| 85 Glenbuild Ltd Getting people on same page key for builder Virginia Wright The renovation of an Auckland villa included lifting the house four metres in the air and adding a contemporary structure at the rear. BUILDING When Finn Glengarry completed his building apprenticeship in 1991 there wasn’t a lot of work around so he set up his own business and got underway doing renovations, decks and whatever work came through. A few years later he went into partnership with his parents Rob and Lyn. Rob was also a builder but had been working as a project manager and was happy to join forces with his son and be his own boss. They worked in partnership for 20 or so years and in that time covered the spectrum of buildings from renovations to retirement villages, commercial to education buildings, and eventually high-end residential builds. Finn bought his parents out in 2011 and is now the sole director of Glenbuild Ltd, which remains a very family orientated business. Written into his business plan is that he chooses only to work with good people which is no doubt made easier by the fact that his business comes almost entirely through word of mouth. As he says it saves a world of problems from the outset. The Glenbuild team of two site managers, four carpenters, two apprentices and an office manager includes two who have been there for 25 or so years. “We’ve got a team of really good practitioners who do a great job, and a key part of the business is Julie Curtis my PA come office manager who takes care of all the guys. Again, all round good people which is really important to me,” says Finn. The work these days is high-end residential with around 70% renovations and 30% new builds. “Generally high-end and a reasonable size, we work on some beautiful homes around Auckland,” says Finn. One of the homes in question is a new build just completed on Waiheke designed by architect Evelyn McNamara. Glenbuild have now built four of her houses of which three are on Waiheke. “They’re stunning homes, very architectural. She’s got an incredible design eye so good fun to work with. A lot of glass and soft mediums like vertical timber cladding and clever work with facades and slats. It’s always challenging and we have to pay attention to detail. That’s one of the things I put a huge emphasis on is making sure every detail’s perfect,” says Finn. Renovations in central Auckland can also be technically challenging as increasing numbers of villas, no doubt originally built with plenty of land around them, are brought into the 21st century with a modern extension while keeping the integrity and character of the older building. Glenbuild recently had an old villa four metres up in the air on stilts while they excavated beneath it, built a basement and put a swimming pool out the back before dropping it back to its former position. “It’s a full width villa on a relatively tight site, it’s a metre off the front boundary and a metre off the side boundary, so it’s quite a technical project that we pulled off with the help of some very experienced house-lifters,” says Finn. The next phase on that house is also typical of Auckland renovations in that it involves stitching a modern kitchen extension onto the back of the old villa, the sort of work that is core business for Glenbuild Ltd. As far as Finn’s concerned the key remains attention to detail, trusting the architect’s vision, and being prepared to problem solve on-site to bring it to fruition. “We invariably have a demarcation line where you’ve got period on one side of a wall and modern on the other. When you look at it from the front you’re looking at an old villa and when you’re looking at it from the back you’re looking at a contemporary build with expanses of glasses and polished concrete floors and all the modern conveniences. You can see them throughout Auckland.” With the level of expertise they have on the team Finn’s confident that Glenbuild can handle a variety of work and pivot to move into whatever size, scale and technical challenges a build might offer. Whether it’s big or small he’s determined that everyone involved is on the same wavelength, including the client. “They have to be on board and realistic and that’s for us to educate them around budgets and degree of difficulty. One of my strengths is that I’m a pretty good communicator with clients so I make sure that I tie everyone together and we’re able to move forward.” Proud to support Glenbuild Ltd info@bmeltd.co.nz 0800USE BME 9/251 Lincoln Rd, Henderson, Auckland 0610 Accounts – Deb Elsmore When Quality Counts McKain Fibrous Plasters are proud to support Glenbuild Ltd FOR ALL YOUR FIBROUS PLASTER & PLASTERBOARD LINING REQUIREMENTS www.mckain.co.nz 09 634 8803
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