Winning homes a blend of old and new

An old bach on the shores of Lake Tarawera has won a gold award at the regional house of the year awards.

Rotorua builders Urbo Homes Limited also won a gold award for a new house in the $600,000 to $1 million bracket, a "dream home" in Papamoa, and a silver in the $250,00 to $350,000 bracket at Saturday's Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau Registered Master Builders 2014 House of the Year.

Urbo Homes' Martin Dobbe said standards were raising all the time and he was stoked to have received three awards.

"They're getting harder and harder [to win]," he said.

The Lake Tarawera renovation involved taking an old bach and giving it such a new look that none of the old building is evident.

"You save some bits but those bits you can't see; that's the clever thing about it," Mr Dobbe said.

"It has a southern aspect so it was quite hard to turn into a warm house. It's still only a bach but the owners visit every weekend and are talking about moving there permanently."

He said he had yet to tell the owners of the awards but said they would all be stoked to hear of the successes.

"The couple in Papamoa have their dream home. They're very house-proud people."

Haimes Building in Taupo won both Supreme Awards for the House of the Year and the Renovation of the Year. The company won seven regional awards for its two entries.

The Supreme Award-winning House of the Year also scooped the Gold Award and category win for the New Homes $1 million-$2 million, as well as the Bathroom Excellence Award, while the Supreme Award-winning Renovation of the Year collected a Gold Award and category win for the Renovation Award $250,000 - $500,000.

"This was an extremely small and restrictive site on a corner overlooking the lake," said the judges.

"The builder faced a spate of challenges in terms of access, excavation and shocking weather on a very exposed site. The end result is mind-blowing. With exceptional craftsmanship and faultless detailing throughout the home including a spectacular vertical timber wall in the stairway, the builder's attention to detail goes well beyond what the architect calls for.

"This builder is a long standing and worthy House of the Year winner. Known for consistently going the extra mile, Mark Haimes and his team have yet again demonstrated building excellence." There were 13 Gold Award winners from the Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau Region, which will now be assessed alongside Gold Award winners from across the country to find the National Gold Reserve finalists, to be announced in early September.

National category winners and the Registered Master Builders Supreme Awards for Renovation of the Year and House of the Year will be announced at a gala dinner in Auckland in November.