Over the past few weeks we have been speaking about New Zealand houses and their designs.
We have covered The New Zealand Villa, The New Zealand Bungalow, The Art Deco Age, The New Zealand State House, The Transitional Period Home and we are onto the Modern Townhouse.
Modern Townhouses from the 1990’s to the early 2000’s are the houses of today. This is where modern architecture and trendy thinking comes into the picture of housing. There were many different types of designs that made it to play in New Zealand. Some were single level, some were multi level, some were made of permanent materials and some not. Houses were built to budgets in this age. The ones that were built with larger budgets were built with good standards and will generally last a good lifetime. But the downside is that many houses in this time are built with a developmental focus and on tight budgets which meant that in some cases the quality was sacrificed. Many of todays townhouse designs are built of the in the shadow of Joe Eichler who was in the 1970’s a revolutionary architect who designed houses that at the time were considered way before their time. But today these designs are now are much more seen, in different variances. The modern Townhouse is a good family home and is equally secure for the elderly or security conscious person.
Good Points:
· Very easy a functional designs to live in.
· Large open plan living areas with thought to sun positioning and indoor outdoor flow for entertaining.
· Further incorporation with internal access garaging for more security and comfort.
· Economical and dry to keep warm with most houses with full insulation.
· The modern building styles offer much greater scope house profiles and styles.
Not So Good Points:
· Multiple roof angles with multiple leak possibilities.
· Single sheet monolithic cladding, often poorly applied which when expands and contracts, leaks can form.
· Limited or no eaves and overhangs (excessive water cascading down exterior faces seeps in around windows and joins and cracks in cladding).
· Decks and parapets attached directly to exterior cladding can leak; framing can rot.
· Wide use of untreated timber framing (particularly houses built 1998 – 2004)
· Timber pile foundations in many free-standing houses where the exterior piles are subjected to constant wet and drying which can lead huge movements in the building.
· Insufficient “ground clearance”; concrete bases are built quite low and the cladding is very close to ground on many houses, this can cause water to seep in.
Although there were a number of building issues mentioned with these properties, it doesn’t mean they all have these issues. It is important, like with most properties to get a building inspection done. This will answer any questions you may have to do with the building and give you peace of mind in the buyingprocess.
These homes are very elegant and look the part for someone to live in. People who live in these homes usually take pridein them and the gardens and exterior of the houses kept in very good order.