Thanks Mel. We'll see what we can do to make the rumpus enclosed - it's probably more of a "man cave" at the moment :) Grandad had a dining table in his current place (which is bigger) and got rid of it because he never used it. He also wants more bench space than he currently has. So, this was a deliberate choice rather than a compromise due to lack of space. You've reminded me now that someone did warn us earlier in the design process about the back and forth between wardrobe and bathroom becoming annoying over time. We don't currently have an en suite so it feels wonderfully convenient for us by comparison. However, that feeling will change if we realise it could have been even better. We did have the en suite off the wardrobe in some designs but have been warned this can lead to dampness in your clothes no matter how well ventilated the bathroom is (especially in Auckland's humidity). Would love to hear people's experiences of this configuration - good and bad. On top of that, there are lovely private bush views to the south so we've tried to make the most of those.

We are also building in Christchurch :) So also had to look at these kind of requirements for sun, but we had a much smaller section to work with (800sqm). If cost is OK ideally a 2 story would get light into more of the rooms. You also saod the street frontage is 35m but the plans say currently the width of the house is only 15m, so you could run more of the house along the frontage to get it aligned with North. Its a big section are you setting it very far back from the street? Or are you worried about privacy? Is there a view Northwards, otherwise if you can set back from the street and add hedging or plantings to increase privacy I would try and align as much of the living space to get the North and west sun. Depending on what your roof is like you could also add a clerestory to get light towards the back - we are using skylights as well for our back hall and bathrooms to make sure they get as much natural light as possible.

I have to ask, do you really need that bath when you have such a tight space? Unless you have tiny children (and remember that's a temporary situation!,) I suggest a larger walk in shower e.g. 1200 x 800 and heated towel rail on the wall nearer the window so its more convenient. Would definitely keep the double vanity for those busy mornings with storage under and you could add mirror fronted cabinet recessed into the wall above the basins to add more storage. Hope that helps!

Hello everyone! I must say all the advice on here has been extremely helpful in our first home build, thank you! I'm hoping we can get a clearer picture of what to expect from some of your experiences about build times. We started our adventure early last year and site prep only happened right at the end, just before Christmas close down. Work on the foundations began straight after in January and before the COVID-19 lockdown, most of the cladding (the brick parts) was done which leaves only the Linea bit (about 15%). Plumbing is mostly done and we're told wiring will be finished by the end of this week, too. Is this sort of an average timeline or is it a bit on the slower side? We can see other houses being started after ours and now have gone far ahead of where ours is. Also what times should we expect after this point and when should we start pushing the builder to speed things along? Also to note it's a small house, just over 157sqm. on a 500sqm section. Thanks in advance guys!