Words Vicki Ravlich-Horan I
Word of mouth is a powerful tool. I was catching up with Hayley from Treetown Kitchens and, as you do, we were chatting about kitchens. Hayley was telling me about some of the amazing kitchens they have created for Elevate Homes. What piqued my attention was she told me Elevate Homes is a company based in Cambridge building transportable homes.
With visions of prefab offices and sleepouts, I wondered why Hayley was so excited about the kitchens Treetown were creating for such a business. That was until she showed me the pictures. Pocket doors, specced out scullerys, stone bench tops, Fisher and Paykel appliances – these are the kitchens of your dream home. And it doesn’t stop there, they even make gorgeous entertainment units for these homes, seamlessly creating storage and style at the same time. A wish list for any home, let alone a transportable one! I am sure I am not alone when the thought of transportable homes has images of prefab buildings, derelict cottages and converted containers springing to mind.
I had to find out more so went and met Kristin and Lee Turner at their office on Hannon Road. Things started to fall into place when I realised the Elevate Homes HQ also doubles as the office for Turner Road Architecture, the Turner’s other business.
Lee is an award-winning architectural designer with over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. This experience led Lee to see the advantages of offsite construction and the belief that such builds didn’t need to be constrained to cheap, unimaginative homes.
The controlled, offsite construction has many advantages, including avoiding skill shortages in remote or high demand areas (think of the Hawke’s Bay after the cyclones), while resources, including materials and time, are used more efficiently. This bodes well with the couple’s focus on sustainability. “Sustainability is high on our agenda,” says Lee. “We recycle all of our plasterboard offcuts and metal too, which significantly reduces construction waste going to landfill.” Soft plastic waste goes to local company SaveBoard who turn it into a low carbon rigid air barrier (RAB) board that Elevate incorporate into their homes.
What started as a test case 10 years ago with a modest 114 sqm, 3-bedroom home built out the back of the architectural office and promptly sold has turned into a business that now offers transportable homes from 70–154sqm.
Elevate Homes offer 11 standard models, but with an architectural and interior design team on hand there is nothing standard about these homes. Clever design maximises space, while the use of different roof lines or cladding material gives each build a bespoke look.
Once the build contract is signed, the process begins with a meeting with the architectural and interior design team. Then once the build is underway, Elevate keep their clients in the loop with regular updates and photos. This is great for those who don’t live nearby. In fact, you don’t even have to be in the country, as was the case with several clients, whose new homes were built while they lived overseas throughout the process.
“We know building can be seen as a stressful process,” says Lee, “so we put a lot of effort in involving our clients in the ‘fun’ stuff and keeping them in the loop with regular photos, chats and emails – while keeping the inevitable headaches and hassles firmly in our court.”
To mitigate some of these headaches, Elevate have formed great, long-standing relationships with local suppliers and tradespeople, using the same ones every time. Kristin says, “Treetown Kitchens are one of our key suppliers. They always go above and beyond for us, working with our tight deadlines. They are hugely skilled at creating beautiful, functional spaces and always achieve precisely what our clients envision.”
The kitchen is the heart of most homes, but this is truly the case with Elevate Homes, and this can extend to built in bar areas, coffee stations, storage, sculleries and more, all created seamlessly to the client’s brief by Treetown Kitchens.
Because the houses will be transported once finished, additional structural strengthening is designed and built into the homes. Kristin says, “This is constantly assessed as we analyse each building after it is transported to see where there are signs of strain.” The moving of each building is left to expert transport companies. Elevate work closely with a couple of the best in New Zealand to deliver their homes anywhere from Waiheke Island to Martinborough, Cambridge to Cooks Beach.
