76 | Kelly Deeks Accolades aplenty for Wano Building BUILDING Wano Building After six years in business, New Plymouth’s Wano Building has taken its first architecturally designed full contract home to the Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards, and taken out a regional bronze award for the high standard of workmanship executed throughout this stand-out new home. Wiremu and Sam Wano have been members of Registered Master Builders for a couple of years and with their first entry to the House of the Year awards, they were looking for some feedback and to see where they were sitting amongst the competition. “We took it as a learning curve,” Wiremu says. “We had some great feedback, some of it around the design of the home, and a lot around the workmanship side of it so we were happy with that, and we took a lot away from it.” Wiremu is a qualified plumber turned builder immediately after completing his plumbing apprenticeship with Roebuck Plumbing & Gas in 2010. He did his building apprenticeship with award-winning New Plymouth construction firm David Fabish and once qualified in 2014, contracted back to David Fabish for the next couple of years. “That was a really nice stepping stone for me as I got to figure out how to do GST and taxes and all of that before starting my own business.” Wiremu and Sam started Wano Building in 2016, doing renovations and small projects then moving into spec homes to get a feel for the new housing market. “From there we progressed into full build contracts, and I have really enjoyed taking control of every aspect of the job,” Wiremu says. “Getting a handle on all the bureaucracy that goes with dealing with clients was another learning curve for me, but I’ve found what I really enjoy is keeping the clients happy and helping them along their journey. I want them to get the best bang for their buck and an excellent final result.” Wano Building’s award-winning home at Fitzroy in New Plymouth is a real stand-out with its vertical shiplap cedar and black cladding creating depth, texture, and interest. Lighting is a prominent feature throughout the home, with four cleverly positioned skylights in the entrance hall and stacked sliders in the open plan living area bringing in tons of natural light, and designer light fittings in the living, hallway, and bedrooms. Wiremu got involved in the project from the design phase, sitting down with his client and “I’ve found what I really enjoy is keeping the clients happy and helping them along their journey.” architectural designer Paul Russell from New Plymouth’s Russell Architectural Designs to provide his insight on ‘buildability’ and budget. Code of compliance was issued on December 23, the last day of work for 2021, and Wiremu says that was an awesome way to mark the end of the year with the completion of their first architectural build. Wiremu and Sam are keen to enter House of the Year again and keep moving forward. Wano Building is still growing to keep up with local demand and a new apprentice has recently joined the team, bringing the total staff to six including Wiremu and Sam. While happy to have reached their goal of full build contracts and architectural homes, Wiremu and Sam want to remain approachable and will still take on any general building projects with the same high quality and pride in workmanship. Wiremu can see some opportunities upcoming in the iwi space with marae work and iwi housing, and is keen to get involved in these. The team, from left, Wiremu Wano, Te Akau Wharehoka, William Lehndorf, Braeden Pomana, and Awanui Wano Bloc Group manufacture and supply masonry blocks, bricks, pavers & retaining products throughout the North Island. 06 752 2896 office@blocgroup.co.nz 1288 Egmont Road, Egmont Village PO Box 39010, Egmont Village
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