Alex Greig
GreenHaus Architects, Alex and Aissa transformed our concept into passive solar strawbale house plans and then evolved them with us as our vision developed
Pat Mawson
RM Strawbale, our local, experienced and patient guide for building and in particular strawbale building.. “maybe we should do it this way” ..we are so lucky. Pat is the current president of the Earth Building Association of New Zealand.
Without funding we wouldn’t be started… When it became clear that September/October 2018 was a sweet spot for Pat and for us to start the build we started lining up all our ducks, a major one was finding a bank that would give a new build loan to a self-employed couple who were stopping work for 12 months to build their own house.
As we had already established a BNZ account, when we purchased the land in 2016, to handle rates and getting the services on, they were the logical place to start. From London we made some calls and sent through some details by email, and their Hawke’s Bay mobile mortgage manager Warren Hammond soon got in touch. Warren and BNZ made the process easy because they made it clear step by step, we have our loan/mortgage and are underway creating our dream home. Warren is the best banker we have ever dealt with, so thanks for everything so far and in anticipation for the rest of the journey.
Esther and a great team of structural engineers at Structural Concepts have done all the math and created structural design details to ensure our home can withstand anything nature throws at it.
Andy Pomfret and the team at Initia completed the Geotech engineering report for our building platform.
Geoff Kell, Gary Dickinson and the GK Consulting team developed the structural design for our cupolex slab and the supporting piles that form our foundations.
Niels Nikolaison, Sundar Raila and the Civil Services team supported the Geotechnical engineers with on-site testing that gives us all confidence that the house is built on a solid base.
The planning and inspection team at HDC have been a pleasure to work with through the consent process and into the build. They have been supportive, transparent and are very customer service focused – this was evident in every interaction from reception staff in their office, to the planning and building inspectors. Our ongoing alignment feels like teamwork and help rather than policing rules, it gives us confidence that what we are creating will last for future generations to enjoy..
Managing your own house build requires Contract works insurance and Public Liability insurance to access finance. A quick search and putting out of feelers with Hawke’s Bay brokers lead us to Rothbury’s, and to Kim Matthews. In a word brilliant, competitive quoting and great advice regarding cover fine print, as we will move in to the house before completion. Everything sorted on time, very professional and also fun to work with, no wonder she’s the local branch manager.