| 113 T T Sue Russell Ups and downs, but no regrets Younger Builders has completed many stunning homes in the region. Younger Builders BUILDING About five years ago, Hamish Younger decided it was time to go out on his own and make a go of running a business, and though he initially ended up contracting out to another building company, the seeds of wanting to steer his own destiny in building were sown. “To have more control of the builds I got involved in became really important to me and I’ve now been fully independent for about three years. It’s something I’m pretty proud of really,” Hamish says. Based in Mangawhai, Northland, Hamish acknowledges the journey has not been without its challenges and sees there are definite pros and cons to running a company; however, he hasn’t once regretted the decision. “When you’re just starting out on your own you have to be doing everything. Working in the business and on the business, as well as trying to generate more work, you seem to wear an array of hats. Now I have a small team working with me so it allows me to delegate certain tasks. It still means I’m putting in long days, so I’m conscious that finding a manageable work/life balance is really important to work on.” Switching off from business once home has been the biggest challenge, Hamish freely acknowledges. He also has come to realise that having the right staff, who can undertake projects to the standard he expects, is critcally important and a factor he understands will impact on the future growth of the company. Hamish says the team will travel anywhere from Warkworth to Waipu, down the east coast. “We do everything really. In the first two years when I started, we had a couple of new builds and a large renovation to keep us busy; however, last year was all renovation work and I’ve noticed a shift and tightening in the market for sure.” Today, Hamish has a site foreman and two apprentices on board, each one two years through their qualification journey, and when Business North spoke with him in September, the team was working on a large residential home with a floor area of approximately 335sqm. The brief for the home was to keep true to the traditional farm-house look, with a lot of timber features, with a two-metre-wide verandah and posts enclosing the home. A low 12° pitched roof gives the home a solid, well settled on the land feel. “It’s got a real farm-house vibe with horizontally laid abodo weatherboards and timber panel macrocarpa soffits. I really like the home. It very much belongs in its landscape. We’re about halfway through this project and it’s going well. In Mangawhai itself there are new sections being developed, which bodes well for future residential work.” A visit to Younger Builders’ website provides readers with a range of purpose-built home designs Hamish says offer viewers some great food for thought across an array of plans and home sizes. “I found I was spending a lot of time compete pricing against multiple builders, spending countless hours and no guarantee of winning the job, so with these homes on our website, created by a local designer, it means we can engage with clients at the design stage and work in with them from the beginning with hope of a better chance at securing the work. I have got a very good sense of what the homes will cost to build.” While there are some pipeline projects, Hamish is keen to have more enquiries come in, to cement a strong start to the New Year. Reliable and Professional Your local Mangawhai plumbers, servicing the Kaipara region Contact Us 027 278 1120 admin@allanpgs.co.nz Chris Butler Ph. 021 022 444 72 crispypaintingltd@gmail.com Professional Interior and Exterior Painting New Builds Renovations Re-Paints 10 Years Experience Free Quotes Proud to support Younger Builders
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