PHOTO:LAWRENCE SMITH/HOMED Peter Wolfkamp, professional builder and site foreman on The Block NZ, advises caution if you’re planning a DIY sleep-out or office.
Just because you can now build a 30 square-metre room in the backyard without council permission doesn’t mean it’s a DIY free-for-all.
Builder Peter Wolfkamp, site foreman on The Block NZ, says the government ‘s DIY rules changes, “conveniently released over the weekend”, had a lot of people rubbing their hands together with glee. But he says it’s not that straightforward.
“It’s misleading,” he says. “Any structure will still need to comply with the NZ Building Code — and 30 square metres is actually a huge space.”
And the size is what concerns Wolfkamp most. While he favours the changes in principle, he says he doesn’t want to see a return to substandard housing.
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