What Makes Building Here Different
The Nelson Tasman climate, coastal and rural sites, consenting and costs to plan for before you start.
Read the guideEcotectural are Tasman builders, led by founder and Registered Master Builder Daryl Combes, building warm, dry, low-running-cost architectural and Passive Homes across the region since 2006.
Home builders in Tasman
Tasman builders, architectural and Passive homes on rural, coastal and hillside sites.
Tasman is where we build most: rural blocks, coastal edges and hillside sites that reward a home designed around the sun and the land, not dropped onto it. It is the same approach we take as home builders in Nelson, just next door.
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We know these sites, their soils, wind and outlook, and build them into every design.
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Every home starts around one table and is delivered in the open, with every dollar visible as the build progresses.
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The result is a warm, healthy, energy-efficient home built for Tasman's climate, not a generic one dropped onto the section.
Areas we serve near Tasman: Mapua and Ruby Bay, Upper Moutere, Motueka and Kaiteriteri.
Building in Tasman
What building in Tasman actually involves.
Tasman covers a lot of ground, from rural blocks around Upper Moutere and the Moutere hills to the coastal edges near Mapua, Ruby Bay and Kaiteriteri. Most of our work here is on rural, coastal or sloping sites, which behave very differently from a flat town section.
Building consent in this district goes through Tasman District Council, and rural sites usually come with a few extra considerations. We factor all of it in from the first sketch, so your consent, your site works and your home are planned together rather than patched up later.
- On a typical Tasman site we help you plan:
- Water supply: rainwater collection or a bore where there is no town supply.
- Wastewater: an on-site system designed and consented for your soils and site.
- Consent: your building consent through Tasman District Council, plus any resource consent your site needs.
- Development contributions: we check whether the council development contribution has been paid on your section, so a charge the developer left behind does not surprise you at building consent.
Built for the conditions
Engineered for Tasman's sun, wind and salt air.
Tasman's rural and coastal sites carry real weather: strong nor'westers, salt air off the bay and long, hot summer sun that can just as easily overheat a poorly oriented home as warm it.
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We model orientation, shading and insulation properly at design stage, not left to guesswork on site.
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Every home is built to a standard well above the Building Code minimum, with the option to go all the way to a Passive Home.
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The result stays cool in summer, warm in winter and cheap to run for the life of the build.
Building here since 2006
Nearly two decades of building in Tasman.
The homes we build across Tasman are warm, dry and low to run, comfortable in winter and cool in summer, and designed to suit the sites and climate here. A warm, dry, well-ventilated home is a healthier home to live in too, better for your family's wellbeing year after year. And because we design around how you actually live, and the stages of life ahead, your home is built to keep fitting you as life changes. That is what nearly twenty years of building in one region gives you: homes that perform for the way people really live.
- Building since
- 2006
- Designed to last
- 50+ years
- 10-year guarantees
- Master Build + Halo
- Registered
- Master Builder + Certified Builder
"I wanted a home I could wear shorts and a t-shirt in year round and never feel cold."
Colin Hayman, Upper Moutere
Selected work across Tasman, Kaiteriteri & Nelson.
Many of our homes are completed under confidentiality, so this is only a selection. To see more, simply ask and we will arrange a private viewing or reference project.
Why build with us here
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Local and hands-on. We work with local suppliers and trades, and we know how Tasman sites, soils and weather behave.
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Engineered to feel better to live in. Warm, dry and low to run, with the option to build a Passive Home.
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Built in the Open. Honest, open-book pricing, so you see where every dollar goes, from the first sketch to the final invoice.
Building in Tasman? Start here.
A few honest guides on what it is really like to build across the wider Tasman district.
The Best Areas to Build
Tasman, Kaiteriteri, Mapua, Upper Moutere, Richmond, Nelson and Golden Bay compared for a new build.
Read the guide
Building on a Coastal Site
What the coast does to a building, and the design moves that make an exposed site liveable.
Read the guideWhat we do
Everything it takes to design and build your Tasman home.
You engage one company: us. We bring the architect, engineer and every trade together and manage them on your behalf, so you have a single point of contact and one team accountable, from the first sketch to the final invoice. You are our design partner, the home is shaped around what you want, and we look after everyone else.
Architectural homes
Bespoke, architect-designed homes shaped around your ideas, your site and the Tasman light.
Design and build
One accountable team from first sketch to handover, so the design stays buildable and on budget.
Energy-efficient, healthy homes
Warm, dry, energy-efficient homes built well above the minimum code. We build Passive Homes.
Renovations and extensions
Considered additions and reworks, built to the same standard as our new homes.
Complete project leadership
We coordinate every consultant, supplier and trade, and keep your build on time and on budget.
A personalised experience
A calm, communicative process, dealing directly with the people responsible for your home.
Our Tasman builds
The Black House
Two relocatable pavilions in dark corrugate, featured on Grand Designs NZ.
View project
Horton Road
A Formance SIPs home in Shadowclad and cedar, running on solar.
View project
Tasman View
Shaped to its hillside platform: 190mm double-insulated walls and underfloor heating.
View projectGood questions
Building in Tasman, answered.
Do you build on hillside and rural Tasman sites?
Yes. Most of our work is on exactly these sites: cut hillside platforms, rural blocks and exposed, out-of-town sections. Sloped and rural builds are our normal, not the exception.
What does it cost to build in Tasman?
It depends on your site and specification. Our guides to pricing and build costs set out realistic square-metre ranges and the factors that move the price.
Do you build Passive Homes in Tasman?
Yes. We build Passive Homes, alongside high-performance homes that get most of the way there. The right level depends on your brief and budget, and we will talk you through both honestly.
How long does council consent take in Tasman?
By law, Tasman District Council has 20 working days to process a building consent once your application is accepted as complete, though the overall timeline depends on how complete your documentation is and whether the council needs to request more information. Rural sites often also need a resource consent alongside it, which we check for early.
Which Tasman areas do you build in?
Across the district: Mapua and Ruby Bay on the coast, Upper Moutere and the Moutere hills inland, Motueka, and Kaiteriteri further out. Coastal and rural sites each ask a different design question, which is exactly the kind of site-specific work we do.
Building in Tasman? Talk to us first.
Book a free one-hour consultation with founder Daryl Combes. No obligation, just an honest conversation about your site, your brief and your budget.
Arrange a consultation
