We Are Here To Help So If You Have Any Questions Beyond This List Please Get In Touch.
Can Your Tiny Houses Be Customised?
Yes. You can either choose from one of our existing plans or we can completely custom design and build the Tiny House of your dreams. We have refined our existing plans to make them as practical and cost effective as possible without losing out on quality. You can also opt for one of our existing plans and customise it to suit. This may incur extra costs for more materials and re design.
Do You Offer Rent to Own?
We offer short-long term rentals only. We don’t personally offer rent to own but there is the possibility of obtaining Finance for the same outcome. Unfortunately banks don’t offer home loans on Tiny Houses (yet) because they are classified as vehicles. You could potentially borrow off an existing mortgage or use that of some friends or family. You may also be able to get a personal loan from the bank. Banks seem to be becoming more flexible in their lending around Tiny Houses especially if you have a guarantor to secure the loan. Its worth talking to your bank to see what options are available to you. Another option is to build your Tiny House on foundations. This will require building consent but is easily do-able and means the banks are more likely to offer a home loan due to the house being a permanent structure and increasing the value of the property.
How Long Does it Take to Build a Tiny House?
We can usually turn around a project in 3 months from the time deposit is Received. See our Process for a detailed description of what’s involved in a Tiny By Taylor build. Build times are dependant on current workload, material availability and complexity of design
Are Your Homes Certified?
All Tiny by Taylor homes are built or overseen by a Licensed Builder and are fully complaint with New Zealand Building Code. They also have fully certified electrical, plumbing and gas work.
Can I view my Tiny House during construction?
Yes. thorough appointment you can view your Tiny House at various stages of the build. At each progress payment claim (See “Our Process”) we will invite you to view the progress. If you are not able to visit, we will host a video call to walk you through your new build.
How Much Storage Do They Have?
There’s lots of options for different layouts and storage areas, we can design and build to ensure you have as much storage as you need.
Are The Houses Made From NZ Materials?
predominantly Yes, we place high importance on keeping things local! We want to support other kiwi businesses and to ensure we only work with high quality, kiwi made, local materials.
What Are The Payment Terms?
We work on a 3 part payment process. We request a 30% deposit on signing of the contract. We then have 2 further 30% progress payments to be made at the agreed milestones of the build. The final 10% is required prior to pick up/delivery of your build.
How Is The Tiny Home Transported?
On our larger Tiny Homes (over 4.8m) we generally use the “Smart Trailer” system by Wee Make Change www.weemakechange.co.nz/smart-tiny-house-trailer. This offers the owner great flexibility in being able to tow their house from either direction which is handy for Manoeuvring into position on site. It also offers flexibility to be able to use the trailer for other purposes. E.g we have designed a deck that’s able to be transported with the Smart Trailer. Meaning you can have a fully transportable deck to park next to your tiny house. As seen with the Harry House.
What’s the Shaka Shack like to tow?
Tows like a dream! We have previous clients @tinytravelsnz who travel regularly around NZ with their Shaka Shack so its tested and proven to tow really well. The Shaka Shack weighs only 2.5 Tonnes. You are welcome to take the Shacka Shack for a ‘tow test drive’ anytime!
Where Can I Park My Shaka Shack While On The Move?
You can park your Shaka Shack anywhere you would normally be able to park other recreational vehicles. Websites like NZMCA landshare.co.nz; DOC websites provide information on available parking spots throughout New Zealand. For your bigger Tiny Homes you can check out Landshare.co.nz and You can also reach out to fellow Tiny Home enthusiasts on Facebook group NZ Tiny House community.
How Will My Water And Power Work?
Our tiny homes can be designed and built for off-grid living or can hook into residential services (plumbing, power, sewage). We have a number of options available depending on your needs;
On Grid
Water supply– Connect directly to your mains water supply through a simple hose tap connection
Waste/sewage— Connect directly to mains sewage or septic tank system, flush toilet installed.
Electricity— Connect to existing power source. Caravan plug connection supplied with all homes, 15 meter adapted power lead.
Gas— Gas Infinity unit is supplied with a connection for gas bottles, client to decide gas bottle size.
Off Grid
Water supply— Rainwater collection to holding tank/s, pump supplied for water pressure. Client to supply own holding tanks, pumps and filters or thins can be arranged by us
Waste/sewage— Grey water to your sites soak-pit or water treatment system, composting toilet options read more about the natures Head, Bamboo Loo, Air Head
Electricity— Solar packages available priced from $5,000 to $22,000 depending on requirements. A generator dependent on capacity size will also power a Tiny Home.
Gas— Gas Infinity unit is supplied with a connection for gas bottles, client to decide gas bottle size.
Do You Deliver?
Yes! We deliver across New Zealand. You can enjoy a drive to the sunny Wairarapa to pick up your new Tiny Home or we can arrange delivery.
Pricing for delivery depends on what part of our beautiful country you are based in, but below is an indication of pricing by road from the Tiny By Taylor Wairarapa Workshop to:
Auckland $1900
Hamilton $1300
Taupo $900
HAWKES BAY $900
Palmerston North $650
Wellington $650
Christchurch $2800
Dunedin $3800
Will I Need Building and/or Resource Consent?
BUILDING CONSENTS
It is important to ensure your Tiny House falls under the laws of a vehicle. A recent Christchurch court case decision from February 2020 revealed that a tiny house is considered a vehicle as long as it is movable OR not lived in permanently (less than 50 days in a calendar year) We ensure our Tiny Homes are constructed within the parameters of a road legal vehicle to ensure it is movable and is therefore theoretically exempt from the Building Act. Whilst this court case ruling is a great step forward for Tiny Houses, Each Council has a different set of rules so we recommend talking to your Council prior to undertaking your Tiny House build. We are more than happy to help you with this stage. Have a look at these links for more information on determining whether your Tiny House is a vehicle or building.
When is a structure a vehicle or building
RESOURCE CONSENTS
Requirements for Resource consents are dependent on what your intended use for the tiny house is, the zoning of your property, what buildings are already on the property, where within your property you plan to park, for what period of time, what services you require and how you plan to connect to them. Therefore it is hard to apply a general rule for all Tiny Homes or any homes for that matter. Again, we recommend talking to your local Council prior to undertaking your Tiny House build. For up to date, nation wide information on the latest court rulings, we recommend becoming a member of the NZ Tiny House Association (NZTHA). The Association has been formed to represent members of the Tiny House community, with the aim to foster innovation, promote the growth of the tiny house movement in New Zealand, and empower people with information and resources to assist them while they are working with councils to apply for consent to live legally in tiny houses. Tiny By Taylor are proud to be sponsors of the NZTHA.
Do You Offer A Warranty?
Yes. as stated in your contract, You're covered by our 1 year workmanship guarantee plus any materials and appliance warranties as outlined by the manufacturers. Guarantees and warranties do not cover any damage associated with the transportation or movement of the Tiny House.