We'll ask about R4 wall insulation and having insulation on all walls (just R4 for the external walls I assume, and a lower spec for the internal walls).
Yes something cheap and standard for the internal walls should be fine. Serious acoustic insulation is very expensive. A pane of laminate glass for the bedroom windows would help too.
To be honest being our first house we'd more than likely sell after 10 years or something like that, but interesting to know about uPVC not giving much thermal benefit. I'd heard condensation was a reason to avoid aluminium.
There is thermal benefit over standard aluminium but the benefit over thermally broken is unlikely to be noticeable. Current New Zealand aluminium joinery usually has condensation channels unlike old joinery that dumped it onto the window sills. If you really don't want any condensation you can have thermally broken aluminium joinery installed recessed like they do in Europe which will also help improve its insulation value. See the downloads here for instructions.
Houses in New Zealand are usally underinsulated and underventilated including new builds. A lack of condensation on window frames doesn't necessarily mean everything else is ok with a house's humidity.
Awnings sounds like a smart move. The eaves will help to some extent, but awning would do the job much better when the sun isn't at its highest I imagine.
With eves there are a couple of months each year when sunlgiht is or isn't being blocked when it's still hot or cold so they're not perfect.
On the topic of kitchen, have you (or anyone else) had much experience with rangehoods. Do they work well?
I don't know how anyone could be without them in New Zealand's damp climate. They don't last forever so as a fixtured appliance you should think about the difficulty involved in removing and installing a new unit when the time comes. A high price doesn't always mean better quality although cheaper units tend to make more noise. Being wider than the cooktop helps. They have filters on them which are supposed to be cleaned periodically although not many people do. Ones with exposed stainless steel (instead of being concealed) tend to build up grime on the outside that is hard to clean off. Make sure it's vented outside as builders often vent them into the ceiling cavity which is dangerous.
