| 89 Canterbury - Irving Builders Raising the bar on home builds Karen Phelps Irving Builders won a Master Builders gold award for this extensive renovation of a 1905 St Albans villa. BUILDING R a i s i n g t h e s t a n d a r d Working together – Creating smart solutions Proudly supporting Irving Builders Level 1, 2 Ballarat Way, Christchurch call 03 344 3301 or visit curtisarchitecture.co.nz at curtisarchitecturenz Find us on Proud to support Irving Builders JE Tiling Phone: Jeff 027 228 0867 email: jeff.ellis@xtra.co.nz Residential tiling Floating timber flooring installation Nurajack deck installation Being great simply isn’t good enough for Christchurch company Irving Builders. “We want to be the best in our field and to set the standards for others to follow, always raising the bar through constant improvement and innovation,” says company owner Lance Irving. It’s this philosophy that has seen Irving Builders win numerous awards for its projects over the years, most recently at the 2021 Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition. Irving Builders won three awards in two categories: a gold and bronze in Renovation $750,000-$1m and a bronze in New Home $600,000-$750,000. Lance says the awards are a reflection of the work ethic of his entire team and a focus on communication between all parties, including client, as the key ingredient to a successful building project. A real point of difference is that Irving Builders offers a multi skilled team including carpenters, painters, machine operators and even its own excavator in-house. “Because we do most things in-house we can keep good control over quality and timing of projects,” explains Lance. The gold award winning project the company worked on in St Albans, Christchurch is a good example. It not only won gold but was also named a Regional Category Winner. The 1905 villa had an extensive post-earthquake upgrade with a renovation began from the ground up, with the entire house being re-levelled. Lance says it was a complex project as the new support structure involved replacing the foundations and re-piling. The renovation had to respect the original home but also take into consideration the homeowners’ desire for contemporary living. “The brief was for an easy flow between living spaces, a design that provided highend entertaining options, and a work-fromhome set-up. There was also the challenge of modernising the home with high-spec fixtures, fittings and home automation, while still retaining the graceful villa aesthetic,” says Lance. This meant that the existing sash windows underwent onsite upgrades and double-glazing, and the original ceiling roses were protected and enhanced. The end result is an award winning elegant home that cleverly infuses contemporary living, while retaining all the charm of a classic style. The two bronze award winners were a new two-bedroom home in Sumner. An existing home on the site was moved to a new location and the leadlights from this old home installed into the new windows of the new build. To do this Lance says the glass needed to be strengthened but the leadlights create a real connection between old and new. “We want to be the best in our field and to set the standards for others to follow, always raising the bar through constant improvement and innovation.” He says the client worked closely with Irving Builders on the project, demonstrating the company’s ability to work collaboratively to deliver the finished result the client desires. The result means the home is infused with the personality of the owners, says Lance, making for a truly unique build. The project also included major renovations of the existing sleepout and extensive landscaping of the backyard into a beautiful garden. The other bronze award winner was an extension to a home in West Melton. The 143sqm addition includes a large leisure room and bathroom, and a new swimming pool. Lance says the challenge on such projects is always to ensure that the addition ties in seamlessly with the existing home. The new wing has a timber frame with plaster cladding to match the existing home. Extra effort was made to match the downpipes, schist columns and other features. Once again collaboration was key on this project including Irving Builders jumping on its digger to investigate if drain-laying costs were viable for the client. Early in the design-and-build process, contractors and suppliers also became involved adding valuable insight. Innovation is a hallmark of Irving Builders to save clients time and money and on this project the solution was to extend the distance between the scissor trusses removing the need for engineers, designers and block layers. Irving Builders tackles new builds, renovations and projects such as retaining walls in Christchurch and Canterbury. Lance says working with clients to build or develop their dream home, as it did on these award winning projects, is always the passion and driving force of the whole Irving Builders team.
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