Builders in Christchurch

[JJG]

Can anyone recommend any building companies to do our rebuild?
They ideally need to have experience in building hill properties which probably rules out the majority of the bigger companies.
Cheers

[Super_BQ]

It all depends on how fussy you are and if you're building conventional design or not. Virtually every single builder can build on the hill because CCC is pretty strict in building consents and inspections. I'll admit, virtually ALL high volume builders struggle when trying to build far above the code or build something that is unconventional. I'm only speaking from a structural point of view. A lot of the times these high volume builders can't organise anything different because they don't have the sub-contractors to do so. Each building company has their own way of doing things and to ask for something different kinda screws things up - it screws their scheduling up and that costs $$.

Then there's the aspect of finishing quality which has very little or no impact on the overall structure of the house. They all have carpets, kitchen joinery, paint, tiles, etc. However, if you wanted a seamless designed kitchen where the gaps in the joinery are within 1 mm tolerance, well then your typical builder isn't going to produce that. If you asked for engineered hardwood flooring and expect it to be layed under the island joinery instead of butting up to it (where you can see food crumbles fill in the gaps), well the high volume builder will struggle. The point is the emphasis in these builders is to do the minimum. So again I ask, would you be happy with the minimum? What's your expectations? To most people that look to build a house have no clue whatsoever when they step into a builder's show home.

For clarification, when I say high volume builders, I mean those that build more than 20 houses a year. Some build more than 200 a year.

If you have deep pockets and I mean DEEP (expecting 3 - 4 times the price of the conventional cost of building) I can recommend Warren Mahoney. You will have NO PROBLEMS and they will spend the time to get it right even if the indoor water stream isn't flowing in the right direction under your stairs. I threw in the water example as one particular house they built incorporated water inside the house. For this 100sqm place, the cost to build was over $500,000 and this was 7 or 8 years ago and this is on the flat. To build on the hill is roughly 20% more in cost because of extra cartage and extra engineering.

Many builders like to say they build houses that are energy efficient. But in my books, they have no idea. Going the maximum 2.8 R value fibreglass insulation in a 100mm (2x4") size wall stud does not mean the house is energy efficient. All the insulation in the wall isn't going to help with the condensation we get with aluminium framed double glazed windows. But apart from insulation specifics, in our house if I were to pick 1 real energy saving feature. I would have to say it's our hot water heat pump (split system) as 30 - 40% of the average power bill is for heating hot water. Check out all the other high volume builders: Fowler Homes, Benchmark, Mike Greers, Kenneally Homes, Golden Homes, Stonewood, Peter Ray Homes, and probably 10 others and ask how many houses they've done with SPLIT unit hot waterheat pumps?

[ljrobin]

Try contacting your neighborhood association. We recently received an email for our neighborhood association that had a list of builders in the area. They will also send some information about other earthquake issues. We live on St. Andrews Hill/Mount Pleasant or contact Mt Pleasant Community Association @mtpleasantcommunityassn@xtra.co.nz. Best wishes.

[Super_BQ]

We use to live in St.Andrew's hill. Specifically on Brigid Place. The earthquake has really hit those residence hard.

A list of builders in the area means little. What you have to answer is your expectations and what you want done. The small individual builder has a disadvantage in pricing of materials but not as expensive as an architecture builder like Warren & Mahoney. Furthermore, the level of build quality can vary a lot between each builder as each customer's expectation varies quite a bit - what's acceptable to one is not to another. I highly suggest you look at some of the example homes they've built and see how they survived in the earthquakes. Do they built houses that rely on Gib board bracing or do they build the old school method of checking in a diagonal wood piece across the wall studs (or more recent, use metal diagonal bracing on BOTH sides of the wall)? By the level of damage from the earthquake, not all building methods are the same.

Maybe the OP isn't interested in earthquake proofing but rather, interested in how it looks from appearance?

[sophiedb]

I know nothing about building houses, just wanted to say *hug* and hope it all goes well... *hughug*

[ljrobin]

I've sent you a PM with a link.

[ralf-nz]

They ideally need to have experience in building hill properties which probably rules out the majority of the bigger companies

Just curious, what makes you assume this?

[JJG]

Cheers for the input.

Super_BQ - We will want a strong well finished home but we won't be going to the Warren Mahoney level. The bottom line will be based on the insurance settlement so that will be the governing factor. Our house is just up from Mount Pleasant School.

ljrobin - Thanks for the link.

Sophie - Cheers it all helps.

ralf-nz - Word of mouth and I can't remember seeing any of the recent builds in the area being done by the high volume builders.

[Super_BQ]

ralf-nz - Word of mouth and I can't remember seeing any of the recent builds in the area being done by the high volume builders.

You won't because those houses in your area were built 30 or 40 years ago. Of those building companies that existed back then most likely would not exist today (either they've been wiped out by some liability lawsuit or have found better $ in Australia). I know for a fact, the majority of houses up on the hill in those areas have been badly damaged. Having said that, then there's really no point in recommending any builder from that time to build today.

You may find the level of engineering back in the 80s was nothing wrong in terms of earthquake resistance on the hill. I mean if you're asking to build a house to sustain another Sept or Feb earthquake by today's standards, you may be wasting your $ because in engineering, there comes to a cost where it's just silly $ to over-engineer that will still sustain damage. After all, who wants to be in a house that is the last one standing in a neighbourhood? Or the more likely case, on the hill that is at risk of a boulder or landslide coming down?

As for the amount of the insurance coverage, i've been finding that majority of major disaster claims are under-insured. That's because many insurance companies factor depreciation on the age of the house and the amount they pay out from a write-off will certainly not cover to build a new house. Look at the case of those downtown. I've not come across a single landlord that has walked out better with insurance coverage because they're stuck with other costs that come off the payout. Ie demolition and removal of the building + engineering charges by many professions, plus loss in rent (which would be a similar case for a family that is stuck living in a motel).

[ralf-nz]

there comes ... a cost where it's just silly $ to over-engineer that will still sustain damage.

Did you change your mind or am I misinterpreting?