| 73 DEVELOPMENT DJM Construction Mike Lee 021 845 334 mike@bblnz.co.nz blairgowriebuilding.co.nz BROOKS REFRIGERATION SERVICES Adam Brooks Call Adam today for a no-obligation free quote Phone 027 505 8225 brooks.refrigeration@gmail.com TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED BETTER Refrigeration Air-conditioning Heat pumps Automotive air con Providing high quality doors since 2009 From bifold doors to cavity sliders, we supply a full range of pre-hung doors to the greater Wellington and Wairarapa regions. www.doorspecs.co.nz 7 du Pont Lane, Trentham, Upper Hutt 5018 04 527 8305 patrick@doorspecs.co.nz TOPCAT DESIGN Bringing your vision to life through architectural design. New Dwellings| Alterations & Extensions| Subdivisions & Resource Consents | Light Commercial P: 04 5263500 | E: info@topcatdesign.co.nz PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATEDWITH DJM CONSTRUCTION ryan@stepaheadstairs.co.nz 027 4 STAIRS (027 478 2477) www.stepaheadstairs.co.nz STAIRCASE SPECIALIST WELLIGNTON Design + Build + Install T T Hugh de Lacy Quality front and centre in townhouse project The project will deliver one and two-storey and one three-storey townhouse fronting the street and designed in sympathy with the predominantly early 1900s existing architecture. “It’s on a high-profile site and there’s a lot of local interest in how it’s going to turn out.” When David McDonald refers to his residential building company’s work as “high-quality” he’s not kidding. He knows the meaning of quality after spending time as a foreman building homes for the rich and famous in London — so rich and famous he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to hide their identities. From that high-end two-year stint in London, David returned to Godzone and set up in Naenae, Wellington, at the humblest end of the New Zealand construction industry: a sole trader taking on work where he could find it and building his reputation on it. He’s since grown DJM Construction to its current team of four tradesmen, including David, who are deep into building two new houses in Mount Victoria, central Wellington, after removing an old house and sub-dividing the section. Called Fallowfield, the project will deliver one two-storey and one three-storey townhouse fronting the street and designed in sympathy with the predominantly early 1900s existing architecture. The houses will have footprints of 200sqm (the two-storey one) and 300sqm, and after starting the job before last Christmas, David’s expecting to complete it around October/November this year. “It’s a bit of a statement project for us,” David says. “It’s on a high-profile site and there’s a lot of local interest in how it’s going to turn out.” Before David headed to London to do his OE, he completed a carpentry apprenticeship with the Wellington firm Laurie Wotton Builders, staying with that company until 2013. He then happened to meet Nick and Tony Griffith of the Christchurch company GriffBuild over a beer at a rugby sevens tournament in Christchurch, and they promptly offered him a job in Christchurch. Within a fortnight he’d moved to the Garden City. “I learned a lot from Nick and Tony, doing funky and interesting work like fit-outs for restaurants and bars, including Christchurch’s The Bog Irish bar right by the casino. “A lot of it was intricate work, and because it was so highly visible to the public, quality was of the absolute essence,” he says. David was with the GriffBuild until 2016 when he set off on his OE in London, returning to Wellington and setting up DJM Construction in 2019, beginning with labour-only contracts on jobs ranging from renovations, bathrooms and kitchens to outdoor spaces and landscaping. “I took on my first employee at the end of 2020, and we did a variety of work including three or four new builds before growing to our present strength,” David says. “A major part of the company’s success has been my wife Amber, who does an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, looking after invoicing, quotes and paperwork. “I’m not looking at growing the company bigger than it already is. I’m a fussy person and like to have my finger on the pulse, so there’s no way I’ll be coming off the tools to spend my days running round in a car with a phone glued to my ear,” he says.
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