Down to the finer details, Takatu

We Kiwis are obsessed with the great outdoors, perhaps because we have so much of it right on our doorstep with coastlines, mountains and bush all within easy commuting distance of our towns and cities.

Beginning in the 1950s, as the emerging middle-class became more mobile and roading infrastructure improved, more and more of us sallied forth from our homes to explore this beautiful land of ours. This resulted in a building boom of baches, cribs and weekenders—often simple in construction and, post-WWII, usually built from humble materials, these structures have worked their way into our collective psyche.

Not surprisingly, this desire for a holiday home of our own has not diminished. However, as construction technologies have improved and overall affluence increased, these properties have become more and more sophisticated.

Which is the case with this holiday home, located an hour north of Auckland on the Tawharanui Peninsula.

“The setting is magic and the views phenomenal but with that came some environmental issues that needed to be addressed, namely the site is fairly exposed and so is subject to some pretty high wind loading,” says Paul Keen, Project Manager for Windowmakers.

“For that reason and also to be in keeping with the high quality aesthetics of the build, we specified First Metro Series sliding doors and awning windows as they have been specifically designed for high tolerances and superior lifetime performance.”

Paul says there were a number of other factors that contributed to the complexity of the job including the client’s request for triple-faceted corner sliding doors, as well as a mix of cladding materials that added to the intricacy of measurements to ensure the window and door joinery was millimetre perfect.

“We were lucky with this project from the point of view that the homeowner has been a client of ours for more than 10 years, as well as our having worked previously with the main contractor, so there was already a working relationship in place, which meant that right from the start there was a history of clear and open communication.

“Windowmakers prides itself on offering a high level of service and that includes being in constant contact with our clients. Personally, I consider my communication and high attention to detail as strengths that I bring to each project. This extends to my carrying out my own final site measurements before installation takes place.”

Involvement at this level is integral to the service the Windowmakers project managers supply and with 527 individual pieces of aluminium profile on this one project alone, it’s easy to see why.

“It is important to us that we deliver a high level of service and assistance, backed up by technical support and know how, to our clients so that they, in turn, can deliver for their clients,” says Paul.

“The sooner along the process that we are brought on board, the easier it is to expedite proceedings, which is why we encourage architects, designers and builders to visit us at our Silverdale design centre. We have a vast array of technical documentation that they can incorporate into their designs.

“Also, we recommend that they bring their own clients with them so that homeowners can interact with the product for themselves. We find that this really helps them to make the right decisions for their project, plus it helps to speed up the fabrication process if they can make a decision early on.”

Paul says he was personally involved with this project for around eight months, from when he priced the job through to installation.

“The whole process ran really smoothly and the finished result does the project proud. The high level of complexity meant it wasn’t a bog-standard job by any means but Windowmakers is known for taking on projects that few other fabricators will."

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