You do not need to be a “Licensed Building Practitioner” (LBP aka Builder) to assemble one of our homes (you can read more about your obligations here) but you can use one if you want.
Most kit-set homes require a LBP to assemble. With a QuickBuild Home you do not need to know how to cut timber, fix/joint gib or even use a paintbrush!
It is a real kit-set.
No timber frames or trusses.
No concrete slab.
The only nails you will need to use are for the deck.
Everything is supplied! The only exception is the concrete for the piles, gas fittings & pipes if required, and the heat-pump pipes.
We provide lots of 3D drawings and photos with your house to guide you in the assembly of each stage.
Every single step has been engineered to be simpler, easier and quicker than a traditional build.
All plumbing fittings are easily accessible after construction.
There is no easier Kit-Set Home!
Up to and including Very High wind zone.
All quake zones - some exceptions do apply though.
All corrosion zones - some exceptions do apply. NZ has some very harsh places.
All climate zones. QBH homes exceed the new H1 (Insulation) requirements from MBIE that were due to come in Nov 2022, but are now scheduled for May 2023. QBH homes comply with all zones (right. down to zone 6 - Invercargill)'
The govt is proposing that climate issues be included on future LIM reports. QBH homes are not timber frames and gib, so in the event of a flood, there is no need to strip gib and insulation. QBH homes are on piles, so it is easy to raise the level of the house if the ground sinks, or sea level rises. In a worst case scenario, the house can be removed from site far easier than a traditional 3604 house on a concrete slab.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us
In the early days, we found that other kit-set houses are merely the same materials and processes that a skilled builder will use, meaning you were still forced to get a licensed builder to do the job for you!
We thought to ourselves "That's hardly a kit-set! That's more of a Self Build!"
You will not so much be a Builder, as an Assembler.
There are no gib walls, no fluffy insulation, no timber frames or trusses. Timber for only decks and piles. Steel bearers are all pre-cut and pre-drilled (drill your own holes for your pipes and cables).
The wall panels are individually numbered and already have all the holes for electricity and plumbing. Windows are very easy and quick to fit, taking around two hours to install all of them.
Traditional houses are delivered to site in many stages.
A QuickBuild Home comes in one delivery with everything in it! (as listed here)
With a traditional house there is a lot of wastage. Because QuickBuild Homes are all prefabricated, there is very little wastage! (and a lot less waste packaging material to be disposed of at the end of the job.)
Most people simply can’t afford to take 4 or 5 months off work to build a house.
Our 95sqm house can be build in less than a month (depending on number of workers and weather etc.) making it an achievable task. Traditional concrete foundations usually take several weeks before you have the floor down. With a QuickBuild Home, the floor should be finished and fully insulated within 4 days and often within 2 days. And after about 10 days, you should have the roof on and windows in.
Most houses require 12 or more Council Building Inspections.
A QuickBuild Home needs just 3 inspections. (plus drainage) And with the price of inspections, we save you another hidden extra that other kit-sets usually do not include.
A QuickBuild Home has a full, step-by-step assembly manual, packed with lots of 3D drawings, photos and guides for each step.
For instance, you may not know what a 15mm swivel fitting is. Maybe you don't know anything about plumbing at all!
So we include:
Your job is merely to dry assemble the plumbing (saving money on a plumber doing it) and then to let the plumber do what he or she specialises in - making the final connections. The electrical is done the same way, with the electrician making the final connections (You must check with your plumber and electrician first, though).
We strongly believe that there is no point is paying a skilled craftsman, skilled craftsman rates, to drill hundreds of holes in timber framing.
As a result, all our steel bearers, composite walls, and roof come pre-drilled, meaning you don’t have to pay for a craftsman's time to design/plan electrical and plumbing systems. We’ve already done that. You pay them for their skill at doing the final connections and testing.
If you do need help we are always on hand by phone & email.
They may ask about:
If your house doesn’t comply with these, then you may need to get “Resource Consent”.
Tape measures
Sledge Hammer
Shovels & Wheelbarrow
Laser or digital level
Level - we recommend a digital one.
Drill gun + step or cone bit and extension bit.
Jigsaw
Hacksaw
Riveter
Pliers & tin snips
Caulking gun
Tek screw bit
Drop-saw
Screwdrivers
“T” supports for roof
A leaky building is one where moisture gets between the outside of the house (the cladding) and the inside walls - You can find out more about this here.
So, quite simply, we have eliminated the space between the inside and outside cladding.
A traditional home is built like an old fashioned car, with a structural chassis, which in a home is called the (timber or steel) frames. In the 1930s the first cars with monocoque or unibody construction were manufactured. They were of higher quality, stronger, and quicker to make. This is now the general standard in mass produced car manufacturing. So how is it that house construction is still using a method of construction that went out in cars in the 1930’s
Most of todays houses still have either a steel or timber frame, with cladding on the outside, a cavity, and then fixed to a frame. In that frame sits the insulation, and then finally there is a wall lining on the inside. This frame, weather metal or timber, acts as a thermal cold bridge, allowing heat from inside to escape at a higher rate through the frame, than through the insulation. This can lead to" thermal bridge staining" over time.
A typical wall construction might have a layer of masonry or brick, fixed to the frame with metal wall ties, then a breather membrane and maybe a rigid board to add extra bracing. Then a timber frame, either partially or wholly filled with fibre glass batts. In this insulation also runs pipes and cables. Finally on the inside is usually a plasterboard. All these different materials have many different properties, and getting them all to work together as they are designed to, is a very skilled job.
There often only needs to be one breakdown in the many components of a traditional wall for moisture to get into the wall construction and decay to start. The structural timber is fit for purpose - until it gets wet. And then it will decay rapidly. Hidden behind the external and internal linings.
Simpler is better. Phones with dozens of buttons on went out years ago, replaced with a single surface. So it is with our homes - a simple panel comprised of structural skins and a solid insulation core between them. No voids. No point of entry for moisture. Simple, efficient, factory manufactured under ISO 9001 standards.
Simply put, we have engineered out any chance of moisture penetration leading to structural failure of hidden structural elements, and hence any risk of leaky homes.