About Us
Residential building is in the Brooks family blood. Nevis grew up playing with timber off-cuts from the sawmill his father worked at; in his teens he started building and selling cubby houses.
Nevis, his father and all five of his brothers worked together to found Brooks Construction. They personally built entire houses, from the ground up. The brothers had different trades that they specialised in (Nevis qualified as an electrical contractor) but they also learned the full range of skills needed.
Over 23 years Brooks Construction established a reputation as a quality home builder. The firm grew and continues to grow.
Nevis however decided that it was time for him to go back to their roots. He wanted a smaller operation, that was more intensely hands-on and personal, where the owners dealt face to face with the customers.
In 2003 Nevis and his wife Sonia created NuChange Building. Later they were joined by son Ryan, a carpenter.
The WA building boom that was gathering pace about then made it a good time, but the industry was changing. There was a clear decline in housing construction standards. Any labor was hard to get, let alone skilled and experienced tradespeople and construction managers. Costs were rising rapidly and every aspect of construction was being re-engineered to reduce time and materials, to minimised specifications and standards. So-called luxury homes were often just bigger versions of the same project-home standard construction.
Was this a good time for a traditional building company working to craftsmen standards?
The public response was immediate and continues strong today. It seems that many people who have experienced mainstream houses are now eager to embark on a more traditional journey, that will lead them to a better built home that is uniquely theirs.
The NuChange philosophy
We are a traditional builder.
The modern building company is most often a management structure that uses rotating teams of sub-contractors to do the actual work.
Nevis, for example, is a Registered Builder, a Licensed Electrical Contractor, a Licensed Crane Operator, a Licensed Dogman and a Licensed Scaffolder. Son Ryan is a carpenter. We own our own bobcat, scaffolding, brick hoist and other gear. All this means we can control scheduling (a big cause of cost blow-outs) and allocate more of the total expenditure to the building itself.
Our few sub-contractors are mostly regulars. We believe they stick with us by preference, because of the four simple company goals we adhere to:
• Client satisfaction.
• High quality building project
• Clean and safe building site
• Friendly and enjoyable workplace for our employees
These goals create the positive work environment essential to craftsman quality work.
Of course, our traditional approach also means that we are what management consultants call “non-scalable”. We can’t just take on an extra 50 homes and book some more subbies. We only take on the work we can handle with our proven people resources. Sometimes, you may have to wait a little; please talk with us as early in your journey as you can.