Life of the party

At the heart of the home, where outdoor socialising and entertaining meet, is the kitchen and dining area. Entertain small and large groups around a large kitchen island that will become a natural gathering point for all of your friends and family. Full height, glass bi-fold doors on either side of the space open up to a large timber deck that functions as a bridge between the indoors and the natural environment.

Relaxed living

The living area is a comfortable and laid-back social space. A custom-built furniture unit can be used as a relaxed seating area or can be transformed to accommodate overnight guests. The materials used are warm, honest and homely and have been chosen for their durability and ease of maintenance. Wide, full height windows provide sunshine, natural light and outlook all day long.

Space for the whole family

With two double bedrooms, the First Light home is bigger than its predecessor, comfortably accommodating a couple or small family. Located at either end of the house are two spacious bedrooms. At one end the master bedroom enjoys its own walk-in wardrobe and ensuite. At the other, the guest bedroom has easy access to the main bathroom and laundry. At both ends, you’ll enjoy a warm, quiet night’s sleep.

Intelligent wall construction

Developed for its thermal efficiency, the wall construction allows maximum insulation from the cold outside. An innovative double stud wall system developed specifically for this house, and over 160mm of insulation, reduces heat lost to the outside, keeping the warmth inside where you want it.

Air tight building envelope

Poor air-tightness results in a draughty home, wasting energy on heating air that quickly escapes to the outside. First Light achieves a level of air-tightness not possible with traditional timber framed construction. Before you move in we will test your new home to ensure it meets our high standards of air-tightness and energy performance.

Naturally ventilated

Ventilation keeps you cool and your home healthy. We have opening doors and windows located to draw air across and through the home to provide you with natural, fresh air all year round. You’ll never have to worry about condensation again!

Solar Hot Water

Heating water accounts for one third of residential energy use in New Zealand. Specify solar hot water collectors on the roof to harness energy from the sun to heat your water… for free!

Solar energy

Living in your new First Light home will also more money in your pocket on a day-to-day basis. Energy efficient construction, LED lights & solar water heating means the home uses less than half of the energy of a new home built to the New Zealand building code.

Bill the power company

We not only endeavour to reduce your energy bill, we can help you to eliminate it completely! We work with local suppliers of photovoltaic panels to provide you with an economical means of generating your own power - yours can be a net zero home, or even an energy-positive one!

Factory Built

Building houses on site from scratch is messy, wasteful, and outdated. We build all our houses in a carefully controlled factory environment and we are working at the leading edge of the industry. By making the most of the latest in construction technology, we build efficiency and quality right into your new home, from day one.

Precision engineered

By designing our walls, roof and floors on the computer, and constructing them as individual panels in a factory, we take the hassle and room for error away from those working on site. Engineered panels are delivered direct, made to measure.

Speedy construction

The First Light process ensures that your new home is not just built for life, it’s built for speed. All the hard work is done prior to arriving at site and final assembly is easy and fast. No expensive delays – we keep the building process in-house and under our control.

Low embodied energy

Throughout the home we use locally sourced, low maintenance materials with low embodied energy. We use plantation-grown FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified pine for all our timber framing, and thick insulation with high recycled content. Inside the home the walls are naturally finished in plywood for strength and longevity. We use low formaldehyde products and low VOC paints, adhesives and sealants. Many of our materials are recycled, made of recycled materials or can themselves be recycled at the end of their life.

A home for life

The new First Light home will last you a lifetime. It has been designed to adapt to your changing lifestyle as you grow older. Every home rates on the Lifemark scale, which is New Zealand’s highest standard for accessibility. Your new home will be a place you can be comfortable in for the rest of your life, no matter your age, stage or ability.

Reduced waste

In the factory, design optimisation and precision engineering reduces our material wastage by up to 60%, when compared to traditional construction methods. Using the latest in technology, the home is constructed to precise measurements making the most of every last inch of material.