- A house built by 40 tradies in Cambridge, led by Daniel Davies, is now for sale.
- The tradies contributed work or materials for a share of the profit, creating a team-building project.
- The three-bedroom home features stylish, high-spec finishes and is in the new Bridleways Estate subdivision.
A house built by a group of tradies who found themselves without work during last year’s sluggish housing market has hit the market for sale.
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The project, spearheaded by Davies Homes boss Daniel Davies, saw 40 subcontractors and suppliers provide their goods and services in return for a share in the Cambridge home.
Davies told OneRoof the idea came to him after he caught up with some of his subcontractors, who were feeling quite low about the state of the market.
“A lot of the building companies weren’t paying the creditors at the time, and the guys were going, ‘Far out, we are not getting paid. What’s going on here?’ Everyone was a bit down so I thought, ‘Why don’t we do something to build each other up as a group and show we are all in it together’.”
His idea was that each subcontractor contributed their work or materials to the build for a share of the profit. Working on the home were floor contractors, builders, plumbers, electricians, roofers, gib stoppers, painters, and kitchen suppliers.
The completed three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is in the new Bridleways Estate subdivision in Cambridge. Photo / Supplied
The project helped the tradies fill some gaps in their schedules during a slow building period. Photo / Supplied
Davies reached out to Bridleways Estate developer Matt Smith, who agreed to give them a section in the Cambridge subdivision. The deal was they wouldn’t have to pay for it until they sold their house.
It took six months for Davies to sort out the finer details before he formally put the project to his subcontractors. The replies came in quickly but the actual build didn’t begin until April this year.
The subcontractors all played a key role in the project and even took a vote on the type of house they were going to build. “That’s how we ended up with the red brick and the black weatherboard and so forth,” Davies told OneRoof.
“Whoever was putting their product in the home got to choose their colour. So the kitchen manufacturer just used the products they wanted to put in the home. The tile people, they supply what they want to put in it, carpet people same sort of thing.”
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The property has 40 shareholders who have varying parcel sizes depending on what they put in.
Davies said the invoices were recorded in a spreadsheet “so we knew exactly what things were going to cost and what the profit share would be”. For example, if one subbie contributed $30,000 worth of work to the build, their share would be three times greater than someone who contributed just $10,000.
Davies said he was extremely pleased with the completed three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, with the last of the finishing touches made just last week.
“It’s quite a nice home. It’s all tiled showers – it’s got quite a bit of work in it.”
As well as serving its purpose and filling some gaps in their workloads, the project worked as a team-building exercise for everyone involved. “I don’t see everyone out in the field so it was nice to put a face to some of them,” Davies said.
All the suppliers involved were free to choose which products they used, with many using the project to showcase their work and products. Photo / Supplied
The home on Hugo Shaw Drive is one of the first to be built in the new Bridleways Estate subdivision in Cambridge. Photo / Supplied
And while he’s had several requests to do a second Subbie Spec, he’s not counting his chickens just yet. “We will see how it goes, we will see what happens at this auction.”
An auction reserve had been set to cover their costs, but Davies was hopeful it would sell for above that. “We should get more than that because it’s worth a lot more than cost.”
Bayleys agent Angela Finnigan said the suppliers and subcontractors had used the build as a way of showcasing their work so everything in it was stylish and high spec.
The property was one of the first homes to be built in the new Bridleways Estate subdivision, which will have a new school, destination playground, and retirement village.
Finnigan was unable to give a price indication, but had been instructed “to get it sold”.
- 52 Hugo Drive, in Cambridge, Waikato, goes to auction on December 19
