Your first choice in dairy design & construction
Honest, Reliable Builders since 2009
Building Is What We Do
"Recognised as bringing innovative working solutions to the rural building sector, where professionalism and quality is at the core of our business"
Nigel Hodges & Alan Deane - The two that run the show here at Rural Building Solutions.
'Have You Herd'
PROJECTS ON A GRAND SCALE
Here at RBS, we do projects large and small, but our latest is bigger than most!
This project is a brand-new 716 cubicle feed pad we’re just finishing in Methven. To give you an idea of dimensions, this pad is 160m long x 34m wide – just a bit bigger than a full-sized rugby pitch. It is exactly the same footprint as the dairy wintering shed right next to it, built by Advanced Dairy Barns of Winton. (https://www.nzdairybarns.co.nz/)
In fact, you could describe the feed pad as a wintering barn – but without the roof.
The pad is connected to the yards by two lanes, so cow flow is easily directed either way, and to either side of the pad.
Feed is distributed onto the centre lane of the pad, so the cows are free to eat whenever, or sit down on the loafing rubber mats in the resting cubicles. There are crossovers (with water troughs) at regular intervals to allow the cows to easily move between feed and resting cubicles
The advantages of a feed pad are many (effluent retention and re-use, pasture protection, reduction in feed waste, supplement control, easy clean etc.)
The additional advantage of a cubicle feed pad over a normal feed pad is the ability to keep the cows on for extended periods of time, due to the rubber matting for resting, and to avoid lameness.
As you can imagine, we’re pretty proud of this job, and how smoothly it has gone. Construction Manager Alan notes ‘We did a good job for a good client and it all works.’
Last word goes to our client Bruce who says ‘I just knew from talking to Nigel at the get go that every aspect of the project was planned out – he’s a very organized chap. Nigel and Alan just made the job easy.’
Nigel with Customer Bruce on the new Feedpad
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Feature Project
Now here’s something a bit different. A new 54 bail rotary shed and yard extension built directly on the site of the old, down in Fairlie. And all to be done within the drying off period so there was no disruption to milking at all. A pretty tight timeframe!
First the old shed had to be demolished and removed, without damaging the yards. Then the new build started - with foundations integrating to the existing yards.
Due to the timeframe and the complex nature of working on an existing site, our Construction Manager Alan had plenty of detailed planning to do. We couldn’t afford any downtime from lack of organisation. Nigel says ‘Alan is very efficient at planning, in fact it’s an absolute strength of his’. The team got stuck in and did what they always do – a co-ordinated smooth build.
We completed right on time so our client could hit the ground running this spring.
Our client said ‘Not many builders would be organised enough to do it and do it properly. Nigel said he could do it, and they did – on time and on budget, as simple as that’.
It’s the first time we’ve done a new shed exactly on the site of the old one. It worked very well, maximising use of the dry period.
If disruption to milking is putting you off that shed replacement, talk to Nigel 0274 270 557 Alan 021 575 188.
Who We Are
About Our Company
Rural Building Solutions Ltd is owned by Nigel and Ruth Hodges. They started the business in 2009 with a vision of bringing corporate building quality to the rural sector.
Nigel had previously worked in the commercial building industry and was foreman on projects across Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland. He then looked at the rural building industry.
Nigel says he noticed the contrast between commercial and rural builds was significant, not just in scale but in quality and innovation. He decided to use his skills to provide a better level of service to rural areas of Canterbury.
Rural Building Solutions operates within the greater Canterbury region, taking in North Canterbury, including the Culverden Basin, and all of Central and Mid Canterbury. Recently RBS also has developed a strong presence in Kaikoura, Otago and the West Coast.
Nigel provides these areas with quality, innovative dairy sheds, effluent systems, feed pads and silage bunkers. All require significant concrete construction and, unusually in the rural sector, Nigel is a qualified structural concrete specialist.
Nigel says most of RBS's clients come from repeat business or referrals.
"Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get, and our reputation for quality is the result of us building every dairy shed as though it were a show shed."
"Most of our staff are older and wiser, and they understand about doing things right the first time. This gives our projects a better finish and is also more cost effective."
Integrity is also key to the way RBS does business. This runs right through the company from staff selection to pricing. For example, estimates are very comprehensive, unambiguous, and include all most likely requirements, rather than relying on add-ons or variations later on.
Nigel says the strong culture of RBS is 'We do what we say'.
"Our clients get a structurally sound, well managed, well priced project with a good quality finish."
Rural Building Solutions is a registered Master Builder company. For more information call Nigel Hodges on 0274 270 557 or email office@ruralbuilding.co.nz
2009
Year of Establishment
53
Dairy Parlours Completed
10
Professional Employees
Nigel Hodges
Director, Rural Building Solutions