| 77 Virginia Wright Gabe Mossman Construction is well established in Hawke’s Bay with builds of all types successfully completed. Gabe Mossman Construction BUILDING Gabe Mossman comes from a long line of builders going as far back as his great grandfather so it’s no surprise that in 2014 he set up his own company Gabe Mossman Construction. He followed an apprenticeship with his uncle in Hawke’s Bay with four years’ experience building in Queenstown, for Brad Smith Construction, doing a wide range of both commercial and residential. When he came back from a stint in Australia, which mixed high-end cabinetry making with more building, he secured a contract working with his uncle and his father before deciding it was time to go out on his own. “I was getting a bit long in the tooth, I think I was 31 years old. I had a couple of contracts lined up to start with and I had at least one employee from day dot so that was stressful having to not only source work but think of another family. But we survived on decks, fences pergolas and so on for up to a year and then slowly my name got out there and we gradually moved onto the bigger stuff,” says Gabe. Fast forward eight years and Gabe Mossman Construction is well established in Hawke’s Bay with builds of all types successfully completed and a team that now numbers seven. On the way through Gabe had done quite a lot of work for Matthew Epplett and they became friends. “He became an important client and a really close mate. It’s very hard to mix the two but we’ve done it successfully,” says Gabe. “Three years ago we decided to go into a business venture together, we had what each other needed, and we started building this subdivision on Cambridge Street.” While they were working on the first of the planned eight houses, in the year before the housing market took off, they were concerned that they weren’t getting a lot of interest from people wanting to buy off the plans, which was how they had intended to progressively fund the builds. Matthew and Gabe, with advice from Gabe’s father and an estate agent, decided to take the project to Kainga Ora (Housing New Zealand). Within three months they had a signed contract to sell all eight houses to Kainga Ora. “We knew that we weren’t going to be able to sell them for as much, but we knew that they were looking for houses, or looking to buy land and get houses built for them. They preferred us buying the land, building the houses, and selling them to them finished.” They had to change a few things and incorporate housing specifications into the builds to meet Kainga Ora requirements. “They really wanted to make them as robust as possible,” explains Gabe. “All the light fittings are fixed to the ceiling instead of hanging, stainless steel shower bases, solid doors that all have to be hinged because sliding doors fail a lot faster than hinged, wool batts rather than fibreglass, commercial grade carpet and so on. All my staff have said they’d be nice houses to live in.” They’re now onto their second development for Kainga Ora having bought the section next door as they got towards the end of the first. When Gabe drives down the road and sees the first eight being lived in he feels gratitude for the opportunity he’s been given. “I went from doing high end renovations and fit-outs to a full subdivision. It was just so much more than what I’d ever done and thanks to all the support I got we achieved it. It’s a running joke now that we’re going to buy the rest of the street and carry on building,” says Gabe with a laugh. Carving out a niche in the Bay Call Us Today! 06 876 9482 404 Avenue Road East, Hastings Phone: 0064 (0)6 8709520 Fax: 0064 (0)6 8762925 Don Forsyth Director/Projects Manager Mobile: 0064 (0)27 443 7744 www.best-forsyth.co.nz Proud to be supporting Gabe Mossman Construction ELECTRICALLIMITED BEST-FORSYTH • Refrigeration • Air Conditioning • Installation • Maintenance • Hot Water • Heat Pumps RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • VEHICLES • 24HR SERVICE www.highchill.co.nz | 06 874 8646 | admin@highchill.co.nz set in stone P L A S T E R I N G SOLID • SKILLED • SUPERIOR Brendon Hansen - Director • 021 050 5513 setinstone@xtra.co.nz • 188 Main Rd, Clive, Hawke’s Bay 4102 Proud to support Gabe Mossman Construction
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