Building and construction in Christchurch
We would rather find the rot in the quote.
Every job gets one named site manager and a written programme with the handover date on it. The price you sign is the price you pay unless you change something. Any variation is priced and signed before the work happens rather than turning up on the final invoice.
Why people use us
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Fixed price, itemised
Every quote is broken down by trade and by stage, so you can see what a change actually costs before you agree to it.
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Our own carpenters
Fourteen of them, on wages, not subcontracted by the day. The same team starts and finishes your job.
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One site manager
Named on your contract, on site daily, and the person who answers the phone when something needs deciding.
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Master Builders guarantee
A ten year guarantee on every new build and major renovation, registered before we start.
What we build
Six service lines. One way of working.
Every job gets the same approach: one named site manager, a written programme with the handover date on it, and the price you sign is the price you pay.
- 01 New homes Architecturally designed and standard plan homes across Christchurch and Selwyn, built to a fixed price. Read more
- 02 Renovations and extensions Adding to and reworking older Christchurch houses: villas, bungalows and 1970s brick. Read more
- 03 Bathrooms and kitchens Single-room renovations done properly, including the waterproofing and the paperwork. Read more
- 04 Decks and outdoor living Decks, pergolas, louvre roofs and outdoor rooms, engineered where the height requires it. Read more
- 05 Light commercial Fit-outs, shop conversions and small commercial builds, worked around the tenant's trading hours. Read more
- 06 Maintenance and repairs Rot, leaks, failed decks and insurance work. The small jobs most builders will not take. Read more
Recent work
What the handover date actually means.
Six jobs from the past two years. Each one finished when we said it would.
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Two-storey infill house Architect-designed, 214m², on a rear section with a shared right of way.SuburbBeckenham TypeNew home Year2025 -
Villa rear extension Kitchen, living and a new bathroom added behind an 1908 villa, original front rooms kept.SuburbSt Albans TypeRenovation Year2025 -
Main bathroom and ensuite Both rooms stripped to framing, re-waterproofed, four weeks on site.SuburbMerivale TypeBathroom Year2024 -
Louvre roof and deck 42m² garapa deck with an engineered louvre roof over the western half.SuburbCashmere TypeOutdoor Year2024 -
Café fit-out Shell to trading in nine weeks, most of it worked at night around the tenant's lease.SuburbSydenham TypeCommercial Year2024 -
Weatherboard and joinery repair Rot in eleven metres of weatherboard and two window sills, repaired in place.SuburbLyttelton TypeMaintenance Year2024
About Ashgrove
Building in Christchurch since 2009.
Fourteen carpenters on wages, two site managers, and a workshop in Woolston. The carpenters are on wages rather than subcontracted, which is the reason we can hold a programme at all.
About half the work is renovation, most of it on houses built before 1980. New builds and major renovations are registered for the Master Builders 10 Year Guarantee before we start.
New builds are usually booking four to six months ahead and renovations six to ten weeks.
What people say
Three jobs, three reviews.
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The programme they gave us in February had our handover date on it and we moved in on that date. Nobody warned us that was unusual until afterwards.
Hannah W. Beckenham via Google
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They opened up the back wall before pricing it and found the rot. We would rather have known in the quote than in week six.
Rob and Ceri M. St Albans via Google
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Nine weeks, most of it worked overnight, and we never lost a trading day.
Tessa L. Sydenham via Google
Questions
What you need to know before you ring.
- 01 Do you give fixed prices?
- Yes, for everything except open-ended maintenance work. The quote is itemised by trade and by stage, and any variation is priced and signed before the work happens rather than appearing on the final invoice.
- 02 How long does a consent take in Christchurch?
- The council has twenty working days statutory, but the clock stops when they ask a question. In practice a straightforward house consent runs six to ten weeks from lodging, and we lodge it for you.
- 03 Can we stay in the house during a renovation?
- Usually. We seal the working area and keep a bathroom and the kitchen live wherever the design allows. You get a written programme showing which weeks will be disruptive so you can plan around them.
- 04 Do I need a consent for a deck?
- Not if it is under a metre above the ground and within the exempted size, but the rules have conditions in them. Ring us before you order timber and we will tell you which side of the line yours falls on.
- 05 Who does the waterproofing in a bathroom?
- A licensed applicator, and we photograph every stage of the membrane. You get the producer statement and the warranty in the handover pack, which is what a buyer's lawyer will ask for if you sell.
- 06 What guarantee comes with the work?
- New builds and major renovations get the Master Builders 10 Year Guarantee, registered before we start. Everything else carries the statutory implied warranties, plus our own twelve month defects period.
- 07 Do you work outside Christchurch?
- We work across Christchurch, Selwyn and Banks Peninsula. We have built in Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Diamond Harbour and Akaroa, and we will travel further for a job worth the drive.
- 08 How far out are you booked?
- New builds are usually booking four to six months ahead and renovations six to ten weeks. Maintenance we can normally get to inside a week because we keep two carpenters on it.
Where we work
Christchurch, Selwyn and Banks Peninsula.
We work across Christchurch, Selwyn and Banks Peninsula. We have built in Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Diamond Harbour and Akaroa, and we will travel further for a job worth the drive.
- Beckenham
- St Albans
- Merivale
- Cashmere
- Sydenham
- Woolston
- Fendalton
- Ilam
- Burnside
- Papanui
- Riccarton
- Halswell
- Sumner
- Lyttelton
- Diamond Harbour
- Governors Bay
- Rolleston
- Lincoln
- Prebbleton
- West Melton
- Akaroa
- Little River
Ring for a quote.
We will tell you the price and when the work will finish before you decide.