HOW SENTINEL HOMES LIVED
UP TO THE MCTAGGARTS’
HIGH STANDARDS
Sarah and Andrew
McTaggart had very clear ideas about what they wanted from their new home
build. It had to make the most of their stunning Akatarawa section and support
their varied interests and lifestyle pursuits. Perhaps most importantly, the
build itself needed to be extremely high quality – the couple own a high precision
manufacturing company and they know quality when they see it.
“We were going to settle for nothing
but the best,” says Andrew.
They got a fair way down
the track with another volume-build company, but an early morning phone call
with Hayden Rau from Sentinel
Homes Wellington/Kapiti changed all that.
“From the get-go, Sentinel was great
to deal with. Both Sarah and I work in sales so reading people is one of our
strengths. It was very clear Hayden and his team were straight shooters and not
looking to get one over on us,”
explains Andrew.
DESIGNED FOR MUSIC AND
ENTERTAINING
While Sentinel Homes
brought all the same reassurance and transparency of a large build company they
also offered the design flexibility that the McTaggarts required. Sarah, a
singer, needed a ‘toy room’where she could store her gear and
have band practices. This was designed into the floor plan, away from the
living areas. The keen entertainers also had a specific idea of how their
living spaces should flow, with a built-in bar that flows on to the outdoor
area.
“It was more than important that we
designed and built the home of our dreams – this is to be our forever house,” says Andrew. “We wanted a home that was going to
be pretty special and great for entertaining. We wanted a bit of us to shine
through.”
The couple achieved that
with amazing details peppered throughout the home. Their large shower features
slides on either end, LED strips welcome people at the front door and polished
concrete flooring flows out on to Kwila decking.
BUILD QUALITY AT ANOTHER
LEVEL
When Andrew says the
couple are exacting, he wasn’t joking. From the framing down to the last light
switch, Andrew and Sarah’s
eagle eyes missed nothing –
but they were blown away by the standard. He thinks they hit the jackpot as far
as quality is concerned.
“I actually can't fault it and that
is saying something,”
enthuses Andrew. “The house is just
amazing. A builder friend of mine walked into the house and said, ‘Dude, I simply can't fault this
house. You have a fantastic home, well done.’”
STREAMLINED BUILD PROCESS
Andrew says the Sentinel
team went out of their way to keep lines of communication open, put the
McTaggarts first and tackled everything with a can-do attitude.
“Sentinel was always looking to
support us and build us the house we wanted. It’s all about trust, support and
quality – pretty cool attributes
that this company has.”
Andrew says he knew there
would be some challenges along the way, but hadn’t expected the Sentinel team
to work so hard to overcome them.
“You won't build a 315-square-meter
custom home and not have issues, but it was all about dealing with and
resolving the challenges. Sentinel did an amazing job of this. Hayden was tops
at calming Sarah and me down when we were stressing. He took us through the
process, always kept his promises and went over and above to meet our needs.”
SATISFYING THIS ‘FUSSY BUGGER’
A self-proclaimed ‘fussy bugger’, Andrew is over the moon at the
results and thinks everyone should be building with Sentinel.
“What a house we have – we are stoked. We know the standard
of product they produce and that we would be treated fairly and not get ripped
off, clearly a big one for everyone.”
