Founder and Director of AJP Construction, Andrew Payton knows a thing or two about what it takes to succeed in the construction industry. In his fifteen years of working on architectural homes in Australia and New Zealand, he has worked on all sorts of projects from small renovations to major extensions.
AJP Constructions most recently received acclaim for their Forest Lodge extension project. At the 2017 Master Builders Association NSW Excellence in Housing Awards, this project was the winner in the $650-700k House Additions / Alterations / Renovations category.
So what does Andrew believe to be the key factor to Forest Lodge’s success as a project?
“This project was a real collaborative effort between myself, the architects and the interior designer. We started with quite simplistic plans.”
Andrew and his colleagues drew some inspiration from previous projects in their careers to come up with the finished design.
“We all worked quite well together and built on ideas through each other to come up with the end result.”
Collaboration doesn’t just mean working with the architects of course. It trickles down to every single person involved in the project, from the client right down to your bricklayers, plumbers, carpenters and various other trades. Working as a team to ensure that every detail is executed perfectly is extremely important.
Forest Lodge was a particularly demanding project. As a boundary to boundary terrace house, accuracy was key because all of the junctions were flush.
“The steel was flush with the brickwork, and there was only minimal tolerances between timber work and plasterboard's. And there was no room for error.”
Surrounding yourself with reliable tradesmen you can rely on and work alongside is the difference between success and failure in these situations.
“All the sub-contractors came through and really embraced the minimal tolerance of the nature. Everything was to the mil. The judges saw that and acknowledged the difficulty in the build.”
Andrew also expects a level of collaboration and teamwork from his suppliers. It’s one thing to turn up and deliver the goods but it’s another thing to come back and modify when things don’t go according to plan.
Going above and beyond to achieve the best outcome as a team is a key quality Andrew looks for in his suppliers.
“That goes across the board for all of my suppliers, contractors, all of our workers as standard. If they come up and meet the challenge every time, we just use and repeat, the same people every time.”
So it seems the difference between a good builder and a great builder is the ability to collaborate. Incorporating advice and ideas from your team of experts and using reliable staff who are willing to go the extra mile from project to project could well be the key to success in the construction industry.
