Kitset home Advantages in economy

Press, 13 April 1984, Page 15

Kitset home Advantages in economy

In keeping with its policy of flexibility, the Canterbury Cottage Co. offers a variety of construction options. Canterbury Cottages can be built on site by the company’s skilled tradesmen; many designs can be delivered ready-built to the site and lowered into position on pre-laid foundations; they can be bought from the company as partially-built shells; or bought in kitset form to be built from scratch.

The shell construction, completed to lock-up stage but without interior appointments, is delivered to the site where it can be finished by the owner, secure in the knowledge that the unit is safe from weather and vandalism. A kitset unit is one that incorporates all the components and accessories required to build a home from scratch. A reasonable knowledge of carpentry is necessary to erect a home from this stage but the savings on labour costs are significant.

Part of the success of the Canterbury Cottage Com-' pany must be due to its close association with the parent company, Peter Stevens, Ltd, of which it is a wholly-owned subsidiary. Well-known for its high standards of quality and workmanship relative to cost, the company takes advantage of the relationship with Peter Stevens, Ltd, to pass on savings to customers. By rationalising the cost of components within the Peter Stevens group of companies, considerable savings

can be made at every stage of construction without sacrificing the quality that has become a hallmark of the homes produced by the Cottage Co. All aluminium joinery, timber and timber products and manufactured lines are acquired in this way, including gang-nail trusses, fingerjointed fascia, bevel-back and shiplap weatherboards, exterior aluminium windows, doors and interior sliders, cupboard and wardrobe units. Standard fittings in every

Canterbury Cottage Co. unit include mahogany or rimufinished cupboards and wardrobe doors, formica bench tops, a standard Atlas cooking range, a bathroom vanity unit and wallpapers of the client’s choice to a price of $l2 a roll. In addition, a sliding mirror door in the wardrobe of the master bedroom is standard in most of the homes. With the intention of ultimately extending the availability of their buildings throughout New Zealand, the Canterbury Cottage Co.

has established franchise outlets in five key centres in the South Island. These outlets all provide the same expert services and facilities extended by the Christchurch office. Of equal importance, each of the franchise outlets is familiar with the requirements of the local body bylaws in individual districts. It is interesting to note that the houses constructed by the company’s franchise builders are almost identical in price to those built in Christchurch.