Frequently Asked Questions

Your free 30-minute consultation is a focused conversation about your home, your goals, and what's realistic for your budget. We'll look at the site if needed, give you an honest read on feasibility, and outline the next steps — including whether a full QS Report makes sense for your project. No sales pressure. Just clarity.

After your free consultation, we can commission a QS Report. This gives you a finalised scope, preliminary cost planning, a full quantity survey, three hours of on-site consultation, and unlimited phone and online support. It tells you exactly what the job costs and whether it stacks up — before you commit to anything.

Yes. Design is part of our process — we don't just build what we're handed. Our design consultation helps you work through layout options, material choices, and what will add the most value to your specific home. For larger projects we can bring in architects or specialist designers as part of the one contract.

With separate contracts, you hire an architect, pay for drawings, then go to market to find a builder — and hope the two of them align. Design-and-build means one company manages both. You get one contract, one fixed price, and one team responsible for the result. No gap between what was designed and what gets built. No finger-pointing if something doesn't fit.

For most Auckland home renovations, allow 6–12 weeks for the design and consent phase. Simple projects with no building consent required can move faster. Projects requiring consent through Auckland Council need a minimum of 20 working days statutory processing time — often longer if council requests further information. We manage the consent process end-to-end, so you don't need to chase anyone.

Every project is priced using a 21-section quantity survey — a line-by-line breakdown of every trade, material, and labour cost. You see the full scope before you sign. Our fixed-price contract means the number doesn't change unless you change the scope. No surprises mid-build.

As a rough guide for Auckland in 2026: kitchen renovations typically range from $50,000–$150,000+, bathroom renovations from $25,000–$80,000+, and home extensions from $2,500–$4,500 per m² depending on complexity and design. A 50m² rear extension typically costs $125,000–$225,000 all-inclusive. Every home is different — the most accurate number comes from our QS Report.

Estimates are what builders give when they haven't done the work to know what a job actually costs. A fixed price means we've scoped the job properly — every trade, every material, every contingency — before we ask you to sign. You know the number going in, and it doesn't change. That's the only way to protect yourself on a renovation.

It depends on the work. Most structural renovations — removing walls, extending the footprint, adding plumbing, altering rooflines — require building consent through Auckland Council. Cosmetic work like painting, flooring, or replacing kitchen cabinets in the same location typically doesn't. We'll confirm exactly what's needed at your consultation and manage all consent applications for you.

Many Auckland home extensions can be built as a permitted activity — no resource consent required. But it depends on your site: zoning, boundary setbacks, and the proposed height all matter. Higher-density urban zones and heritage overlays add complexity. We check your specific property's rules as part of the feasibility assessment and handle any resource consent applications if required.

After your QS Report is signed off, build lead times currently run 6–10 weeks depending on trade availability and consent timing. We'll give you a realistic programme upfront — including when we can mobilise — so you can plan around it. Projects requiring building consent need to allow for council processing time before the build can begin.

From your first consultation to practical completion, allow 4–9 months for a standard Auckland renovation or extension — including design, consent if required, and the build. A straightforward bathroom renovation might take 8–12 weeks on-site. A rear extension with building consent typically takes 12–20 weeks on-site. We provide a full project programme before any work starts so you know every milestone.

The Master Build 10-Year Guarantee is New Zealand's leading residential building warranty, backed by Master Builders — not just the builder. It covers structural defects for 10 years, weathertightness for 10 years, and non-structural defects for 2 years. If something goes wrong — even if AVR is no longer trading — the guarantee is backed by Master Builders independently. That cover stays with the property.