Design

At Keola, we understand that good design is the key to a successful home. We excel at home designs which meet your specific needs and your lifestyle without compromising on comfort or style. We will work closely with you through every aspect, from the architectural design to the choice of materials, and we welcome feedback, suggestions and recommendations.

With our commitment to the environment, we strive to be at the forefront of building energy-efficient homes – homes which incorporate common-sense principles to reduce the need for expensive cooling and heating appliances, so that overall energy bills are reduced. This also means that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and there is less negative impact on the environment.

Energy-efficient homes are generally more comfortable, easier to maintain and might only cost marginally more or the same to build as a conventional home.

Okay, now we’re talking!

But, first we need some important information in order to schedule a meeting or phone discussion.

Do you have any of these below? Don’t worry if you don’t have any of these, that’s why we’re here. There’s a form at the end of the page you can fill out. This will send us an email with your information. We will then contact you to discuss further. Easy eh?

LIM report

Land Information Memorandum. It provides a summary of valuable property in- formation held by the Council as at the day the LIM was produced. This report gives critical information relating to the site, like zoning, hazards, including any special land features and details of building consents and any improvements done over the years. Can usually be ordered online on Council website, or contact your local Council directly. Read more…

Site Topographical Survey

A topographical survey is an accurate location of site features in relation to established benchmarks and levels for your locality. Both above ground and sometimes underground features are “surveyed”. This determines the position of houses, drives, trees(and species), garages, retaining walls, depth of services, orientation of site etc etc.

The survey includes obtaining ground levels and showing contours of the land. This is usually the first plan that is prepared for a site in order to build or subdivide. Having an accurate topographical survey is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL. Never use cowboys for your survey. Surveyors need to be licensed and carry adequate insurance. If they get it wrong, you could end up building into your neighbours property or higher than the rules allow. And I don’t really need to tell you how hard it might just be to shift a fully completed house by a metre or two.

Certificate of Title (CT)

A CT record show a property’s proprietors, legal description and the rights and restrictions registered against the property title – for example, a mortgage, easement or covenant. This is important because sometimes sites have building restrictions on the CT which you may not be aware of. Council easements for drainage is another common one, which means you can’t build on the easement. Very easy to check, even easier to overlook!

If you’ve recently bought a property then you will have a CT with your settlement documents. If you donít have a copy, usually your solicitor can get you one. Or you could buy it online from LINZ (Land Information New Zealand)

A scrapbook or list of ideas

Ideas, photos, links to websites, addresses of house styles you prefer (within reason of course… I won’t travel to Spain, unless you buy me a ticket) We need to see what’s behind your thinking (without brain surgery of course). Please see some of our design articles.

Let’s get started

Confused? Give us a call

Office: 09 627 7124

Cell: 021 280 8580