92 | Stylish homes in coastal settings Coastal Construction Northland has built numerous beautiful homes on the east coast of Northland. Coastal Construction Northland T T Hugh de Lacy BUILDING A little village north-east of Whangarei is home to building company Coastal Construction Northland, a busy business that does exactly what its name suggests: builds new homes on the coast, and demand is such that all its work is local. Whananaki is just a dot on the map, but local builder Sam Donaldson gets all his work from his immediate surroundings, as increasing numbers of Aucklanders head there for its beautiful beaches – two in particular which are linked together by a 395m-long footbridge, the longest in the Southern hemisphere. This part of the Northland coast has been a magnet for Auckland celebrities, with television personality Hilary Barry and renowned chef Al Brown both having baches there. Tiny it may be, but Sam gets all the work he wants in the area, building architecturally designed homes. Sam was a late starter in the construction business, having previously worked as a fitter at the Marsden Point oil refinery for Culham Engineering, the biggest engineering firm in Whangarei, and then going on to do fitting jobs for refineries throughout Australia. He was 30 before he came home to Northland to work for his builder father, Dennis Donaldson, who has since retired. Sam completed his carpentry apprenticeship with Dennis, and almost immediately set up Coastal Construction Northland as his own business 14 years ago. Initially on his own in Whananaki, picking up such jobs as he could, he was soon able to take on three, then five tradesmen, and before long was specialising in bespoke architectural homes and expanding his business to its present size. “Our specialty is building upmarket homes on the east coast of Northland between Whangarei and the Bay of Islands, and we usually build two or three a year,” Sam says. “It’s great for us that demand for new homes in the area is such that we don’t have to leave our own homes to build them. It’s a great advantage to be a local builder in a growing area like this, and while new building here has been on a bit of a down over the last year, it’s certainly showing new signs of life now.” Typical of the sort of home Coastal Construction builds was the 300sqm, four-bedroom house just up the coast at Moureeses Bay, which it recently completed on a tricky steep site, requiring extensive retaining walls and featuring a separate living block off to the side. The company is currently involved in a couple of new architectural builds back in Wananaki itself. “I’m pretty happy with the size of the company as it is,” Sam says. “With 10 people on the staff it’s a workable size that I’m happy with, and I don’t anticipate increasing the workforce in the foreseeable future. The point of difference that has built the company so far is the consistently high quality of our building work with up-market materials, especially cedar joinery and cladding. It’s the quality that counts in the end.” S Springbank Plumbing Ltd IF IT INVOLVES WATER, WE TAKE CARE OF IT. New Builds | Plumbing Repairs Renovations | Roo ng & Roof Repairs Pumps & Filters | Rain Water Harvesting Dan McPherson Owner 027 233 4848 springbankplumbing@gmail.com www.springbankplumbing.com www.arcwell.co.nz projects@arcwell.co.nz (09) 438 4151 Supporting local construction with steel fabrication that holds up the building, not the builder. Solid structures start with steel. Solid parterships start with us. from Concept to Design, to Fruition Coastal | Country | Residential 09 438 2590 | 027 267 9203 felicity@fcarchitect.co.nz www.fcarchitect.co.nz Established in 1997, FCA is a small innovative practice led by Felicity Christian, whose portfolio includes a wide variety of projects throughout Whangarei and Northland. BOOK IN NOW FOR 2024 Wastewater Treatment Sound Drainage Services Ltd can provide: • registered drainlayers • secondary treatment septic systems • domestic and commercial drainage • house site and driveway excavations • retaining walls • drilled holes up to 600mm in diameter • 2.5 tonne, 5 tonne and 12 tonne digger hire • 8 wheeler transporter • 6 wheeler trucks No Pumps = No Power No Servicing = No Outgoing Costs 20 yr warranty = Put it in & forget it! Sound Drainage Services Ltd | Evan Laurie 021 499 492 | sounddrainage@xtra.co.nz
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