The HOUSE THAT Your BUILD

Cue (NZERS), Issue 33, 15 October 1945, Page 6

The HOUSE THAT Your BUILD

THE thoughts of most of us now are centred in our homes, either those homes that are established and waiting for us in Hew Zealand, or those future homes as get merely a picture in our minds, about which we hope to build our new life on our return. Those New Zealanders who visualise these future homes are to-day weighing the pros and cons of building or buying a house. With the present acute housing shortage it is unlikely that many houses will be for sale at a price within the bounds of the average soldier’s pocket. For the great majority, building is the only solution. In this article E.R.S. hopes to give some account of the present building costs in New Zealand. The primary consideration, presuming that an adequate section has been purchased, is to cut the suit according to the cloth. Costs have increased tremendously during the war and houses built for LBOO— J LIOOO in 1938 may now be valued at nearly twice that amount. Those of us who had hoped to build a house like the one Bill Jones next door built in 1938 for 81000, will probably have to be content with one considerably smaller after an outlay of L 1,500. With no capital other than the Rehabilitation Loan of L 1,500 available obviously a mansion is out of the question but a ’’desirable m idern residence” can be built.

Building costs vary according to locality, being, generally less in the South Island than in the North. They also depend on the nature of the site, the design of the house, the quality of the timber and fittings and the extent to which built-in wardrobes, cupboards etc., are fitted. Where the quality of the materials and' the fittings is up to the standard adopted in State Housing Construction, prices range from a minimum of about: 27/- per square foot in parts of the South Island to a maximum of 33/per foot in some North Island districts. Quotations as low as 25/- per square foot are given for certain South Island districts, but this represents a comparatively low standard of materials and finish. The Housing Construction Depart - ment has set out to build a moderatesizedl house of low enough initial cost to enable it to be let at a very moderate rental to the lower and middle income groups. Judged by the standards required by the average man, the fittings and finish are of excellent quality. If the State House is taken as a criterion a rough estimate of the •size of houses which can be built within the limits of the Loan can be obtained. In the North Island at 33/- per square foot the floor space would be about 900 sq.ft., in the South Island at

27/- 1110 sq. ft., at 30/- 1000 sq. ft. The 200 sq. ft. difference between the lowest and highest estimates means the sacrifice of a considerable amount of room for a North Island builder. With 1000 sq. fl. of floor area available, (taking the mean figure of 30/-), five rooms are probably -the most that could be encompassed without cramping. This would permit two bedrooms, a living room, dining room and kitchen which would be sufficient for a family of four. In a 'State House for a family of this size, the floor area' occupied by these five rooms is approximately 650 sq. ft. By enlarging the Government specifications slightly in each case this can be increased to a little over 740 sq. ft. to give the following dimensions:living room (16’xl4’), bedrooms (12’xl0’ and 10’xlO’), dining room (,14’xlO’), and kitchen (12'x 10’), leaving 190 sq. ft. for hall, bathroom, w.c etc. Eight by eight is sufficient for the bathroom, permitting nearly 130 sq. ft. to be used for hall or sun porch and laundry. Halls are luxuries that many will dispense with in this battle for lebensraum utilising the saved space for extra cupboards in the kitchen and built-in wardrobes in bedrooms. For a larger family it can be calculated that an extra room of average size 14’xl2’ increases the cost by L 250. These prices show very little variation whether wooden, brick or concrete outer wall construction is used so that it is either a matter of selection or of what is most likely to be available. The preceding calculations assumed that the builder either owns a section or has enough of his own money to buy one, If the loan has also to- purchase the section, then the area of the house will be correspondingly reduced. No estimate can be given of the cost of sections. They vary from LIOOO for a quarter acre in fashionable suburbs down to LSO or LI 00 on the outskirts cf a town. The price depends on popularity, x on facilities and on the size of the

centre. A section in Oamaru costs much less than one of the same desirability in Auckland. There are many considerations. The further . out . you go the cheaper the section but the higher the bill for bus or train fares. On the other band, a bigger section with room for growing vegetables may offset this. Every man must settle this problem for himself. Some estimate of timber costs may be ganged from the following examples of quotations from the Dominion Federated Sawmillers’ Association price

Possible design for house with 1,000 square feet of floor space list of April 16, 1945. Example: (Sizes 1” thick and 1 over 6” wide but not exceeding 12” section, sawn sizes in random lengths):— First class grades: Dressing A. grade Heart Kinin 47/3. Kinin 29/3, Heart Alatai 47/3, Matai 24/-, Heart Totara 67/9. Totara 38/3. Building A grade: Heart Rimu 36/3. Rimu 25/3. Heart Matai 36/3. Matai 19/6, Heart Totara 12/3, 'Totara 26/3.

Second class grades: Building B. grade—Heart Rimu 25/3, Rimu 15/9, Heart Matai 23/-, Matai 12/3, Heart Totara 25/—, Totara 19/Sales tax is included in these prices and the quotations arc per 100 ft. B.M. Random lengths are lengths from G’ to 2O’ A in Rimu, Matai and Totara and in heart wood from 6’ to 15’. Further expense which may necessitate reduction of floor area is the architect’s fee for a house of individual design. A good- architect will, however, save the amount of his fee by conservation of space in the plans, where an inexperienced amateur, drafting his own, would waste much of it. His overseeing of the builder, also,

often pays dividends to the homeowner. It should not be forgotten that many building contractors are capable of drafting excellent plans to given specifications, the cost cf which is included in their estimate. Prefabrication has long been, accepted in England and America as a method of reducing building costs, but there seems to be no immediate likelihood of the development of prefabrication in New Zealand on a scale large enough to make any appreciable difference in the price of dwellings. Under existing conditions, however, those dreams of building one’s own house can become a reality. All that is required is care in planning.