Emerging Cambridge building company Kit-Markin Homes has grown quickly in the past 18 months from a one-man band established to fill a gap in the Waipa district’s renovations and alterations market, to now a team of 10 builders completing a range of projects including heritage restorations and architecturally designed new homes.
Qualified and licensed builder Josh Jennings was renovating his own home when passers-by took an interest, and asked him to do their own renovations.
“They could see I was modernising an original dwelling to a high standard for warmth and comfort,” he says.
“As land prices have risen so much, and the cost of building has spiralled up in the past few years, it has made it unaffordable for many people to buy land and build a new home.
Instead they want to spend money on their existing dwelling, which could be close to town and close to schools. People are prepared to spend money on expanding and modernising their homes to add value and fit the needs of their families.”
He says Waipa is a very old colonial district, and with that comes a lot of character houses built in the late 1800s and early 1900.
“There is a lot of opportunity for current home owners to bring out that character by modernising their home, and keeping the original features as well.”
The team of trade qualified builders has vast experience in renovation, alteration, and restoration work and the different products that type of work entails.
“It’s hard to take a new homes builder into renovation work, because there are a lot of different products involved in renovations,” Josh says.
“Our current team has a vast knowledge and the expertise to restore older homes to their former glory, all while maintaining the aesthetic character of the existing features.”
Kit-Markin Homes has grown steadily over the past 18 months, and right from the beginning Josh established systems and foundations for his business which would allow it to grow, and for new staff as they came on to follow the same systems.
Josh engaged a business mentor straight away when he started Kit-Markin Homes, Graeme Owen of Auckland’s The Successful Builder, who offers business coaching for builders to help them attract better clients, sell better work, and grow amazing teams.
Kit-Markin Homes has grown steadily over the past 18 months, Restoring older colonial-style homes to their former glory is a focus for Kit Markin Homes.
Josh and Graeme are in touch weekly over Skype, and after working together for 18 months they are now talking about people management. “This is a big one because there was just me at the beginning,” Josh says.
“We are now talking about dealing with staff, and one thing we’ve been working on lately is how to create a culture within the company. “That has been really cool to see that culture start coming out and be reflected in our young guys.
“My best workers are going to be the ones who get on board with the culture of the company, and my young guys are really starting to shine.,” saus Josh.
The Kit-Markin Homes team of trade qualified builders has vast experience in renovation, alteration, and restoration work.
About six months ago, Kit-Markin Homes built its first architecturally designed home, a 330sqm home at Ohaupo. “It was pretty special,” Josh says.
“We loved the fact we got to build something different and work with high end, high quality products. When there are new products on the market, we like to test them.” This home featured Triclad Board and Batten in 4.8m long sheets with a band sawn finish.
The length of the sheets eliminates the need for a Z flashing, allowing for an appealing look and a hassle-free maintenance programme.
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Kit-Markin Homes completes a range of projects including heritage restorations and architecturally designed new homes.
