Now living alone in her Miramar three-bedroom house, Marie found herself with more space than she needed in a home she had shared for years with her young family. When her daughter offered Marie the opportunity to build on her back section, Marie’s idea of downsizing to a tiny home gained traction.
Initial Contact/First Impressions
Marie’s son-in law mentioned he knew of a company out in Trentham, which wasn’t too far away from their place in Tawa, Wellington. At the time he was working for a Petone business which sold product to Able Spaces, so he suggested they go and check them out.
On arrival, the pair found Norma to be “very welcoming and knowledgeable” and at that first meeting, they were impressed.
Important Considerations
It became apparent a transportable home couldn’t be craned over her daughter’s house (positioned at the front of the section), so Marie decided to go ahead with an onsite build option. The building materials were brought in as needed and Able Spaces’ building contractor got to work.
Marie chose the Hiropi design. Opting to extend the length by one metre, the finished size would be 10.6m long x 3.6m wide. Marie also customized the kitchen layout, chose her own custom fittings, along with her preferred colour scheme.
Marie assigned Norma to manage the build and handle the consents and services connections, sparing herself the difficulties of dealing with the council and overseeing the project.
Navigating Challenges
The section was a sloping site, with the street high above Marie’s daughter’s house. Marie’s house was to be positioned at the bottom of the slope, behind her daughter’s house. The simplest solution was to connect the stormwater to the front house, but there were no existing stormwater connections (as the front house had been built at a time when it was acceptable to terminate water from the downpipe straight onto the ground).
Two Options Identified
To get around this, Norma was able to offer Marie two options – either the stormwater would go to a tank, where it would then be pumped uphill into a second tank where it gets drip fed into the kerb and channel, or option number two: they apply for an easement for the stormwater to go through the neighbour’s property to the kerb and channel at the bottom of the section. This would require the neighbour’s consent. The neighbour said no to that option early on so Norma liaised with Wellington City Council to get the other option over the line. After delivering a design that would satisfy the Council’s rules and meet their approval, that design proved too expensive for Marie.
Talks started up again with the neighbour who then agreed to help Marie by allowing a stormwater pipe through their property. Marie chose her nephew to do the site plumbing and drainlaying and Norma handed over this aspect of the project for him to complete.
On the topic of the stormwater, Norma explained, “The investigation and design piece at the beginning of a project is crucial because that gives you the information you need, telling you what your site requires. It’s very hard to know what’s in the ground until you start site investigations. This is all part of the design and investigation stage at the outset, before you go to building consent. In Marie’s case we got CCTV cameras down the main home’s downpipes and did some ground testing to see if a soak pit could have been a simple alternative option, however that wasn’t viable either.”
Another issue arose over the contractor appointed to build the house. When Norma discovered his work was not up to standard, she replaced him to complete the build and she fixed the previous contractor’s work at her own cost. “Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. I will always make sure the client is happy and any problems are sorted.” explained Norma. “This is one of the advantages of dealing with an owner operator who is experienced in this business and invested in a positive outcome for our clients.”
Marie was grateful that Able Spaces took care of everything from start to finish (and wasn’t aware some work was rectified at Able Spaces’ cost, nor did she know the full extent of the investigations, which Norma took care of). “It all went smoothly,” reflected Marie. The build was completed in June 2024 and Marie couldn’t be happier with her new home.
How Was Your Experience Overall?
“I love my home. It’s a nice warm place. I got to pick all my colours – inside and out – which I found really great. I was able to put my style on the house and other things like curtains and blinds was up to me and my choice. My home came with the oven, the toilet, basin and the heat pump and various other items. I didn’t have to do too much at all. I was very happy with Able Spaces. Norma was contactable. She was easy to talk to and she was easy to get hold of. I found her very good. She was very approachable.”
Marie added, “I love it. It’s a tiny place. I’ve got a lounge, a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. That’s basically all I need. For someone on their own, its perfect. It’s nice and new too. I’ve never had a new home in my life so being new was the icing on the cake. Plus, I have my grandchildren close by.”
