Tauranga RMBs make wishes come true

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These days it’s pretty rare to see a group of professionals working hard for nothing more than a good cause. But that’s exactly what happened when Tauranga Registered Master Builders got together with local tradesmen and businesses to construct a charity house in the Bay of Plenty recently.

 

The house was auctioned on 28 September, with all proceeds going to the Make a Wish Foundation and the Bay of Plenty Kiwican Charitable Trust.

 

Make a Wish Foundation has been making dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses in New Zealand for more than 20 years, while the Kiwican Charitable Trust is a programme that teaches life skills and values to 5 to 12-year-olds in primary and intermediate schools throughout the country.

 

Tauranga Master Builders Association manager Lani Christensen was “blown away” by the generosity shown from the community assisting with this project, from the builders and tradesmen on site through to the local businesses that supplied materials and promoted the project.

 

“I think people have been so generous because it’s for kids. I don’t think there are enough pages in this magazine to thank everyone,” Ms Christensen says.

 

Project Manager Shannon Moyle, of Form New Zealand Ltd based in Mount Maunganui, was also impressed by the level of sacrifice people were willing to make for the cause — not simply giving up their valuable time, but also supplying materials for the project.

 

“The free labour and supplies is where the real profit comes from and that’s what ends up going to the kids. It was a really neat thing to see in this day and age,” Mr Moyle says.

 

The project was unique because registered master builders and other local tradesmen who don’t ordinarily work together had to co-operate, making for a “really interesting dynamic on site”, according to Mr Moyle.

 

Having up to 20 people together on a site which would usually only have three people working on it also brought its own challenges.

 

“There are six to eight ways to skin a cat, and everybody has their own way of doing things. My job was to make sure the cat got skinned at the end of the day,” he explains.

 

Ultimately, the impressive level of co-operation and camaraderie on site made this project a successful one. A project like this usually takes nine weeks to complete, but the job was completed in an incredible two-and-a-half weeks.

 

Mr Moyle stresses that this hasn’t been a rush job, with the high level of craftsmanship and materials going into every part of the house contributing to the success of the recent auction.
“The whole thing has been a huge success as far as me and the Tauranga RMBA are concerned, and the successful auction was just the icing on the cake.”

 


Suppliers and contributors:


The following list gives an idea of how many people were involved in, and contributed to, the project.


The construction crew


Form Construction 
Edinbridge Resources
Coastline Homes
Harwood Homes
Kuriger Builders
Key Homes
Yalden Builders
Jennian Homes
Asset Homes
Belco Construction 
Adobe Homes
David Reid Homes
Glenn Wallace
Ken Bothwell Builders
Brian Foster Designer Builders
Gary Walmsley Builders
Shaw Builders
DY Carpenter
Hislop Builders
BOP Polytechnic tutors
Thorne Group

 


Building material suppliers


Dimond Roofing
Mount Roofing
Oregon Building Supplies
PlaceMakers
Carters
Tauranga ITM Building &
  Fencing Supplies
James Hardie
Winstone Wallboards and Gib Living Solutions
Flashman Flashing Systems
Epic Windows & Doors
Tasman Insulation and Ultra
  Pink Batts
The Interior finishing team
Mastercraft Kitchens
Guild & Spence Electrical
Ray Peacock Painters and
  Wattyl/Taubman Paints
Les Savage Plasterers
Plastering Centre
Bay Interior Plasterers
Absolute Plumbing, Tauranga
  HQW
Kingfisher Plumbing
Armstrong Plumbing
Plumbing Works
Tauranga Plumbing
Shower Solutions – Rex
  Johnston
Gerrand Floorings and
  Knightsbridge Carpets
Guinness Appliances
Home Plus
Bay Tiles and the tiling team of
  Karl Reimer and Smiley Tiling
Vivid Lighting and David
  Trubridge, in association with
  Gartner Superlux and Prolux
  Lighting
Securamax

 


The finishing touches


St Michel
Methven
Supreme Lock & Hardware and
  Miles Nelson Hardware
Range Hood Solutions
Gael Garret Design Consultant
Living Quarters at Bethlehem
Michelle McDonnell
  Landscaping

Compliance team


Westpac Bank
Harris Tate Legal
Eves Reality – Auctioneer Gordon
  Stewart
Site Safe
Scaffold Systems
Property Solutions – Valuation
Bay Inspections
Tauranga City Council
Penn Design
GHI Insurance and Lumley
  Containers BOP
Envirowaste Management
BayPark – Tauranga City Venues

 


Promotion team


Radio: 93.4 MORE FM for a magnificent contribution raising interest in the charity house, beginning with a 6pm breakfast on site, weekend sausage sizzle and daily live radio chats.
Other Media:
BOP Times
Tauranga.co.nz
Photographer Amanda Aiken –
  Living Visions
Signage by Sign Shack
Bay Events and @home
  furniture bathroom
  kitchen expo for inviting
  us to join them 

 

 
The Maungatapu Hidden Lunch Bar and Bakery who supplied delicious food for the dedicated and enthusiastic teams on site for three weeks.

And the team who transported the house to its new home for the lucky buyer – Neil Johnson from Bay of Plenty House Removals in association with Allied Concrete, Pryda, Les O’Leary and Building & Pilot Services.

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