Don't you worry 'bout a thing

17 Lemington Rd, Westmere. Photo / Geoff Dale

Building a home is one of the biggest challenges that can people take on. Unless you've worked with a builder before, trying to find the right one can be something of a lottery.

We put some key questions to Martin Wiltshire, of David Reid Homes North Shore, about how David Reid Homes stands out from the crowd.

What sort of guarantee can David Reid Homes provide?

Martin says the company's guarantee has been put in place to ensure that clients won't lose their deposit or, if their home has been started, will have their home finished even if their builder goes under.

"The guarantee was introduced about two years ago in the wake of uncertainty about the industry when there were lots of builders falling over," says Martin. "It's backed up by head office and it means you won't lose your deposit, and if one franchise that's building your house falls over, another one will take over and finish it off so no one's out of pocket." David Reid Homes is also a member of the Registered Master Builders Federation and offers their structural warranty and other guarantees.

How do I know that the builders will stay on site once they start?

"Basically when we do houses, unlike other companies where the builder might be doing three houses at once, we focus on doing the one," says Martin. "We only allow the builder to move on to the next home when he's about three-quarters of the way through the house he's working on and that's generally in the last six weeks of the build when there are a lot of other trades on site and effectively he has a lot of downtime. We focus on fewer builds of a higher quality - it's all about that one build, not churning through 10 in a month."

How do I know that the builder will achieve the level of quality that I have seen at the show home?

"The showhomes are how we finish our homes," says Martin. "Our homes are of a higher standard because we use higher standard Batts, we use higher standard gib on the ceilings and we automatically do things like skimming of the walls in places like bathrooms; here the finish really shows up. The fact that we have used our trades for such a long time means they know the level of finish we expect."

Will the house design meet my expectations in reality?

Martin says David Reid Homes has a detailed planning process where it tries to sort out all the issues before a build starts so their clients know exactly what their home will look like inside and out. "We spend the time up front trying to portray what our clients are getting," says Martin. "We sit down for several meetings and take them through what they will see in their house." Part of that process are 3D walk-throughs of the home so people can get a feel for the flow of the home and the positioning of walls, windows and doors. It also gives people an idea of how their home will look on the outside with different claddings or colours. "Everyone who has used the 3D walk-throughs loves them. That's what it's all about because building should be fun."

Readers are invited to ask David Reid Homes questions regarding the design-and-build process. Puzzled by an issue involved with planning a new home or a major renovation? Email graham.hepburn@nzherald.co.nz