100 | BUILDING Dragon Construction “There are heaps of little things that you can do that really don’t cost too much more, but improve the quality of your living environment exponentially.” When the big housing companies sink their millions into building whole streets of new houses in booming Canterbury, labour-only contractor Dragon Construction comes into its own, building multiple houses at a time for the likes of Mike Greer Homes, McBride Property Developments and Wolfbrook. With four or five teams of builders – 16 to 20 in all – Welshman Matt Lewis and his company Dragon Construction are bringing ever-more new homes to the Christchurch and Canterbury market. “I’ve actually lost count of the total number of homes we’ve built, but it would run into the hundreds,” Matt says. “It’s a pretty simple business structure; the national housing company client supplies the new-home buyers, the plans, the land and the materials, and we do the rest — a complete turn-key package from building through to landscaping. “Of course, to keep the work flowing we’ve had to earn and keep the confidence of our clients that their clients will be wholly satisfied with their new-house investment, which is why we put such a high priority on high-quality workmanship. In Queenstown, where new homes are often designed to make the most of spectacular views and achieve a particular aesthetic, builder Phil Kingsbury believes some of the most important decisions are the ones homeowners may never see. It’s an approach that has seen Phil increasingly specialise in low-energy homes, applying many of the principles behind passive house construction without necessarily pursuing formal certification. Phil founded Kingsbury Construction 12 years ago and now leads a team of close to 12 staff building homes in and around Queenstown. His interest in the field, however, began much earlier. While studying architecture at university, Phil spent his holidays working for a builder. Seeing traditional construction methods firsthand while learning about passive house design sparked his interest in how homes could perform better. “I looked at the renovations we were doing and the new houses we were doing, and I thought we haven’t changed much in the last 50 years,” he says. After graduating in 2009, Phil intended to pursue architecture. Instead, his employer encouraged him to stay on, complete his building apprenticeship and become qualified. “I just loved it,” he says. “I still dabble a little bit in architecture just enough to keep my toe wet, but I really enjoy building.” That combination of design and construction experience has shaped the way Phil approaches his projects. After becoming a certified passive house tradesperson, he began applying many of the same principles to conventional homes, believing small changes can make a significant difference to comfort and running costs. “There are heaps of little things that you can do that really don’t cost too much more, but improve the quality of your living environment exponentially,” he says. Those improvements include reducing thermal bridging, improving insulation and using mechanical ventilation to better control the indoor environment. While certified passive house projects remain relatively uncommon — “there are Coming into its own... Dragon Construction has built houses throughout Canterbury. T T Hugh de Lacy Small steps towards large benefits T T Kim Bowden Kingsbury Construction so many hoops to jump through” — Phil says many of the techniques can be incorporated into homes of any size. “It doesn’t have to be a big 500sqm home,” he says. “I’m building a 70sqm studio at the moment and we’re still employing all those wonderful little principles.” One recent project in Kelvin Heights began with what sounded like a straightforward maintenance job: a leaky skylight. What followed turned into a full renovation as the homeowners decided to incorporate many of the low-energy principles Phil advocates. “They live in a relatively cold house in Christchurch, and they just wanted to implement some of these principles,” he says. “It’s pretty low cost to heat, and it’s a big house…it’s like half of what the house in Christchurch is to heat at the same time.” A new build on Slope Hill Road offered the chance to apply the same thinking from the ground up. The clients, who had moved from London, initially envisaged a more traditional masonry-style home, reflecting the type of construction they were familiar with in the UK. Working with architect Steph Phillips, Phil helped guide them towards a lightweight timber-framed design that incorporated airtightness and low-energy principles while still making the most of the site’s views. The completed home is close to 400sqm, with a living space that reaches eight metres at its highest point. Despite the size of the home, Phil says maintaining a comfortable indoor environment has been a highlight. “They’ve just moved in, and they love it,” he says. “They’ve turned the underfloor heating all the way down to the lowest setting because they’re not used to living in such a warm house.” “Every one of the new-home buyers is an instant critic of our work, so we work in the constant awareness that our houses have to be better than ‘up to scratch’; they’ve got to be faultless.” Dragon Construction has built houses throughout Christchurch, North Canterbury, Lyttelton and Hanmer. The company builds some homes under its own initiative, but its main clients are among some of the country’s biggest players in a Canterbury home construction market that has been buoyant since the 2010-2011 earthquakes. Matt formed Dragon Construction in 2017, and in February of next year he’ll be celebrating its tenth anniversary. “We’re based at offices on Salisbury Street, Christchurch, and I’m a Licensed Building Practitioner, and founded Dragon Construction after coming here from Australia, initially on a holiday but then never leaving,” Matt says. He grew up and did his carpentry apprenticeship in Wales, which is why he called his company Dragon. “Of course, the dragon is the symbol of Wales, but a red dragon is also a very lucky symbol in Chinese, so the company more or less named itself,” he says. Those improvements include reducing thermal bridging, improving insulation and using mechanical ventilation to better control the indoor environment. Branches in the following locations... Contact us: 033440132 | Email us: DragonConstruction Proudly supporting DRAGON CONSTRUCTION LTD Ph: 020 4024 7934 Renovations Restorations Maintenance New Builds
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