76 | Well-built, warm homes at an affordable price Sue Russell Able Spaces delivers homes nation-wide. “We either choose a home from our existing floor plans, or more often in these situations, we design a bespoke plan.” It was by chance that professional career woman Norma McCarty got into demolition in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. For three years, Norma and her business partner contributed to the rebuild effort and for Norma, it gave her first-hand experience at project management and construction methodologies. Now based in Lower-Hutt Norma has established her own company, meeting a niche and growing demand for high quality, transportable residential and commercial buildings. “I originally had a license to build a particular type of building, but found it very restrictive and thought that the market could be much better served, so I made the decision to step out on my own. It’s a decision I have not regretted for a moment,” Norma says. She feels passionately that every-one has the right to be homed in well-built, warm permanent homes, at an affordable price. Norma was in the process of negotiating a contract with MBIE to provide homes to those left homeless in the wake of the West Coast floods in October last year. There is also strong interest from Kāinga Ora, the Government agency responsible for delivering affordable housing precincts to meet burgeoning demand from young families. “The demand is very high and, like many in the construction sector, we are impacted by Covid material delays and a shortage of people with the skills to build to the standard we expect, but we order well in advance so we’re able to carry on in this difficult climate.” Currently, Norma is one of a team of eight working at the company’s base in Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt. In the next 9-12 months Norma will be project managing the construction of a purpose-built facility in Upper Hutt and Norma says that feels really good and is a big milestone for the company. “It will just be a much better space to increase output and for the staff building our homes. We’re all looking forward to it. We have a good number of qualified builders and this new facility will be great for all of us.” When first approached about building a transportable home Norma visits the site where it will be located. “It’s important to know what the site is like. Where to best position the home and to factor in where services will run. All these have an impact on the final siting on the home.” Able Spaces delivers homes nation-wide and for those in the greater-Wellington region, Norma offers a turn-key option, taking care For more information visit www.unitedsteel.co.nz or call us on 0800 800 649 We are proud to be working with Able Spaces Ltd BUILDING New entrant impresses Claudatos Construction won gold, the regional category, and the Top 100 placing for a new home up to $450,000. Hawke’s Bay design and build firm Claudatos Construction has set a high bar for its first entry into the Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition, with its two entries for 2021 bringing home silver, gold, a regional category win, and a Top 100. Claudatos Construction founder and director Michali Claudatos says he didn’t know what to expect from the awards. He has been building for about 18 years, mainly on a contract basis, before setting up the complete service design and build firm four years ago. During the Global Financial Crisis in 20072008, Michali had undertaken an architectural design course and was ready to hit the ground running once the construction industry had a chance to heal post-GFC. Starting out with renovation work, new design and build projects soon followed for Claudatos Construction. Michali joined Registered Master Builders as he sought that commercial contracts guidance. This year, the time was right to enter the House of the Year competition, and two of Claudatos Construction’s projects were also hitting the right notes. Still, Michali didn’t quite know just where his company stood as compared to other local building firms. “We didn’t know where we stood, so having those gold and silver awards shows us we’re where we want to be,” he says. “I’ve always told my staff and sub contractors that we have to build every house to a high standard and they have come up trumps on both projects.” Claudatos Construction won gold, the regional category, and the Top 100 placing for a new home up to $450,000. Its striking dark exterior belies the light, bright, and welcoming interior. The front door opens into the heart of the home, a contemporary kitchen and dining area where polished concrete floors are a stand out feature. The layout progresses into a homely lounge, or through the sliders to the outdoor decking. With four bedrooms, two feature wide sliding doors, and two bathrooms, where the polished concrete flooring is repeated and offset by sophisticated black fixtures and fittings, including on-trend black toilets. Michali says he knew the house was of high standard, but was blown away to win the category and make it into the Top 100. Claudatos Construction took out a silver award for a new home $450,000 to $600,000 built in Frimley. This home is bright and white from the outside in. A central outdoor dining space is wrapped on three sides by the living areas, with sliders opening the modern and open kitchen to the outdoors. Beautiful timber flooring in the kitchen and dining areas enhance the home’s neutral palette, while the home’s 263sqm floor plan allows plenty of space for the owner’s personal touches. Kelly Deeks Proudly supporting Claudat� Construction www.devineplumbing.co.nz | 021 613 304 Claudatos Construction Able Spaces
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