain and that sort
of thing, but also a little bit of shade and
a really good discussion with Brendan before about you know,
we do we have too much in an obsession about

(01:41:38):
great big windows, which is lovely, but we've got to
then understand what impact they have in terms of heating
and potentially overheating and so on and so forth. There's
some great discussions out there. Radio. Let's jump into the
garden that are climb past with us. If you've got

(01:41:58):
a question of a gardening nature or a quick text,
you can do that. Obviously our last opportunity to chat
with through this year. But hey, good news. Well I
haven't asked him, but I'm going to presume that he's
going to be back with us in twenty twenty six
as well. So we'll take a short break after the
break root climb Past.

Speaker 1 (01:42:16):
Sorting those summer fixes before the barbecue crowd arrives. The
Resident builder with Peter Wolfcamp Call eight hundred and eighty
ten eighty news Talk ZEDB for more from the Resident
Builder with Peter Wolfcamp. Listen live to News Talk zed
B on Sunday mornings from six, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio