Raffe Smith

At seven pm, a main hatchway caved in, he said Fellas, it's been good to know ya...

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS Compared to the Stuff and Herald websites (mobile and desktop) the RNZ website is clean and devoid of ads. I can imagine for many it is simply much more pleasant to use.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@quellesurprise8 @LewSOS It's not, but unemployment is not felt equally. Unemployment was relatively higher during Key's admin and it didn't seem to hurt them, the corollary with lowee unemployment during Ardern's term is they got little credit. Only complaints from business about a tight labour market.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

I'm two strong Belgian beers in, but hear me out:
1) I would never judge a person for their choice regarding becoming a parent. It's their own business.
2) David Seymour is not a parent and has no fucking idea or experience in the decisions he is making for parents & schoolkids.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS Then the project will be starting from a 2024 baseline with further cost fluctuation from now. Therefore the likely result is less stuff gets built for the same price, with downstream risk of more money being put in. Then in 2035 we will have to build what was cut from scope.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS I know nothing about this project, and I find it frustrating that the quantum of construction & civil cost inflation since 2021 is glossed over, which is not attributable in any more than a minor way to the govt of the day. That said if there are design issues and they rescope /1

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

90s LA in Three Parts:

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

Which three movies should be watched together as an unofficial trilogy?

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@BeNZene_2010 @LewSOS No, not a major change and does allow for more efficient use of timber and greater % of insulation m2 in the ext walls. Half the issue is prenail software used by Placemakers, Carters etc which spits out inefficient wall framing layouts with heaps of timber - which they also sell

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS I worry that this is policy by anecdote. Builders that suffered cost increases due to H1 - they may have had a bad design to begin with and did not plan for new rules. Could change roof structure design to provide space for R6. 4/

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS Which would allow a more holistic review of external framing and building envelope. I had heard MBIE/Branz are working on this but no idea of progress. Overheating can be fixed by better ventilation as we build more airtight homes. 3/

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@ScootFoundation Given that the "greenfields land banking / development via plan change and Council infra subsidy" sector is a key voter/donor base to the Nats I would not be credulous that this will stick in the proposed form. Expect lobbying. Would love to be wrong.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@johnharris1969 Hi John, love your work, but don't quote tweet him - he is a bad faith actor here in NZ with an awful past. https://t.co/5LMZtnnl3u

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@boxcar_joey @urbanistfromwhk @cjsbishop The building code is very limited in prescribing minimum space requirements. Refer clause G5. Planning rules mandating minimum unit sizes in District Plans (rightly or wrongly) have not been duplicating the building code in mandating minimum unit sizes.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS That's designing out a problem. Underused technique in these times.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@LewSOS Nice. Branz has some decent deck building guides that start with 3604 and work from there. I've found that drawing/setting out the deck framing /subfloor plan can take just as much thought as the house itself, and adding balustrade fixing reqs, only moreso.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@publicaddress @LewSOS However that is conjecture and this policy will suit the under capitalised builder with a ute sector of our construction industry who does not want to scale up to medium density developments. There is a niche to fill, even if it won't scale.

[Raffe Smith @raffesmith]

@publicaddress @LewSOS And as those zones are already heavily built out with subdivided and cross leased sites with 2 dwellings or more, I dont think the policy will get much more uplift in Akl. It also doesn't hurt but it may divert some resource that could have created more dwellings under MDRS.