A $200 repair ignored becomes a $200,000 reclad.
Repairs split into two worlds: small jobs at an hourly rate, and moisture, foundation and cladding problems that need diagnosis before anyone can price them. Wellington adds its own stakes: the leaky homes legacy in 1990s-2000s housing, and earthquake country under every foundation. Match the operator to the job, because some of this work legally requires a Licensed Building Practitioner.
Is this your stream?
Leaks, rot, cracked cladding, sticking doors, bouncy decks, damaged weatherboards, or the seasonal maintenance list. Diagnose first, then decide whether it is a handyman job or a builder job.
Repairs restore what is there. If you are reconfiguring, extending or modernising, that is renovation. The two blur on old villas, where opening a wall to fix rot often becomes the renovation you were putting off.
What it costs in Wellington
Builder labour guide
NZ cost guides put builder labour around $80–$120 per hour. Small repairs and maintenance often run hourly; anything over a day is usually better quoted fixed.
Full recladding
Building Inspections Wellington puts a full re-clad of a Wellington home at $160,000–$420,000 depending on size, access and design complexity. The figure that makes early leak diagnosis look cheap.
Remediation work
Weathertightness remediation, rot repair and foundation work are quoted after investigation, because the price depends on how far the damage has spread. A free initial consult, like Wellington Building Services offers, is the low-cost first step.
Wellington providers, compared
Six operators covering repairs from handyman jobs to full remediation, grouped by what they are best at. Hover a row for the detail that matters.
Common mistakes
Ignoring a small leak until it is a framing problem: a stain or musty smell is cheap to investigate now and expensive after a winter of water in the wall. Wellington Building Services starts with a free 1-hour consultation, so the diagnosis costs you nothing.
Hiring a handyman for restricted building work: repairs to structure or weathertightness are restricted building work and legally need an LBP to do or supervise them. Save the handyman rate for the jobs that are genuinely unlicensed.
Patching cladding instead of fixing the system: sealing one crack on a monolithic-clad home treats a symptom. Building Inspections Wellington puts full reclads at $160,000–$420,000, which is why the weathertightness assessment matters before you choose between patch and remediation.
Deferring foundation and bracing issues in earthquake country: uneven floors, sticking doors and cracked plaster on a Wellington hillside home deserve a proper look, not another coat of paint. Smartway names foundation remedies as core work.
Running charge-up small jobs without a written scope: hourly work is fine for a job list, but agree the rate, the hours cap and the materials margin up front, or the invoice becomes the scope.
Skipping maintenance until it is a repair: gutter clearing, deck oiling and paint touch-ups are the cheap version of rot repair. Operators like Hire A Hubby and Oncore run seasonal maintenance for exactly this reason.
FAQ
When do I need a builder instead of a handyman?
A handyman suits cosmetic repairs, installations and general maintenance. Once the work touches the home's structure, weathertightness or fire safety it becomes restricted building work, which must be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner. If the job involves framing, cladding, foundations or a deck structure, book a builder and check the LBP register.
How much do builders charge per hour in Wellington?
NZ cost guides put builder labour around $80–$120 per hour depending on experience and complexity. Many repairs are quoted as a fixed price after inspection instead, which is usually better value for anything taking more than a day.
What are the signs of a leaky home?
Stained or bubbling plaster, musty smells, swollen skirtings, rust marks on fixings, and cracked monolithic cladding are the classic signs. Homes built between the early 1990s and mid-2000s with plaster-style cladding and no cavity are the highest risk. Get a weathertightness assessment before buying one, and before pricing repairs.
How much does recladding cost in Wellington?
Building Inspections Wellington puts a full re-clad of a Wellington home at $160,000–$420,000 depending on size, access difficulty and design complexity. Targeted repairs cost less but only make sense when the assessment says the damage is localised.
What should I do about earthquake strengthening on an older home?
Start with an assessment of the foundations, piles and bracing, especially on hillside sections. Strengthening is far cheaper when combined with other work: if you are renovating or repairing rot anyway, ask the builder to price the bracing and foundation work while everything is accessible.
Small jobs run $80–$120/hr and suit Hire A Hubby or Handyman Wellington; leaks, rot and cladding problems go to Wellington Building Services, Meek Construction or Oncore for diagnosis before pricing; foundations and moisture on older sites fit Smartway. Full reclads run $160k–$420k, which is why early investigation is the cheapest money in this stream. Anything touching structure or weathertightness needs an LBP.