James Irvine had never so much as picked up a nailgun when he decided to build his own house in Christchurch.
A year later, he and his wife, Kara Scally-Irvine, and their two children, were living in the super-energy efficient 250m², four-bedroom-plus-office home on Mount Pleasant.
Irvine says he’s stoked with the outcome, particularly on wintry days when the home is 10 degrees warmer indoors than out, but also on sunny days when the kids, Nami, 12, and Luca, 8, have a great time playing in the swimming pool.
Irvine has not finished his apprenticeship yet – he expects to do so in November – but has already set up a building company, Co Creative Carpenters, to continue building similar low-energy-use homes.
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Irvine, an entrepreneur who ran food business Ka Pai for 12 years, growing it to six stores across Wellington before selling it, says his project management experience gave him the confidence and many of the skills needed to project manage the build.
The process began when he and Scally-Irvine, a consultant who evaluates and montiors projects by government agencies, moved from Wellington back to the South Island, where they both grew up.
”The pull of the South Island was there,” Irvine says. “Kara’s dad was living in the original home she grew up in, an acre on the outskirts of Mt Pleasant.”
They ended up buying the section, complete with a 100-plus-year old house, and building their new home at the rear.
“The idea is for him to [eventually] live in the old house. I’m renovating that next,” Irvine says.
The design and consents process took several months, during which time Irvine applied himself to clearing the “huge, over-grown, jungle-like section”.
He decided to go through a formal carpentry apprenticeship “since I’m going to be doing it anyway” as the government was offering its fees-free trades scheme.
After doing some research into who was available, he approached an experienced builder, a good friend of his father-in-law.
“I couldn’t just do it all by myself, so I got Poorya Behnami, and we ended up working together. I project managed and worked on the tools alongside him.
“We got along like a house on fire.
”It went two ways, because he learned a bit from me about project management. And I learned the hands-on building skills.”
Irvine supplemented the skills he picked up from Behnami, with the theory component of the apprenticeship, day courses and “looking online”.
While he hadn’t even done any DIY renovations before, he says he grew up with an attitude of “just getting out there and doing it, and you learn as you go”.
Prior to beginning the build, he did attend a two-week course at Nelson’s Centre for Fine Woodworking. There he made a “Scandinavian-inspired stool from American ash and a woven material for the seat”.
It now has pride of place in the living room.
Irvine says he didn’t find the process challenging.
“To be honest, it was more because I like to get things done and get the ball rolling, I had to make sure to rest and take time out.”
Irvine and his wife chose to use Bob Burnett Architecture and to build a green home to align with their environmentally conscious values.
“Kara and I are both environmentally minded and we wanted to live off grid as much as we can,” Irvine says.
The house has a fully insulated foundation, and 190mm, highly insulated walls. It has an airtight membrane, with double-glazed PVC windows, 21 solar panels and battery storage, and a heat recovery ventilation system.
The hot water cylinder is heated by an energy-efficient heat pump, which is connected to the underfloor heating. They collect rainwater and recycle grey water.
They have established a large vegetable garden, and planted fruit trees, including apples, nectarine, peach, hazelnut, almond, lemon and mandarin. Beehives are next.
Irvine says their monthly winter power bills have been between $115 and $120, which includes heating a spa pool, and charging their electric vehicle, a Nissan Leaf. The family also has a Mazda CX-9 SUV, although they would eventually like to replace that with an EV.
Irvine says he is stoked with the home, although it took showing industry professionals through to allow him to “take a step back to appreciate it”.
“Actually to show people around, get their feedback and hear you’ve done an awesome job . . . “
He’s looking forward to being involved in more low-energy-use home builds with Co Creative Carpenters.
“I see myself as more than just a builder. I like being a part of projects. It’s creating something for someone, and bringing together good people, local contractors you can become good friends with, making the whole process seamless.”
“We’re going to specialise in Superhomes,” he says. “Been there, done that, got a passion for it.”
*James Irvine’s home will be open to the public as part of the national Superhome Movement tour on September 24 and 25.
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