Tucked away down a lane way on the outskirts of Waihi township, Mike and Janet have both privacy and space. Their nearly acre section was purchased in 2015, and Mike lured his wife away from Auckland and the house he had built there. He promised Janet that he would build her the same house only better and himself a shed of course. Mike’s career was as an engineer, and Janet’s as a passionate primary school teacher.
They were driving around Waihi beach when they saw a shed they liked and went to ask the owners who had built it. Turns out it was Waikato Sheds and the couple were very happy with the way the project was built. It was both the style and colour Mike & Janet liked and so they chose the same colour, Desert Sand. After consulting with some other companies, Mike says Waikato Shed’s price was comparable – it wasn’t the cheapest but they were consistent with it and their quotes never changed. “Overall there were very few problems and the dialogue was always kept open”. Mike knew exactly what he wanted and Waikato Sheds took the design and ran with it.
Mike and Janet were downsizing and unfortunately Mike had to downsize his idea for the shed too – from a two bay to a single bay shed. He had a lot of machinery and equipment and ideally wanted a two-bay shed. At the time of the planned build, the boundary building code requirement was 10 metres distance from the boundary which meant there was insufficient room – so one bay it was. Waikato Sheds also took care of some of the initial groundwork for services such as plumbing and electricity. During the process of the build they discovered along the way that the quality was good.
For now the motorhome is parked outside in a bay beside the shed, but with Mike’s plans to further reduce his equipment, the motorhome will eventually take up residence, as planned, in the shed. The games room/sleep-out was a must have and is attached to the side of the shed. The initial plan was to build the shed first, live in the games room/sleepout while the house was built but things changed and the house was built first.
They say “The games/room sleep out is great for spill-over accommodation.” They built it so that when extended family came to stay there was a separate space if they wanted it rather than all being in the house. They still need to finish off some things in the games room/sleepout, however this hasn’t been a priority because when family and friends do stay they tend to socialise in and around the house, and meals are generally cooked on the BBQ. Waihi Trellis put up a trellis which performs on three different levels in this area. It provides support for the Choko plants to grow up, provides shelter from wind and acts as privacy screening.
Article written by Claire Ashton