112 | Callan’s passion for heritage restoration Black Stag Build Group T T Rosa Watson BUILDING Restoring historic villas back to their original glory has inspired a passion in Marlborough builder Callan Hendriks. He has been building the region for eight years with his company Black Stag Build Group, which now specialise in villa and heritage restoration. Callan has years of extensive experience in heritage buildings and over time has developed a passion for conserving the character and legacy of a building. A previous project restoring a 1905 Villa, that took over two years reignited Callan’s passion for working on older homes, and shaped Black Stag into what is now. The project inspired Callan to take on more restorations. “It was a big project, I really enjoyed it, and I quietly started angling towards that sort of thing. And here we are six or seven villas later. “I didn’t really know what Black Stag would be when I first started out. I didn’t initially intend on specialising on just one thing.” But he enjoyed the variety it offered. “I got a little bit bored with new builds, whereas I quite enjoy all the detail work and the character of these homes. I need that variety in my life.” Heritage projects also came with their own individual challenges, he said. “Until I start stripping away layers that clients want to focus on, we find all sorts of things as we go.” “We do whatever we can to make the homes economical to live in, but they do come with their limitations.” A current project underway is restoring a 1910 villa in Picton – a full exterior restoration. We’ve replaced all the windows with new units made to match the exisiting (but with double glazing of-course), and Reclad the exterior using custom-made v-groove shiplap weatherboards that were manufactured as an exact copy of the original cladding the Villa was built with. Classic bullnose verandas extending around the Villa to fully wrap 3 faces of the building, from the East all the way across the north side to the west. Callan looks forward to the opportunity to restore the interior in the coming years. While the company have honed in on restoration work, the team are also capable of picking up a wide range of work, Callan said. “Villas are what we angle towards, but we do everything. I’ve always considered any work that comes across my desk.” “That’s always kept us busy if things get quiet.” Things were busy currently, and they had work ahead for the next two years, he said. Callan moved to Marlborough from Auckland where, as an apprentice, he had worked on a number of restoration projects, many of which were heritage-listed villas. Marlborough was booming and has been since he moved there in 2015. “It was absolutely pumping here, and it hasn’t seemed to slow.” He put a lot of that down to the local wine industry, Marlborough being the largest manufacturing region in New Zealand. Next generation builders ASK Building is a team of four. T T Kelly Deeks ASK Building Experienced in a wide range of construction projects and offering the full scope of residential building services, Invercargill’s ASK Building is the construction partner to choose for a relaxed and stress-free customer experience. Started by Alex King in 2022, ASK Building is part of the new generation of builders that puts high standards of quality and communication at the top of their priority list. “Building houses is a real team effort, so the more communication you have with your client and your subtrades, the better the result,” Alex says. “Our clients are spending a lot of money to achieve their new home or renovation dream, so the team on site all needs to be on the same page to achieve the same result.” Alex has spent the past 14 years in the building trade and has worked on residential, light commercial, and rural building projects, transportable homes, and more recently, shed homes. Like any builder in a rural location, shed building is par for the course, and in recent years the rise in demand for habitable sheds for more affordable, flexible, and sustainable living has given Alex the opportunity to take his shed building skills to the next level. He even built his own shed home to live in while he worked on completing his family home on the same property. “We’ve got an upcoming shed home client who came to see mine and was sold on it straight away,” Alex says. “They are a great option and a cheaper alternative if you’re looking at something around the 100sqm mark and you still want a shed for storage. You get the best of both worlds.” ASK Building is a team of four, with Alex and a qualified foreman supporting and supported by two apprentices. Alex likes running a tight knit team where none of his staff is just a number, and everyone brings something special to the business. With high quality workmanship the objective, this is easier to achieve as a small team. And when the construction sector slows down, Alex is pleased to be able to keep his whole team in work. Alex and the ASK Building team are all passionate tradesmen who care about exceeding their customers’ expectations and enjoy being challenged on the building site. “I love the variation and the end result, and I love being challenged. The more challenging the build, the more fun I have.” Complex, time-consuming, and money-consuming, building or renovating will be stressful for all, and choosing the right builder can make all the difference to the home-owner’s experience. “I got a little bit bored with new builds, whereas I quite enjoy all the detail work and the character of these homes. I need that variety in my life.” CREATING UNIQUE & EXCEPTIONAL HOMES admin@huskdd.co.nz www.huskdd.co.nz 368 Dee Street, Invercargill Your go-to for plumbing and drainlaying in Invercargill and Southland! Expert solutions with a customer-first approach. From new homes to leaking taps, we've got you covered. Contact us today! 027 475 5924 sam@plumbsouth.co.nz
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