Like any industry, anyone not involved will likely be unfamiliar with some of the definitions. Your builder is there to help in building a home as you have chosen and agreed. Therefore when discussions come up about how things can be done, it is vital that each party is clearly understood. Don’t hold back from asking for clarification if you need it.

To get started we’ve explained a few terms here:

Allotment

(A) A parcel of land whose boundaries are shown on a survey plan and known as a ‘section’ in New Zealand. (B) A building or part of a building, with or without land, shown on a cross lease or unit title plan.

Balustrade

A barrier to prevent someone from falling, often they are necessary anywhere someone could fall from a height of 1M or more. Common balustrades are around stairs and landings on the inside of a house, and around decks and pools in the outside.

Brick Veneer  

A non-loadbearing facing of brickwork laid outside, and tied to, a loadbearing timber or metal framed structure.

Cladding

Exterior weather-resistant surface of a wall.

Eaves

The end section of a roof which often projects past the horizontal wall of the structure.

Fascia

A timber or metal board fixed to the lower edges of the roof where guttering is attached.

Gable

The part of a wall that encloses the end of a pitched roof showing triangular open ended roof edges.

LIM Report

Land Information Memorandum. This is a document from the local authority which discloses a number of known features about the site. This may include location of stormwater and sewer lines and connection points, land zoning, wind zones, and soil types.

Nog (a.k.a Dwang)

A small horizontal block of wood inserted into timber framing.  Most often used to describe adding extra framing to be used for mounting heavy finishing objects to (cabinets, vanities, televisions, etc.)

Stud Height

The height of the wall framing a room.  Note that this height will generally be greater than the height from floorcoverings to ceiling.

Your builder will happily explain any further terms, you are not quite sure of. There is also a helpful glossary on our website, which explains some of the terms you may hear or come across. If there are other terms not included in our glossary, get in touch with us either by Facebook or email and we will answer your query.