High School House
The Project
This 2 bedroom 1 bath house is approximately 6m wide by 8m long, and is one of many fabricated by the tech students of Pukekohe High School. The builds are overseen by Mike Siemelink, who is a licensed builder, to ensure that they meet all codes and requirements.
The homes are a conventional construction, using materials found in most standard new builds around the country. They are constructed out of timber framing, clad with vertical corrugated iron, insulated, and double glazed. The homes come fully wired and plumbed, with built in wardrobes and vinyl flooring. The kitchens come with a dishwasher, oven, and rangehood.
The front entrance to each house opens onto the living area, which in turn flows onto the kitchen. The 2 bedrooms are to the right as you enter with the bathroom at the back of the house.
These homes go from start to finish through the course of 23 days, on average. The students typically work on them one day a week, so complete takes 23 weeks. The homes are ready to ship upon completion. Shipping is not included in the price quoted above but as an idea it estimated that it would be around $15,000 for shipping within the Auckland area.
Low Cost
There are two main reasons that costs are able to be kept below $100,000 on this project. The first is that as the house is an exercise in learning, there are minimal labour costs involved; the students (who are unpaid) are performing the work with the licensed builder overseeing it. Second, the house is relatively small and as such fewer materials and less labour is needed to complete the build.
About the Program
Pukekohe High School has had a successful run at building small homes as vocational projects. There are two men spearheading this project who are creating this learning opportunity for students.
Mike Siemelink, a former student of Pukekohe High School, is an experienced builder local to the Pukekohe area who sees his work at the school as an opportunity to give something back to the community he grew up in. Working alongside Pukekohe High School Teacher Jim Matchett, Siemelink spends a day a week (10 am to 4:30pm, every Wednesday) with tech students under Matchett’s charge, sharing his building expertise and guiding them through each project however he can.
Classes have varied from 16-18 students at a time. These students learn the ins and outs of building these homes, which includes learning skills in carpentry, joinery, electrical work, painting, and plumbing. All of these are trades in themselves, which gives the students a feel for what a career in any of them may be like.
This has become a popular program with great support from the school’s Principal and staff. In fact, youth from other areas are now attending Pukekohe High School just so that they can participate in this programme.
Contact
If you would like to learn more about what is happening at Pukekohe High School and the courses they run or you want to get in contact with them you can by visiting their website pukekohehigh.school.nz or if you are interested in purchasing one of these small homes you can contact Mike Siemelink at ruebepark@gmail.com
