Andrew Foster Leads Drewaire To Win
THE END RESULT TOOK THE CLIENT’S BREATH AWAY.
NATIONAL MBA AWARD VERY SATISFYING Sitting confidently amongst woodland in Wamboin, a delightful stone cottage no longer met the living and entertaining needs of its owners. While still in love with their humble abode, they had outgrown the space and set about to find a builder who could extend, renovate and design the property while respecting the original design. The brief was to deliver a modern, bespoke home with larger indoor and outdoor living spaces without destroying the charm of the existing building. Drewaire Constructions was chosen for the project based on Andrew Foster’s passion for working with timber, his deep respect for the intricate craft of building, his eye for detail and obvious enthusiasm for the project. Responding to every aspect of the brief, Andrew assembled a team of talented individuals from different disciplines so that he could deliver the clients dream, without compromise. Engaging Chris Buchanan from Sellick Constructions and Gina Carmody By Carmody By Design gave Andrew the added confidence he needed to ensure that the new build blended seamlessly and artistically with the old. The coming together of Chris Buchanan from Sellick Consultants and Andrew Foster from Drewaire resulted in a marriage of minds. Working with sustainable materials is a passion for both men and they both enthusiastically embraced the challenge. The overall plan, with its special structural features, perceptive interior design and innovation ensured Drewaire Constructions was able to create a superior flow between indoors and out, welcoming the tranquil bush setting to join the family. The structure involved trusses spanning 9.5 metres with a roof height of 3.5 metres. This presented an exciting opportunity for Andrew whose extraordinary ability to understand the skills required to hand craft the trusses was extraordinary. This uncanny ability made managing the complex build relatively straightforward. His knowledge of traditional carpentry methods such as scar finger dowel pinning contributed
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MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS EDITION 4 2017
Andrew and Anna Foster
enormously to the sculptural form. Each of the one and a half ton trusses were carefully transported from Drewaire’s workshop, and craned into place without incident. To be nominated for a national award that recognised his workmanship and skill was very satisfying for Andrew. To say that he was proud to actually win the award is an understatement. “Bespoke carpentry jobs like this don’t come along very often so it was an honour to be selected to conceive and build the client’s dream. I was conscious throughout the build that they wanted their current home to mature and improve without leaving the past too far behind. However they still craved a Bespoke finish. The end result took their breath away. That in itself was extremely rewarding, then to win the national MBA award was overwhelming. We were thrilled to have the designer and clients with us in Hobart for the Awards presentation” Andrew Foster said The client’s were so proud of Andrew for winning the National Award and are more than satisfied with their personal reward, living with Andrew’s magnificent work of art every day. “Many thanks to the MBA for nominating Drewaire Constructions yet again and for their continued support of the building industry” Andrew concluded.
