Winning home ‘small in proportion, but big in personality’

0
1270

Clive Barrington of Clive Barrington Construction was rapt when his “unusual” Christchurch home was announced the winner of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment New Homes under $250,000 award at the Registered Master Builders PlaceMakers 2012 House of the Year.

Constructed completely offsite, Mr Barrington says the home was designed to stand the test of time.
“After the Christchurch earthquake, our clients wanted a home which could be easily re-levelled, or even picked up and relocated in the event of another quake,” Mr Barrington says.
“So we designed the home at only 98 square metres, which meant we were able to transport it in one shift.
“We just jacked up the house and put it on the back of a truck in one day, without having to split the house in half. Not your typical build, but a great project to be involved in,” he says.

Mr Barrington says the home was a challenging build, but that made the win even more rewarding.
“We had to build quickly and on a very limited budget because the client had nowhere to live until the build was complete. With this in mind, we managed to build it in four months while maintaining top quality,” he says.

The judges hailed the Merivale home as small in proportion, but big in personality.
“Outstanding workmanship and exceptional design have created a home that is sympathetic to its surroundings and could well find its place in the housing solutions for Christchurch,” they said.

Mr Barrington says the House of the Year competition is definitely worth entering, if you think your workmanship is up to it.
“The competition is a great way for builders to see if they can cut it with the people who are winning, particularly those who haven’t entered before. It’s really the only way you can judge your work against your peers.

“We see a lot of value in this competition. We’ve actually been entering since the House of the Year first started. It gives people confidence that we can do a good job, and allows our existing clients to see we work to a high standard.
“Winning this competition is all about public awareness — people realise that we are great at what we do.”

The Awards are made possible through the support of PlaceMakers, James Hardie, GIB, Nulook, MBIE, Future-Proof Building, Carters, ITM, Plumbing World, Resene and Westpac.

For more information about the competition, visit the Registered Master Builders web site at www.masterbuilder.org.nz.

Previous articleRMBF Conference 2013 set to be a stormer!
Next articleRural home reaps rewards