Originally Posted by
Nikki_d72
Hi there, we are just about to undertake the same thing, but near Wanaka. We too renovated an old house in the UK, but things are a little different here. (many things easier, working with wood rather than stone!)
What I've learned so far is: Many villa designs were lifted from the northern hemisphere, so are often the wrong way around for solar gain, with all the biggest windows at the southern side and small ones to the northern side. they tended to be aligned with the large windows and front verandah to the street, regardless of orientation. So if you are looking, try to get one on the side of the street that will have the front facing North, as when properly aligned, they can actually work very well. Allow for insulating the h**l out of it, but due to the high ceilings and construction of the walls, they are actually very suitable for retrofitting insulation. Ours is a relocation onto a rural section, so we're facing it "backwards" from the street, to get the best heat gain from the sun and get a light and airy feel! It will all be screened with trees etc anyway, so won't matter. Check the space under the floor for room to crawl under to fit floor insulation, and have a good look at the wiring and plumbing - many still have original wiring, and some were plumbed using steel pipes, not too good when they rust!
Get the biggest woodburner you can (radiant ones rather than convection are better for big spaces and high ceilings) and maybe look into the heat transfer systems to take the heat from the main room into the bedrooms, or combine with a heat pump - as the houses are not open plan it can be hard to get the heat to move through the house. Many will still have open fires - be aware that the local council in Dunedin are trying to phase these out as they are not economical and various clean air zones will not allow coal to be burned at all, so budget for replacing them.
There are different rules regarding diy plumbing (most of it needs to be done professionally and signed off) etc, so check with the local council what you are and are not allowed to do so you can budget - materials are quite hideously expensive here and most tradesmen will not pass on any trade price discounts and in fact mainly mark up full retail, so work all that in too.
Have fun and let us know what you do, I'll start a thread once I get my consents and boring bits underway, to let everyne know how ours is going and share any more useful info I glean - the pics of it arriving on the truck in two halves should make for interesting viewing if nothing else!
Cheers!
Nikki_d72 how did your Villa renovation go? We're looking at renovating one in Cromwell, I'd love some advice and maybe some photos??