Creating warm and dry homes

Here at Creating Communities, we're working hard to build warm, dry and safe homes for future generations of New Zealanders.

How are we doing this?

We're taking Housing New Zealand's old, damp, fibrolite clad homes that have been plonked on timber piles in the middle of 800-900sqm sites, with no regard for to the street or the sun and replacing them with warm, comfortable and modern properties.

We are investing in upgrading the old 1940's underground infrastructure to bring them up to current standard. These upgrades also include devices to recharge groundwater systems and reduce peak stormwater flows into the local streams. 

Another question you might ask is whether or not the properties being removed from these sites could simply be refurbished on site. Don't old houses have have good bones?

Our answer would be, "No, this is not a suitable option for many reasons." A lot of the houses do have good bones, but to get to those good bones, you have to strip off the fibrolite cladding, get rid of the asbestos out of the vinyl and then there's the dreaded damp to be eliminated. Even if all of these complicated issues were dealt with, there is still the issue of the actual siting of the property on the land - it's lack of aspect to the road and the sun.

These homes are definitely poor housing stock in desperate need of removal.

The other thing to think about, whilst looking at the redevelopment as a whole is that we are also living in a city where the housing shortage is being talked about all the time.  Removing these single dwellings from their 900sqm sites and replacing them with multiple modern, comfortable homes makes sense on so many levels.

www.creatingcommunities.co.nz