Wide golden-hour view of a single-storey grey barn-style home with a white steel roof, timber planter boxes and tussock grasses on a green rural section with mountains beyond

Rural and lifestyle sections

Building on your land: lifestyle and rural homes in the Waikato

If you already own land, we’ll help you make the most of it. We have extensive experience building lifestyle and rural homes across the Waikato.

Start a conversation

Right for you if you already own a lifestyle block, farm or rural section.

Building on your land is one of the most rewarding ways to create a home. You already know where the sun comes up and the view you want from the kitchen. Our job is to turn that into a home that fits the land. We have extensive experience building lifestyle and rural homes across the Waikato.

Show us your land
Bring a map, a few photos and your ideas.
Plan around the site
Where the house sits, how you get to it and how services will work.
We build it
The same trusted people, in town or down a long country road.

Dark vertical-clad home with a long white pitched roof, white-framed glazing and landscaped timber planters seen across the lawn from the drive

What makes a lifestyle block different

A lifestyle block gives you space and freedom, but it also brings things a town section doesn’t. We work through these early, so they’re part of the design rather than an afterthought.

Where the house sits, for sun, shelter, views and drainage.
Access for you, visitors and trucks, especially in winter.
Services like water supply, wastewater and power.
How you’ll use the land, from sheds to sheltered outdoor living.

Our guide to building on a lifestyle block covers each of these in more detail.

Outdoor living area with built-in fireplace, lounge seating and rural outlook

Rural house designs and country house plans

Bring your architect’s plans, design from scratch, or start from one of our lifestyle house plans. Every plan can be customised, so it can be turned to catch the sun, opened up to a view or given a bigger garage.

The Penbeagle home in Te Kowhai, for example, is a single-storey barn-style home with a white steel roof, timber planter boxes and tussock grasses, set on a green rural section with mountains beyond.

Open plan living and dining with grey sofa, timber table and black kitchen on polished concrete

Farm house plans that work hard

If you farm, the house has to work alongside the land. That might mean a back entry to a laundry and boot room, an office for the farm paperwork, and living areas that stay warm and quiet.

Outdoor living matters too. At Dawson in Taupiri, an outdoor living area with a built-in fireplace and lounge seating looks out over the rural outlook, so the space gets used well beyond summer.

Aerial view of the single-storey schist-stone-clad home with a dark tiled roof, a fenced swimming pool, a paved courtyard with covered outdoor living and a timber garden shed on green lawns

House designs for sloping sections

Plenty of Waikato land isn’t flat. A slope can give you better views and more interesting spaces, but it needs careful planning for earthworks, retaining, foundations and drainage.

Our guide to building on a sloping section covers what to think about. At Twin Oaks, retaining walls were set into the slope before the foundations went in.

Earthworks under way with freshly turned clay and topsoil across the site

Site visits and updates on a rural build

On a rural build you may not be living next door to the site, so good communication matters. We keep you updated as the build progresses, and you’re welcome to visit as often as you like.

Our long-standing subcontractors work with us on rural sites too, so the same trusted people turn up whether the build is in town or down a long country road.

Galley kitchen with white cabinetry, a brass sink mixer, a dark island bench and a stainless under-mount double sink on polished concrete floors

How we work on your land

We talk through your site early, including where the house should sit and how services will work. Your designer or architect usually prepares the drawings for building consent, and once council issues the consent, the construction phase generally takes 7 to 12 months, depending on the size, specification and detail of your home.

Every home is backed by the 10 Year Master Builders Guarantee. Get in touch and bring a map, a few photos and your ideas.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do you build on lifestyle blocks and rural land?

Yes. We have extensive experience building lifestyle and rural homes across the Waikato. We talk through access, water, wastewater, power and shelter early, so they’re part of the design from the start.

Can you build on a sloping section?

Yes. Sloping land needs careful planning for earthworks, retaining, foundations and drainage, which can add cost. A good design can turn a slope into an advantage, with better views and more interesting spaces.

Can I use one of your plans on my own land?

Yes. Every plan inspiration can be changed to suit your site, lifestyle and budget. On rural land that might mean turning it to catch the sun, opening it up to a view or adding a bigger garage.