Pre-fab business aims to build houses in 4 weeks

Adaptive Building Technology Construction built the four Regent St houses which featured in the Herald last week.

A North Shore pre-fabricated housing business, which built four new multimillion dollar Auckland houses featured in a video on the Herald's website last week, aims to build new places within only four weeks.

William Carter, sales and systems general manager at Wairau Park's Adaptive Building Technology (ABT) Construction, said the business built the four Regent St houses which featured in the Herald last week. Those are named Kings Terraces.

They are at Narrow Neck, near the intersection of Lake Rd which runs from Takapuna to Devonport.

Financier James Kellow explained last week how the unusual job unfolded, with a Chinese couple developing the residences, two of which have sold for $1.2 million.

Carter said a drone was used to film units being craned into place.

"We could build in the factory in just four weeks but there would be more time spent on the site. We intend to build three a week but we can fit 14 units in our factory," he said of ABT's premises at 217 Archers Rd.

A problem with crane weight distribution resulted in the Regent St water mains being broken last month when the units were brought in.

Carter acknowledged the issue but said it was not ABT's fault.

"It's something that was a problem for the crane guys who were meant to deal with that sort of stuff. You learn things as you do these sorts of projects," Carter said.

Watch this time-lapse view of the homes being installed:

The four houses were the first ABT assembled in the factory and they were made up of separate units, after the ground-levels of the Regent St residences were built on site.

"But the upper levels were lifted on. We built those places in about five months but it took that long because it was a pilot.

"We were establishing systems and working out the best way to work. But we're looking now at four weeks," Carter said.

"It's more efficient because it's built in a factory: guys are all working at ground level, there's less waste because we can re-use more materials and the materials stay dry.

"If it's windy and rainy and people are trying to work at height, it's hard to do stuff on-site."

ABT was building residences for around $2000/sq m, he said, and has three new projects: a set of toilets for Great Barrier Island, a terraced housing development in Albany and student accommodation in Khyber Pass.

New pre-fabs at:
•Kings Terraces stage one, 38 Regent St, Narrow Neck.
•Kings Terraces stage two, 69 Lake Rd, Narrow Neck.
•147 Albany Highway, Unsworth Heights.
•195 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton.
•Toilets on Great Barrier Island.
[Source: ABT Construction]