One Tree Hill College Trades Academy students are giving an old state house a new lease of life – and in doing so, are building invaluable skills for careers in construction and a healthy dry home for a deserving Kiwi family. 

The 1970s house was purchased for one dollar thanks to a groundbreaking new partnership between the College and Kāinga Ora. Since being dropped onto the school grounds in May, 70 Year 12 and 13 students have developed the skills to transform the home, from installing insulation and putting up the GIB® plasterboard, to laying floors, building decks and painting. 

Not only is One Tree Hill College the first school in the country to undertake such a project, but thanks to the tenacity and determination of Trades Academy Head Charlotte McKeon, it will also be the first Kāinga Ora property to ever receive NZGBC Homestar Level 7 accreditation. 

“We were originally just going to do a small renovation but once we decided to go for Homestar 7, the project grew another life,” says Charlotte.  

“Our trades students have gone from building furniture and planter boxes to working on large scale real stuff. They’ve been involved in every stage of the process, and because we’ve been renovating to Homestar Level 7 and V5 standards, they’ve learned all about the importance of thermal performance and efficiency. They have been carrying out work that has exceeded the building code, helping set a new benchmark for retrofitted homes.” 

This invaluable hands-on experience will stand students in excellent stead for the future, giving them a leading edge as they launch their construction careers, and preparing them for evolving industry demands. 

“It’s been so good – you couldn’t even have made this up! These students are training to be apprentices on an actual home, we now have a warm dry house for a first time home buyer, and it’s an initiative that has brought the whole community together, with sponsors like Winstone Wallboards, Kāinga Ora and BCITO. Everyone is pulling together to create the best apprentices we can.” 

When she is not inspiring students at One Tree Hill College, you’ll find her at the University of Auckland working towards her Architecture degree, so she can make life better for even more New Zealanders. 

“We should all be able to live in warm dry houses. If we all have a healthy home we feel better when we wake up, we do better at work, our kids do better at school, we are automatically all doing better.” 

The lucky family who buys this home when it’s auctioned off in December will certainly wake up feeling good. It has a full ventilation system, insulation in the walls, roof and under floors, and high-spec windows and doors, custom made by former One Tree Hill College students who are now completing glazing apprenticeships at Woodsglass.  

The house has a Leo Smart Panel (due to launch in New Zealand in February 2025 and designed to reduce energy consumption by a minimum 10%). In addition, the house has been airsealed with AeroBarrier. The AeroBarrier system automatically seeks out all the hidden gaps and cracks in the building envelope and seals them, creating optimum thermal efficiency and moisture management. 

“Used together, GIB® plasterboard and AeroBarrier give you a tight thermal envelope, like a big puffer jacket on your house, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.” 

Before starting the renovation, the rundown three-bedroom one-bathroom home was blowing a whopping 19 air changes per hour, but once completed it will blow just three air changes an hour, making it infinitely easier and cheaper to heat, and a whole lot more enjoyable to live in. 

Learning about industry innovations like these, and gaining hands-on practical trades experience, has been a gamechanger for Year 13 student Dani Parker.