Design & build: Where to from here?

Ben and Kylie in the hallway of the bedroom pod. Photo / Ben Crawford

The Block NZ 2012 winner Ben Crawford and his girlfriend Kylie are building their dream home. Share their proud moments and pitfalls here every week.

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved going to sleep with the curtains open and being woken by the shafts of light the next morning. It makes me feel refreshed and relaxed. It helped that I grew up on a farm where century-old trees surrounded our house and our closest neighbours were driving distance away. As you can imagine, it's been pretty hard to recreate that experience as I've moved further away from Southland and the houses I've lived in have had neighbours peering in from all directions.

Kylie and I got back to Auckland this week after a much-needed break in the Coromandel at her parents' Matarangi bach, a beautiful spot where there was plenty of early-morning light to wake up to. As we drove over the Harbour Bridge Kylie looked at me and said "shall we pop by the section?" As if she even needed to ask. After being away for two weeks, we were dying to see the progress, even if the builders had only been back on site for a few days since their holiday.

The first thing we noticed was how dry the section was. The stream was just a trickle flowing through the rocks. It's little wonder, given the fabulous spell of weather we've had but the irony wasn't lost on us. Of course the best weather would come when all our tradies were on holiday yet while they were trying to lay our foundations we experienced one of the wettest months on record.

We eagerly walked over the makeshift bridge spanning the stream and into our bedroom pod to see what had changed. Wow. All the internal wall framing was up, defining every room's dimensions.

We walked down our hallway and through the doors into each room one by one, marking out where the furniture will go and pretending to use each space - the bathroom, the laundry and our spare bedrooms, each complete with built-in wardrobes. Above us in the hallway, our giant skylight was formed, waiting to be fitted with glass so that it eventually floods the whole pod in natural light.

Then we walked into our master suite and saw for the first time the unobstructed views from our bedroom. The guys had removed all the temporary supports in the room and had tacked our huge Rylock windows into place, perfectly framing the outlook. It was so incredible it's hard to put into words.

The view we'll wake up to every morning. Photo / Ben Crawford

We stood there speechless as we absorbed the 180-degree, floor-to-ceiling bush views. The lush tree ferns were illuminated by the late afternoon sun, the giant kanuka trees towered above us and the tui flitted between branches. We pinched ourselves that this was ours to wake up to every morning.

That moment took us back to the first day we set foot on the section more than 12 months earlier. On that day, we stood among the bush and envisioned exactly what we were looking at - a tree-filled bedroom and an entire home embracing the natural assets of the property, a vision partly inspired by a childhood of sleeping with the curtains open.

We dragged ourselves away from our bedroom and the view and found an equally stunning one in our en suite. The full-height window at the end of the shower was in place and the bush felt like it was in the bathroom with us.

Crossing over the bridge on our way back to the car we noticed the remaining sub-soil drains had been laid behind the living pod and our stormwater detention tank was in. Mandatory now in Auckland, the tank will capture all the water from our roof and slowly discharge it into the stormwater system. Not a cheap exercise, but another necessary cost to factor into your construction budget.

So where to from here? The bedroom pod will be clad next week and the Nuralite membrane roof will be applied shortly thereafter. Did someone say roof shout?

Once that's done it'll be all hands on deck to get our living pod built which we can't wait to see materialise.

Then the $64 million question - when do we move in? Late March, eh builder, Ray?

The view from the shower in the ensuite. Photo / Ben Crawford

Let's start at the very beginning.

There have been moments where Ben & Kylie have had that bewildered, possum-in-the-headlights look as they've searched for the next step in building their dream home. If that's the look on your face when you think of getting a home loan, let Kiwibank help.

How do I get a home loan? How much deposit do I need? How much can I borrow? Can I still have Friday night takeaways when I own a house...? Good questions. If you want to get the low down on getting a home loan, visit kiwibank.co.nz. You'll find answers to all your questions and you won't need to be an accountant to understand it all!

You'll easily be able to find everything you need but here are some particularly useful pages: The First Home Buyer's Guide - full of practical advice on how to start the home buying process, or check out Home Hunter - a fantastic app to help you find the perfect house.

The Kiwibank website is jam-packed with great stuff but if you're ready to talk to someone, call 0800 523 523.

Kiwibank Limited's lending criteria, terms and conditions, and fees apply. Lending subject to home loan portfolio restrictions.

• Find out more about Ben and Kylie's dream home at ourdreamhome.co.nz

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For more information on the Kiwibank First Home Buyer's Guide visit: kiwibank.co.nz and search for "first home".