AWARD WINNING HOMES

KATIE AND LEIGH'S TESTIMONIAL

Building the dream.

With a section and a general idea of what we wanted we set out to find the right builder for our project. Much to our surprise we quickly discovered that this would be a harder task than expected!

Long timelines and Varying quality

Researching the market, we found that many builders had very long timelines. It was hard to get them to engage with us other than at a superficial level and getting clarity on the feasibility of our project proved difficult. We quickly got the feeling that many builders have trouble costing architectural projects with any accuracy in the early stages.

We may have sheep, but we are not sheep

By now we had also dealt with several of the conglomerates who wanted to herd us onto their conveyer belt, through the check-out and take up front fees to begin their cookie cutter design and planning process but as they were not providing us with any real comfort that we would achieve our goals with our available budget we continued looking for the right builder.

It’s not just about the money – You need a builder with broad skills and passion.

After some enthusiastic and lengthy telephone conversations Ben took us on a tour and showed us around some of his past projects. We were immediately struck by his honest self-appraisal of his work as he pointed out not only the things he was proud of, but also areas where he had faced challenges achieving the high standard he aspires to. Impressed with his energy, broad experience, quality focus and honesty we signed up with Ben for the building process.

Experience pays (literally).

Prior to meeting Ben we had plans prepared to submit for consent, but following his review and input we were agreed to make a number of changes which in the long run both saved us money and avoided unforeseen problems. Ben’s approach to solving problems was invaluable throughout the project as no matter how good plans and drawings are, there are always practical details and challenges to address during the construction process.

Details, Detail, Details.

Throughout the process we had many phone calls and texts with Ben who put allot of thought into the build and involved us when decisions were indicated and you can see in the high quality finished result that this process paid off.

Timeline:

Site works began late February. Undeterred by bad winter weather, Ben and his crew got stuck in and the build progressed on schedule. With Ben’s team meeting all key milestones, as promised we were able to shift in just before Christmas.

In closing:

Choosing a builder is a challenging process and the end result is much like a marriage as both builder and customer need to get along well to achieve a good end result. We can’t speak highly enough of Ben and his crew who were polite and great to work with throughout the process.

The high standards they achieved in building the house on time and on budget are reflected and validated in the House of the year competition Gold awards they have won for our project.

Thanks Ben for helping us build the dream home we wanted,

Katie & Leigh