Dan Saunders Construction

Exceptionally beautiful energy-efficient homes

Your home
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It’s not just another plot of land, it is your shelter, and your sanctuary. Maybe you’ve been dreaming of a home that is comfortable all year long, without temperature extremes and high power bills. Or a home that is better for the planet, and healthier for your family, we get it. It’s really important, for a number of reasons. 
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From beautiful, architectural high-performance homes, to simple and streamlined passive homes, you can’t count on guesswork when you want effective results. High-performance construction requires a significant amount of skills and experience. But you already know that, that’s why you are here.
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Picking a experienced build team is key, and you’ve come to the right place. Sustainable construction has been part of our culture for more than 20 years. It’s quite simply the heart of everything we do.

What we do
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We have a long history of craftsmanship, and energy efficient construction. Dan started building in 1993, and by 2002 he started Dan Saunders Construction. In 2012, he built the first 8 Homestar rated house in Australasia and that was a pivotal turning point, helping him to realise that every home can be more efficient, no matter the project, or the budget. 
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Now, it’s all we do, creating dozens of energy-efficient homes over the last few years and striving to normalise climate safe building practices. 
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We specialise in design & build from passive homes to energy efficient architectural homes, on the hills or on the flat. We also do more modest energy efficient residential homes, and renovations.
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The following was featured in the SUPERHOME NEWSLETTER | December 2022

How did you become aware of the SUPERHOME MOVEMENT (SHM)? 
We first became aware of the SHM in August 2015 when it first launched. We attended a tour of the 10 star house and the first SHM event, an evening of presentations from industry. It was a great networking opportunity so we joined straight away.

What are your views on the current NZ building standards in relation to what SHM are trying to achieve? 
The current building standards are a disservice to New Zealanders. With one of the biggest investments of a lifetime we should be able to count on our homes to be healthy, affordable, and resilient and that’s not what most people experience when they buy or build a new home. It’s not good enough. In Europe, they hand down their houses for generations and the higher standards over there ensure that the houses are fit for purpose, healthy, and affordable to run. Why don’t average New Zealanders have access to homes like that? It’s because bureaucracy, and corporate greed is slowing down progress here. This is why we need the Superhome Movement, fighting for change despite all the hurdles we face.

From your experience, are people becoming more aware of the SHM and a need for general improvement in NZ’s current building standards?
Yes! We have been a part of the Superhome Tours since they first started and in the early days we had to educate just about everyone who came through. In the last couple of years, people attending the tours are far more aware of energy-efficient design and construction. Instead of struggling to learn about thermally broken windows, they are able to now evaluate the different window options and choose one that best first their budget and performance targets. It’s great to see.

What do you think are people’s misconceptions re the SHM? 
I don’t know if people realise that the Superhome Movement is a group of volunteers, giving their time to promote better standards of housing. We do this because we believe in it and if people join or donate we can do more to get the word out. It’s as simple as that. We need resources, money, and time to increase visibility, and to compel industry and lawmakers to improve our building standards.

Why would you recommend people joining the SHM? 
Joining the Superhome Movement has been one of the best things we’ve done for our business, and has been a great way for us to live to our values. Some people complain about the terrible standards, but we’ve found taking action, even in this small way, is very powerful. Over the years we’ve had great influence and seen significant change in the industry. We’re so impressed to see how many average consumers now expect more from the houses they are buying and building. The best part is that we now know how to efficiently and effectively build these houses and we share our knowledge whenever we can. Learning all the time. It’s been a great experience and we can’t recommend it enough. 
Get stuck in, join now!
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