From damaged to desired
This tasteful repair, renovation and redesign by Arete Property and Monarch Construction has resulted in a humble home full of warmth and charm.
WORDS Kathy Catton PHOTOGRAPHY Sarah Rowlands
From the street, this house used to look like the average 1950s Christchurch single-storey family home. Red brick, small front yard and somewhat dated. Add to that some extensive earthquake damage and this two-bedroom home was left a little worse for wear.
Following an estate sale late last year, Arete Property bought the home on an ‘as is where is’ basis. Less than a month later work was underway, in the capable hands of Monarch Construction. Now, the property is looking fresh and revitalised, inside and out.
No stranger to repairing earthquake damaged homes, Ant Patrickson, Director at Arete Property, was keen to see this property back to its former glory.
“We take great pride in replenishing the existing housing stock of Christchurch, by transforming these earthquake damaged dwellings into beautiful family homes,” says Ant.
LOUNGE AND DINING The space has been completely redesigned by Arete and City Style Co to give a sense of space and family living.
Ant arrived in New Zealand eight years ago, from the UK, and with just a 20 kg backpack in tow, he was looking for a way to settle down and make his mark in the city.
“It was my football teammate that got me into property,” smiles Ant. “With my business partner, Paul Skybiak, I’ve repaired over 150 earthquake damaged homes since 2015. I love it!”. And this enthusiasm shows through with the Arete Property team now being viewed as the most reputable private purchaser of ‘as is where is’ properties in Christchurch.
One of Ant’s most important lessons is the need for clear documentation of processes and paperwork through the repair process. “Homes in Christchurch are going to be worth their bricks and mortar value but also their paper trail value,” says Ant. “So, we keep everything documented and transparent. This ensures the buyer is fully aware of the property’s journey to re-insurance.”
BEFORE AND AFTER Monarch Construction has transformed the look and feel of this home, inside and out. SpruceUp Decorating did a quality job on the painting and plastering.
Arete Property provides its clients with full re-insurance documents along with up-to-date engineers reports, all sign-offs and Producer Statements; something a lot of EQC repairs do not have. Getting bank finance then becomes a very straightforward process for buyers.
But this renovation was not without its complications. Sitting on a perimeter concrete ring foundation and internal piles, the house was left 74 mm out of level following the earthquakes and required half of the ring foundation to be underpinned and strengthened. Monarch Construction specialises in the repair of earthquake-damaged homes and is currently trusted to carry out all of Arete Property’s repairs.
Monarch have become the experts in earthquake repairs in the post-quake Christchurch property landscape. Owner of Monarch, Kristian Skjellerup, enjoys the challenge and variety of his work.
Before
Before
Before
“I worked with Paul from Arete Property many years ago repairing the earthquake damage on the Arts Centre, before we both set up our own businesses,” says Kristian. “Monarch now provides remediation services for those people looking to do EQC repairs through an experienced earthquake repair specialist. We also do new builds, renovations and commercial property fit-outs, but we love the earthquake work.”
Once the structural interior and exterior rework had been completed, Arete Property worked closely with City Style Co to gain invaluable advice on layout, décor, colour palettes and furnishings as well as soft landscaping options. Charlotte Van Der Wielen, Director at City Style Co, loves the visioning that comes with creating a new feel for a home.
“It was immediately apparent that this two-bedroom home could be transformed into a light, bright, easy-flowing three-bedroom family home without losing any living areas, says Charlotte. “With a segmented layout ‘of the era’, there was potential for the removal of a few internal walls and some re-jigging of an over-generous laundry area.”
INTERIORS The décor and soft furnishings were selected by City Style Co, to give a warm and homely feel.
Charlotte worked closely with the teams at Monarch and Arete in the design phase and also organised the finishing touches and staging prior to the property going to market.
There is now a luxurious cosiness to this home. The soft furnishings selected by City Style Co give an aesthetically pleasing and functional feel to this home. The new kitchen now flows perfectly through in open-plan style to the dining and lounge area. The removal of the chimney breast enabled the addition of external double doors which open out onto a newly built spacious decking area for the all-important indoor-outdoor flow.
The experienced team at Spruce Up Decorating took care of all the painting and plastering work. With an excellent eye for detail, Chris Enstrom heads up a team of ten, who specialise in painting, plastering and wallpapering. With the Master Painter trust and guarantee, it was an easy choice for Arete and Monarch to work with.
This smart and functional home now works equally well for modern families or professional couples. And it’s another success story for Arete Property and Monarch. The bond between these two companies remains tight. So much so, they have now joined forces with three other trade companies to create The Property Hub, a commercial space in Sydenham where property-based companies can take membership, to collaborate and support each other to grow.
Involved in this project
'AS IS WHERE IS' BUYERS
Arete Property
0800 568 568
areteproperty.co.nz
BUILDER
Monarch Construction
0800 666 266
moncon.co.nz
DESIGN
City Style Co
021 127 3456
citystyleco.co.nz
PAINTING
Spruce Up Decorating
spruceitup.co.nz
0800 171 222
SCAFFOLDING
Lionz Scaffold
0800 231 555
lionz.co.nz
