Lifelong Friends Combine Their Complimentary Talents

Tim has been working with his friend Dean to design an ultimate family home on the outskirts of Christchurch. Dean is the owner and founder of DNG Construction, and the main contractor on this project. The friends have come together to design and build this dream home for Dean and Tracey and their family of seven.

The 388m2 home has six bedrooms and three livings spaces on a four-hectare site with a rural outlook towards the Port Hills. Construction started in October 2023, with completion expected mid 2024.

The home has four separate wings with traditional gable roofs connected by gallery linkways. The wings come together to form a courtyard and provide multiple outdoor spaces for sheltered outdoor living.

One wing contains the kitchen, a living area and dining area, and a second contains three bedrooms with separate living for Dean and Tracey’s three younger children. A third wing has the master bedroom with separate living area with sports theatre, and the final wing has two bedrooms for the older children as well as laundry and triple garaging. There is also a separate 105m2 workshop on the property.

The house uses traditional timber framed construction on a concrete raft construction, with board and batten and cedar cladding and high raked ceilings.

Being such a large home, Dean and Tracey were focused on energy efficiency. It has been insulated beyond the building code, includes a hot water heat pump system for the underfloor heating, slab edge insulation and has a heat-recovery ventilation system. The site has its own bore for water supply, wastewater treatment and the home will benefit from a hybrid photovoltaic system to aid with energy efficiency.