White

Road trip to Richmond

29 October, 2019 by

Though they had never been to Nelson before – when purchasing their next renovation here, Alice and Caleb were confident that this location would be well worth the road trip! When they were scouting out Nelson, anyone who spoke about the location had the same response – people loved it. Nelson is known as a town surrounded by stunning natural landscapes – lakes, mountains, rivers, native bush, beaches and promising plenty of sunshine. With a pace that is slow enough to enjoy the simple things in life – strolls along the many beaches, backyard BBQs with neighbours and a good flat white at your local. But a growing and developing town, with plenty of thriving local businesses and an easy place to fly in and out of.

A 100-Year-Old Diamond

From the first time they spotted this house’s listing, it stood out. Built by a local builder in 1910’s, it was full of potential – a flat faced villa with a central hallway, high studs, and the lean-to extensions added over her 100-year life. Three roomy bedrooms and an airy front living room, with the kitchen and dining room opening onto a big outside area, screaming for some attention and the chance to create some great outside living spaces. From the front veranda, you can look out to the Richmond Hills and enjoy all-day sun.

Living in a Renovation

Alice and Caleb, along with their two children Alek 5 and Mika 3 moved in and started renovating. The strategy was to renovate two rooms at a time containing all of the renovation mess into one place. It allowed them to be productive, in seeing a whole room was completed before moving on to the next project. The huge benefit in this approach is having time to live in the house and consider the flow and feeling of the house. Knowing how you live in a house, makes it easier to design and renovate.

Old World – New World

Alice and Caleb consider it a true privilege to be able to give new life to a house with so much history. The design and workmanship of the last century is still impressive today, so the objective is to add elements that enhance the features of the old villa while still giving it a fresh modern look. Wallpaper provided the perfect way to do this, using patterns that were inspired by the trends of the past but designed to be on trend in 21^st century.

First Impressions Last

The entrance to their Diamond was an opportunity to add a design statement and make a strong first impression of the house. They painted the exterior “Umber White”, the trims and fretwork “All Black”, the concrete porch and roof “Grey Friars” and the front door a strong pop of “Coral Tree”. Then they replaced all of the spouting with Marley Stormcloud® spouting and RP80® downpipes in white. The versatile quarter-round spouting profile with clean, strong lines suits the traditional exterior but also gives a modern look. Not to mention, it will serve this old beauty well into the future!

We have people in the neighbourhood constantly stopping us to thank us for giving the villa it’s new look, it has made an impression and a nice exterior doesn’t just impact your house but the whole street.

Full Time Renovators

After years of doing renovations in weekends and weeknights – this house has been renovated with Alice and Caleb’s full attention and DIY skill set. Alice single-handily hung most of the wallpaper in the house and took charge of the interior design and planning. Caleb has developed his DIY skill set, to now include cabinetry making, kitchen installation, tiling, floor sanding and installing new spouting and downpipes. Caleb says

replacing the spouting for your whole house is easily achieved in a weekend and is a straightforward DIY task with the correct planning and tools.

To watch Alice and Caleb’s how to video – click here.

This house has been renovated to sell, but also renovated to last. With the new uPVC spouting and downpipes, upgrade to the electrics, addition of gas for water heating and cooking, unovent system, heat pump and floor and ceiling insulation – Alice and Caleb hope this house has another 100 years of life in her yet!

About Alice and Caleb

Alice and Caleb are expert renovators, having completed 9 house renovations – with their winning renovation on the Block 2013 being what they are most known for. They started 9 years ago when they purchased their first home together, with a project on their hands and no DIY experience. But since then their passion for projects, property and learning has only grown.

Alice and Caleb are currently in the middle of their Renovation Road Trip. Having left their jobs, packed everything into a car, they set off to travel around NZ doing renovations. The concept being that they are taking time off from normal life to do something completely different. Buying a house that needs a makeover in a completely new town, travelling the country to get there, renovating it, selling it, and sharing the story and their life as they go – all the time with 2 kids on board for this adventure. They have finished up their previous project in Alexandra, Central Otago, and this is their 10th renovation in Richmond, Nelson. They share this journey through their website and social media channels, Pearson + Projects.

Social Accounts
Facebook @AliceandCaleb
Instagram @PearsonandProjects
Pinterest @PearsonProjects
Website www.pearsonandprojects.com

Mooch Style’s St Albans Cottage

1 July, 2019 by

It’s amazing what a little imagination can do
And when you have lots of imagination, the sky’s the limit. When Shayden and Georgia found their little, 96 square metre cottage among the villas of St Albans, Christchurch, they could see its potential. Even though it had been battered and bruised by the earthquakes it stood out as a survivor. Armed initially with just cleaning and paint brushes, plus lots of energy and ideas, Shayden and Georgia gradually transformed the house into what it is today.

DIY is aok

As they didn’t have a big budget, they made do with heaps of can-do attitude and a creative eye for colour. Shayden and Georgia immediately went to work and made liberal use of Resene Black White throughout. This instantly added freshness and light to the interior. Then for contrast, they added strong coloured feature walls in their bedrooms and living area to create drama and interest.

They discovered ways to recycle what was already there. For instance, the old rimu skirting boards found a new life as shelving in the master bedroom and kitchen. Original features such as the oversized architraves were retained if they added to the character of the house, otherwise the look they were after was simple, elegant and contemporary.

Getting a bigger bang for a buck

The old kitchen was well past its use by date but rather than designing a new one from scratch Shayden and Georgia simply went to Placemakers. Their off-the- shelf kitchen delivers everything they wanted in terms of style and practicality yet saved them considerable money compared to a custom-made kitchen.

The old gem already had Marley Classic^™ spouting and RP80^® downpipes like many of the traditional style homes in the area. Shayden and Georgia were happy about this as it suited the house perfectly, and it was made of uPVC, which meant it would still have many years left of life, and they were able to repair any damaged portions themselves. Whether repairing, or replacing, Marley uPVC spouting is easy to handle, easy to cut, and simply glues together.

Early adopters

Shayden and Georgia have also installed Marley Twist^®, a compact rainwater diverter that turns your downpipe into a free source of water for watering the garden, topping up the pool, general cleaning or emergency use.

Twist^® can be easily installed on existing or new RP80^® uPVC downpipes and can quick connect to a collection tank via any standard garden hose fitting. A simple “twist” on-off control lets you access rainwater from your downpipe as and when you need it. Twist is designed to connect a single downpipe to a small collection tank of up to 1,000 litres.

It’s a work in progress

What Shayden and Georgia have done in just 6 months is truly impressive, but there’s still a way to go. All the new lawns and planting on the 680 square metre section need time to bed in and mature. There’s a new bathroom in the planning stages, and who knows what’s in store for the backyard. To keep an eye on their progress you can check Mooch Style out online anytime: Facebook or Instagram.

$300 million leading-edge JUSTICE PRECINCT

30 August, 2017 by

The Justice & Emergency Services Precinct (the Precinct) is a $300 million project led by the Ministry of Justice, to bring together all justice and emergency services in one purpose-built, leading-edge precinct in Christchurch’s central business district.

Expected to be operational by the end of 2017, the Precinct will be used by an estimated 2,000 people daily. Set to be the largest multi-agency government co-location project in New Zealand’s history, and the first major public building to be built in Christchurch by the Government since the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

The Precinct will combine:

New Zealand Police
Ministry of Justice
Department of Corrections
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group (National, Regional and Local)
St John New Zealand

Behind the scenes

We spoke with some of the team working for the main contractor Fletcher Construction on the Precinct project, including John Leen of John Leen Plumbing (JLP), and Steve Skidmore of Marley NZ, to get their insights on the unique challenges this 42,000m² area commercial build presented.

“We set in place a strategic plan back in 2013 which included a watching brief on the rebuild works in Christchurch post-earthquake.” says John Leen, owner of JLP.

“In November 2013 I came to Christchurch and set up a new JLP division.”

JLP initially tendered and won the in-slab and civil works, before securing the full plumbing package for the balance of the building, seeking Marley’s products, planning and design expertise for the siphonic rainwater system: Marley Akasison Siphonic Drainage.

“JLP started in-slab works in July 2014 and we’ve had a presence on the site since then.” John says. “We celebrated 30 years in business last October and we are thinking of taking up plumbing full time!”

BIM for the win

Steve Skidmore is Marley’s NZ-based National Technical Sales Engineer, assisting architects, developers, engineers and specifiers in designing the Akasison siphonic roof drainage systems for projects NZ-wide.

The Precinct certainly posed more than a few challenges. “The buildings are complex, with inputs and requirements to consider for all disciplines,” said Steve, adding “JLP’s use of Building Information Modelling [BIM] meant coordination between the requirements of architecture, structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, data, and HVAC [heating, ventilation, air conditioning] could all be modelled in advance to secure a route for siphonic pipework through the ‘busy’ building ceiling spaces and service risers.”

If a section of work is not modelled then you don’t know if you might have a clash.

John adds, “We worked very closely with the project team to complete the plumbing install in the 3D world of BIM.”

“The software allowed us to create the full plumbing install in conjunction with the structure and other sub trades, and review the clashes on desktop in 3D.” John said. “This is an exceptionally good process to ensure the bulk of the works are coordinated prior to site install.”

This enabled JLP to install major pipe runs very early in the construction stage, working around other trades without major conflict issues.

“Like all new technologies, there were some fish hooks so to speak,” says John, “But they were well outweighed by our ability to get in front of the installation programme.”

“The greatest learning is that you need everyone in the waka paddling in the same direction, if a section of work is not modelled then you don’t know that you might have a clash, but if you were in the waka you had a lead on those that were not!” says John.

Size & seismic

A lot of complexity came down to the sheer size of the project, however Christchurch’s high seismic activity brought with it additional requirements. The allowance for movement in the design of the buildings meant the many soil, stormwater, water and gas pipes that crossed this plane also had seismic considerations.

“They had to have seismic joints installed from fixed-up to fixed-down, literally hundreds of them, which also meant all in-ceiling services had to have seismic restraints and hangers fitted, so in a major seismic event, these services not only survive but continue to operate.” John explains.

“This meant there was significant emphasis put into services having dual standby and duty type, including dual water supplied from adjacent streets, water storage supply tanks, sewer storage tanks, dual gas supplies, backup power supply via generators, fire system backup supply, and various security, data, communications, and BMS type support.”

In excess of a thousand onsite

With the project’s size also came the complication of getting sufficient staff. At the height of the project, JLP had around 30 staff onsite at one time, including contracts admin, quality assurance, site foreman and a variety of trades. This included around 12 Filipinos, 4 Frenchmen, various English and Irishmen and a base of Kiwis.

“If it were not for our ability to employ overseas immigrant tradespeople, we could never have completed this type of project.” John says.

Local design

Marley’s team, led by Steve Skidmore, provides a unique service in New Zealand, with Marley NZ able to carry out siphonic designs locally and liaise directly with expertise within the wider Aliaxis group (Marley’s parent company), with 15,700 staff across 40 countries.

The Achilles heel of other siphonic systems is the design team being offshore, often delaying installs when changes are required. Marley’s behind-the-scenes support team are always exceptionally helpful with technical answers and support for whatever we may require

Everyone together

“We place all our orders though Plumbing World, our preferred plumbing supplier, who supplied all of the ‘behind the wall’ plumbing requirements for this project and have provided strong support.” says John. “Between Marley and Plumbing World we always get a great response.”

As well as many other suppliers and contractors, JLP also worked with Mico for ‘front of wall’ fixtures, as well as Humes for the bulk of the civil work requirements, Tauranga-based Hose Supplies for seismic requirements, and Viaco for special seismic fixings.

Heaps of roof

Over 9,000m² of roof area bought its own unique challenges.

Pipe runs with NO falls excites architects and consultants

Heaps of roof meant heaps of gutters and outlets, somewhere around 2.5kms of pipe, the equivalent Unirail support system, and around 110 outlets, all acoustically wrapped, seismically supported, air tested, then water tested from ground to flood level.

JLP also installed a complete Marley uPVC overflow secondary path system to deal with any water if for some reason all siphonic outlets managed to get blocked.

“The roof areas were all dual layer torch-on products which also determined the minimum falls from high points to outlets in the box gutters,” John says. “This kept all the outlets at approx. 8m centres so the fall in the gutters maintained the torch-on guarantee requirements.”

“The Akasison siphonic system allows you to run all the horizontal pipes in the ceiling space level, so with the size of the building that meant very long runs, which if falls were required, would have meant most of the system would be hanging through ceilings!”

“Pipe runs with NO falls excites architects and consultants, as this means less space required for services and high ceiling heights. Plumbers do not need to work out falls and it is easy to install.” says John.

The Marley Akasison Siphonic Drainage system saves space, frees up design, and reduces material and installation costs.

The concealed system rapidly drains water, siphoning through small pipes close to the roof to maximise space, allowing more flexibility for routing of pipework, giving more usable space inside the building due to small pipework that can be installed horizontally with zero gradient.

Find out more about the Akasison Siphonic Drainage system for your next commercial project.

Pictured above: Steve Skidmore, Marley & John Leen, John Leen Plumbing

Mangawhai

6 July, 2016 by

Colin and Wendy find purity in white

When Colin and Wendy planned a house to replace their old 1950s Mangawhai Heads bach, they had a very clear vision from the outset. The new house would be pure white. Or Resene Black White, to be precise. Crisp, elegant and beautifully detailed, the house borrowed architectural references from both the coastal homes of the Mediterranean, as well as classic New Zealand houses. With its large eaves, gabled form, verandahs, and corrugated iron roof, the house sits perched in a stunning location looking out over the estuary, sand dunes and ocean.

The only colour on the exterior is a flash of lime green on the front door, in Resene Wellywood. The window joinery is white; even the spouting and downpipes are a Kiwi favourite – Marley Typhoon^® spouting and Marley RP80^® downpipes in white.

The couple’s love of white continues inside, the walls and ceilings painted in Resene Half Black White. Much of the furniture is black and the colour accents in the décor are lime green, orange and aqua.

One room of the house where colour is celebrated – the owner’s purpose-designed art studio. See www.wendyleach.com for more information.

How did the build go and what where the challenges?

It was quite a technical build as the house has essentially been built on a sand dune. The retaining walls and piles involved some serious engineering. We had to consider the coastal environment too, so choosing exterior components like the white spouting which won’t corrode or degrade from the salt air, was important. It also has a profile that’s clean-lined so suits the house. We also used Resene X-200 on the offset concrete block cladding, which is a thick paint known for its protective and water-proofing qualities.

What part of the house are you most happy with and why?

We love the whole package but we are particularly pleased with:

The view right through the house from the pool out to sea. Also from the front door through the house out to sea.
The white kitchen, which has a five-metre island bench and a scullery. The splashback features Wendy’s painting ‘Kuaotunu’ printed on the back of the glass. It is dynamic and monochromatic.
The bathrooms, and the master ensuite in particular which we designed with two quite separate vanities.
The vaulted ceilings in the main upstairs living area, master bedroom and Wendy’s studio which also features internal and external floor-to-ceiling windows.

Have a comprehensive vision of what you want. Don’t compromise. Collaborate with the right design and trades people.

What is your advice for somebody trying to achieve a similar look?

Have a comprehensive vision of what you want. Don’t compromise. Collaborate with the right design and trades people. Understand the cost and time drivers of the project to ensure you enjoy the build and to avoid any surprises or disappointments. We worked in collaboration with architectural designer, Martin Harnish, from Warkworth, on the design elements of the structure.