The Carton residence - Another unique multi-level pole home right on The Hawkesbury River near Berowra Waters and adjacent to the Heytman house. Again, only accessible by water with all construction components transported up the river by barge and cut & assembled by hand by our great team of tradesmen.
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Peter and Trish Carton were an Australian couple living & working in Hong Kong, and had previously purchased this little bit of heaven with grand visions of building their dream residence with magnificent views and absolute water frontage to the mighty Hawkesbury River at Collingridge Point near Berowra Waters. But who to trust with the build and the coordination of surveyors, geotechnical & structural engineers? Who would negotiate the environmental issues of onsite drainage & soil erosion with the local Council during the application & approval process? |
The logistics involved in these remote construction projects which are only accessible by water are formidable. Peter & Trish obtained an owner-builder permit for this project but had always intended that a builder would project-manage the whole process on their behalf. Luckily, Peter and Trish had already witnessed the very successful construction of the Heytman residence next door by our team, so their decision to engage us was pretty much a "no-brainer".
A multi-skilled team of carpenters and a Builder with broad all-round experience, extreme focus and great problem solving skills are fundamental requirements to the success of these jobs.... especially when the owners are living in another country! Expecting that your owner-builder construction project can be successful without the benefit of experienced supervision and management is fraught with risks, and poor results & disappointment are generally involved in the outcome.
A multi-skilled team of carpenters and a Builder with broad all-round experience, extreme focus and great problem solving skills are fundamental requirements to the success of these jobs.... especially when the owners are living in another country! Expecting that your owner-builder construction project can be successful without the benefit of experienced supervision and management is fraught with risks, and poor results & disappointment are generally involved in the outcome.
Testimonial by Peter Carton:
"...We contracted with Wayne Wheeler and his company to build a pole house on an environmentally sensitive waterfront block of land at Collingridge Point, Berowra Waters, on the Hawkesbury River. We arranged for them to compete working drawings to our design, and to engage Engineering and Surveying requirements for lodgement with the local Council.
From thereon we engaged Wayne and his company as the project manager to complete the construction works on our behalf and to keep us fully informed of developments and progress throughout the whole process. As we were living in Hong Kong at the time, an extraordinary level of communication and trust was entailed in making this a viable proposition.
The land is a waterfront block on the Hawkesbury River which only has access by boat. Before construction could begin it was necessary to remove the remnants of a previous building, and all of this debris had to be packaged and removed by barge to the Berowra Waters landing dock for removal to local tip.
At the beginning of the project Wayne provided us with an estimate of construction costs along with a comprehensive Bill of Quantities for all the necessary materials to build the house, and then organised for all the necessary tradesmen and suppliers to supply written quotations for our approval. Where these costings were found to be in excess of Wayne's original estimates he was usually able to negotiate the price to our satisfaction or source an alternate contractor within the budget, Consequently, variations aside, the project was generally completed within our budget commitments.
Despite the logistics of having to arrange and coordinate all material deliveries by river barge (with dependence on the tides and weather) and tradesmen having to commute (with their toolboxes) by speedboat, their progress was consistently good throughout, and the project completion date was met.
We found Wayne's supervision and management of the project to be effective and honest. The communication channels between his office and ourselves were consistently open, so that any problems which arose were immediately discussed and resolved. We are very happy with the quality of workmanship and the materials used throughout the house, and are proud to display our home to anyone interested. Several magazines are interested in doing a feature article on the house.
We have no hesitation in recommending Wayne Wheeler as a skilled negotiator and a Builder of integrity and quality.
Peter G Carton"
From thereon we engaged Wayne and his company as the project manager to complete the construction works on our behalf and to keep us fully informed of developments and progress throughout the whole process. As we were living in Hong Kong at the time, an extraordinary level of communication and trust was entailed in making this a viable proposition.
The land is a waterfront block on the Hawkesbury River which only has access by boat. Before construction could begin it was necessary to remove the remnants of a previous building, and all of this debris had to be packaged and removed by barge to the Berowra Waters landing dock for removal to local tip.
At the beginning of the project Wayne provided us with an estimate of construction costs along with a comprehensive Bill of Quantities for all the necessary materials to build the house, and then organised for all the necessary tradesmen and suppliers to supply written quotations for our approval. Where these costings were found to be in excess of Wayne's original estimates he was usually able to negotiate the price to our satisfaction or source an alternate contractor within the budget, Consequently, variations aside, the project was generally completed within our budget commitments.
Despite the logistics of having to arrange and coordinate all material deliveries by river barge (with dependence on the tides and weather) and tradesmen having to commute (with their toolboxes) by speedboat, their progress was consistently good throughout, and the project completion date was met.
We found Wayne's supervision and management of the project to be effective and honest. The communication channels between his office and ourselves were consistently open, so that any problems which arose were immediately discussed and resolved. We are very happy with the quality of workmanship and the materials used throughout the house, and are proud to display our home to anyone interested. Several magazines are interested in doing a feature article on the house.
We have no hesitation in recommending Wayne Wheeler as a skilled negotiator and a Builder of integrity and quality.
Peter G Carton"