118 | Variety the spice of life The Starvation Hill project presented Plains Construction with a distinctly different – and much faster – building system than the standard wooden framing. Plains Construction BUILDING T T from page 117 “The floor panels comprise LVL joists with a plywood skin, forming a ‘stress skin panel’ with R2.5 insulation that reduces joist sizes. It was a new one on us, but we appreciated it, and look forward to building more houses to the same system.” Potius Panel Systems was founded in Nelson in 2007 with the aim of developing and marketing a new structural floor and roof system for a northern South Island market, in particular, whose appetite for strong and secure homes was shortly afterwards whetted by the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes. More typical of the work Plains Construction undertakes was a multi-million-dollar, conventionally framed, architecturally designed house in Christchurch suburb, Merivale. Designed by Christchurch architects Case Ornsby, the 300sqm three-bedroom mansion took two years to build. In the sprawling new Pegasus township, north of Rangiora, Plains Construction built an even bigger three-bedroom house, 330sqm, designed by architect Barry Morton and featuring cedar fascias with brick and cedar cladding. While most of the country’s residential building industry has been going through hard times over the past couple of years, Christchurch and, in particular, North Canterbury, have remained busy throughout, James says. “When I took over from Colin we had a staff of six, and today we have seven permanents, plus subcontractors, so we’ve been able to more than hold our own through what have been tight times for builders elsewhere, especially in the North Island. “We continue to see a steady flow of North Islanders moving to Christchurch and North Canterbury, especially from Auckland. “They’re attracted by the fact that new housing is cheaper here than most other places in the country, and Rangiora in particular is benefiting from the trend, being one of the fastest- growing towns in the country. “There are new subdivisions going in north of the Waimakariri River all the way up to Amberley and beyond and having one foot in the Christchurch market and the other in North Canterbury has worked well for us,” James says. It’s all about collaboration. We’re pleased to be associated with Plains Construction. To find out how we can make your business life better, give Warwick Watts a call. 03 365 0768 warwickw@duns.co.nz www.duns.co.nz (03) 366 4320 lewisandbarrow.co.nz BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION NOW Proud to support Plains Construction LEWIS & BARROW LTD Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers Plains Construction 2024/25
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