Articles about construction | Barry Stewart Builders

ARTICLES

We have compiled a variety of helpful articles on residential and commercial construction to help you make sense of the many challenges you may come across as you prepare to build, renovate or repair.

Glossary of Basic Construction Terms

Aggregate

Coarse material such as crushed stone, gravel, sand etc used to mix into concrete, laying beneath paving or foundations.

Architrave

Frame around a door or window.

Backfill

Refilling a hole in the ground with material that was previously dug out of it. For example: after stormwater drains are laid into trenches, previously excavated soil is placed on top of the pipes as backfill.

Balustrade

A railing (consisting of horizontal handrail and vertical balusters), for example surrounding a balcony or...

What People are Involved in Building a House?

No two home builds are the same. Having said that, usually people involved in the process are a core team of about a dozen, with another 10-20 contractors depending on the complexity of the project.

Architectural designer & architectural technician

At Barry Stewart Builders, residential design almost always involves at least two people. Our architectureal designer Neil McMillan usually takes the lead role in working with the client to identify the most suitable approach to building or renovating their home. Neil is then supported by an architectural technician who prepares the technical drawings required for...

Typical Design Process 1: Initial Meeting

The very first step in having your home built or renovated by Barry Stewart Homes or Barry Stewart Builders is to come in for an initial meeting which is typically about 1 hour long. We offer a no obligation, no cost initial consultation.

Above all, it is a chance for everyone to get to know each other. We sit down around a table in our head office at 385 Bainfield Road, Invercargill, and chat.

During the meeting, we are likely to ask the client a number of questions about their project (outlined below). We also encourage clients to...

Typical Design Process 2: Predesign, Concept Design & Initial Cost Estimate

Once, after the initial meeting has taken place and we have signed the Scope & Fee Proposal, thereby confirming that both parties would like to work with each other (client with us and we with the client), the project moves into stages known as Predesign and Concept Design.

Predesign

The purpose of the predesign is to, as name suggests, look into matters that need to be taken into account before design can take place. These could be, for example: soil conditions, regulations arising from the local District Plan, limitations on...

Typical Design Process 3: Detailed Design & Building Consent

After a Concept Design has been put together - providing an idea of what a building should look like - the drawings need to be developed into a buildable, workable design. That takes place in two stages: first what's known as Developed Design, and then the final drawings which will be put forward for Building Consent.

Developed Design

From a client's perspective, Developed Design is a stage where a lot of the building finally comes together: choices are finalised as to exterior cladding, flooring, windows, kitchen layout, tapware. Some clients find...

Designing a Home that is Warm, Dry and Energy-Efficient: Interview with Jason Quinn of Sustainable Engineering

Building a home that is genuinely warm, dry and energy-efficient is, in some ways, hard. It’s not that construction itself is hard - it doesn’t need to be. Even design doesn't need to be any harder than any other house - if you know what you’re doing. But herein lies the rub. The main stumbling block, as primitive as it may sound, will be finding the right people - involving tradespeople and designers who know what they’re doing and who can therefore provide timely, useful advice.

Computer-modelling & NZ building code

By training, Jason is an engineer. He spent 10+ years working for NASA as a systems engineer in propulsion and happily...