Babe lets build a house – The podcast

Episode 07 — The Process That I Use | Chapter 7, Babe Let's Build a House

"How much to draw plans?" Plans aren't just a product you buy off the shelf. They're a set of instructions that enable banks to lend, contracts to be drawn up, builders to build and consents to be granted.

Episode 07 follows Chapter 7 of Babe, Let's Build a House: The Process That I Use. In Episode 06 I covered the traditional NZIA process. My process is based on those same stages, but as a sole practitioner, a Certified Passive House Designer and a Homestar Designer and Assessor, I'm the person in the meetings and the person doing the work, so I'm able to streamline things.

In this episode:
My design consultation: site feasibility, budget and aspirations combined into one paid planning session
Project budget versus build budget, and why I like having a builder in the design consultation
Why I'm not a fan of tendering
Concept design delivered in 3D, with a model you can walk through
Developed design: bringing in consultants, a QS price check, and resource consent
Preliminary Passive House and Homestar assessments
Building consent documentation: about 50% of the work, and why consent is a show of legality, not a mark of quality
Design certification, on site observation, and completion

Coming up in the series:
Episode 08: What Is Passive House

Read more about my process: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/design-process
Download the Smart Living Spaces brochure: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/download
Find the book here: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast page: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Hosted by Sharon Robinson, architectural designer, Certified Passive House Designer, Homestar Professional and Assessor, and founder of Smart Living Spaces.

#BabeLetsBuildAHouse #NewHomeBuild #BuildingInNZ #ArchitecturalDesign #ArchitecturalProcess #SmartLivingSpaces

Episode 06 — From Consultation to Completion | Chapter 6, Babe Let's Build a House

"How much to draw plans?" It's the question I get asked most, but plans aren't a product. Architecture is a process.

Episode 06 follows Chapter 6 of Babe, Let's Build a House: From Consultation to Completion. I walk through the traditional process a registered architect with the NZIA, or a designer with ADNZ, will probably follow, from your first brief meeting right through to completion. Our homes are our largest financial asset, the largest bill we'll ever pay and the longest to pay off, so this process deserves careful consideration.

In this episode:
Why plans are instructions, and why they become a legal document once they're part of your building contract
Predesign and brief: why budgets shouldn't be assumed, and build budget versus project budget
Preliminary design: site feasibility, planning rules, site opportunities and challenges
Sketch design and concept design: forming the vision, from hand sketches to 3D
Developed design: the link between the vision and the instructions, a QS cost check, and resource consent
Detailed design and working drawings: the nuts and bolts stage, roughly 50% of an architectural fee
Procurement and tendering, and why I'm not a fan of tendering
Contract administration versus contract observation
Completion: defects inspections, retentions, building consent and CCC, and Passive House and Homestar built certification

Coming up in the series:
Episode 07: The Process That I Use

Find the book here: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast page: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Hosted by Sharon Robinson, architectural designer, Certified Passive House Designer, Homestar Professional and Assessor, and founder of Smart Living Spaces.

#BabeLetsBuildAHouse #NewHomeBuild #BuildingInNZ #ArchitecturalDesign #ArchitecturalProcess #SmartLivingSpaces

Episode 05 — How to Prepare for the First Meeting | Chapter 5, Babe Let's Build a House

How do you get the most value out of your first meeting with an architect, architectural designer or builder?

Episode 05 follows Chapter 5 of Babe, Let's Build a House: How to Prepare for Your First Meeting. I cover what to bring, what homework to do beforehand, and what to make sure is covered, so your first meeting becomes either a valuable first step or a robust feasibility check on your project.

In this episode:
Aspirations and budget, and why being honest about your project budget helps your design team
Defining your aspirations by how you live, not by a list of rooms
Pinterest boards: why you should write down what you like in each image
Building performance: power bills, overheating, air quality and acoustics, and why the Building Code won't take care of it for you
Information to supply beforehand: covenants, geotech reports and property files
Five key topics to cover in the meeting: project budget versus build budget, fees, time frames, process, and other consultants
GST, contingency, and why budgets are never just the builder's cost

Coming up in the series:
Episode 06: From Consultation to Completion
Episode 07: The Process That I Use
Episode 08: What Is Passive House

Download the first meeting checklist and find the book here: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast page: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Hosted by Sharon Robinson, architectural designer, Certified Passive House Designer, Homestar Professional and Assessor, and founder of Smart Living Spaces.

#BabeLetsBuildAHouse #NewHomeBuild #BuildingInNZ #ArchitecturalDesign #HomeBuildBudget #SmartLivingSpaces

Episode 04 — Choosing the Right Team | Chapter 4, Babe Let's Build a House

Do you choose your builder first, or your architect? And what is the difference between an architect, an architectural designer and a draftsperson?

Episode 04 follows Chapter 4 of Babe, Let's Build a House: Choosing the Right Team. I cover who to start talking to at the very beginning of your new home build, before the design process starts.

In this episode:
How group home builders work: land banking, design and build packages, baseline specifications and square metre rates
Why the salesperson is not your designer, and the house that fell off the back boundary
Contract labour, the LBP scheme, and a good question to ask: do you employ your own builders?
Small builder teams: close knit, flexible, keen to learn, and why I love working with them
Why I don't recommend tendering, and the value of bringing your builder into the first design meeting
Architects, architectural designers and draftspeople: training, registration, design LBPs, and how each works
Why a 15 minute chat helps you find the right fit for the way you make decisions

Coming up in the series:
Episode 05: How to Prepare for the First Meeting
Episode 06: From Consultation to Completion
Episode 07: The Process That I Use

The book has quick reference summaries for each option, plus a full written explanation: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast page: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Hosted by Sharon Robinson, architectural designer, Certified Passive House Designer, Homestar Professional and Assessor, and founder of Smart Living Spaces.

#BabeLetsBuildAHouse #NewHomeBuild #BuildingInNZ #ArchitecturalDesign #ChoosingABuilder #SmartLivingSpaces

Riverside description for Episode 03, plain text, 1,796 characters (limit 4,000):

Before you buy a building site, there is a lot more to check than where north is.

In my career I've watched a client pour their $30,000 contingency into the ground as concrete, money they believed would help them choose their bathroom tiles, because the foundations didn't suit the ground conditions. I've also worked with clients whose dream double storey gabled home didn't suit the steep site they had already bought. When something on a site isn't easy, it tends to get expensive. In this episode of Babe, Let's Build a House, I cover chapter three of the book and the five things to be aware of before you purchase a site.

In this episode:
• Site physicality: topography, size, a buildable platform, slope stability, access, and why north isn't always the deal breaker
• What's in the ground: soil tests, geotechnical reports, council property files, and the surprises that turn up once you excavate
• Surroundings: wind, hills, planting, traffic noise, how the neighbourhood feels at different times of day, and what the zoning allows next door
• Planning requirements: district plan rules, site coverage, boundary setbacks, height control planes, the difference between resource consent and building consent, and subdivision caveats
• Infrastructure: what an unserviced site means for your lender and your budget, from septic and water tanks to getting electricity onto the site

If it all feels overwhelming, there is a site checklist in the book, also available to purchase on my website. A design consultation with a professional can also help you make an informed decision before you buy.

Next week in Episode 04, I cover choosing your team, who to speak to first and what questions to ask them.

Book: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast: https://www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Title per the episode list: Episode 03: Understanding Your Site

Building a home means making a huge number of decisions, and the way you make them shapes the whole journey.

Over my 26 year career I've sat opposite couples who discovered in the design consultation that they weren't on the same page, and worked with clients whose decision making styles pulled in opposite directions. In this episode of Babe, Let's Build a House, I share the four decision making types I've come to recognise, so you can understand what you need and ask for it from your team.

In this episode:

• Why understanding how you make decisions matters before you start
• The quick, decisive decision maker, who keeps the project moving but needs time built in and a professional who will push back
• The analytical thinker, who researches every detail and needs a clear process and checklists to decide and move on
• The harmonising decision maker, the glue that holds everything together, who needs someone to draw out what they actually want
• The visionary, who pushes the limits for an amazing outcome and needs structure to stay focused
• What to look for in a builder, architect or architectural designer to suit your style

Most of us are a combination, with one dominant trait. Knowing yours helps you choose a team whose systems and communication suit the way you work.

Next week in Episode 03, I cover the key things to consider before you purchase a building site, so the vision you have fits the site you buy.

Book: www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book
Podcast: https://www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast

Welcome to the first episode of Babe, Let's Build a House, the podcast that walks you through the process of designing and building your new home, chapter by chapter, from the book of the same name.

I'm Sharon Robinson, your host, architectural designer and founder of Smart Living Spaces. In this episode I share why I wrote the book and started this podcast, who it's for, and a bit about me and how I ended up here.

I talk about the shift I made back in 2019, moving from offering a service to being of service, and how that change shaped the way I work with clients today. I share a line I told a real estate agent recently, that we don't experience our homes from looking at them from the opposite side of the street, and what that means for how we should really be designing homes, for how they feel to live in, not just how they look from outside.

I also talk about why cheap, poor performing builds are a false economy, and why building better doesn't mean building bigger or more expensive, just more informed. There's a real gap between how professionals talk to each other and how we talk to clients, and this book and podcast are my attempt to close it, so you can move from asking "what should I build" to "how do I build, and who do I build it with."

I share a bit of my own story too, from drawing house plans at age seven, growing up in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and the experience that shaped how I think about architecture as an agent of social change, something that still drives Smart Living Spaces today.

This episode sets up the whole series. Each following episode works through the book chapter by chapter, from the client's point of view, covering everything from understanding your site and choosing the right team, through budgets, contracts, performance, and what happens after you've moved in. My hope is that understanding the process leads to better conversations with your design and build team, and ultimately a better result for you and your home.

Next episode, I cover Where to Start, the first step when building a house, and the four different ways people naturally make decisions when starting their build journey.

Grab a copy of the book, Babe, Let's Build a House, at www.smartlivingspaces.nz/book

Find more at www.smartlivingspaces.nz/podcast