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outdoor structures
THE LATEST HOUZZ & Home New Zealand survey reveals that while interior room renovations remained by far the most common home reno projects in 2020, at least half of Kiwi homeowners had undertaken some form of outdoor rejuvenation.
No surprises there. Indeed, by the sounds of it, that may well understate the case.
According to Houzz, early one third of the homeowners polled wanted to refresh an outdated or undesirable outdoor design or style (31%), while others addressed outdoor spaces that were poorly laid out or lacked privacy (31% and 20% percent, respectively).
Improvements to outdoor spaces were also directed towards the grounds – updating beds or borders (30%) and planters or planter boxes (19%) – followed by upgrades to fences (22%) and decks (18%).
In terms of other forms of outdoor room, fully 13% of renovating New Zealand homeowners upgraded their outdoor shed or workshop.
I talked with a trio of top landscape designers and architects, just as Spring sprang, to find out if this tallies with what they’re experiencing...
My landscape panel consisted of three Christchurch-based landscape architects and landscaper-designers – how have they been faring?
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
Ollie Newman at Onlandscapes (https://onlandscapes.co.nz/) is happy to be run off his feet: “We’re really, really lucky,” he says. “You know, lots of industries are really struggling at the moment, so I would never, ever say, ‘Oh, we’re too busy and I hate it’ – we’re very bloody lucky and this is amazing!”
In terms of busyness, however Ollie admits that although he’s fielding a lot of enquiries and getting through high numbers of quotes, in recent times his usual five- or six-day turnaround may take five or six weeks to get a quote back to a potential customer.
This time last year, busy as himself, Registered Landscape Architect Craig Wilson of FORM Garden Architecture (www.
form.net.nz) was worried about the volumes and stresses being shouldered by the landscaping contractors.
Have the contractors learned a lesson, 12 months on? Not by the sounds of it, he says, adding instead that those who are physically shaping all these gardens are experiencing elevated workloads even more intensely than in 2020.
“My assessment is that they should be pacing themselves and saying no more often.”
Continued on page 41 8
Decking screws with bite!
ECKO T-REX17 decking screws come in two head styles – Trim Head and Cylindrical Head – in 316 Marine Grade finish and
are tested and endorsed by BBI Wood Products for use with its hardwood decking timbers.
With a Type 17 point and “T-REX” cutting teeth for quick and easy installation, the T-REX17 Trim Head decking screw comes in 10g x 60mm up to 75mm for standard decking applications and 12g x 65mm up to 90mm for wideboard applications, while the Cylindrical Head screw comes in 10g x 60mm up to 75mm.
304 Grade is also available in Countersunk and Oval head.
www.ecko.co.nz
Making Kwila go further
BBI Wood Products has introduced its new QuikDeck finger jointed Kwila decking.
Starting out with a reddish-brown colour, just like solid Kwila, once the decking has aged the boards will
grey off to a silver/grey colour and the joins will fade considerably.
QuikDeck finger jointed Kwila decking is available in 90 x 19 and 140 x 19 and comes in lengths of
5400mm and 5700mm, which makes planning and laying much easier and faster. Selected lengths create less wastage and responsible usage of the natural resource.
100% FSC Certified, QuikDeck finger jointed Kwila decking is available in three types: 1. QuikDeck Multi Join
2. QuikDeck Premium 4 Join
3. QuikDeck Supa 1 and 2 Join
www.bbi.net.nz
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NOVEMBER 2021 | NZHJ 15