Watcon Projects is an LBP licensed residential builder based in Pahurehure, working throughout Manukau - renovations, extensions, kitchens, bathrooms, building maintenance and new builds, as part of our wider coverage across South Auckland.
Manukau is one of the closest parts of South Auckland to Watcon Projects' own base in Pahurehure, and it shows in the kind of work that comes from there - bathroom strip-outs, weatherboard repairs, kitchen renovations and extensions on homes that are decades old rather than fresh sections. Cole handles each job personally, from the first look at the property through to the last coat of paint, rather than pricing it over the phone and sending someone else out.
Bordered by Papatoetoe, Otara, Manurewa and Wiri, Manukau is also one of the most ethnically diverse parts of South Auckland, with a genuine mix of long-settled residential streets, a fast-changing city centre, and a large industrial area to the south around Wiri. It's a smaller, more established kind of job than a lot of the newer South Auckland suburbs - less about fresh sections, more about looking after homes that have been standing for fifty years or more.
A lot of Manukau and neighbouring Wiri was built up through the 1960s, 70s and 80s - fibrolite-clad state housing and the standard three-bedroom brick and tile home are everywhere across these streets. Some of it has been well maintained over the decades. A lot of it hasn't, and that's exactly the kind of job Watcon Projects takes on - re-cladding and weatherboard repairs, subfloor work, bathroom and kitchen strip-outs, and extensions on homes that have never been touched since they were built.
Clover Park, just to the east, is a good example of how this part of Manukau has actually changed - not through large-scale redevelopment like Flat Bush, but incrementally, house by house, over several decades. That's the kind of work Watcon Projects is built for: one home at a time, done properly, rather than a subdivision-scale approach that doesn't fit an established street.
Manukau City Centre is zoned Metropolitan Centre under the Auckland Unitary Plan - one of the region's designated high-density hubs outside the CBD, allowing for a much wider mix of commercial, retail and higher-density residential development than a standard residential street.
Auckland Council's Transform Manukau programme has Manukau Central and Wiri earmarked for renewal over roughly 600 hectares, a process expected to run over 20 to 25 years. For homeowners in the surrounding residential streets, that mostly means one thing: the centre is changing faster than the neighbourhoods around it. The established homes through Manukau, Wiri and Clover Park are still the same housing stock they've always been, and renovating or extending one of them is a different job to anything going up in the town centre itself. Watcon Projects works on the homes, not the centre - which is exactly where the renovation, repair and extension work is.
Yes - a lot of our work in Manukau and Wiri is exactly this: re-cladding, weatherboard repairs, bathroom and kitchen strip-outs and extensions on 1960s-80s fibrolite-clad and brick and tile homes. It's some of the most common work we take on in this part of South Auckland.
Only if you're inside the Metropolitan Centre zone itself, which covers Manukau Central and part of Wiri. Homes in the surrounding residential streets - Manukau, Wiri, Clover Park and similar - aren't affected by the zoning change and follow the standard residential consent process for a renovation or extension.
Both. Weatherboard repairs, a single bathroom rebuild, or a full extension - Manukau's housing stock throws up jobs of every size, and we don't have a minimum. The standard doesn't change based on how big the job is.
Subfloor damage, ageing wiring or plumbing, and cladding that's past its best are common on 1960s-80s homes that haven't been touched structurally in a while. We build realistic allowances into the quote for this rather than assuming everything underneath is fine.
Yes. Cole Watson holds a current LBP licence, and all restricted building work on Manukau jobs is carried out and signed off correctly.
Fill out the form below or call 021 877 308. We'll get back to you within one business day to talk through the scope and arrange a time to come and have a look.
Based in Pahurehure, we work across South Auckland and East Auckland - from Central Auckland down through Manukau, Papakura, Karaka, Drury, Ardmore, Clevedon and Beachlands, out to Howick, Pakuranga and Botany, and south as far as Pukekohe and Pokeno.
If you're in Auckland and not sure whether we come to you - call and ask. Chances are we do.
We cover Manukau, Wiri, Clover Park and surrounds, as part of our wider South Auckland coverage. Tell us what you're after and we'll come back to you within one business day.
021 877 308Four quick questions. Cole reads every one and gets back to you within one business day.
Or call 021 877 308
