Build delivered on time and on budget

There is a tremendous sense of achievement when a project of this scale is delivered on budget and ahead of schedule, according to Dobbyn Builders project manager Bevan Morrison.

Work started on the Warehouse/Noel

Leeming build on May 24 last year and was expected to take 14 months to finish. The opening this Thursday, May 25, clipped that timeframe by two months.

Morrison gives the credit to the more than 300 people who worked on the site, of which an estimated 95 per cent were local contractors or people who lived locally.

“I don’t think you can underestimate the impact of that ‘local’ component,”

Morrison says. “It reminded me of when my brother and I used to pick up hay in the summer, while we were at uni. We’d work all the hours we needed to, to get the job done.

“We saw that same sort of work ethic here –most nights the site didn’t shut down until late. The Dobbyn Builders team really put in the effort to keep everything on track.

“I’d like to think that it will be used as an example – that other developers might look at what we’ve done here and think that maybe they should give the local tradies a go first. This job demonstrates that there are real benefits in using locals.”

The 6500-square metre building has been billed as one of the most energy efficient retail buildings in New Zealand. Materials and building processes used have kept the project’s carbon footprint low and the design has placed an emphasis on energy efficiency.

The biggest point of difference between Kowhai Falls and a traditional build is the use of engineered wood such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL) instead of steel for the structure. The LVL wood came from NZ pines planted 25 years ago

“A massive chunk of time and money was spent on the foundations including the installation 313 piles, ranging from nine to 12 metres. Because of the poor ground conditions, we dug down two metres and filled with scoria and pumice sand, and then a lightweight recycled polystyrene. The polished concrete floor was poured on top of that.

“We were nine months into the project before we started building the structure above ground, but, fortunately, the roof was on before Christmas … before Cyclone Gabriel and associated storms hit, which was a good test for the weather-tightness of the building.”

Morrison says disrupted supply chains and the weather did pose some challenges, but overall, the project was “a lot of fun”, with a great feeling of camaraderie on site “If someone needed a hand, there was always someone around to jump in and help.

“I think Glen Inger [the developer] went out on a bit of a limb insisting that The Warehouse use local contractors, but it