Business Central February 2021

80 | Burns Construction BUILDING Long-standing firm delivers the goods Kelly Deeks 0800 233 532 | info@2eelectrical.co.nz | www.2eelectrical.co.nz New Homes, Alterations, Heat pumps Residential and Commercial maintenance Audio and Electrical design The Electrical Team You Can Count On T hird generation Hamilton building company Burns Construction has spent more than half a century gaining the trust and confidence of a wide range of new home builders and renovators, delivering cost effective and time efficient projects that fulfil clients’ wishes and requirements. Managing director Chris Burns learned his trade from his father and grandfather. He joined Burns Construction in 2005 as an apprentice builder, when the company was focused on American shingle roofing. By 2008 Chris and his dad were both back full time building, and taking advantage of the bargain hunters brought out by the recession, got into building spec homes. By 2010 Chris was general manager, and he and his team were building between 10 and 15 spec homes each year. When The Meadows subdivision opened in 2013, Burns Construction built 45 spec homes there over a four year period, and sold them all. Chris took over the business in 2016 and not having the same amount of capital availa- ble to his father, had to move out of the spec game and started building for clients. “People come and see us for a complete design and build service, that is cost effective and efficient,” he says. “I never want to build the same house twice, and I want to build everybody’s house for a fair price.” Chris says cost and time efficiencies are gained on site by Burns Construction being organised. “For me it’s about being on site. I’ve got really good staff but I’m also there every day, keeping my eyes open. “My guys are really good and they can pick up opportunities to save time on site, they are brilliant at that. It’s something I learned with Dad and Grandad – keep your eyes open and you might pick up a faster way of doing things.” With two blocks of five six-bedroom apartments currently under construction, and another three new homes underway, Burns Construction has had no breaks between projects for the past three years, and time efficiency is vital. Burns Construction has found a like-minded client in the developer of the Hogan Street apartments currently under construction. The five three-storey, six-bedroom apart- ments are the very type of project Burns Construction is happy to work on – something original, that will look as good in the future as it does the day it’s handed over, and that is more focused on aesthetics and functionality than profit. Quality products being used in the build are COLORSTEEL® roofing, the Nu-Wall extruded aluminium weatherboard system which will never need painting, and Innowood a low maintenance, sustainable composite timber cladding product new to Burns Construc- tion which Chris is starting to think is pretty awesome. “When you’re building a three-story build- ing, you have to be mindful that someone’s not going to have to go up three storeys to paint it.” The timber framed structure supports ex- tremely fireproof concrete block intertenancy walls from floor to roof. Burns Construction joined project archi- tect DDL Architecture in the design phase to advise on buildability.