What's the job?
"A builder" is really five different jobs with five different price logics. A new build is a contract and a consent. A renovation is a quote after the walls are opened. A deck is priced by the square metre, a fence by the lineal metre, and a repair might be an hourly rate or a six-figure reclad. Pick the job first: each stream has its own providers, its own prices, and its own Wellington rules.
New build
A full home on a section you own or are buying. Fixed price or charge-up contract, building consent through council, and a price per square metre that hides a lot. Compare contract types before you compare builders.
Renovation
Extensions, second storeys, reconfigurations and full villa do-ups. Almost everything is quoted after inspection, because nobody knows what is inside a Wellington villa wall until it is opened.
Decks & fences
The most quotable work in the category: decks priced per square metre, fences per lineal metre. Consent thresholds kick in at 1.5m high, and the Fencing Act decides who pays for the boundary.
Kitchen & bathroom
The two rooms where waterproofing, plumbing and joinery collide. Wellington guides put bathrooms from around $12,000 and kitchens from around $25,000, and layout changes move the number fast.
Repairs & maintenance
Leaks, rot, foundations, reclads and the long tail of small jobs. Some of this is handyman territory, some of it is restricted building work that legally needs a Licensed Building Practitioner.
Not sure which job it is?
Extending the back, adding a storey, reconfiguring rooms or modernising a villa is renovation territory. If the work is mostly one wet room, you are in kitchen and bathroom land instead, where specialist companies often beat general builders on price and speed.
A stained ceiling or a spongy deck board can be a $200 fix or the first sign of a six-figure reclad. Start in repairs and maintenance, and take the weathertightness question seriously on any 1990s-2000s plaster-clad home before you book the cheap option.
How the streams compare
| Stream | How it is priced | Price range | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | Fixed price or charge-up contract | $3,000–$4,500/m² guide | You have a section and want cost certainty before consent |
| Renovation | Quoted after scoping, often staged | $30k–$300k+ | Extensions, villa do-ups, layout changes |
| Decks & fences | Per m² (decks) or per lineal metre (fences) | From $350/m² decks | Outdoor living, boundaries, retaining on hill sections |
| Kitchen & bathroom | Package or quoted scope | From $12k–$25k | Wet-room upgrades, joinery, leaking showers |
| Repairs & maintenance | Hourly for small jobs, quoted for remediation | $80–$120/hr to quote-based | Leaks, rot, foundations, landlord maintenance |
Wellington rules that change the job
Earthquake country shapes the build. Wellington sits on active fault lines, so bracing, foundations and fixings are not fine print here. On older homes, renovation is the moment to ask about seismic strengthening while walls are open, and on hillside new builds the foundation design drives a large share of the cost.
Hill sections cost more to build on. Much of Wellington is slope: piling, retaining walls, cut-in access and scaffolding add real money before the frame goes up. Retaining walls over 1.5 metres, or carrying a load like a driveway, need a building consent. Some local builders, like EBUILD, name hillside work as a specialty for a reason.
The leaky homes legacy is still live. 1990s-2000s monolithic-clad homes remain a weathertightness risk, and Building Inspections Wellington puts a full reclad at $160,000–$420,000 depending on size and access. Buy or renovate one without a weathertightness assessment and you are gambling.
Restricted building work needs an LBP. Work on structure, weathertightness and fire-safety design is restricted building work under the Building Act and must be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner. Check any builder on the public register at lbp.govt.nz before you sign, and expect your builder to manage the building consent through Wellington City Council.
The villa and bungalow stock rewards specialists. Wellington's weatherboard villas and bungalows are worth renovating well, but they hide rot, borer, old wiring and undocumented alterations. Builders who quote old-house work regularly price the unknowns honestly; the cheapest quote on a villa usually just has not found them yet.