Bring your Lockwood home into the next 30 years — without losing its character

Yes — that’s the whole point of how we approach them. The character of a Lockwood is in the solid pine walls, the exposed beam ceilings and the natural timber tones. We work within that — modernising the kitchen, bathroom and finishes while restoring and refreshing the original timberwork rather than covering it up. Most of our Lockwood clients want a home that feels modern to live in but still reads as a Lockwood from the moment you walk in.

A complete Lockwood interior renovation — new kitchen, two bathrooms, full interior refresh including timber restaining, new flooring, joinery and finishes — typically runs $220,000 to $550,000+ in 2026. Smaller scope projects (just the kitchen and one bathroom) sit around $90,000 to $160,000. The biggest cost drivers are kitchen joinery spec, the condition of the existing timber, and whether walls need to come down for an open-plan layout. Get a quick price estimate with our two-minute Instant Renovation Estimator.

It depends on the scope. Replacing a kitchen, bathroom or interior finishes usually doesn’t need consent. Removing internal walls, changing the roof line, adding new windows or doors, or extending the house all do. Many Lockwood internal walls are load-bearing under the roof beams, so wall removal almost always triggers a consent. We confirm what’s needed at the free site visit and handle the full Auckland Council application if it’s required.

Every 6–10 years for most exposed sites in Auckland — sooner if the home is in a north-facing coastal position, longer if it’s heavily sheltered. The signs to watch for are dry-looking timber, colour fading on the most exposed walls, and water no longer beading off the surface. Leaving it too long lets UV and moisture break down the timber fibres themselves, which becomes a much more expensive repair. We strip back, sand and re-stain the whole exterior as a single job rather than patch-staining.

Yes, and it’s one of the highest-impact upgrades you can make to an older Lockwood. We retrofit modern thermally-broken aluminium frames with double-glazed units into the original openings — the look stays close to the original aluminium frames, but the thermal performance jumps significantly. Whole-house double glazing typically costs $28,000 to $80,000 depending on the number of openings and the spec of the new joinery. Pairs well with ceiling and underfloor insulation upgrades.

Yes, but it almost always needs a structural engineer’s input. The internal walls in a Lockwood often carry roof load directly — there are no roof trusses spanning the house the way there are in a standard framed home, so the beams sit on the walls. Removing a wall means adding a structural beam to take the load, and getting Auckland Council building consent for the change. We handle the engineer, the consent and the build under one Master Builder contract. See our structural alterations service for more detail.

The walls are surprisingly good — solid laminated pine has a decent thermal mass compared to a hollow stud wall. But pre-2000 Lockwood ceilings and floors usually have minimal insulation by modern standards. Most of the warmth improvements we deliver come from three things: ceiling insulation top-up to R6.0+, underfloor insulation blanket, and double-glazing retrofit. Done together, you’ll feel a real difference through an Auckland winter without changing how the home looks.

A kitchen-only Lockwood renovation runs around 4–7 weeks on site. A kitchen plus bathroom together is typically 8–12 weeks. A full interior renovation with restaining, multiple bathrooms and an open-plan reconfiguration is usually 4–7 months. Add 6–10 weeks at the start for building consent if walls are coming down. We give you a realistic week-by-week timeline at the QS estimate stage before you sign anything.

Usually yes for kitchen-only or bathroom-only projects — though it’s dusty. For full interior renovations, restains, or anything that takes both the kitchen and main bathroom offline for more than a week, most clients choose to move out. Lockwoods are open in plan so dust travels easily. We seal off work zones with full plastic dust barriers, but we’ll be straight with you at the site visit about whether staying in is realistic for your project.

Done well, yes — significantly. The Lockwood market in Auckland has a clear gap between original-condition homes (often 1970s/80s kitchens and bathrooms, dark interior timber, single glazing) and modernised Lockwoods (open-plan living, lighter interior tones, modern wet rooms, double glazing). Buyers will pay a meaningful premium for the second. Updated character with modern liveability is a small and well-loved part of the Auckland market.

Yes — every renovation we deliver, Lockwood or otherwise, is covered. The Master Build Guarantee insures against structural defects, loss of deposit, non-completion, weathertightness failure and material defects, backed by Registered Master Builders. It’s the most comprehensive residential building warranty in New Zealand. Read more about what it covers.

The fastest way is our Instant Renovation Estimator — two minutes online, and you’ll have a realistic ballpark price emailed to you. From there, if it looks like a fit, we’ll come out to your home for a free no-obligation site visit, look at the timber condition and the existing structure, then put together a QS-backed estimate before any design work starts.