With more than 1700 homes to their credit and many more in the pipeline, the Orange Homes team has learned a lot about its buyers over the years.
For example, they know that their buyers want to be confident that their homes, when completed, will suit their budgets while fitting in with their lifestyle and reflecting their individuality.
Before that, however, and even more importantly, those buyers want to know they can trust their builder to use quality materials that will ensure their home is safe, secure and durable.
For this reason, Hebel has become a popular choice for external cladding for Orange Homes, which builds project homes and residential houses throughout the Canterbury region.
“We’ve been using autoclaved aerated concrete panels for more than 10 years,” said Aaron Morrison, Managing Director of Orange Homes.
“We used the panels on a show home and were really impressed with their quality and appearance. From then on, we were hooked.”
Ease and speed of Hebel installation
Aaron said the ease and resultant speed of Hebel installation is a major plus for those involved, from the builder to the client.
“Everyone loves it,” he said. “When the panelling arrives the team comes in and installs it, and before you know it, the job’s finished. So for the project managers, it’s quite a simple process. The clients are happy too because they know they know that Hebel gives them excellent acoustic and thermal qualities, and has high fire resistance. The finished product also looks stylish, which is important for the client too.”
Orange Homes was founded 35 years ago by Greg Orange, the third generation of the family to work as builders in the Canterbury region.
Aaron joined the company 15 years ago, after working in project management and becoming a licensed builder. He and Greg are now business partners.
“Greg asked me to come on board to help grow the company,” said Aaron. “When I joined them we had a team of two, but we’re now 15-strong.”
The company aims to build an average of about 50 project and residential homes a year, although this number more than doubled in the past few years with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake resulting in increased demand for building in the area.
Aaron sees that demand as now settling back to a more normal pace and becoming “a good, normal market going forward.”
Strong, secure and attractive
In addition to detached homes, they recently completed a three-storey multi-residential development and have another two planned for this year. One will provide student accommodation comprising 18 bedrooms and bathrooms, and the other will be a two-storey, six unit residential complex.
Both will feature Hebel external cladding.
“I’ve always been an avid fan of autoclaved aerated concrete from Day One,” said Aaron.
In fact he likes it so much he paid it the top compliment a builder can, and used it on his own home.
“It’s strong, it’s lightweight, it’s durable and it looks sharp,” he said. “I think it’s a great product.”