Kiwi website takes DIY to the world

Kiwi website takes DIY to the world

Locally run website www.bettaliving.org turned one year old this month, and has already become a hit with would-be DIYers around the world. The site provides free original plans for DIY projects, general interest articles, and gardening advice. Plans available already vary from a letterbox to a rabbit hutch to a full-sized garden shed. Sound ambitious? “We always caution people not to take on projects outside their ability” says co-founder Nigel Pinkerton. “You have to start small and work up”. Their most popular project is a movable rabbit hutch which includes an enclosure that sits off the ground above a run. Perhaps most intriguing is their article “The $1,000 kitchen”, which details how they built a modern, functional kitchen on a shoestring budget.

Readership has continued to grow in double digits since its inception, and the site received almost 3,500 unique visitors last month - mostly from outside New Zealand. The website is the brainchild of Lower Hutt couple Jade and Nigel Pinkerton. “We didn’t set out to build a website” says Nigel, “rather it grew from our own hobbies and interests and a desire to help others pursue their hobbies”.

Everything on the website comes out of their own experience. “People use to see something we had built or a renovation we had done and ask me about it, I realised there was an interest in the sort of thing we were doing”. The Pinkertons found they were answering the same questions from friends and family over and over again, and it was then that they came up with the idea of putting their experience on the web. “Now when someone asks us about a renovation or some other project we have done, we can just refer them to the website” they joke.

Nigel’s background includes some training in graphic design, and he puts this to good use in preparing the plans. “I always want to know how something is going to look before I do it, and what it is going to cost. If you just set out to build something with a hammer and an idea, you are likely to waste a lot of time and materials.” According to Nigel, it can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several days work to produce a plan, and he personally builds everything he puts on the site. “Computer Aided Design is pretty good, but occasionally there are problems when you actually build the thing that have to be corrected on the plan”

They also encourage user participation and as the site has grown they have had more people contacting them about their plans. They encourage people to submit ideas for plans, or provide feedback on things they have built. The Pinkertons say feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, but they always encourage someone to write in if they think they have found a problem with their content. “We issue a strong disclaimer with all our plans and advice” laughs Nigel.

As for the next project, they have their hands full at the moment adding new content to the website, including a recipes section. “We are not professional cooks, but we noticed it was hard to find wholesome, easy meals online”. “We feel that if people begin to trust us, then we can be a one-stop shop for hobbies and home improvement”.

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