Avondale's homes
Damp and mould
4.0% of occupied homes were always damp and 20.4% sometimes damp in 2023. For mould, it was 6.3% always and 15.6% sometimes, against 3.5% and 10.5% nationally.
On the Whau estuary
Avondale is one of the westernmost isthmus suburbs, on the eastern shore of the Whau River, an estuarial arm of the Waitematā. Homes within 100 m of that tidal water fall in NZS 3604's exposure zone D.
Old suburb, newer density
Avondale became increasingly suburban from the mid-1920s. Since the 2010s, medium and high-density housing has become more common, including the Highbury Triangle, a Kāinga Ora complex mainly for older residents.
Half the homes are rented
51.7% of households didn't own their home or hold it in a family trust in 2023. Across the Whau Local Board area, 42.7% paid rent.
Portable heat
45.4% of homes used an electric heater as a main heater, 3.5% a portable gas heater, and 5.7% used no heating.
Still building
Occupied dwellings rose from 6792 to 7317 between 2018 and 2023, and 482 new dwellings were consented in the year to March 2023.
Putting it together in an Avondale home
First, get the wet air out at the source. The rental ventilation standard asks for a kitchen extractor fan or rangehood venting outside, at least 150mm across or 50 litres per second if fitted after 1 July 2019, and a bathroom fan too. It's a sensible baseline for any house.
Next, heat the main room properly. A heat pump in the living area can replace electric heaters and portable gas. EHINZ says unflued gas heaters release water vapour, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide indoors.
Then decide on ventilation. Consumer NZ says positive pressure systems suit older houses with wooden joinery better than modern ones with sealed aluminium joinery, and balanced heat recovery systems work best in modern homes. A ventilation specialist will look at your joinery and roof space before recommending either. Start with home ventilation in Auckland.
In a townhouse or apartment, check the body corporate's rules before anything goes on an outside wall.
When you're ready, tell us about the house. Only the installer who takes the job gets your details. If nobody near Avondale takes it within 48 hours, heat pump installers elsewhere in the Auckland region may see it too.
What we'd do
Where we'd begin in Avondale
We'd go in that order: fans, then heat, then ventilation if the windows still stream. Jumping straight to a roof-space ventilation system in a cold house tends to disappoint, because Consumer NZ says blowing cold roof-space air in during winter means turning your heating up.