I Built My Dream Home For Under $500,000 | Full Breakdown

Dream home build (New Zealand) — overview

• Josh (the speaker) builds his family home for under $500,000 on a difficult sloped section in Upper Hutt, NZ.
• He takes a year off work to focus on the project and shares the build start-to-finish (including setbacks and time-lapses/vlogging).

Site & concept planning highlights

• Target location/area: Upper Hutt suburb; the section is described as “the section nobody wanted.”
• Key site problems identified early:
  • Slope
  • Shared right-of-way access with two other houses
  • Drainage easements across the middle of the site limiting the build platform
  • Power lines feeding a neighbor’s house crossing the site (needed to be dropped/undergrounded)
  • A protected totara tree near where the garage would ideally go (a no-go zone during the build)
• Final layout choice to work with the land and constraints:
  • Basement garage to use the natural slope flow
  • Studio next to the garage
  • Main house upstairs (one-level): 3 bedrooms, 2 living areas
  • Designed to capture north-facing sun:
    • Two large outdoor spaces north-facing for midday-to-evening light

Early setback: injury while clearing the section

• He mowed lawns early on and slipped while working on uneven ground/bank.
• Toe injury required:
  • Orthopedic assessment
  • Surgery (toe cut/open wound; shoe/grass/foreign material removed)
  • 4 weeks in a moon boot (off his feet)
• This delayed momentum, but the build continued.

Permitting + planning reality checks

• Josh notes there’s significant pre-build decision-making:
  • Product choices, design details, and plan setup must be resolved before much physical progress happens.
  • Lead times (e.g., engineers, pre-nailers, etc.) matter.
  • Consents reportedly required extensive documentation (auto-captions suggest many “trees” pages—likely indicating lots of paperwork/attachments).

Earthworks, set-out, and foundations

• Establishing heights/lines:
  • Uses a story rod/laser and leveling approach to set batter lines and levels.
• Set-out challenges:
  • House set-out described as extremely hard due to non-straight boundaries and many corners.
• Foundation engineering approach (unstable/previous gully fill):
  • After discovering old gully/filled ground was poor quality deep down, he worked with the engineer.
  • Drilled ~450m holes (interpreted as many boreholes) to reach good ground
  • 57 holes filled with concrete, then a standard house piling system on top.
• Inspections passed before foundation work started:
  • Site/sighting inspections
  • Engineer inspection (depth confirmation)

Foundation build approach & milestones

• Due to slope/design, they selected:
  • Timber subfloor, but poured a concrete slab for the garage (including footings/perimeter system).
• Ongoing build friction:
  • Rain made work harder; tools/gear had to be dried daily.
  • A rough day included equipment issues (broken starter cord), minor accidents (clipped neighbor’s mailbox), and delivery mistakes (wrong steel sent).
• Milestone:
  • After passing inspections and setup, they prepared to pour concrete, and the build began “getting out of the ground.”

Framing + factory tour / engineered components

• Timber framing used for earthquake resilience and local sustainability.
• Mentions a factory visit near the Kapiti Coast to see truss/frame fabrication offsite.
• Structural moment:
  • Installed a major steel beam over the garage:
    • Mid-floor uses timber joists, but they couldn’t span fully across the ~7m garage
    • Steel beam transfers loads down to foundations
  • Beam installation support mentioned from a local company (ITM), helping with lift positioning.

Roof, cladding, and weatherproofing

• Roof framing:
  • Front: ~8° rafter roof
  • Back: ~5° truss roof
• Roof product:
  • Roofing iron, profile “Mc700” (trapezoidal)
  • Notes a mix of overhangs/no-eaves areas around openings.
• Cladding:
  • Hardie/Hardis “Home RB” (described as a solid skin/cladding layer)
• Weatherproofing milestone:
  • During NZ COVID-era nationwide shutdown, they temporarily paused.
  • Because lockdown timing was uncertain, they were glad they installed RAB/redboard (weather-tight; described as standing up to 180 days).

Lockdown effect (4–6 weeks)

• The Prime Minister announced a 4-week nationwide shutdown, which extended to 6 weeks.
• They shifted into “closedown mode,” relying on the weatherproofing already installed.

Services, insulation, plaster, and internal finishes

• Electrical/plumbing preparations:
  • Pre-piping and planning for an 8kW heat pump.
• Insulation upgrade:
  • Installed Pink Batts and calls it a “best bang for buck” comfort improvement.
• Plastering:
  • Jib plasterboard installed by a small crew, followed by painting and interior works.
• Flooring strategy:
  • Hard flooring includes:
    • Timber/wood overlay in main areas
    • Tiles in wet zones
  • Josh does/installs substantial floor work (notes ~200 hours).
• Interior milestone:
  • The “touchable” finished wall transition happens once plaster goes on.

Kitchen, fireplace, and notable design decisions

• Kitchen redesign:
  • U-shaped peninsula didn’t work, so they changed to a walk-around island/peninsula layout.
  • Feature storage concepts mentioned (e.g., “magic corner”/draws).
• Fireplace choice:
  • Plyc fire with a wet back for efficiency.
  • Required a 20mm insulating non-combustible board under it for safety.
  • Custom edging built with wood trim for tile transitions.

Deck, windows, skylights, and outdoor works

• Deck:
  • Large deck supported by a portal/frame straddling the studio so loads transfer to both sides.
  • Steel beam installed first, then joists; sloping sides created extra work.
• Balustrade:
  • Aluminum fins made in Auckland and shipped down.
• Landscaping:
  • Many finishing touches come as smaller tasks:
    • Planter boxes filled
    • Garden/feature areas and stone/golf-ball-style pavers (staggered random sizes)
    • Firewood shed
    • Stair work to connect levels
    • Work-from-home office area
    • A workshop-style mini ramp for kids/family use

“What I’d do differently” (lessons learned)

• Wear steel caps when mowing.
• Think earlier about landscaping:
  • Waiting until the building was in place meant more carrying by hand.
• Fireplace aesthetics and storage:
  • Would lift the fireplace higher to improve appearance and allow wood storage underneath.
• Subfloor choice:
  • Would likely change away from timber subfloor due to sound/noise transfer (“elephant feet” stomping sounds).
• Door upgrade:
  • Use solid-core interior doors to reduce noise.
• Floors:
  • Would consider alternatives to the timber overlay floor method.
• Keep many good upgrades:
  • Hardie/RB cladding
  • Insulation
  • Skylights
  • Consistent interior joinery height matching external (noted as ~2.2m)
  • Some window framing changes were made later on-site.

Skills, time investment, and financing (process mindset)

• Skills development:
  • NZ building apprenticeship (3–4 years) to build capability.
  • Builds experience through multiple sites before taking this one on personally.
• Mental commitment:
  • Took a year off work, treating the project as a full-time mental undertaking, not just physical site time.
• Financing:
  • Used savings (no bank loans).
  • Mentions a cash reserve around $810k from selling prior properties/investments (“pot of gold”).

High-level cost breakdown (as stated)

Note: Costs are from 2019 pre-COVID price levels; build rates rose afterward. Josh also had industry reputation and supplier channel deals.

• Total approach (key lines):
  • Section: $265k
  • Drainage/power fixes (plus legal fees included in “all in”): effectively ~$285k all-in for section + legal/related (wording suggests combined total)
  • Plans/design/engineer/council fees: ~$25k
  • Excavation: $6k
  • Drilled piles: $8k
  • Garage slab (66m² slab cost): ~$72k
  • Mid-floor materials & labor: $24k
  • Frames: $22k
  • Spouting + roofing: $119k
  • Building materials incl. cladding: $70k
  • Steels (items): $2k
  • Insulation: $5.5k
  • Garage door: $22k
  • Windows: $21k
  • Electrical: $22k
  • Plumbing: $155k
  • Infinity/gas + gas hot water (downstairs): $2k
  • Heat pump: $32k
  • Ducted system: $22k
  • Fireplace + wet back: $5.2k
  • Plastering inside: $6.5k
  • External paint DIY: $1.2k
  • Interior painting by painter: $72k
  • Kitchen: $20k
  • Appliances: ~$7.2k
  • Carpet: $7.5k
  • Tiles: $2.3k
  • Shower glass: unclear (subtitles unclear; later mentions bathroom fittings as $10k)
  • Timber wooden flooring: $8k + 200 hours labor + $1k glue
  • Bathroom fittings: $10k
  • Concrete driveways: $7.5k
  • Landscaping/planter boxes: $6k
  • Landscaping more broadly mentioned later as ~$18k, deck: $18k
  • Blinds: $3k
  • Wardrobes: ~$2k?
  • Steel portal for deck: $2k
  • Steel beam for garage: $800
• Josh’s summary:
  • Start total: “just under $800k” including section and build (subtitles suggest ~$265k section + ~$465k build, with remaining costs beyond that).
  • He values the final end product as “in the mid ones.”

Final reflection & encouragement

• He calls building both rewarding and taxing, and says it helped grow his YouTube channel and building company.
• Advice:
  • Break big projects into small steps.
  • Plan, solve constraints, and keep moving forward despite setbacks.
  • If an “aha” moment happens, write it down and act on it.

Notable locations/products/people (from subtitles)

• Locations:
  • New Zealand
  • Upper Hutt (suburb)
  • Kapiti Coast (factory trip)
  • Nearby greenery/remu/manuka area for a preview of the next build
• Products/materials:
  • Pink Batts
  • Hardie/RB board (Home RB / Hardis) cladding/skin
  • RAB/redboard weatherproofing
  • Mc700 trapezoidal roof profile
  • Hard flooring + tiles
  • Plyc fireplace with wet back
  • Skylights
• Organizations/companies/people:
  • NZ Prime Minister (lockdown announcement)
  • ITM (help with steel beam lift)
  • Adam and an on-site crew (plaster/works mentioned)
  • Hardies (cladding mention)
  • Pink Batts (brand reference)