How to handle the Local Council Getting a Permit
Toby Ricketts is a keen DIY ’ er , him and his wife bought some land in Manganui , Northland and decided to live on it , while they figured out how and where , they were going to build their house . ( He normally works in radio in a recording studio environment .)
After five years they had worked on drainage and lighting patterns , on their plot . Also , floor plans and materials . " We stumbled across Hempcrete and Marianna and I were instantly impressed because it ' s sustainable , breathable , non-toxic , light in weight … and ' echo friendly '. Hempcrete seemed to tick all the boxes .
" Due to the lay of the land , the sunniest part was extending over a gully that could be subject to flooding . So we had decided to build on poles . Along the way we discovered that we were one of the few people in New Zealand to attempt a Hemp Home build , and the only ones to be doing it on pole and rail foundations .
" There are challenges to get through ‘ Council ’ but it was easier than we expected ..."
Toby explains , " Except for the windows and doors to be set back a bit ( allowing for the thickness of the walls ) the rest of the house is constructed exactly the same as a traditional build . That also means you can easily rip the cladding off an existing house , and clad it with Hempcrete .
" The trickiest part of the process dealing with the Council is around windows and doors . So we came up with a solution that was partly traditional and partly innovative . We used a free online software for the floor plan and measurements then gave it to a designer Danny Hancox at Coppermine Cad Services . He made it all comply with council codes . The foundations also needed to be custom engineered for the Hempcrete - it was a bit of a mission .
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