118 | Custom Build T T Hugh de Lacy Thriving on the tricky projects Custom Build Ltd, turn their skills to an array of renovation and addition projects throughout the Waikato and beyond. BUILDING From building a deck for whanau to fitting out eight residential units for a landlord, owner Jay Whitiora and his construction company, Custom Build Ltd, turn their skills to an array of renovation and addition projects throughout the Waikato and beyond. Custom Build also builds one or two houses a year, but thrives on the fixing-up and extending part of the residential construction market. Jay and his team build or refurbish everything from decks and fences to bathrooms, window joinery and kitchen installations. Based in a 102sqm workshop at Kiwitahi, near Morrinsville, Custom Build comprises Jay, who’s a qualified builder and licensed building practitioner, another qualified builder, Jackson Tamiparea, and apprentice Rhiley Whitiora. Making it a whanau affair, Nikau Whitiora also helps out during school holidays, along with other students. “Ninety per cent of our clients are repeat customers, so it shows we are doing things right,” Jay says. His company has worked everywhere from Cambridge and Hamilton through to Waiheke Island, Te Kuiti, Kawhia, Taharoa, Matamata, Raglan, Huntly, Morrinsville, Putaruru and upmarket Auckland suburb Remuera. “Our best renovation to date was a complete strip-out back to the frames for former Maori All Black, Waikato and Auckland Blues player Jackson Willison and his wife Izzy when they arrived back in 2022 from Jackson playing rugby in France,” says Jay. Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. Each edition priority delivered to your door. i i i i li . www.waterfordpress.co.nz/subscriptions . t f . . / i ti 03 983 5525 Stay informed; we work with business owners and decision-makers across all economic sectors, profiling their success. t i f r ; r it i r i i - r r ll i t r , r fili t ir . businessnorth “All the walls had to be internally straightened and insulated, plus new joinery, bathroom, ensuite and kitchen. Materials and finishing were to the highest standards, as an interior designer was employed, and Izzy expected nothing but the best. “Most of our work is in renovations and additions, where we’ve been prepared to take on just about any project, and especially the tricky ones that other builders might shy away from,” Jay says. “For example, we recently completed for whanau a three-metre-high deck with opentread stairs notched out on stair stringers with laminated beams and posts. This was from architectural drawings, but there was a fiveweek delay in getting the laminated beams, so we ended up having to build it backwards, starting with the frame, then the joists, then the bearers and posts, but we got there, and everyone was pretty happy with the result – it just shows you’ve got to rise to the challenges. “Another project was a renovation and refit of eight apartment units in Hamilton East, involving new kitchens, carports, curtains and roofing, and we had the job done in three and a half months.” Jay completed a carpentry apprenticeship with Gary Mason Builders in Christchurch, coming out of his time in 2010, after which he moved to Auckland for a year, working for KB Construction, before returning home to the Waikato and launching Custom Build in 2012. Jay had up to six staff working for him in the brief boom that followed the Covid pandemic, but with that behind him he was happy to settle back into a smaller operation. “Hopefully the staff can take over the business at some time in the future,” he says. JAY WH I T I ORA QU A L I F I E D L I C E NS E D B U I L D E R 027 525 3342 info@custombuildltd.co.nz New Zealand Certi ed Builders Association CB I N K . A R C H I T E C T U R E e: admin@inkarc.co.nz p: 07 823 1194 w: www.inkarc.co.nz
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