Bungalows first started appearing in New Zealand around WWI and were the dominant style of the 1920s, as their growing popularity saw them overtake that other ubiquitous housing style—the villa.

Most bungalows have generally survived well in their original condition, however, like their Victorian-era predecessors, there are some common issues—they, too, tend to have little to no insulation—that make them ill-suited to modern living without some serious updating first.

Located in the Auckland suburb of Remuera, this 110-year-old house was unique in that it had missed out on being “messed about with”, says Troy Jury, Director of QBS Construction.

“Unusually for a structure of this age, the house was pretty much in original condition in terms of its internal layout, with no sign of the dreaded 1980s additions and alterations.

“The client wanted the internal layout updated to align it more with modern-day living but wanted to maintain the traditional elements that are hallmarks of the bungalow style.”

Troy says, not surprisingly the floor was out of level and the original timbers beyond salvage.

“We removed the whole floor and pretty much rebuilt it using reclaimed timber. We also stripped the walls back to the framing and started again, straightening the walls in the process.”

Other internal works included updating all of the internal doors and adding concealed storage. The bathrooms were upgraded, as was all of the electrical and new HVAC and air conditioning installed, along with all new ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation.

“The client wanted to keep the traditional feel but bring the house up to speed, so we retained the original floor plan. However, we knocked out the wall to the porch/laundry to create more room in the kitchen but, in keeping with the bungalow aesthetic, rather than creating one large open-plan kitchen/dining/living area with a single opening to the deck we kept a clear demarcation between indoors and out with multiple openings.

“On the exterior we replaced all the original joinery with double-glazed timber joinery and sealed and flashed all of the windows. We also carried out a full refurbishment of the exterior cladding and major repairs to the roof and soffits, all while keeping the look very much traditional.”

Troy says heritage projects such as this one are par for the course for QBS Construction.

“The whole team is proud that we were able to give this lovely old building a new lease on life. This was not the type of property you simply demolish and we—along with the client—wanted to do justice to the home and make sure it’s around for another 100 years.”

Words by Justin Foote.

Testimonial: 
“Troy and his team undertook a significant renovation on my 100-year-old bungalow including new bathrooms, kitchen, internal layout, small extension, joinery and roofing. There were many challenges which are to be expected with such an old building. Troy’s team did a great job tackling any issues that arose and managed to keep the budget on track. The end result is outstanding. The team’s attention to detail was great and they even offered ideas to improve things during the process.” - Fraser