10+ Years of Trusted House Renovations, Fencing & Scaffolding Across NZ

With 10+ years of local experience, we bridge a massive gap in the New Zealand market. Because we handle our own commercial-grade scaffolding, fencing, and structural building work in-house, we eliminate the classic subcontractor scheduling delays that plague most builds. You get a single, highly coordinated team managing your project from the ground up, maximizing efficiency and saving you money.

Under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, you generally do not need a building consent for a residential fence or garden wall up to 2.5 metres high. However, there are two major exceptions:

• Pool Fencing: Always requires a building consent and strict compliance inspections.

• District Council Plans: Many local councils (like Auckland Council) require a resource consent if a boundary fence exceeds 2.0 metres.

he Fencing Act 1978 states that neighbours are generally expected to split the cost of an “adequate boundary fence” 50/50. Before any work begins or money is spent, you must serve your neighbour a formal Fencing Notice detailing the proposed design, materials, and cost estimates. Work can begin if they don’t object within 21 days. Giant Brother can provide detailed, formal quotes to attach directly to your notice to keep things transparent.

Low-risk projects are exempt under Schedule 1. You usually don’t need a consent for:

• Like-for-like cosmetic updates (re-cladding or replacing internal linings).

• Removing or shifting non-load-bearing internal walls.

• Building a detached sleepout, studio, or home office up to 30 square metres (as long as it features no internal plumbing or cooking facilities and matches boundary setback rules).

Any structural modifications, layout alterations affecting fire safety, or new plumbing additions will always require a building consent.

Safety is non-negotiable on Kiwi jobsites. All Giant Brother scaffolding installations comply strictly with WorkSafe NZ regulations and SARNZ (Scaffolding, Access and Rigging NZ) good practice guidelines. Upon completing an assembly, we issue an official Scaffolding Handover Certificate (Scaff-tag) to certify the structure is 100% stable and legal for tradespeople or homeowners to step onto.

Yes. We offer flexible residential scaffolding hire options for homeowners tackling exterior painting, roofing, or window replacements. Our service is completely hands-off for you: our certified team handles the site drop-off, engineered assembly, regular safety checks, and final dismantle once your project wraps up.

We provide clear, comprehensive fixed-price quotes for well-defined scopes of work (such as standard fencing setups, scaffolding hire, and specific renovation blueprints). This shields you from unexpected material price hikes. For complex renovation projects where hidden structural issues might exist behind old walls, we offer highly detailed estimates alongside transparent variations procedures.

Giant Brother operates with a comprehensive Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) for every commercial project. Every single team member on-site holds a valid Site Safe Passport, and we run mandatory tool-box meetings to actively manage risk. We are fully equipped to seamlessly integrate with principal contractor safety platforms.

By law, New Zealand councils have 20 working days to process a building consent application. However, if the documentation lacks detail, the council will issue an RFI (Request for Information), which pauses the clock. With over 10 years of NZ construction experience, Giant Brother works directly with your designers to ensure the initial submission is flawless, preventing costly RFI delays.