The delicate process of dismantling a house badly damaged by a landslip on Wakefield Quay in Nelson's December rainstorm is well under way, but it is still too soon to say what the plans are for the site, says owner Julia Carr.

"I will look at all options once the house is demolished, but it's still just one step at a time," she said.

Ms Carr bought the property in 2003 and had completed an extensive renovation on the house. It was earmarked for demolition by authorities when it was considered beyond repair after a large landslip slammed into the rear of the house.

Ms Carr was steeling herself for when the home would finally come down, but said it had been a difficult time for others around the region who had also lost property in the flooding and landslides.

City council acting manager building Chris Wood said the deconstruction had been made more complex by site instability issues. Engineers had needed to assess the area and advise on how the house was to be dismantled, which started from the rear and has gradually progressed to the front.

"They produced a methodology on how to keep the site safe," Mr Wood said.

"What they needed to consider was removal of the house without making the site unstable.

"Normally you'd go in with a digger but that wasn't possible in this situation."

He said parts of the house also needed to be preserved for re-use or sale.

Engineers were controlling the site, and the council had been given details that the site was to be remediated but there was no deadline for that, Mr Wood said.

- © Fairfax NZ News