Genesis

17 rads euro style $9k in 2005. Log burner in 2007 $3k. Double glazing in 2007/2008 $30k. 5 X 2nd hand dehumidifiers about $1k. That lot was about 10% of the purchase price of our shed. We intend to be in said shed for 20 years plus. Thus our heating over a 20 year period to install costs about $2k a year. As LK says... the cold housing issue can be cured if you have the will and the way.

Wellington Will

That's about right.

I think somebody else said the houses were about the same across the country and that's my impression too. I've always thought the housing was shoddy and cold, and the house we're in now is no exception. (And it's rented so we can't do anything about it except run up the logs and leccy bills)

Some interesting survey results:
According to the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development’s 2008 New Zealand Housing Survey, "more than a million homes are not adequately insulated," and, from a further report, "more than 410,000 homes could be making their occupants sick, some seriously."

Surveying over 3,500 New Zealanders about the state of their homes the report discovered:

• 45% of existing homes are mouldy
  
• 16% of homes have no insulation at all
  
• 21% of people aged 18–24 say their home is cold and uncomfortable
  
• Typically more than one third of the energy used in the home is for keeping warm
  
• Nearly two thirds of homes in New Zealand were built before insulation became a legal requirement in 1979.
  
• More than a quarter of the nation's homes could be making their occupants ill

The report concluded that with warmer, drier homes that were more energy and water efficient, the country could:

*Avoid sending 50 people a day to hospital with respiratory illnesses (saving $54 million pa)
*Cut sick days off work by 180,000 a year (lifting production by $17 million pa)
*Cut power bills by $475 million a year
*Save enough water a year to fill 9,200 Olympic swimming pools.

Lizaberry

Great work you guys, this is exactly the eye opening dialogue I wanted to hear. Thanks for sharing this with me, I feel I know a whole lot more of the pitfalls of the houses now, thought I still have a long way to go.

Anyone bought a plot of land and built their own ... another dream my OH would like to fulfill!

lardyl

Also the domestic hot water systems drink leccy/$$$s. Poorly insulated immersion heaters with poorly insulated piping driving high flow rate showers and baths in cold bathrooms.

As a nation, we really need to get more solar water heating out there or at least think about on-demand heating for DHW - which is where central heating claws back some of the initial outlay.

As tenants there is little we can do other than wrap and toughen up! And watch our (Kiwi !!!) tenants in the UK enjoy the benefits of the improved insulation and upgraded central heating that I installed with my fiair hand a year or so before we left!

lapsed kiwi

We have gas on-demand water heating which seems quite efficient - the standing charge for gas is almost as much as our usage charges
I'm not convinced by the economics of solar water heating, the numbers just don't seem to stack up unless the kit price comes down by about 50%
Good to see National has promised to take some action on the insulation issue - the sooner they get gangs of the otherwise unemployed going around insulating all those shoddy old houses, the better.
This reminds me of a good reason to buy, not rent, when emigrating to NZ. Either that or spend the money you would be paying on a home loan into the heating bill!

Lizaberry

If we get the chance to get things moving, then we intend (though reluctantly) to sell up, and hope to live 'mortgage free' in NZ. We were hoping to keep the house we are living in as security in case things don't work out, or a nest egg for our kids/us in retirement. With wages as they are in NZ, I don't how realistic it would be survive on one wage with the 6 of us, and pay out rent, etc.

It's good to hear all the ups/downs.

Are there any positives to the Kiwi housing set up?

kiwinow

We survive on one and a half wages with 4 kids, but we have a mortgage, and we both do other jobs for money,occasionally. You can survive on one wage with no mortgage easily, but it depends on how you have been used to living. There won't be a lot left over for holidays etc.

We live in a weatherboard house in the South Island. We put insulation in the roof and walls and double glazing in the windows on the cold side of the house. We took out the useless water heater and replaced it with a gas water heater. We cook on electricity, and as we have really high ceilings we also have fans and heat conductors to propel the heat down the house. Our 4 brm house is toasty tonight even though it is about 10 degrees dropping to 1 tonight.

Lizaberry

We survive on just over one wage at the moment - as well as being a S/E Boat Builder/Shipwright, my OH is also a retained Fire Fighter, so our income is roughly about £40k p.a.(before tax/ni, etc.). I worked part-time up until having our youngest in 2007 and previously had my mum (now lives out of the area) look after the children so I could work too. We did pay her so it is not that I am not working now cos I don't want to pay out on childcare, but it is just that all of the children have only ever gone to childcare provision once they started nursery or f/t school. Just nice that they can spend their early days with family in their own home. I don't initially plan to work until the youngest starts school, so initially it will just be the one wage. I have been checking out wages for my OH's job and I am hoping that with nearly 30 years experience he will be able to negotiate a good wage. It's only what he deserves, and I am not just saying that - he is v.good at his job and people locally hold him in high regard.

At least trying to aim for a 'mortgage free' lifestyle will reduce monthly expenditure. We don't have an extravagant way of life now but do live comfortably. It is a frightening prospect that we could be giving this up when/if we emigrate. Don't get me wrong, we are prepared to make sacrifices. So long as I have my family and home comforts around me I am sure I could survive. I just want my OH to have the opportunity to fulfill his passion for building boats again, something that I see NZ could hold the key to.

Thanks again for your comments. They are really helpful, LB

Genesis

[QUOTE=Lizaberry;

Are there any positives to the Kiwi housing set up?[/QUOTE]

Firstly kiwi home purchases are a doddle. No stamp duty when you sell either. It costs about $1k to do ALL the legal stuff..these days I am sure its even cheaper. The system is sooooooooooooooo easy by comparison to the UK. We chose our house within 4 days of arriving and in under 2 weeks we were in. There is NO gazumping and once a deal is done that's it..firm price and you MUST do that deal..unless of course all the conditions set by you and the vendor are not met. NZ houses are typically much larger than UK ones and the gardens (or sections as they are known over here) are larger too. Most are detached. So if you like big sheds NZ is for you!!!!!!!

Lizaberry

I just love the way you guys refer to your houses as 'sheds'

Mgee

I got three words for you, Lizaberry:
Insulation
Insulation
Insulation

Insulation makes all forms of heating SO much more efficient and cheaper to run. It is the best investment you can make. With an insulated house, you can start heating later and use a lot less energy but still retain the warmth better inside. Without insulation, the house starts to cool down the minute you stop heating and most of the heat during the heating radiates out through walls and windows, making heating both inefficient and very expensive.

chocolate cake

Agree with some of the positives, not sure about gardens being any bigger. Houses certainly are, but with all the sub divisions gardens can often be none existant. Even with the newer houses, the house seems to take up so much of the land.

Lizaberry

Anyone bought a piece of land and built their own house then?

Browner_

Its been posted before, but it seems appropriate to re-post it here.

This is just SO true....


To give you a taste of NZ without leaving your own home try the following:

1. In your back garden build a very large shed. Divide the shed into rooms, ensuring that you DO NOT insulate it or provide adequate heating. It helps if your garden slopes 30 or so degrees. The shed (NZ House) MUST have a roof made of "Wriggly Tin" or "Long Run" (posh name) This is to ensure you get the full benefit of the noise caused by the constant rain.

2. Take your kids out of their current schools, and then do tons and tons of research to find the worst schools in your area. Enroll your kids immediately. If they are not offered drugs on their first day complain to the Head Teacher! Don't let your kids do any research of their own and don't encourage them academically. Start brainwashing your kids with statements like "Your so sporty!" This apparently makes up for under achievement.

3. Go into work and ask your boss to give you a 30% pay cut. During the meeting offer to work Saturdays for free.

4. Carry on paying your Council Tax, but ask your local authority to reduce their services to you. Insist on disposing of your own rubbish and start calling your local tip the "Transfer Station".

5. If you are conducting this experiment in the winter then every morning get the garden hose and spray the entire inside of your shed. Walls, ceilings and especially windows must all be dripping wet. Throw open all the doors and windows to dry the place out. If any family members complain of feeling cold and ask to light the fire shout "Toughen up you pommy bastard!" at them.

6. NEVER heat your house in any way - It is classed as being a waste of money!

7. Buy a large bag of gravel / stones. Find a local gang of kids and pay them to thrown the contents onto your roof all night long. The stones against the wriggly tin will sound just like the rain. You will need to hire the gang of kids for at least 8 months of the year to replicate the frequency of the rain storms.

8. Go to the worst supermarket you can find and ask to buy any food from them that is only fit for animal consumption. Pay 5 times the price marked on the food and prepare you dinner with it. Keep any leftovers as these will be needed to feed you for the next 4 days.

9. By now some members of your family will be suffering from depression. NZ has the highest rate of depression per capita, so don't panic. Go to your doctors, pay him £50 and ask for Prosaic.

10. Never watch the news and never read a national news paper which may tell you about events outside a 10 mile radius of your shed. Insist that everyone in the house only watches sport on the TV. No matter how badly your chosen team play always say that they are the best in the world!

11. Ask all your friends and neighbours to remove the exhaust systems from their cars and to drive up and down outside your house all night.

Lizaberry

Browner, I am horrified by the picture you're painting - it's got me thinking! If this so true of NZ why do people flock in their droves to emigrate there. It must have some appeal above and beyond what you say. I never imagined it was as bad as all this!!! Can anyone put a positive spin on this or shall I just rip up our virtual application now, and not bother at all if it is just sooooooo awful? NZ:1 Lizaberry: 0!!!