What to know before buying in Canterbury
The ground, slope, and access can add thousands to your build. Get a site visit before you commit.
Found a section you’re thinking about buying? Before you sign anything, talk to us. We’ll come and look at the site with you and tell you what we’re seeing.
On a free site visit, we look at:
- The ground
- The slope
- Access for construction
- Orientation and location
- Likely construction challenges
Prefer to talk first? Contact us.
You have a vision in your mind of where you’d like to build. Maybe you want to live by the beach or in the hills. Maybe you want a large leafy section or the perfect school neighbourhood. You think you’ve found the perfect site…
But can you afford to build on it?
Most people don’t realize that the price of land is only part of the picture. The other part is how the ground, slope, access, and orientation will affect building costs.
You might save money on a more affordable section, only to spend those savings on expensive foundations, earthworks, or construction.
That’s why we offer free site visits to check that land is suitable before you buy. Our site visits have helped clients walk away from sections that weren’t suitable, potentially saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The challenges of building in Canterbury
The ground you build on can determine how much it costs to build your home.
That’s because your house sits on foundations, and they carry the weight of the building into the ground. Deeper piles, ground improvement, retaining, major excavation, or rock breaking can all add cost.
A geotechnical investigation gives you important information about the ground, but it doesn’t test every square metre. If a pile encounters unexpected rock, the building method may need to change. Breaking through hard material takes time and money.
Plus, Canterbury’s ground is highly variable. MBIE describes one Christchurch site where three test points within eight metres of each other found different ground at depths of four to six metres: loose sand, clay and silt, and gravelly sand.
Understanding TC1, TC2 and TC3
You’ve probably heard these terms before, but do you know what they mean?
After the Canterbury earthquakes, MBIE and Christchurch authorities developed three Technical Categories for residential land to help address liquefaction risk and guide foundation decisions.
TC1: future land damage from liquefaction is unlikely. Standard foundations are generally acceptable.
TC2: minor to moderate damage is possible. Enhanced foundation solutions may be needed.
TC3: moderate to significant damage is possible. Foundations should be based on a geotechnical investigation of the site and an engineer’s design.
None of these definitions mean you cannot build. They simply come with different recommendations on design and may entail some ground improvement.
Building on the hills or by the water
Many people dream of a home with a view. But hills and coastal homes come with their own building considerations.
On a hill, you need to consider slope stability, drainage and groundwater, existing earthworks and retaining, construction access and the possibility of rock or other difficult ground.
Near the coast, flooding and coastal inundation may matter.
Access is important, too. A difficult site can affect how excavation equipment, piling equipment and building materials get onto the property, adding time and cost to the build.
Choosing the right location for a house
You may have a picture in your mind of where you want your house to sit. But have you thought through how building in that spot will affect your comfort?
Orientation affects how much winter sun you gain and how much summer heat you have to manage. Neighbours, trees, future development, views, privacy and the path of the sun all play a part.
We encourage you to look at the section first and design a house around it, rather than trying to fit a house you’ve already chosen onto a site you’ve already purchased.
Questions to ask before you buy
1 What is the land categorisation of the section?
2 Is there any flood management required?
3 Is there a chance of striking bedrock during pile installation?
4 What are the foundation design recommendations?
5 Are there access restrictions?
6 How is the section orientated?
7 Are there future developments that may affect the section?
8 What is the added cost of all of the above?
We build exclusively in Canterbury, so understanding a site is part of what we do.
On your free site visit, we’ll look at the slope, access, likely ground and construction issues, orientation, and how an Energy Efficient Home could work on the section.
What a site visit is not:
A site visit doesn’t replace a geotechnical investigation, survey, or other specialist advice. We can’t see what’s underground. But it could be the difference between a section that fits your budget and one that blows it.