Judges arrive in search of top houses

Architect Scott Jury (left) and builder Graham Coe are in Wanganui as judges in the House of the Year competition. Photo/Stuart Munro

Crossing the t's and dotting the i's is all-important when it comes to the Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition - and this year's event is no different.

Two of the judges are in Wanganui this week, assessing two properties vying for the title of Wanganui-Manawatu House of the Year. They are up against 15 other properties and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Palmerston North on July 25.

The regional winners will be eligible for the national titles.

Builder Graham Coe and architect Scott Jury are responsible for judging new homes in both the Category 6 ($350,000-$450,000) and Category 7 ($450,000-$650,000) sections of the competition.

And like the three other judging panels, they will judge every finalist in those categories from Cape Reinga to the Bluff.

Key elements they were looking for include design, functionality and style - they considered how well the house had been designed, how it fitted on the site, the architecture and how well it was planned.

The other section is workmanship, which looks at what the builder has put together in terms of the architect's and owner's brief.

Both men have been involved in the judging before.

"The judging teams always have a builder and an architect," Mr Jury said.

"So far we've completed the South Island, and this is our third day in the North Island and the standard is definitely very impressive," Mr Coe said.

"We're doing what you'd probably call mainstream New Zealand because the average Kiwi house is built from between $350,000 to $650,000," he said.

He said the competition was all about excellence in construction.

"So in this competition you definitely need to see the skill of the builder and the skill of the architect, those two components, certainly. And people are truly being judged by their peers."

The four judging panels will scrutinise 317 houses across the country before regional winners are announced.

Judges will assess the work of hundreds of builders - ranging from new homes and show homes to renovations and builder's own homes - to find the finest houses in the country.