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What’s your New Year’s resolution – build or renovate?

John GelavisSponsored
Master Builders Executive Director John Gelavis.
Camera IconMaster Builders Executive Director John Gelavis. Credit: The West Australian

As we commence the new year, many Western Australians will be refreshed, energetic and embarking on their New Year’s resolutions.

With rents starting to rise and vacancy rates tightening, one of this year’s resolutions for you may be to stop renting and build your first new home, build your second or third home or embark on a renovation of your existing property to accommodate an expanded family or just upgrade your living environment.

This process requires research, including online, print, word of mouth and getting out there to display villages to see what the building industry has to offer.

Most builders believe they build the best houses and renovations in whatever segment of the housing industry they operate in and will highlight recent Master Builders awards they have won demonstrating excellence in construction.

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The Master Builders awards are open to all builder members and focus on the quality of workmanship and craftsmanship. The diversity and quality of Western Australian homes is world-class, which characterises our high standard of living and lifestyle.

The traditional skills of a master builder are all about craftsmanship, exquisite trade skills and pride in the job. For Master Builders it’s therefore important to have judges who are registered builders and can distinguish between good, better and the best workmanship from one house to another.

Around 27 Master Builders judges, all registered builders, travel as far as Yanchep in the northern suburbs, Parkerville in the east and Bouvard in the southern suburbs.

The industry has seen a revival in recent times, and many of our top builders are looking forward to promoting their wonderful workmanship through winning a Master Builders award, which can differentiate one builder from another.

When you embark on your research, we hope you take more time in choosing the builder of your next project. Not all builders are the same, and prospective homebuyers need to know that.

On March 27, around 700 builders and their guests will attend our 41st Master Builders-Bankwest Housing Excellence Awards, which provides an amazing showcase of what the housing industry is capable of and delivers for the homebuying public of Western Australia.

You’ll have to wait until the following week’s edition of New Homes to see who the winners were, including our best regional home. Each of the award-winning builders deserve the highest accolades as it is a tough industry and extremely competitive.

Some of our winners will be entered into Master Builders national awards, which will be announced in Perth later this year.

So, if you are embarking on that New Year’s resolution and thinking of building and renovating, you should check out the finalists and winners from the 2021 Master Builders-Bankwest Housing Excellence Awards.

For previous publications and winners visit www.mbawa.com/media/publications.

Q&A with MBA Technical Building Services Manager Jason Robertson

The Question

I am looking to go away for a couple of weeks in the holidays and was considering my home security. Are there some basics, hints and tips that I should be mindful of?

The Answer

Going on holidays always requires the last-minute thought of what needs to be done in and around the house before you can enjoy yourself.

There are several measures that are effective and often inexpensive to help give you peace of mind, regardless the type or age of your home.

Some items to consider are listed below:

Do you have security screens on doors and windows?

Is your home fitted with solid core doors?

Do you have locks and deadbolts, or deadlocks fitted?

Does your door have a peephole?

Do your windows have key-locks or security devices?

Does your house have an automatic light timer or sensor lights? There are many options available now, even solar/LED lights.

Are the entrances to your home well lit? This is often an overlooked area, including trees, shrubs and branches that are not trimmed and can inhibit sight lines, particularly to entrances.

Is your home fitted with an alarm?

Are there fences and gates on your property to restrict access? Local council requirements should always be taken into consideration with fencing and gates.

Always speak to the experts wherever possible, particularly with home improvements, including those for security measures.

Where possible, it’s worth considering advising your neighbours or friends of your holidays and timelines. It is always a good idea to provide them with dates and emergency contact details.

It is worth asking for a neighbour to bring your rubbish and recycling out and leaving house keys with a trusted friend or neighbour instead of concealed inside or outside the house.

Other items can be considered, dependent upon the length of time away from your home.

Stay safe and enjoy the break.

CONTACT Master Builders WA, 9476 9800, www.mbawa.com

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