SPECIALISED software combined with quality builders and good relationships with the Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki district councils mean that ShedEx Bay of Plenty can put up a smaller, consented dwelling in as little as three months.

ShedEx sales and design consultant Peta van Rijen said the Eastern Bay councils were “easy-breezy” to deal with compared with other councils.

“Once you know who you can talk to it, gets much easier,” she said.

ShedEx regional manager Ryan Wills said the key to the “shed house” building success was the specialised software the company used.

“We haven’t built two houses the same – there are no plans until the customer says what they want and we work out the design together,” he said.

Thus residents can combine their garage, boat shed, workspace and living areas into one inspired conglomerate.

Mr Wills said the company had built three houses on the Coast and gone as far as Waihau Bay with building farm sheds and boat sheds.

Ms van Rijen said there was lots of interest coming from residents living past Ōpōtiki.

“When it comes to larger, commercial structures, the building process takes longer,” she said. “The biggest part of that is the consenting process.”

The company is currently working on a two-storey building, another customised design.

Having previously lived in Cambridge, the couple decided to move closer to home during the 2021-2022 lockdown as they had young children and family support was a boon.

Mr Wills, who also owns Wills Built, said he and three other builders with an interest in shed building got together to form ShedEx New Zealand.

“The core is Taranaki, Northland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty,” he said.

“Over the past year, we have added four or five to the group.”

Mr Wills and Ms van Rijen have six a staff members working with them.

“I’ve even been on the tools when we have needed to,” Ms van Rijen said.

“If we’re building a rural place not needing a consent, we can often start the job within two weeks.”

Mr Wills said the company could also sell kitsets to customers who wanted to build their own.