106 | Rodger Owen Building T T Richard Loader Rimu timber framing needed straightening Creating an open-plan kitchen and dining area required removing some walls. BUILDING Rodger Owen Building’s renovation of a 60-plus-year-old home has delighted the client, with the bonus of hugely increasing its energy efficiency. The project started with a telephone call from a Dunedin woman who owned a house in Balclutha that she previously rented, Rodger says. “She’d seen my Facebook page, and through word-of-mouth too, because Balclutha is such a small place.” The client has a cake-making business and needed a modern, functional new kitchen that would meet the needs of her business. “Rather than just one oven she’s got two, plus a cook top and a large pantry area in the hallway where she can store all her products for her cakes. It was designed with her business in mind, so it’s not your standard kitchen.” The renovation involved stripping the inside of the house, except for the bedrooms and building a new kitchen and bathroom and installing new aluminium joinery, plus relining and replacing some insulation. Creating an open-plan kitchen and dining area required removing some walls, and because the existing ceiling was at different heights in some rooms, remedial work included installing a new beam in one area and packing other areas to create one level. Hardboard and Pinex ceilings were replaced with plasterboard and, because about half of the glass insulation batts in the ceiling had degraded, this was replaced, plus the exterior walls were newly insulated, with a damp-proof membrane placed between the exterior cladding and the insulation and interior linings. Because of the age of the house, its rimu timber framing needed straightening and planing before the plasterboard was fitted. “You need that to be pretty much perfect, especially in the bathroom where the shower was installed and where the kitchen bench top is,” Rodger explains. The client retained the house’s existing wood burner and has noticed a huge difference in the heat retention as a result of both the insulation and the double-glazed aluminium joinery. The renovation took Rodger Owen Building just two months and was completed before Christmas. “I’m really stoked with the result, the client’s really happy. I always look at it as if it’s my place and am I going to be happy. It looks great. For me, when you go to a job site, work with the client and what they’ve got envisioned – bringing that to life for them and seeing that through for them and doing it well is very satisfying.” Rodger started in the industry in 2006 before becoming an adult apprentice with local company Ross Andrew Builders at the age of 30, after deciding he needed to be a tradesman rather than just a labourer. He qualified in 2013. “I was just wanting to get into whatever, and a labouring job for a builder came up and the rest is history. Things have worked out well. One of the big things for me with building is that at the end of the day you can see the progress that you’ve made, and I think there’s a lot of job satisfaction when you do something and you do it well. “My way of looking at a job is if I’m not happy with it, then why would I be happy for anyone else to have it, so quality is definitely big on my radar.” Our Services Include: • Stainless fabrication • Welding specialists • On site contracting & installation • Structural Engineering • General Engineering • ASME IX Welding & Wine industries 4703 • OW-2205-01 Procedure • OWSS1 Procedure Tim Hutton South Otago Branch Manager | Balclutha P: 03 418 0114 M: 027 408 5843 027 722 6942 | andersonlaying@gmail.com PROUD TO SUPPORT RODGER OWEN BUILDING Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST?
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