18 SJR BUILDERS HOUSE OF THE YEAR <strong>2023</strong> WE’VE DONE IT AGAIN! PO BOX 5300, Hamilton 3242 | 07 847 9993 | 027 276 1161 www.sjrbuilders.co.nz 208149AA
A Cooks Beach family bach takes out Master Builders’ supreme While it may be affectionately known as the ‘family bach’, a stunning home in Cooks Beach has taken out the Supreme House of the Year over $1 million award at the <strong>2023</strong> <strong>Waikato</strong> Registered Master Builders House of the Year. HOUSE OF THE YEAR <strong>2023</strong> SJR BUILDERS 19 Built by SJR Builders, and designed by Hamilton Architects Edwards White, the award-winning home is proof of the outstanding craftsmanship that goes into a project of this calibre. It’s not a first for SJR, having entered the awards since 2013, the team have picked up many Master Builders awards over the years including Regional Supreme Award three times, the builders coveted Craftsmanship Award twice, Lifestyle awards, Regional Category and Gold Awards. Along with the multitude of local awards, SJR Builders have achieved seven national awards. SJR company director Steve Ross says entering the awards is a great way to acknowledge the team’s expertise. “I’m very happy for them to be recognised for the workmanship and their toil at the coalface,” he says. “As a company owner, I'm proud of my staff and their workmanship. It’s a collaborative process to actually bring a build to life, and that includes the whole team of subcontractors, the architects and the fantastic owners.” What makes Steve and the team most happy is the Pink Batts Craftsmanship Award also bestowed on this project. “The craftsmanship award is something we all go for as builders, so we're pretty happy about that.” The unassuming street view belies the grandeur and intricacy of this beautiful home perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Spanning three levels, the lower portion uses waterproofed concrete structures, while the upper portion consists of structural steel and timber framing. No build is without its challenges and the constrained site access and complex ground conditions on this project were met with a carefully planned and staged building process. The Cooks Beach home was built over three phases; the first phase was a two-bedroom ‘bunker’ dug into the cliff-face with a tunnel to connect it to the rest of the build. Boring deep holes of up to eight metres down to bed rock and filling them with reinforced concrete, tested SJR Builders’ expertise. Navigating the difficult access to the underground concrete bedroom wing required exceptional skill. Once finished the owners moved in and old bach was removed. The next stages saw the completion of the tunnel, the lift shaft and then the main bach was built. The tunnel is one of the features that Steve gets a kick out of; connecting the ‘bunker’ with the main bach, it was built to provide covered access as well as an element of secrecy. “It’s a proper tunnel. The owner wanted something that felt really grounded to the earth and that was a really great way to do it.” Designed with the family in mind, the build is a home of two halves, with the ’bunker’ an oasis for the owners while two upper levels are the retreat for the adult children, their kids and guests. “It’s a fantastic design for the whole family to use it at the same time but still have their own spaces.” Outside, stone cladding and paving showcase the skill and attention to detail by the SJR Builders team. The cedar cladding is beautifully crafted and the door setout is immaculate. The complex structural steel work and columns are perfectly aligned, and are a testament to the precision and expertise of the team. Inside, the curved surfaces have been expertly executed, and the finishes including textured plaster, tiling, timber, plasterboard and painting add to the stunning result. To say the owners are thrilled with the result is an understatement, they are so pleased with their new home they’ve even invited Steve and his team to stay. “We're lucky to have great owners, as we do with all our projects, and one of the most satisfying things is for my staff and myself to be offered the use of bach.” Entering the awards is one of the few ways Steve uses to market SJR Builders. “It's good to have our name out there and associated with Master Builders and the awards.” Steve started out working for Stewart Hanna in his company, buying into the business in 1998 and acquired full ownership in 2005. He purchased the company knowing the excellent and long-standing reputation that Stewart Hanna Ltd had gained over the years. A name change to SJR Builders Ltd in 2019 was a process undertaken over time and reflects the high regard for the Stewart Hanna Ltd brand. Steve’s goal with a SJR project has always been to exceed client’s expectations and, while he’s no longer on the tools, he’s involved in the project from woe to go. “I run the business from quantity surveying, liaising with the clients and architects and bringing it all together. I get the projects going forward and make sure that we deliver what we say we're going to deliver,” he says. Having that input in a project from the outset, Steve says, is vital to producing a build that is not only of a high quality but delivers on budget. “We like to get involved with clients very early on, and we'll work with architects from the outset,” he says. “It’s a benefit to the client because we've been looking at the plans as they're getting designed for cost efficiency around material and labour. And we actually know the whole project, so when the building consent is finalised, when we start on the job, we’re straight into it.” SJR Builders work a wide range of residential projects from the minor home repairs to the more complex builds of high end architecturally designed homes. The beauty of this, Steve says, is the ability to apply the innovative thinking, ideas and products specified by architects and clients on the building site. NATIONAL AWARDS WON Top 100 REGIONAL AWARDS WON Regional Supreme House of the Year Regional Pink Batts Craftsmanship Regional Category Winner Regional Gold A preferred and trusted supplier. Proud to be the plumber of choice for SJR Builders
Change language