New innovations for building homes

Managing director of well-established consumer building industry leader Trident Homes, Neil Hawker, says that people are often surprised at just what they can afford in terms of a new home – especially now, as the property market stabilises.

After several full-on years, potential purchasers finally have time to make carefully considered choices, instead of acting frantically – propelled by fear of missing out.

At long last, some first-timers are getting their long-awaited look in, while people who feared being stuck in their current home for life are trading up – and often to a new-build, for easy living and minimal upkeep.

Hawker says while enquiries remain consistent, he expects it may drop off a little, toward the end of 2023.

“That’s OK though, because we’re still finishing the run-off from last year’s madness!”

He says Trident Homes is a trusted brand because its nationwide team is able to guide customers through every aspect of their purchase, with home and land packages, customised home designs and ever evolving innovations. Honesty and integrity lie at the core of Trident Homes’ identity.

“Basically, our core business is still traditional timber framed home builds – we’ll construct your house out of 4x2s if that’s what you want, but these days we can offer so much more!”

Hawker says that people who don’t want a standard design can bring their own plans to talk about possibilities and logistics and work together with Trident’s experts for an outcome to be proud of.

“We think our real point of difference is that all of our franchisees are actual, qualified builders so people can have confidence that they know exactly what they’re doing and that all their teams are trade-qualified and licensed.”

With a range of major suppliers, including Master Builders, PlaceMakers, Gib, and James Hardie, along with many more trusted names, customers are assured that only the very best materials are used in the construction of the homes Trident builds. Hawker says they’re especially excited about a new partnership with Formance.

In addition to conventional timber framing, Trident Homes now offers this respected Canterbury company’s cutting-edge Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) method for constructing modern homes.

It fits in with the Trident commitment to sustainability - conscious of the need to cut energy use, in order to help preserve the environment and lessen the devastating effects of climate change.

Formance’s SIP system is remarkably simple, yet highly effective.

The panels are prebuilt offsite and then delivered to where construction is taking place for assembling. They’re made using timber from sustainable forests and the product is fully recyclable.

“It reduces carbon footprint, and dramatically reduces running costs over the life of the building – by up to 50%,” says Hawker.

“In the two years since we introduced it, we’ve had loads of interest in the concept. We’re currently mid-build with a SIP home, near Dunedin, and on an open day, recently, we were amazed to see how many people turned up to see what this was all about.”

Hawker says that the insulated shell that makes up a SIP home can have internal wall linings added if that’s what the customer would like, but the rustic appearance of the SIP panels is very appealing, and he’s noticed that many people are deciding to embrace them as a part of their home’s unique style.

The SIP materials and method have opened up a new world of possibilities for homeowners – such as striking cathedral ceilings, and there’s plenty of room for further creativity and personalisation, Hawker says.

With the current move in New Zealand towards embracing the tiny home concept to save money as well as energy, the SIP system is especially effective.

“At the moment, SIP is a more expensive option than typical timber framing – although we expect the price gap between these to reduce as the current insulation codes change and the model gets more popular but it’s very important to weigh up the benefits.”

“It’s likely that a higher initial outlay, moneywise, will be offset significantly with the minimal energy wastage and maintenance – things that will become apparent during the lifetime of the building.”

With franchisees in many regions of the country, especially in the South Island, Trident Homes is a part of many communities and their philosophy involves supporting those communities in as many ways as possible.

Having a particularly strong presence in Canterbury, the company is the proud principal partner of the Tactix netball team who are about to head into a busy 2023 series.

“Netball’s strength is its ability to connect to the community and that was something that attracted us to the Tactix,” Hawker told media when the sponsorship was announced, in 2021.

“The Trident Homes Tactix have firmly cemented themselves as one of the leading teams in the ANZ Premiership and we’re excited about what the future holds.”