Tiny Home WeeklyNZ

Issue · Week of 11 November 2026Aotearoa · New Zealand

White compact prefab home with openable windows and a shaded deck in a New Zealand garden

News · Lead story

A cooler small home starts before summer: shade, windows and airflow

November is a good time to plan summer comfort. A few thoughtful design choices can make a compact home feel better without relying on cooling alone.

By Hana Mitchell · 5 November 2026 · 2 min read

Prefab home wall under construction showing neatly fitted insulation beside a double-glazed window

The insulation details that make a small home feel properly finished

Good insulation is about more than the number on the spec sheet. Fit, coverage and the way the whole building is designed deserve attention too.

29 October 2026

Expandable prefab home at a display site with a folder and pen on a nearby table

From a good quote to a clear agreement: buying a tiny home with confidence

A useful agreement connects the home, the delivery and the site work. Here are the details worth settling before you sign.

22 October 2026

Compact white prefab home with rooftop solar panels on a rural New Zealand section

Solar for a small home: start with your daily routine, not a panel count

Panels, batteries and electricity use need to work together. A practical brief helps an installer design a system around the way you actually live.

15 October 2026

Latest

Expandable prefab home with a green rainwater tank connected to roof gutters

Rainwater for a tiny home: give the tank a proper brief

Hana Mitchell · 8 October 2026

Bright prefab tiny-home kitchen and living room with open windows and an extraction hood

Fresh air, less moisture: a spring reset for your small home

Hana Mitchell · 1 October 2026

Crane positioning a compact white prefab module on a prepared rural site

The home is ready. Is the site? Planning a smooth prefab delivery

Hana Mitchell · 24 September 2026

Site drawings on a timber table overlooking an expandable prefab home

The PIM: a useful first conversation about your backyard home

Hana Mitchell · 17 September 2026

Modern compact prefab dwelling in an established New Zealand backyard

A backyard home under 70m²: understanding the exemption pathway

Hana Mitchell · 10 September 2026

A modern compact prefab home being craned onto a suburban New Zealand section on a clear spring morning

Spring 2026: small-home builds hit a record as the 70m² rule beds in

Hana Mitchell · 4 September 2026

A compact heat pump mounted on a timber-clad tiny home wall, frost visible through the double-glazed window on a cold New Zealand morning

What owners actually paid to heat a small home this winter

Elise Park · 1 September 2026

A newly finished compact prefab home in a suburban New Zealand backyard in spring light

Six months of the 70m² exemption: what Kiwis have actually built

Hana Mitchell · 20 August 2026

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