Relocating Laundry

[flyernzl]

I have a 1960s stand-alone house in South Auckland.

I am considering shifting the laundry out of its own room across the hallway into the existing quite large bathroom - a distance of about 6m.
Then making the old laundry into an office.
No walls need to be relocated to do this.

Will I need to involve the Council in this exercise? Permits etc?

[Keys]

Would pay to. After all, if it is not what was consented at the time of building, it may be an unlawful property and you have to pay all of the rent back.

[John the builder]

Will I need to involve the Council in this exercise? Permits etc?

No; as long as number of fixtures not increased and work by registered plumber but as per keys says being right is no longer enough.

[flyernzl]

Am getting a LIM to see what the council hold on the property.

[John the builder]

you need the property file to know what they dont know. The LIM only states consents and CCC if issued

[Nick G]

Smart move, the days of a laundry needing its own room are well over.

[flyernzl]

Got the LIM this morning.
Included is a house plan, presumably from the time the house was built, showing in detail the bathroom and the laundry - including where each and every appliance and fixture is located.

Printed this plan off and (after chopping off the bit that gave the exact property address) took it into the Auckland Council Service Centre and discussed it with the Building Bloke there. Quite helpful, and I didn't have to queue at all.

Apparently what I propose does not need any consents. I can do one of two things:
- just go ahead and do it. End of story.
- Just go ahead and do it, and on completion lodge an "Application for Exemption from Building Consent Requirements". This requires two copies each of the plan before and the plan after and payment of $453.00. This way the mods end up on the property file and saves hassle if anyone stickbeaks later.

I shall probably do the Application, and yes I do have a written note of whom I spoke to, the date and the time.

So that's all quite good news.

[Beano]

Smart move, the days of a laundry needing its own room are well over.

The laundry I removed was larger than the kitchen!
Ended up being the kitchen!

[mrsaneperson]

Got the LIM this morning.
Included is a house plan, presumably from the time the house was built, showing in detail the bathroom and the laundry - including where each and every appliance and fixture is located.

Printed this plan off and (after chopping off the bit that gave the exact property address) took it into the Auckland Council Service Centre and discussed it with the Building Bloke there. Quite helpful, and I didn't have to queue at all.

Apparently what I propose does not need any consents. I can do one of two things:
- just go ahead and do it. End of story.
- Just go ahead and do it, and on completion lodge an "Application for Exemption from Building Consent Requirements". This requires two copies each of the plan before and the plan after and payment of $453.00. This way the mods end up on the property file and saves hassle if anyone stickbeaks later.

I shall probably do the Application, and yes I do have a written note of whom I spoke to, the date and the time.

So that's all quite good news.

When presenting the plan before and after even for similar simple things like this i ended up having to hire a draughtsman to redraw the entire house plans . This is a present day Council requirement for additions of simple modifications unless of course the house is fairly new. So i have had to provide and obtain property files on more than a few occasions in order to abide by the Councils rules. All endless time and money. This is just for a simple bathroom addition within an existing house area !

Have you considered you may no longer need a laundry tub - why not use a simple waste pipe and double tap connectors to your existing vanity for the washing machine?

[PTcruza]

Hmmm. Sorry to be a fly in the ointment, but you may need to consider another aspect: Electrical Safety. Especially a concern if tenanted.

I'm guessing there is no power point currently in the bathroom?

All the rules have tightened up a lot since the '60s. This move may (probably will) trigger and require you to install RCDs. You may even need to upgrade your switchboard, and it may all get expensive...

Best to check with a competent electrician / electrical inspector about how far you need to go. I used to know one down that way - Manurewa?? Will try to remember...

[Don't believe the Hype]

Hmmm. Sorry to be a fly in the ointment, but you may need to consider another aspect: Electrical Safety. Especially a concern if tenanted.

I'm guessing there is no power point currently in the bathroom?

All the rules have tightened up a lot since the '60s. This move may (probably will) trigger and require you to install RCDs. You may even need to upgrade your switchboard, and it may all get expensive...

Best to check with a competent electrician / electrical inspector about how far you need to go. I used to know one down that way - Manurewa?? Will try to remember...

I'm pretty sure the question was about needing consent. No consent required for adding/moving an electrical outlet.

[PTcruza]

I'm pretty sure the question was about needing consent. No consent required for adding/moving an electrical outlet.

My apologies. Just trying to help.

I think Electrical Work will require a CoC upon completion, especially if one or more RCDs are required. It would be good to get one and keep it with your Insurance records anyway.

If it was simply adding another bedroom Power Point to an existing circuit, I'm not sure that's required, but...

Being a Bathroom & Laundry, I'm pretty sure RCD protection is now a requirement, but I'm not an electrician and don't manage to keep all those details in my head.

RCDs are relatively new safety technology, and they are now cheap. With [offending words deleted] a much greater (to the point of absurdity in some cases) emphasis on safety these days, [...] electrical safety is an easy target!

I do know that certain Electrical Supply activities trigger a bunch of other compliance requirements, and this could be one of those. Better to check first...

Apologies to the OP if this is not helpful.

[flyernzl]

I have an electrician assessing and reporting yesterday and today.
A new switchboard is on the cards anyway, the old one is pretty ropy.

[sidinz]

With the girls in charge, as you know, there's a much greater (to the point of absurdity in some cases) emphasis on safety these days, and electrical safety is an easy target!
Apologies to the OP if this is not helpful.

How about apologies for making such a ridiculous and insulting statement?

[PTcruza]

Never mind the misquote, sian.