Services · Sheet 02
What we build, and how long it takes
Every job starts with a free site visit and ends with a written fixed-price quote. Here's what's included in each kind of work, with typical timeframes for a Southland job and guide prices to help you plan.
Guide prices include GST and are a starting point for planning, not a quote. Your written quote is fixed once we've seen the job.
New builds
Single and two-storey homes on your section, built from your architect's plans or a design we develop with a local draughtsperson. One crew from slab to keys, and one fixed price.
What's included
- Site set-out, foundations and a concrete slab or timber floor
- Framing, roofing, building wrap and window joinery
- Cladding, linings, stopping and finishing carpentry
- Plumbers, electricians, drainlayers and painters, all run by us
- Council inspections and code compliance paperwork
- Time on site
- 20 to 32 weeks
- Building consent
- Always needed
- Guide price
- From $3,400 per m²
Renovations and extensions
Knocking through to make one decent living space, adding a bedroom, or bringing a cold old villa into this century. We open walls carefully and tell you straight away if we find something.
What's included
- Structural changes: walls out and beams in, with the engineer organised
- Extensions that match the existing house, or deliberately don't
- Re-piling, re-levelling and new subfloors
- Reclads and replacement window joinery
- Making good: linings, trims and a paint-ready finish
- Time on site
- 6 to 16 weeks
- Building consent
- Usually, for structural work
- Guide price
- Extensions from $4,200 per m²
Kitchens and bathrooms
The rooms that work hardest. We strip out, fix whatever's hiding behind the walls, and run the plumbers, sparkies, tilers and cabinetmakers, so you only ever deal with one person.
What's included
- Strip-out and rubbish removal
- Moisture checks, framing repairs and new linings
- Waterproofing to the manufacturer's spec, tiled or panelled showers
- Cabinetry installation, benchtops and splashbacks
- One project lead coordinating every trade
- Time on site
- Bathrooms 3 to 5 weeks, kitchens 4 to 6
- Building consent
- Sometimes, if plumbing moves
- Guide price
- Bathrooms from $28,000, kitchens from $32,000
Decks and outdoor living
Somewhere to sit when the sun finally comes out. We build in H3.2 pine, hardwood or composite, with pergolas and roofs that keep the westerly and the drizzle off.
What's included
- Ground-level and raised decks, steps and balustrades
- Pergolas, louvre roofs and covered outdoor rooms
- Built-in seating, planters and storage
- Hardwood, H3.2 pine or composite decking
- Screens, fences and low retaining walls
- Time on site
- 1 to 3 weeks
- Building consent
- Not usually under 1.5 m high
- Guide price
- From $520 per m²
Healthy Homes upgrades
For landlords who need a rental to meet the Healthy Homes standards, and for owners who are simply tired of a cold, damp house. We check the place, give you a written list of what's needed and what's just nice to have, then get it done.
What's included
- Ceiling and underfloor insulation, plus a ground moisture barrier
- Double glazing retrofits into existing frames, or new joinery
- Extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms, ducted outside
- Heat pumps, installed with our registered electrician
- Draught stopping on doors, windows and unused fireplaces
- A written summary to support your compliance statement
- Time on site
- 3 to 10 working days
- Building consent
- Rarely needed
- Guide price
- Assessment $250, credited to the job
Maintenance and repairs
Rotten weatherboards, a deck that's gone soft, a door that's dropped, or a fence the wind took. No job is too small, and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a fix or a replace.
What's included
- Weatherboard, sill, barge and fascia replacement
- Doors and windows rehung, with new hardware
- Storm and water damage repairs, with photos for your insurer
- Pre-sale and pre-purchase fix-up lists
- Regular maintenance for landlords and property managers
- Lead time
- Usually booked within 2 weeks
- Building consent
- Rarely needed
- Guide price
- $95 an hour, plus materials
Good questions
Things people ask before they ring
Can't see yours here? Ring us on 03 218 3249. You'll talk to a builder, not a call centre.
Do I need a building consent, and who deals with the council?
New homes, extensions and most structural work need a building consent. Many smaller jobs don't: a deck less than 1.5 m off the ground, like-for-like repairs, and most Healthy Homes work are usually exempt. We'll tell you which applies at the site visit.
When a consent is needed, we prepare and lodge it with the right council for your address, whether that's Invercargill City, Southland District or Gore District. Councils have 20 working days to process a consent once it's accepted, so we build that into your start date.
How do your quotes work?
After a free site visit, you get an itemised written quote, usually within 10 working days. It lists exactly what's included and what isn't, and it's valid for 30 days.
If there's something nobody can know until a wall is open, such as rot or borer, we show it as a clearly marked provisional sum rather than hiding it. Any change once work starts is priced in writing and agreed by you before we do it. Jobs over $30,000 come with a written contract, as the law requires.
How does Southland weather affect the timeframe?
We've been building here long enough to plan for it. Our programmes already allow for about one weather day a week from May to September, and we aim to get roofs on and buildings wrapped quickly so the inside work can carry on regardless.
Concrete pours are timed around frosts, and outdoor jobs like decks are best booked for spring and summer. Interior work such as kitchens and bathrooms is a great winter job.
Are you insured, and what if something goes wrong later?
Yes. We carry public liability insurance and contract works insurance on every job, and we're happy to show you the certificates. It's also worth letting your home insurer know before a big renovation starts.
All residential building work comes with the warranties set out in the Building Act, which last ten years. On top of that, we come back at twelve months to check on everything, and if something we built isn't right, we fix it.
Do you take on small jobs?
We do. A good share of our week is repairs and maintenance, from a single rotten sill to a list of jobs before you sell. Small jobs are charged by the hour plus materials, and we'll give you a rough figure before we start.
Can you build from my own plans?
Absolutely. Send us your architect's or designer's plans and we'll price them as drawn. If you don't have plans yet, we work with a local draughtsperson and engineer who can take you from a sketch on the back of an envelope to consented drawings.
Ready for a price?
Tell us what you're planning and send a few photos. We'll reply within one working day to book your free site visit.