News Items Building guarantees: it pays to take a closer lookDeciding which building guarantee will provide you with the best protection can be a difficult task, especially for those that are somewhat unfamiliar with the residential building industry. However, it really does pay to have a closer look and see what is on offer. In the event that something does go wrong, the extra time spent ensuring you are well protected could be well worth the effort. MORE  A Brick Veneer To Suit Any DesignFirth's Brick Veneers are a range of highly attractive, low-maintenance products, which provide incredible durability and exceptional insulation. With a range of styles to choose from - including contemporary, natural look, heritage and split faced - there is a Firth Brick Veneer that will blend beautifully with your design. Devonstone® creates a visually appealing home with the strength only concrete bricks can offer. It suits a smaller dwelling and keeps to scale with various finishes to personalise the home. Focus® Bricks are the size of traditional bricks and have smooth, clean lines that are ideal to create a contemporary effect with a versatile range of colours to suit. Manorstone® is a larger format concrete brick that resembles natural stone and is suitable for a larger home in both a rumbled and straight face finish. Pioneer® Bricks combine modern manufacturing technology and old world charm, to create a unique 'softened' MORE  Weighing Up Your Options – A guide to making the right new home choiceSignature Homes have recently released a new brochure, Weighing Up Your Options - A guide to making the right new home choice. The brochure is an impartial look at the process of buying a new home, attempting to explain some of the key building concepts, and identify some of the traps that new home buyers can fall into. The brochure covers the following topics: Buying an existing home vs. building a new home How to determine the difference between various builder offers What you should know about kitset homes What you need to know about new home design Getting to know your builder What sustainable features should be considered for you new home What is a Design & Build home? What is a Standard Plan home? The benefits of paying a plan deposit If you would like a copy of this brochure, please get in touch with your nearest Signature MORE  Bathroom Vanities - Making Educated ChoicesPersonal design choice and product value will always remain an important aspect when designing your bathroom, however more and more factors are influencing New Zealander's when choosing products for their family homes. Selecting sustainable products that will stand the test of time, look great and fit the budget is not always easy, but being educated on your choices helps you take a step in the right direction. As a New Zealand owned and operated manufacturing company Clearlite are always looking for better ways to use technology, whilst ensuring that we do our best to consider the NZ environment and sustainability of the resources used in our products. Clearlite cabinets are proudly manufactured here in New Zealand from board produced in New Zealand. Some of the key features are as follows; Sustainable Plantation Wood The wood fibre used in Clearlite vanities is sourced from sustainably managed forest plantations where each tree MORE  Get Your Home. Your Way. using one of our pre-designed plansAt Signature Homes, the 'Your Home. Your Way' ethos does not only apply if you are building a home designed by us for you from scratch. When you choose a design from one of our collections, you are still able to customise the home to suit your lifestyle and taste. Utilising one of our pre-designed plans is ideal when you are on a tight budget - the homes are already priced and ready to go, meaning you can get Your Home. Your Way. faster and easier with a much more precise idea right from the outset what the costs will be. The homes on the left have exactly the same floorplan, but the roofline and claddings have been altered to achieve a different look. You can rest assured knowing we have put a lot of thought into the layout of these plans to minimise build costs, while ensuring you and MORE  The Benefits of BrickOver recent years, brick homes have made huge advances visually, due to a whole range of new bricklaying techniques and brick styles. But perhaps what some new home buyers do not also take into account are the more practical advantages that bricks have over other cladding systems. In this feature, we will look at some of these qualities, and we'll also have a look at some questions that are commonly asked by Monier Brick & Roofing clients. MONIER BRICK QUALITIES Sustainable & Healthy Natural, recyclable and energy efficient, free of toxins. Secure & Weathertight The cavity system of brick veneer allows for airflow and helps control moisture in the home. Temperature Control - Saving You Money With proper design, your home will be warmer in winter, and cooler in summer, saving money on heating and cooling. Low Maintenance Enduring colour so no need to paint Design Flexibility Whatever the design MORE  Sustainability vs. Affordability - Sustainable Features That Make Good Financial SenseAlthough sustainable/eco-friendly features and products can be expensive, they are now coming very much into the mainstream where new homes are concerned, and there are some very good reasons for this:  Bench Top ManiaFor most families, the kitchen is very much the hub of the home, with New Zealand home owners typically spending between up to 15% of the total value of their new homes on the kitchen. Besides the layout of the kitchen, there are many choices to be made, from various cabinet colours to splash-backs, appliances, handles, taps, sinks and of course bench tops. This gallery features images of bench tops in Signature Homes around the country NATURAL STONE Near the top end we find natural stone. The prices vary widely throughout the range, with the rarer stones being more expensive than the readily available ones. The most popular stone choices are granite and marble and both come in a wide range of colours and finishes. Granite is 100% natural and quarried from all over the world. It comes in a wide range of colours depending on its chemistry and mineralogy. MORE  How to go about building your dream homeIf you ask anybody "What would you do if you won lotto?", the answer will most likely be "Build my dream home!", but how do you actually go about building your dream home? In this article we explore the basics of building your dream home, even on a modest budget. Choosing a Section The first step is finding the right location. Would you like to live life in the city, suburbs or the countryside? Close to the beach, a reserve, schools, shops or a family member? You could have a look at new subdivision developments in your region, or maybe you'd prefer to live in an established neighbourhood; this could be a section that has been divided into two titles, or a section with an old existing home that can be knocked down or removed. Signature Homes can assist you with all of these options. Alternatively, you can have a MORE  9 Ways To Maximise Your New Home's Street AppealIn this feature, we look at some of the aspects and products you may wish to consider to ensure the street appeal of your new home. If you wish to discuss any of these in more depth, please get in touch with your local Signature Homes Franchise Builder. 1. Use a Professional Colour Consultant: A trained Colour Consultant can make a huge difference to the street appeal of your home, and choosing colours that will work well on a home is not an undertaking to be taken lightly. Colour Consultants generally have a highly-tuned sense of colour, and an extensive knowledge of how colours can compliment each other to the best effect. They also tend to have experience with many different building materials, and therefore have an understanding of which colours work well on the various cladding surfaces that are common in New Zealand. Colour Consultants are not only aware MORE  What's Your Flavour?When you've chosen to build new over buying existing, one of the main reasons was likely to be that you wanted to have the freedom to build Your Home. Your Way. and give it the look and feel that makes it feel like 'home' to you. Some people have a clear idea what they want from their new home and what products they want the builder to use to achieve this, from doorknob to doormat… they know what they want. Some of you might not be so confident – don't worry, you're not alone. This is where Signature's design team come into the picture, they can help you make an informed decision on all products available and what will suit your budget and lifestyle. Before you visit a designer it is a good idea to have a list of requirements for your new home. We have outlined some popular styles MORE  Signature Homes build NZ's first Green Star rated Kura KaupapaSignature Homes have recently completed an exciting project at Matauri Bay in the Far North of New Zealand – the establishment of a brand educational facility (Kura Kaupapa) for the Maori children of the area. The school, which took over a decade to come to fruition, was opened on the 5th of May, in the presence of over 1400 people including other Kura Kaupapa from all over New Zealand, a number of key Ministry of Education staff and representatives from Signature Homes Ltd., CEO Phillip Howe and manager of the project Richard Keuning. The day was the culmination of a lot of hard work and a very proud and emotional moment for all those associated with the project. The school is an environmentally sustainable design project, which has now been given 5-Star certification by the Green Building Council of New Zealand - the first Kura Kaupapa to receive this rating. MORE  Pre-Designed vs. Design & BuildIf you have decided to contract a new home builder to build your new home, the next decision you will need to make is whether to use, or amend, a pre-designed plan (or builder's plan), or have your home designed from scratch (Design & Build). Many building companies use one method or the other, although some companies actually specialise in one method, but claim that they do both. There are advantages to both methods, but your circumstances and requirements will largely dictate which is the most suitable option for you. Below, we look at the main characteristics of both methods. Design & Build Typically, a Design & Build approach is used where one of, or a combination of, the following situations apply:  Knock Down & Rebuild - Clearing the way for your dream homeYoung couple Jeong Seol and his wife Dohee recently engaged the services of the Signature Homes 'Knock Down & Rebuild' team to remove a 1950's home on a 670m2 section in Takapuna, replacing it with an innovative family home for their two children. The existing house, although well built, was poorly designed and positioned, with some of the rooms not seeing the sun all day and very little indoor-outdoor flow. The section had a prime location close to the beach in an exclusive neighbourhood; the Seol's obviously taking note of the old proverb "buy the poorest house on the best street". The section lent itself perfectly to a modern 2-storey design featuring a capacious deck with sea views. The couple were determined to maximise the living areas on the site, but weren't about to skimp on the details that mattered; specifying extra-tall 2.7m studs for both the ground and first MORE   |
|
 |
 |
|
©2004-2012 Signature Homes Limited. All rights reserved. Powered by Supermodel. | TSW |
|
|