Frequently asked questions

Most architectural design practices leave you to find and manage a separate structural consultant yourself. That means a second firm, a second invoice, and a second handoff where problems creep in, sometimes late enough to force a redesign. Reflekt coordinates the structural engineering alongside the design: one team draws the design and works with the engineer on the structural detail at the same time, so what gets lodged with council and what gets built to already agree with each other.

We don't publish a price list, because cost depends on real project variables: the size and type of building, how complex the site is, how much documentation the consent pathway needs, and whether structural work is straightforward or difficult. We talk through your brief first, then give you a quote based on what your project actually needs, not a generic rate card. The first conversation is free and comes with no obligation.

There are two clocks: our design and documentation time, and council's consent processing time. Once council accepts an application as complete, the statutory processing time is 20 working days, but that clock pauses on any request for further information, so real timeframes usually run longer, and complex sites or resource consent add more time. We'll give you a realistic estimate for your specific project and council once we've seen the brief, rather than a number that doesn't hold up.

Most new builds, additions, and structural reclad or renovation work need a building consent from your local council. Some minor work is exempt. We'll tell you early in the first conversation which category your project falls into and what that means for your timeline.

We're based in Kumeu, Auckland, and work NZ wide. Our consent experience runs across councils from the far north to the Wairarapa.

Both, along with reclads, renovations, extensions, and commercial work. Transportable and modular homes, including two-storey modular builds, are where we've designed the most volume, and where coordinating the structural engineering closely matters most, since transport loads and re-siting have to be engineered correctly from the start.

Site details or a title if you have them, a LIM report if one exists, a rough idea of your budget and timeframe, and a description of what you actually want from the project. If you already have a builder, their details help too. Nothing here is a hard requirement: we can start with whatever you've got.

Both. Builders and developers work with us as a drafting and coordinated engineering partner: drawings arrive ready to build, and having the structural engineering coordinated alongside the design removes the coordination gap that slows consent down. See how we work with builders for the detail.