Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of some of our most frequently asked questions. If you can't find the information you need below, please get in touch with us and we'd be happy to help.
Yes we do! We have a few clients who are happy for us to arrange a time to view their completed Tiny Homes. You can also view our current ‘under construction’ Tiny Homes at our Factory in Katikati. This is a great way to get ideas and discuss your ideas with the team, and to get a real feel for how our Tiny Homes feel.
You can pop in to our factory 10am-2pm Mon-Fri, or alternatively call Karen Today on 021 320109 to make a booking.
Get in touch with Karen via email karen@cth.nz or 021 320109 and after a few conversations and/or meetings with you to discuss your requirements, you will be sent a basic floorplan and a contract to review.
It will generally take 10-12 weeks to complete a Tiny Home home.
If you’re serious about building with us, we require a Build Spot to be booked and a non-refundable $6,500.00 Build Spot Fee to be paid. This secures your space on the factory floor for the duration of your build. Once this has been booked and paid we can fine tune your design and get things ordered in time to start on your Build Spot date - the 10-12 weeks commences from this date. PODs can sometimes be built quicker.
Our Tiny Homes and PODs range in size from 4 – 14m long and 2.4 – 4m wide.
The weight of the Tiny Home will depend on the size of your home, cabinetry & all the construction materials used. Weight can range from 3T to 9T.
Our PODs start from $42,000 plus GST and Tiny Homes start from $159,000 plus GST. The final price of your home will depend on the size and style of the final house we build.
A fixed price contract will be determined before your build commences, and we follow a progress-payment sequence of installments. Design changes will be charged as variations throughout the build as needed. The breakdown of installments are as follows:
Tiny Homes
30% on contract signing (less $6,500 Build Spot Fee)
30% at framed stage
30% at lock up (windows fitted)
10% prior to your tiny house leaving our factory
PODs50% on contract signing (less $6,500 Build Spot Fee)
35% at framed stage
15% prior to your POD leaving our
Yes – all of our trailers are registered and warranted. They are custom made to allow for ease of future warrants meaning that once your tiny home is in place on the land, resting on its ground screws or blocks, you can remove the trailer from under the tiny house and place it back underneath once you have your new warrant.
Once your build is underway we keep you well informed and up to date with weekly progress photos, emails and phone calls. You are also welcome to book a time to visit our factory and view the progress of your build at any time.
Yes, we use only licensed local electricians and plumbers, and certifications are issued on completion of their work. We provide these certificates in your handover pack.
Our homes all come with a water inlet pipe and grey water outlet pipes in the subfloor. These are then connected onsite after the delivery of your Tiny Home by independent contractors. Sewerage/black water is dependent on the toilet selected.
Yes absolutely. Our homes can be future-proofed for solar, so you can choose to go off grid now or in the future. We can direct you to some solar companies if needed for the onsite installation.
For off-grid toilet solutions we recommend you contact WCTNZ for a composting toilet or Ecoash for incinerating toilets.
We can design the guttering to collect rain water and have water filters installed within the home where needed.
If you want an off-grid tiny house, this will be discussed during the design stages.
Our Tiny Homes can be built and delivered with or without a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) depending on your situation and needs. Our Tiny Homes come with a removable wheel dolly trailer.
NZ legislation does not recognise Tiny Homes as a unique dwelling/building type, and so where the law is concerned your Tiny Home will either be classed as a vehicle or a building, depending on how it is built.
Any time a building has a toilet connected to the council sewer and/or any permanent cooking facilities, you are required to obtain a Building Consent for the building and its foundations, and potentially a Resource Consent too.
*There is a 70sqm Granny Flat exemption coming into effect in the near future which should help make Tiny Homes easier to build and place in NZ.
Tiny Homes can be classed as vehicles if they meet the criteria under the NZ Land Transport Act 1998, and therefore will not need to obtain a Code of Compliance Certificate. Considerations include having wheels, being easily moveable, not being permanently fixed to foundations, having services that are easy to disconnect (caravan plug and hose), as well as meeting road legality and safety requirements such as being within certain dimensions, weight thresholds, having a WOF and Registration, and the trailer deck having brakes, lights and suspension.
We are happy to have a chat with you about your Tiny Home and your property, to see where your home would fit within the legislation and what consents you may need.
Our homes are built using high quality and lightweight building materials we have researched and sourced from different suppliers in NZ.
Delivery of your tiny home on wheels is not included in your tiny home purchase but we can assist in putting you in touch with delivery companies. Our houses can be delivered Nationwide.
Yes, all of our products and appliances come with the manufacturer’s warranties and we offer a three year warranty on the workmanship of your tiny home and five years on the structural components. These warranty conditions are also documented in our build contract and terms of trade.
We use either a standard 16 or 32 amp caravan plug depending on the number of appliances for external electricity connection. We also cater for appliances that use both 12 and 240 volts. For gas, we cater for LPG bottles for heating and cooking (hobs & ovens). We can also wire and plumb for council service connections if required.
It is the sole responsibility of the customer to ensure the site upon which the tiny home is to be delivered is accessible, suitable and prepared prior to delivery.
Site preparation is crucial for your tiny home to be stable and level when on site. What needs to be done is unique to each site. If you do not prepare your site properly your home may not be able to be delivered when scheduled, the ground under your tiny house may move over time, and your home may not be subject to a number of warranties anymore.
We work with Stop Digging who specialise in movable foundations, or you can find a local builder to install traditional timber and concrete piles. We provide them with floor plans of your tiny home to enable them to determine what number of foundations are required.
Some finance companies offer lending for Tiny Homes.
The main ones our customers have used are:
Tiny House Hub
Home Now Finance
TMF finance
Credit one
Yes we do. We build kitchens designed to suit your lifestyle. From classic kitchen designs to contemporary, to modern to retro. Our qualified team works closely with you to create your dream kitchen.