The boost in home renovations during recent years has seemingly helped pave the way for an Illawarra builder to be recognised with two regional awards.
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Coniston-based A Class Building & Construction took home two categories at the Master Builders Association of NSW’s 2018 Southern Regions Building Awards.
The Master Builders Association NSW’s Ulladulla office hosted the Southern Regions Building Awards last Saturday night at the Ulladulla Civic Centre.
More than 350 people were in attendance.
The Master Builders Association had invited nominations from all builders in the South East Regions of NSW involved in residential and commercial construction.
The awards cover from the Illawarra down to the Victorian border, and also incorporate the Snowy Mountains, Southern Highlands and Campbelltown areas.
A Class Building & Construction won the ‘Alteration and Addition $900,000-$1 million’ and ‘Best Kitchen over $100,000’ categories for their work on a Mount Pleasant property.
Co-director Scott Thompson said it was the first time the business, which launched in 2004, had submitted an entry for the awards.
Mr Thompson said home renovations had become increasingly popular in recent years.
“Five, ten years ago renovations were all around $100,000 and they weren’t too much at all, whereas these days, that one (which they won the award for) was up to a million dollars,” he said.
“And we’ve done some other ones where people don’t really keep too much because they’re happy with the location, so they want to do a first floor addition to give themselves some more space.
“I suppose people get the idea that they like the place they’re in, they like the neighbours, the location and they just seem to be doing more on their existing property.
“And some people are getting into the dual occupancy as well – that seems to be getting more and more (popular) with the cost of building and homes.”
Mr Thompson said renovations/extensions/first floor additions used to be about 90 per cent of their work, whereas this year they were taking on a greater number of newer jobs, such as knockdown-rebuilds and duplex sites.
“I suppose a lot of people get a bit of inspiration watching The Block, and there’s shows now like Buying Blind where they make it look quite easy and (with) things getting done fast,” he said.
“So people think they can either tackle it themselves, or are just motivated to do some sort of renovation and get someone to do it.”
Other Illawarra builders also won awards on the night, including ‘Commercial Builder of the Year’ being won by the Illawarra’s Project Coordination (Australia).
The ‘Excellence in Work Health and Safety – Major Commercial’ award went to Hutchison Builders for the University of Wollongong Student Accommodation.
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