Almost done. Working on wardrobes and installing shelving, rail bars, adjustable shelving fittings and drawer fittings. View full entry

Today we picked up the kitchen cabinetry we had CNC routed by rainbow furniture. After arriving we realised that the cabinets would be a giant jigsaw puzzle to put together as there were many pieces. Transporting them back to the workshop at UNITEC so that we could assemble them off site. View full entry

In order to continue with the internal work on the bathroom pod we need to create a weather tight environment so we could ensure that the moisture levels inside the bathroom were kept at an acceptable level for the pre lining inspection. To do this we needed to install a temporary roof on the... View full entry

Today we set out to build the only ceiling in the house which is located in the bathroom. The rest of the house will have the exposed underside of the SIPs roofing panels although the bathroom will require additional bracing while being transported so a ceiling was necessary to provide the... View full entry

Today we removed the boxing from underneath the concrete slab. The concrete slab and walls weighting 5 tonnes made the 450mm crawl space seem less than comfortable. View full entry

The joinery arrived on site and some of the students began painting the jamb liners to prepare the units for installation into our pre fabricated walls. Once the painting was complete we we able to drill pilot holes for fixing and place the units into the walls. Now with the windows in we can... View full entry

After the concrete had set we began removing the boxing from the sides of the concrete slab in order to let it cure and so we could continue wetting the slab during this process. We also began raising the walls on the bathroom pod so that we could start cladding the exterior in preparation for the... View full entry

The team continued work on the wall panels by fixing support bars for the windows in the openings as well as started to clad the external walls on the north and south façades.This cladding process involved painting the wall panels, laying and fixing the 'z' and head flashings we had made for the... View full entry

Over the last few days we have been working on the steel reinforcing in the pre cast concrete slab. This was a difficult process to get right and took some time to complete the many links and ties to construct the cages of steel.After we had completed this the engineer came to site to check that... View full entry

Today we met at the UNITEC workshop where we will be prefabricating much of the building ready to transport and assemble on site. Sadly there has been a delay with the construction contract that will not be signed until Friday the 20th.Instead of completely losing a week worth a work we began... View full entry

The next step in our preparation for the build phase of the project was to familiarise ourselves with the tools we would be using. Dave shared his knowledge with us a showed us the correct was to use the tools as well as explaining the dangers of the tools we were using. Some of the students had... View full entry

Wednesday 4th June, 2014From Resource Consent to Building Consent, it's now down to the nitty gritty for our kaumatua house, the aim being to make it a buildable and plausible design. Our four teams continue to work on the four core areas, thus making our own groups: the floor team, the roof... View full entry

From our third presentation to Ngati Whatua, we presented our refined design which explored interior materials and colour palettes on 'mood boards', as well as perspectives and plans. Perspectives and master plans, plan and section - Presentation Board. View full entry

Wednesday 7th May, 2014After a few weeks of contacting suppliers for materials, the interior team were hard at it choosing what colours and which materials to use for the interior fit out of the kaumatua whare. The team presented to the wider group a selection of choices, and once narrowed down... View full entry