Our Process

How it works

From your first sketch to council approval. Four clear steps, no surprises, no jargon.

What we do

Minor building consents within your existing footprint

New bathrooms and ensuites

Adding a new bathroom, ensuite, or powder room inside your existing building.

Altered bathrooms

Renovating existing bathrooms – new fixtures, level-entry showers, tiled showers, layout changes.

Internal wall removal

Load-bearing or braced walls, with structural input where needed. Open up your kitchen-lounge.

Kitchen alterations

New or moved sanitary fixtures, plumbing changes, ventilation. Kitchen reconfigurations.

Laundry alterations

Adding or moving a laundry tub, washing-machine plumbing, ventilation requirements.

Solid fuel fireplaces

New wood-burner installation, replacement fires, hearth and clearance compliance.

Multi-scope projects

Bathroom plus wall removal? Ensuite plus kitchen? Multiple changes in one consent. A common combination.

Foundation and services consents for relocatable homes

Consent for the foundations and service connections when a relocatable or transportable home is placed on your site.

Granny flat exemptions

Adding a small self-contained dwelling under the new granny-flat rules. We confirm what qualifies and handle any consent still required.

Our process

How it works

  1. Sketch it

    Rough plans of what's there and what you want. Photos help. We'll show you what to draw: most people use a tape measure and a phone.

  2. Apply online, three stages, save and resume

    Project details, files, then your contact info. About 10 to 15 minutes. You can stop at any point and pick up from an email link. We will then review and send your fixed quote within five working days.

  3. Approve your plans

    We will send you preliminary plans for approval. Once these are approved we complete the building consent documentation and submit on your behalf.

  4. We submit, and handle every council question

    We lodge the Building Consent with your council. Council has 20 working days. We answer every RFI until your consent is approved.

What we don't do

When Mr Draughty isn't the right choice

We specialise in minor consents inside the existing footprint. For everything else, here's where to go.

If you need major architectural work

Recladding consentsNew homesExtensions outside the footprint
Visit Cullen KeiserOne referral, no chasing.

If you need retrospective consent or a Certificate of Acceptance

Retrospective consentsCertificate of Acceptance (COA)Unconsented work discovered at sale

Since Mr Draughty operates completely online, we can't pop over for the physical, on-site investigations that CoAs require! But don't worry, we've got your back. We highly recommend reaching out to a wonderful local registered building surveyor or chartered engineer to help get you sorted!

If your project has a planning issue

Resource consentsHeight-to-boundary issuesHeritage rulesSite coverage

If your project crosses a planning rule, you'll need a Resource Consent first. Talk to a planner. We can pick up the Building Consent once the planning side is sorted.

Common questions

What people ask before they apply

How long does the whole process take?
We love keeping your project moving quickly and smoothly! Once you reach out, it takes us less than 5 working days to send over a fixed quote, and as soon as the engagement agreement is signed, we’ll have your preliminary plans ready for your approval within another 5 working days. After you give those plans the big thumbs up, we will finalise and submit everything to the council in just 5 working days. From there, the council takes up to 20 working days to process the official building consent, and as soon as that final approval comes through, you are officially ready to kick off your building journey!
Do I need to be home for anything?
No. Everything is done online. Once consent is approved, your builder arranges inspections with council directly.
What if my project changes after I apply?
Minor changes before council submission are usually included. After consent is issued, changes become Minor Variations, a smaller consent application. We handle these too.
Can you do a multi-scope project?
Yes. Bathroom plus wall removals, ensuite plus kitchen and multiple room layout changes: these are common combinations all in one consent. See pricing for an indication of how multi-scope is priced, or enquire now.
How much are your fees?
Our fees are fixed at a standard rate. See our price list on the website. We have a standard rate compulsory for any type of minor consent. For example if you are just adding in a new ensuite, then a standard rate will apply. If you are adding in a new ensuite and removing a load bearing or braced wall, then it would be our standard rate plus an additional fee for the wall removal.
How can we get a quote?
Simply make an application on our website, complete the forms, upload photos of the area of works, existing and proposed sketches of the work you want to do with measurements, and the complete property fie (not just original plans). Once submitted we will vet the information and then email you a quote with an engagement agreement.
What are minor building consents?
Minor building consents are any building works within the walls of a building. New ensuites, new sanitary fixtures like toilets, showers, or basins, new or replacing tiled showers. Removing a load-bearing or braced wall, adding in a new solid fuelled fireplace (wood fire).
What requires a building consent?
If you are adding in an additional sanitary fixture to your building e.g adding in a new toilet additional to your existing toilet, converting your cubical shower into a tiled shower, replacing your tiles in your tiled shower. Removing a load-bearing or braced wall, adding in a new solid fuelled fire place (wood fire).
What types of projects do you take on?
We specialise in all building works within the walls of a building. Primarily, new ensuites, new toilets and sanitary fixtures, new or altered tiled showers, removing load-bearing or braced walls, new solid fuelled fire place (wood fire).
What we don’t do?
We don’t do building consents for recladding, relocatable homes foundation and services consents, tiny homes, new homes, extensions outside the building footprint, resource consents, certificate of acceptance or retrospective consents. We also cannot consent a new bathroom in an existing exempt sleepout without existing documentation that the sleepout complies with the building code.
What’s your process?
Once you have submitted your application on our website, we will vet the information and then email you a quote with an engagement agreement. Once the engagement agreement is signed we will make a start on the preliminary plans and send out our invoice for the preliminary plan stage. Once we have finished the preliminary plan stage we’ll send the plans through to you for approval (this may take a few back and forths). Once you have approved the preliminary stage, we’ll move onto the building consent stage where we will add the necessary information that council requires as well as fill out any council forms. We’ll also send out our building consent stage invoice. Once this stage is done we’ll submit the plans to council, working through the consent process until they’re stamped. At this point we’ll send them through to you to begin your project!
Where in New Zealand can you complete projects?
We can submit minor building consents New Zealand wide!
How do I know if a wall is load bearing or a braced wall?
The simplest way is to look at your property file. Generally, there will be an original bracing plan to show what walls in your house are braced. Same with load bearing walls, your original plans should show you what walls are supporting roof, ceiling, floor or walls. You can always pop your head in roof space to see what is loading onto a wall. If you are in doubt talk to your local builder.
How do I sketch plans and site measure?
We require a minimum of 2x sketches. An existing plan showing all existing walls and sanitary fixtures. (You can use your original plan from your property file) and a proposed plan of what you wish to do, with measurements of all new walls, sanitary fixtures and ceiling heights.
What do I take photos of?
For bathrooms we require all corners of a bathroom. Items we need included in the photos are all the sanitary fixtures, any existing extractor fans, or drainage outlets in the floor. We also need exterior photos directly outside of the bathroom to show any existing gully traps, vent pipes and/or extraction vents to the roof of soffits. If you are planning on removing a loadbearing wall, we need photos of the wall being removed and any affected areas including inside the roof space to see all the roof structural elements. For all other minor consents we require photos of the affected area.
What if my property file doesn’t have any plans?
Not to worry! We require a basic sketch of all floor levels of your building with lengths and width measurements of all walls including ceiling heights. We need photos of every corner of each room for us to quickly redraw your plan. Existing floor plans are important to show council the existing layout of the building and building use.

Ready to start?

Three-stage application. Save and resume. Fixed quote within five working days.