Gracelands Retirement Villiage

This project consisted of 32 new 94m2 two bedroom villas made of concrete raft floor, timber framing, clad with brick and timber weatherboard, aluminium joinery and pressed metal roofing with long run fascia and spouting. We completed a full contract job including landscaping to give the client a turn-key product.

The project was due to commence in Feb 2019 but due to council queries didn’t start until June 2019 with a revised completion date of Feb 2020. The initial delay meant that the foundations were started in winter and with the clay base of the site did not allow surface water to drain, causing delays in the laying of the subgrade. Also, during the laying of the sanitary pipework under the floor it was found that the sewer had been laid to incorrect heights as per what was given on the plan, thus requiring extra engineering to the raft floor system. Despite this we were able to gain time during the build by engaging extra sub trades. We proposed a new wall wrap system that was accepted by the client and architect which allowed internal works to commence while exterior brickwork was still being laid, allowing multiple work faces to commence during all-weather events. We received praise for the quality of the finishes and as a result the client has engaged us to build the next 2 stages of the development (33 villas).

Feedback from the client as to why they chose Alexanders was that they felt that our professional approach was evident from the outset with the team we met in Auckland at the initial pre-tender meeting. After dealing with many companies around NZ, a local fi rm with local subcontractors would be a good fi t as they would be able to have a strong presence on site and if any issues were to arise they could be attended to in a timely manner. Our health and safety systems were robust, any queries were answered and info provided at short notice. The reporting on site was accurate and maintained to a high standard. Site presentation was also of a high standard giving a feeling of pride in our work with all aspects of the build process.