A close-knit crew with sixty-plus years of building behind it.
A building company offering bespoke coastal home construction and renovations of any size, on sites most builders would rather not price. One crew, one point of contact, and the option of a 10-Year Master Build Guarantee behind the work.
Build the home you have been planning, or reshape the one you already own so it finally works the way you live.
Ohlson & Whitelaw is a Whitianga building company delivering new home construction and renovations across the eastern Coromandel. From bespoke coastal home construction on a raw section to full residential renovation services on a home you already own, the standard does not change.
We take on construction projects of any size: a single room reworked, a full renovation, or an architecturally-designed build on a steep coastal section.
Most of our work starts with plans that are already drawn. If yours meet building consent standards, we will price them in detail so you can see exactly what you are buying. If they are not there yet, we will give you an estimate honest enough to plan around and tell you plainly what is still missing.
Every job is priced on its own drawings, but the shape of the work rarely changes. This is what sits inside a typical contract for new home construction or renovation across the Coromandel.
Your plans priced line by line, with the assumptions written down, so you can see where the money goes before anything is ordered.
Excavation, retaining, drainage, and foundations set out for coastal ground and the slope you actually have.
Framing, roofing, cladding, and joinery installed to hold up against salt air and an exposed aspect.
Linings, cabinetry, tiling, and the finishing trades, the work that decides how the house feels to live in.
Plumbers, sparkies, engineers, and specialists booked, sequenced and supervised, so the programme holds together.
Council inspections scheduled and attended, producer statements collected, and code compliance seen through to sign-off.
Landscaping, driveways, and furnishings are usually priced separately. We will tell you up front what sits outside the contract for your house renovation or new home build in the Coromandel.
Five stages, and you will know which one you are in at any point. Most owners we build for live somewhere else, so nothing here relies on you being able to drop by.
We meet on site or on a call, look at what you have, and tell you honestly whether we are the right build for you. It costs nothing.
Consent-ready plans get a detailed quote. Sketches get an estimate, plus a clear list of what has to be resolved before the number can firm up.
We agree on the contract, lock the start date, and set out a programme with the sub-trades and long-lead items already booked.
The crew who quoted the job builds it. You get regular progress reporting and photographs, and Craig on the end of the phone throughout.
Code compliance, a walk-through, a defects period that we actually turn up for, and, if you have taken it out, your 10-Year Master Build Guarantee in writing.
Three things owners tell us made the difference, and the reasons we have not needed to change how we work since 2005.
A trade qualification on its own was never going to be enough. Master Builder registration takes building experience, trade qualifications, workmanship references and financial scrutiny. We've held it since 2005, and every new home we build has the option of the 10-Year Master Build Guarantee.
We would rather be with you from conception to completion, but plenty of clients bring us in partway. Build-only on someone else’s plans, or picking up a job that has stalled, we will join at whatever stage you are at.
Every member of the crew was chosen by Craig for their qualifications and their time on the tools. We take on a limited number of jobs at once so the people who priced your work are the people doing it.
A few of the builds behind the approach on this page.
Regional Gold in the Auckland, Northland & Coromandel House of the Year, judged in the new home over $4 million category, and named in the national Top 100. Positioned across three levels on the Pauanui waterfront, this 336sqm home embraces light, outlook and easy movement between indoors and out, while keeping a calm sense of retreat.
Two solid concrete-block homes finished in plaster, with large architectural joinery and louvres throughout. Identical on the surface, completely different inside to match each owner's brief.
A generous sized home of 420sqm, including 4 bedrooms, an office, 3 bathrooms, and open plan living to spread out.
Amazing, very professional team. The finished outcome has exceeded our expectations.
Most projects use more than one of these. Tell us where you are and we will point you at the right starting line.
Early-stage input on buildability, budget, and site while your plans are still on paper, from a team who'll tell you the truth before you commit. It's the cheapest hour you'll spend.
One point of contact for consultants, council, and sub-trades. Regular correspondence for owners who live three hours away. It's the kind of oversight our high-end clients expect as standard.
Strengthening existing homes and buildings to meet today's standards, assessed with our engineers and carried out by the same crew, not a subcontracted add-on.
Yes. We can take on home renovations of all sizes in Whitianga and across the wider Coromandel. Our residential renovation services follow the same process as a new build, with an optional Master Build Guarantee.
It depends on the site, the consent process and the scope. A steep coastal section or a full renovation runs longer than a straightforward build on flat, consented land. We set out a realistic programme once your plans are priced, and you will have it in writing before the contract is signed.
Yes, and it's most of what we do. Coastal Coromandel sections come with slope, access and drainage challenges a flat suburban site never sees. We've built across Pauanui, Whitianga, and the wider eastern Coromandel on sites other builders would rather not touch.
Either works. Most of our work starts with plans someone else has already drawn, and if they meet building consent standards we'll price them in detail. If you haven't got that far yet, we'll work alongside your architect or designer from an early stage, or point you to our consultancy service for input before anything is finalised.
Yes. We'd rather be with you from conception to completion, but plenty of clients bring us in partway: build-only on plans already drawn, or picking up a job that has stalled with another builder. We'll join at whatever stage of your custom home construction in Whitianga.
Whether your consent is granted or you're six months from a sketch, an early conversation costs nothing and saves plenty. Craig reads every enquiry personally.
