112 | Diversity drives success Building Lab specialises in both small and large scale renovations they also offer a range of services including light commercial and investment works. Building Lab Taranaki T T Kelly Deeks BUILDING The year is whizzing by for busy New Plymouth construction firm Building Lab, whose small team continues to grow, ever enhancing the company’s capability and improving its capacity to take on an increasing flow of work for satisfied customers. Started by Andy Perry in 2016, Building Lab is a small team of experienced builders, who pride themselves on delivering exceptional quality workmanship, great communication, and a professional working environment. Specialising in both small and large scale renovations they also offer a range of services including light commercial and investment works. Over the last couple of years Building Lab has experienced an influx of projects for investors, from renovating existing homes to flip, to building new homes and multi-units, and even renovating an old, 11-unit motel into rental properties, breathing new life into the units and bringing them up to Healthy Homes standards. “It has been really cool to transform these properties, we’re up to about 15 now, and this investment work has really progressed into our bread and butter,” Andy says. Andy has been off the tools since injuring his back in 2020, and ever since, he has worked on growing his business with the support of his wife Cheyan and their two young daughters. “Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day!” laments Andy. A new addition to the office this year, Tamara Bryan, who has rebuilt all of Building Lab’s systems and processes, has been a game changer. “She is amazing,” Andy says. “ It’s crazy the amount of stuff in the office that I didn’t know I wasn’t doing. I’m an ex-builder not a businessman, and I didn’t really have systems. I was even doing sketches on paper for clients. Tamara has been my business mentor and my adviser. “She has come in and put all of this information into a digital format, and that goes out to clients as well as our subcontractors and our team on site. Everyone is fully informed in a really professional and efficient manner with everything they need to know.” Andy says he is holding on to Tamara tightly, and likewise the rest of his valued team. “We’re a family business and maintaining a positive team dynamic is really important to us” says Andy. The team is made up of adult apprentice Ryan Ritchie, an ex-super yatch engineer and Andy’s best mate, perfectionist and qualified builder Dan Niederberger, and most recently brothers Dylan and Nicky Scholes who are both qualified builders. Building Lab is in such high demand that Andy has recently committed to adding a first year apprentice to the team. Andy also has the support of his dad Ross and sister Hannah who help out when needed. “Clients are still finding enough money to do the essential jobs, and we have been on the right side of the industry at the right time. “We are very lucky, and I am very grateful.” Building Lab has a big dental practice project currently wrapping up for return client Dental Delight. Building the first Dental Delight clinic five years ago, Building Lab is now working on the fourth clinic, which is being established inside an existing building in an industrial zone. “We’ve basically built a house inside a building,” Andy says. “It has required a lot of complex services for the specialist dental equipment. “The engineer wasn’t happy for us to cut concrete out of the existing floor to run the services, so we ended up building a 300mm high false floor through most of the interior. “There are always challenges but we’ve learned to just flow with it and we’ve got our clients into their building at the right time.” The success of this project and all their others according to Andy is due to the relationships Building Lab has with their sub-trades and suppliers. “We work with an incredible group of businesses who are always prepared to go above and beyond. It’s the key to our success really”. 021 161 0599 info@taranakiskipbins.co.nz www.taranakiskipbins.co.nz Taranaki Skip Bins are 100% Taranaki owned and operated, supplying skip bins to New Plymouth and surrounding areas at competitive prices. 06 753 0023 admin@arikiplumbing.co.nz We are a passionate team of quality Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers based in New Plymouth, servicing Taranaki wide. arikiplumbing.co.nz Give us a call today
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