By 2012 the company was demolishing five or six near-new houses in the badly hit eastern suburbs every week, and sending containers of reusable materials back to Wanganui. That work was now erratic, Mr Jurgens said, with delays caused by insurance companies.
At the moment his team is demolishing a five-storey apartment building near the CBD.
They've been told there are 237 large buildings still to come down. Of those, 37 are more than five storeys high - and then there are thousands more houses.
Some of the houses are on the unstable Port Hills, where work has to be done remotely. Jurgens Contractors has bought a remote-controlled Bobcat to use.
Roads are being dug up everywhere and drainage infrastructure replaced. Ground is being cleared in new subdivisions, and some have 10 houses going up in a week.
Despite all the new building, rents are high and there is a shortage of accommodation.
About half the buildings in the CBD are gone, and the cordon around the no-go Red Zone has shrunk. Demolition is still taking place, but there are also investors scoping out available land for development.
The only shopping in the central city is of a specialised kind, in a mall housed in shipping containers.
"I'm enjoying it down here. There's a good vibe about this place. There's always something going on," Mr Jurgens said.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has said it will be a big year in the city, and he can believe it.
