Citycare Property’s carpentry expertise is second to none

Citycare Property has a small but dedicated team of carpenters and handymen based in Christchurch who undertake an array of jobs for Christchurch City Council, the Department of Internal Affairs and, more recently, Stats NZ.

Team member, Paul Needs, who has been with Citycare Property for 15 years, says the 13-person-strong team holds a wealth of expertise across a broad skillset including general carpentry and maintenance, as well as more specialist crafts such as roofing.

“Many of the guys on the team come from a construction background so we offer a wide and varied set of skills, such as experience in building.”

Knowledge that the council was able to put to good use back in 2007, when the team was tasked with replacing the roof slates on ChristChurch Cathedral.

Paul adds that that expertise, coupled with the fact that many on the team are “old-timers” means that they have been able to build strong relationships with the many clients they meet across the course of their duties.

The majority of the work the team does is for Christchurch City Council, however, they have also carried out jobs for the DIA and for Stats NZ.

“It is immensely gratifying when a satisfied customer recommends you to another client — not only because it is a comment on your capabilities but also because it shows that the care you take, in even the smallest job, can pay wider dividends.”

Recently, the team was working on repairing tiles within the Templeton Community Centre, however, when the broken tiles were removed, it was discovered that there were cracks in the foundation.

Uncovering underlying problems is fairly commonplace for the team. For the Templeton project, it required a structural engineer to come out and assess the situation. The secret to navigating this is open communication with the clients, advising them of the problems and any additional costs that will come as a result.

Paul says, for him, the fact that every day is different is part of the appeal of his job.

“I enjoy this job and I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else. It offers a lot of variety and we get to work with different people at different places – with the added bonus of being able to build strong relationships with our clients.”

Paul Needs has been an integral part of Citycare Property’s carpentry team for 15 years, working on several preeminent buildings and for high-profile clients.