How we build
What happens, in what order, and what you are responsible for at each stage.
Five stages, start to finish
Nothing in this list will surprise anyone who has built before. That is deliberate — if you are building for the first time, the thing that causes the most stress is not knowing what comes next.
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1
First conversation
We look at your section or your plans, talk through what you want and what you can spend, and give you a straight answer about whether it can be done for that money. If your budget and your brief do not line up, we will say so then rather than three months later.
If you have not bought the land yet, bring us in early. A sloping site, poor ground, a long service run or a tight covenant can move a build price a long way, and it is much cheaper to find that out before you sign.
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2
Design and pricing
Plans are drawn or adapted, engineering and specifications are settled, and the build is priced off the finished drawings rather than guessed from a sketch. The measuring and costing is done by our quantity surveyor, line by line, so the figure reflects your actual drawings — not an average of someone else’s.
You then get a written contract to read before you commit, on an industry-standard form rather than something we drew up ourselves. Take it away, read it, and have your lawyer look at it.
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3
Building consent
We lodge the building consent with Hamilton City Council or the relevant district council and handle the requests for further information that usually follow. You do not chase the council; we do.
Consent timeframes are set by the council, not by us. We will tell you what has been lodged and where it is up to, and we will not start restricted building work before the consent is granted.
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4
On site
Foundations, framing, roof, cladding and joinery, then services rough-in, insulation, linings and fit-out — run to a programme, with council inspections booked at each required stage.
You are welcome on site by arrangement. Variations are priced and agreed in writing before the work is done, so the number at the end is not a surprise.
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5
Handover
Our Licensed Building Practitioner issues the Record of Work for the restricted building work, which goes to the council with the application for your code compliance certificate and stays on the property file.
At practical completion we walk through the house with you, work through the defects list, and hand over the keys along with the producer statements, the manuals and appliance warranties, and your guarantee documentation.
Ready to start at stage one?
A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If you have questions first, the common questions page covers what we get asked most.