Patricia Bradley, Owners liaison person.
Repair update no 8
By Thursday 20 December all the scaffolding had been taken down and removed from site. The repaired Block emerged from under the tarpaulins and now looks very smart and tidy. Its amazing what a difference.There have been many complimentary comments from neighbours and different Real Estate people in the area.
Did the whole project run smoothly without a hitch?
No it didn't. With a repair process as large as this, there were many difficulties that the engineers and builders have had to overcome. When a problem occurred, Steve Gordon and his team did not run for cover, they did not try to get out of it by blaming someone else, nor did they hide any mistakes. They met each challenge honestly and transparently.
It is obvious that they have taken a real pride in their work.
There have been problems with the balcony hand rail and wing wall caps. They have been twice rejected by Steve Gordon as he refuses to accept inferior quality products and workmanship. At present we are waiting for 92 flashing caps to be totally remade and installed.He has given the roofing, metal folding and powder coating firms the time required to provide a first class job, we do not want to rush and not get it right. Steve apologises to the owners of block C for the delay and inconvenience.
Steve Gordon:Director, Urban1
I have recently re-read Urban1's Mission Statement. I believe that the mission statement has been fulfilled. Living on site during the re-construction, I have witnessed the changes to the building and have no doubt that he has delivered us "a quality product".
Steve Gordon and his team have acted with "honesty and integrity and empathy" at all times. The work has been to the highest standard. This is to ensure that we will not be faced with weather tightness problems again. Steve knows that taking shortcuts and using cheap building practises does not work.
It is very obvious that he takes great pride in his finished product and values the promotion of his good name as a leader in the weather tightness repair industry.
He has worked well with the Prendos engineers and together they have utilized the most up to date "sound building knowledge with proven construction methods".
Richard Gibbs: Site Manager and Piha Smith : Site Foreman
I have found Richard, our site manager, to be the source of much wisdom; he has amazing interpersonal skills and insight into human nature.He has many years of building experience behind him, I have seen the enormous amount of work he has put into our repairs, I know for a fact (as I have seen him in action) that no inferior workmanship can get past him.He is most approachable and has always been ready to listen, those of us living on site have enjoyed his great sense of humour.
Many an evening in his own time, Piha has answered my questions and many times put my mind to rest when I have seen things I did not understand. I have found him a great communicator as he explained things in a way I could understand. He has worked over and above what is expected of him. As Site foreman with his calm, commanding presence, he has been able to direct and lead his team in a most impressive manner.
Patricia Bradley, Owners liaison person for Block C
Sean Marshall - Consultant - Prendos Ltd
Hi Steve
Another very satisfied client. Well done to you, Steve H and the guys.
Regards Sean
Eric G, St Helliers, Owner
Dear Dave, I am writing to let you know how pleased we are with you and your team of five builders handling the reconstruction of our leaky home, all were very courteous and helpful to our needs especially in the first few weeks while we could still live here. Your foreman is outstanding, nothing was too much trouble. We also found that they were all very professional at removing all the walls and rebuilding so that when finished and painted you would not realise we had a complete rebuild, and the boy didn't work by the clock they were often here to 6pm to finish a job and would clean debris off the ground each night to keep the place tidy as they went.
We would highly recommend URBAN1 CONSTRUCTION and are very please to have chosen them to rebuild our leaky home.
Yours sincerely
Eric G
Jane M, Owner/Investor
“the whole complex was completed to a very high standard”, “open channels of communication”, “completed the work to the time frame”, “made every effort to keep disruption to owners and residents to a minimum.”
Mike H, Owner/Investor
We had two leaky apartments re-clad by Urban1, it was refreshing to deal with a contractor who did what they said they would”, “project started and finished on time”, “no hesitation in recommending them”
John P, Owner/Investor
As a home owner and
body corp committee member who was faced with a significant weather tightness issue, a decision was made to appoint Urban 1 and Steve Gordon as our main contractor on the Cleveland Road property in Parnell.
The
scope of the contract was significant and started in early 2005 and was completed mid 2006. As a person who has worked within the wider building industry for 20 years I was very keen to ensure that we had selected the
best contractor for the project.
Throughout the contract I found Steve Gordon and his team to act in a most
professional manner at all times.
The quality of work was always to the agreed standard and often
completed in the most difficult circumstances, particularly in the units where people had chosen to continue to live in while the work was being completed.
Steve proved on a number of occasions
invaluable in regard to assisting with design issues. Communication with Steve and his team was done on a regular basis and I always found
Steve very honest and realistic in his advice, which under the circumstances, was
vital to the success of the contract.
As an owner, weather tightness issues are often extremely difficult to deal with and I can honestly say that Steve’s approach to the contract helped make this time much easier to handle.
Steve can be relied on providing
honest opinions and
practical solutions to the most difficult situations and I would have
no hesitation in recommending Steve Gordon and Urban 1.
Should you require any further information on any of the above comments I can be contacted on my direct line (
see our references page)
John Pivac General Manager Marketing & Sales
Stuart Wilson - Consultant - Hampton Jones
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Urban 1 for the successful completion of this project. The site team including Piha Smith and his men were an absolute pleasure to work with, maintaining the site in a clean and safe manner throughout the completion of the works and generally providing clear and concise communications where issues did become apparent. This was obviously backed up with good project control on behalf of Steve Harrison, to whom I also wish to extend my gratitude and to the administration and accounting staff who processed progress payments in an efficient and accurate manner. The project ran particularly smoothly and was a pleasure for me personally to be involved with; I will look forward to working with Urban 1 again in the very near future.
Kind Regards
Stuart Wilson BSc (Hons) MNZIBS Registered Building Surveyor
