104 | Ensuring a quality build While they enjoy the challenge of complex renovations, they are also familiar with new builds. G Ford Building T T Virginia Wright BUILDING From the time he started his apprenticeship at the age of 24, Gary Ford had the clear goal of working for himself by the time he was 40, and that’s exactly what he achieved when he set up G Ford Building Ltd in Mosgiel. Four years on, with work picking up, he acknowledges he wasn’t expecting it to be quite as much work with all the quotes and organising to be done behind the scenes, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Gary did his apprenticeship with Southern Building Contractors in Dunedin, which gave him a solid grounding in his trade. “We did a bit of everything and we did it from start to finish: renos, new builds, developments, after nine and a half years doing all of that you pretty much learn everything you need to know,” says Gary. Following that up with five-and-a-half years working for Copland Building exposed him to more architectural builds, and “being the foreman, running the jobs, gave me the confidence to do my own thing”. After a few years of working with only an apprentice he found through BCITO, he has now employed two qualified builders. His early workload of bathroom and kitchen renovations and the odd one-bedroom house (less than 100sqm) gradually increased through word-of- mouth referrals, and recently the builder Gary did his apprenticeship with retired. “He passed on some of his contacts, which led to more work, so that gave me the confidence to take on a couple more guys,” says Gary. Like him, they are experienced in building from the ground up, “from slab to finish”, which is exactly what their inherited clients want. “We don’t subcontract things out, we do it all. I find that when a job is run by heaps of different contractors coming in it means the quality of the work isn’t as good. They’re not thinking about the person coming behind them because they’re paid to do a certain stage for a contract rate, whereas if you’re in control of everything it’s all tidy and done to spec,” explains Gary. While they enjoy the challenge of complex renovations, they are also familiar with new builds, some of which come with their own challenges, such as the big, two-storey house on a sloping section they finished in Cromwell last year. “It was reasonably high-spec, 350 squares. The trickiest bit was getting it out of the ground because it was all on gravel so we used a local excavation company used to working with gravel. Then the second storey was bigger than the ground floor so it had to be cantilevered over the retaining wall, which gave them level access to their sunny back yard,” says Gary. The team is about to start on some two-bedroom, duplex apartments for a developer in Dunedin. “They’re quite small, but sturdy and well-insulated mid-spec apartments we’re building for the rental market,” says Gary. The subbies such as electricians and plumbers that work with G Ford Building become part of his wider team; they know they will get his work, and reliably do a good job in return. The net result is a well-built house that will stand the test of time. Gary is looking forward to a high-end architectural build at some stage, and in the meantime is open to whatever work comes along, a renovation or a new build, big or small, tricky or straightforward, he and his team are ready to take it on. GARY & KATIE AT G. FORD BUILDING IS PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH Moore Markhams Otago is part of a global network of offices, providing accounting and advisory services, advising local, national and international clients in the public and private sectors. 03 477 0032 otago@markhams.co.nz markhams.co.nz Queenstown Dunedin Accountants and Advisors
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