EIGHT HOUSES A WEEK

Southland Times, Issue 23152, 19 March 1937, Page 4

EIGHT HOUSES A WEEK

BUILDING OPERATIONS AT ORAKEI (Special To The Times) AUCKLAND, March 18. Eight houses a week will be the normal production schedule for the Fletcher Construction Company, Limited, when building operations at Orakei are in full swing. The actual building operations will not begin there until the end of April, or the beginning of May.- Although in all probability the State joinery factory at Penrose will be taken over by the company next month, a good deal of preliminary work will have to be done at the factory. By May 1 over 150 tradesmen and about 75 unskilled labourers will be engaged. Only four machines remain to complete the equipment of the factory. The kilns, which have a drying capacity of 50,000 feet of timber a week, will be tested immediately after the Easter holidays, and arrangements have been made for a supply of timber sufficient to maintain an output of dry timber from kilns working at full capacity. The contractors do not anticipate any difficulty about finding skilled tradesmen, with the possible exception of bricklayers. Mr J. Fletcher said there was ample labour available, particularly joiners and carpenters. Early next month a start will be made to find labour for certain preliminary work, for which 40 tradesmen will be engaged. This number will be gradually increased.