The Weezer

Certainly not trying to put you off, but it seems to me these are not the
kinds of photos you would normally take no matter where you live,
unless you are an investigative or photo journalist, or unless you
have a well-honed sense of the absurd like Burt has.

Avid

That's the spirit!

I still can't chose between electricity or gas for heating my place. Gas gives me a headache after a few hours and electricity gives me a migraine.


When I get the bill... Boom Boom

southerner

Burt - Who is the quote from?

My own view (I'm not a building expert) is that double glazing should probably be mandatory on new builds south of Auckland, mainly for energy efficiency reasons.

Central heating is up to the homeowner, but we have a nice warm and dry home in the South Island without CH, so saying CH is not essential is a reasonable thing to say. But some form of heating will be required south of Auckland, and some form of ventilation/dehumidifying system for all of NZ.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought double glazing had no effect on humidity? It just reduces 'crying windows' and the air inside your house will be just as mositure laden, perhaps more so????

pixi-dust

Southerner, I reckon even in the far north you need a bit of heating - we have a logburner and have had it on once already I love it though. We also have a dehumidifier that we use for about three weeks during the coldest time, but just in the bedroom, it makes a big difference. We do seem to be quite lucky, as even though our house is an old villa it has good insulation - top and bottom ( not walls)
However as far as double glazing is concerned I've never lived in a house with it not in Aberdeen or Glasgow!

All this being said none of it bothers me, at all. I've just been working in the garden and am wearing a vest and shorts ( very attractive) I'm desperate for it to get a bit colder.

Avid

That's the settler spirit! When it comes to the cold and damp I say "Bring it on"!!

Anything we don't like is 'character building'.

southerner

A 2005 study of immigrants found the main reason that immigrants were dissatisfied with NZ housing was the difficulty in heating their homes (53%), with the next highest factors being the high cost (41%) and dampness (32%).

However, the vast majority (83%) of immigrants from the UK/Ireland were overall either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the quality of NZ housing. So even if heating and dampness are major issues, it seems in most people's eyes to be heavily outweighed by other positive factors.

Source: http://www.dol.govt.nz/PDFs/Settleme...d-Migrants.pdf

sky

We got sent those forms when we'd been here about a year and I was that fed up with things at that time I chucked them in the bin as nothing I said on it would have been good.

Avid

I can't get the thing to download for some reason, pity..as I'd like to have a look at it.

(Am I billy-no-mates, or what?!)

But if it was a voluntary survey then the results are meaningless....except to say that people who like their houses are willing to say so on a bit of paper.

southerner

I remember some of your posts from about that same time....... ....

southerner

Like all surveys it was voluntary so who knows.

Others might say that those who dislike their houses are more likely to post on websites - but still, I read their stories and learn something if I can.

Avid

Well...websites are a bit safer. I'm not sure I'd want to write all my whingeing on an official form and hand it over to a Government Department.

There could be a knock on the door in the night.......

The Weezer

You mean windy Welly!

Ever see the movie "Wah Wah"?
Turning perfectly respectable words into their dimunitives has gone
completely out of control here. And I think it's even worse in Australia.

Reminds me of a scene from "The Lost Weekend" starring Ray Milland:

GLORIA: No thanks. Thanks a lot, but no thanks. There's somebody
waiting.
DON: Him? I bet he wears arch supporters.
GLORIA: Oh. He's just an old friend of the folks. Lovely gentleman.
He buys me dimpled Scotch.
DON: He sould buy you Indian rubies, and a villa in Calcutta
overlooking the Ganges.
GLORIA: Don't be ridic.
DON: Gloria, please, why imperil our friendship with these
loathsome abbreviations?

The Weezer

Your photos are truly representative of too much of rural NZ, but where's
the ubiquitous corrugated iron aesthetic? What better representation
of Kiwi ingenuity is there than a wriggly tin patch job?

These are my neighbors across the street. Note there is some wriggly tin
in the yard.

Avid

Actually I shouldn't moan about it....The 'welly' test is a quick way of finding out if I am going to have a conversation longer than 2 minutes with the person. (And they probably feel the same when they hear me say 'Wellington'....I might learn the Maori word for this place, just to annoy everybody)

These photos....they make me feel humble. I'd put a few pics of my place up but why make it easier for people to find me and burn the house down...

also, I don't know how to do it

Then again, despite the fact that where I live has survived the last 100 years, I am convinced that a passing gerbil will fart and bring the whole place crashing down at any moment.

When's the next earthquake due again?

RobClubley

Any minute. Or in 200 years.