Wood's golden touch nets six awards

By Graham Skellern
A modest Stuart Wood was almost apologetic about the look of his award-winning 1970s renovated home from the outside.
But get him talking about the new look inside and the pride in his team's craftsmanship was obvious.
Stuart Wood Builders turned an ageing Spanish-styled concrete masonry house in No 3 Road, Te Puke, into an enchanting, warm family home.
And Mr Wood, who has been operating in the local building market for nearly 20 years, soon became the crowd favourite when he stepped up to collect six prizes at the Tauranga Registered Master Builders Gala Awards held in the Baypark Conference Centre last evening.
Mr Wood and his team of five won the PlaceMakers Renovations over $250,000 category and gold medal, plus the GIB Living Solutions, Pink Batts Ultra Energy Efficiency, Future-Proof Building and Mastercraft Heart of the Home Kitchen awards.
Clasping all his certificates, Mr Wood told the 500 dinner guests that the house didn't look too grandiose from the outside but "what we have done inside is very special".
Backed by architects Page Henderson and Associates, of Te Puke, Mr Wood's team did attack some of the outside by replacing the masonry with timber and matching all the roof tiles and re-painting them a shade of red.
Once inside, they straightened the levels and extended the floor area - at the same time stripping the dark stained heart rimu and giving it a rich, glowing look.
They built a new guest room and en suite, a utility room for the laundry and storage, and converted the third garage in to a gymnasium.
The team even went as far as replacing the door locks and hinges to "personalise the home".
The detailed renovation took nine months but Mr Wood was completely satisfied. "You have to be patient but what we did was a tribute to workmanship.
"There is a tendency to build a home in New Zealand quickly and cheaply whereas in Europe the houses last hundreds of years.
Shannon Moyle - the vice-president of the Tauranga Registered Master Builders - has moved to the other spectrum of building up-to-the-minute minimalist houses.
And for the second year running he won the New Homes over $1 million category and the Supreme Award with his latest presentation - the three-level, 412 sq m townhouse at 94A Maxwells Rd that took 14 months to build.
The latest Tauranga building awards attracted a record 58 entries and 26 of them received gold medal awards.
They go forward to a further selection for the top 100 national finalists.
The latest apartment high-rise Kingsview Resort, built by Hawkins Construction, won the tourism and leisure commercial project category ahead of the more technical Baywave Aquatic and Leisure Centre, constructed by Mainzeal Property.
But at least both buildings will be considered for October's national final after receiving gold medals.