| 133 T T Virginia Wright Award winner favours renovations and refurbs The rebuild of Havelock North’s Black Barn Bistro, which burnt down a couple of years ago, won the company a Master Builders New Zealand Commercial Projects Award. Jay Jay Builders BUILDING Jason Johnston started his Hawke’s Bay construction company JayJay Builders Ltd in 2018, although he’s been building for more like 18 years. After several years driving heavy machinery at the port, it was when he wanted to do some work on his own house that he discovered building. He hasn’t looked back. “I wanted to learn how to build a deck, and put French doors in, and maintain a house. I decided it was a good chance to re-train, and became an adult apprentice,” says Jason. Jason’s original thought, other than learning a new trade, was to move into CAD architectural drawing, but he realised he enjoyed being outside too much to want to be inside sitting in front of a computer. Setting up his own company wasn’t in the plans, but turning 40 at around the same time as his mother died pushed him off the fence, and being local helped. “ I was born and bred in Napier. It was only me to start with and my first jobs came through word of mouth,” says Jason. Small renovations led onto jobs big enough for it to be obvious that an extra pair of hands would considerably speed things up, whether it was building a deck or revamping a bathroom. Fast forward six years and Jason has an established team of six, including an apprentice, with a variety of work, including new builds and light commercial on the books, but as he explains, “I really enjoy renovations, like old villas, cottages and the like, where the clients generally want to keep that same style and feel even if the kitchens and bathrooms are modernised. It’s learning to tie the new back into the old so that it all fits.” When Havelock North’s Black Barn Bistro burnt down a couple of years ago, JayJay Builders did the rebuild. The results recently won the company a Master Builders New Zealand Commercial Projects Award. “We were awarded the silver in the under $3million category for the design aspect, the delivery of works, sustainability of materials and use of renewable resources,” says Jason. The renewable and sustainable resources was in part thanks to the locally grown elmwood used for the restaurant flooring, which was supplied by Andy Coltart, one of Black Barn’s co-owners, and in part also due to their focus on repurposing what could be salvaged from the restaurant. The original timber tables were sanded right back to remove the smoke damage before being painted and re-used outside, while more of the locally grown elmwood was used for the 50 or so new tables inside the restaurant. While any timber furniture was sanded, repainted and repurposed where possible, new features such as the dual-purpose eco-friendly, fire-retardant acoustic panels also added to the restaurant experience with a noticeable improvement in the audio environment. The Gib shortage led to the decision to use the much more durable cement sheeting, rather than wait. While it is slower and more labour-intensive to install, once there it’s hard to dent, easily touched up with a dab of paint, and stays the distance. With that award-winning refurbishment completed it’s not surprising that JayJays was given a similar job for another fire-damaged restaurant, Off the Track. At the same time they are undertaking a 300sqm house with a triple-car garage. While it’s not a renovation, so theoretically not at the top of Jason’s ‘favourites’ list, it’s a complex-enough build with its mix of claddings, solar panels, and interesting lines that he is nevertheless looking forward to it and hopes it might see JayJay Builders receive another award in 18 months’ time. SERVICES INCLUDING: ∙ Interior Plastering ∙ Rondo Fixing ∙ Gib fixing ∙ Residential ∙ Commercial ∙ Renovation PROUDLY SUPPORTING JAY JAY BUILDERS 022 308 8030 plastex.nz@gmail.com www.plastex.co.nz Beautiful bespoke custom exterior and interior joinery. Tailored to perfectly match your needs. Hand crafted Interior and Exterior Joinery Timber Mouldings Heritage Restoration Please contact Shane O’Connor 027 323 3218 or email info@parkhilljoinery.co.nz
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