Local builders for Wellington homes
From Karori to Island Bay and Johnsonville to Miramar, we build for the way Wellington houses actually sit: on hills, in wind, and often a century old.
Wellington is not an easy city to build in. Sections slope, access is tight, the wind finds every gap in a wall, and a large share of the housing stock is timber weatherboard built before the current Building Code. That is the work we do every week. West Beach Construction is run by director Ethan Mansell, a member of New Zealand Certified Builders, and we treat every Wellington job the same way: look properly before we quote, explain what we find, and build it once, correctly.
Most of our Wellington work is residential. Home renovations, single and second storey extensions, bathroom and kitchen renovations, timber decks and fences, and the repairs older homes need such as rotten weatherboards, bottom plates and subfloor timber.
Call Ethan on 022 621 5980
What we build in Wellington
From Karori to Island Bay and Johnsonville to Miramar, we build for the way Wellington houses actually sit: on hills, in wind, and often a century old.
Home renovations and alterations
Layout changes, opening up living areas, new joinery, relining and refinishing. See our home renovations in Wellington page for the detail.
Home extensions
Single storey extensions, second storey additions and sunrooms, including the consent process with Wellington City Council. More on home extensions in Wellington.
Bathrooms and kitchens
Full bathroom renovations with waterproofing, tiling and plumbing coordinated by one builder, and kitchen renovations from layout to fit-off. See bathroom renovations and kitchen renovations.
Decks, fences and repairs
Timber decks built for exposed sites, boundary and privacy fences, and property maintenance such as weatherboard and cladding repair. See timber decks, timber fences and property maintenance.
Suburbs we work in
We travel across Wellington city for building work. Recent jobs have been in Hataitai, Island Bay and Lyall Bay, and we regularly work in Karori, Kelburn, Brooklyn, Newtown, Kilbirnie, Miramar, Seatoun, Khandallah, Ngaio, Wadestown, Johnsonville, Newlands, Tawa, Churton Park and Grenada Village. Being based in Upper Hutt means the Hutt Valley is on the way, so Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt jobs are covered by the same team.
If your suburb is not listed, ask. If it is within about an hour of Upper Hutt we will usually take it on.
Building on Wellington sections
Hillside sections change how a job is planned. Access for materials, scaffolding on a slope, drainage that runs under the house and retaining that has to be checked before anything else goes in. We look at all of that on the first visit rather than discovering it after the quote. Wind loading matters too: deck balustrades, fences and roof extensions in exposed suburbs are built to the higher wind zones that most of Wellington sits in, with fixings and bracing to match.
Older weatherboard homes bring their own list. We expect to find borer, rot at the bottom plate, undersized framing and past alterations that were never consented, and we price with contingency for it and tell you what we found.
Consents with Wellington City Council
Extensions, most structural alterations and any plumbing that changes the drainage layout need a building consent from Wellington City Council. Some work is exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, for example a deck with a floor no more than 1.5 metres above the ground, a fence up to 2.5 metres high, or like-for-like replacement of weatherboards. We tell you at quote stage which category your job falls into, and where consent is needed we prepare the builder side of the application and work with your designer or ours.
How a project runs with West Beach Construction
It starts with a site visit and a conversation about what you want the finished space to do. We then send a written quote that itemises the work rather than a single number, so you can see what is included. Once you accept, we set a start date and a realistic finish date, arrange the trades, and keep you updated as the job moves. At the end you get a clean site, a walk-through, and the paperwork for anything that was consented.
Ethan answers the phone himself. Call 022 621 5980 or use the contact form and we will come and look.
What Wellington clients say
"Ethan and the team did an awesome job replacing a rotten bottom plate, and replacing a rotten floor in the basement of my rental property. The quote was very detailed and he solved problems I did not realise I had without asking, like swapping the door opening direction so it does not strike the new floor. Will definitely use West Beach for the next few building jobs."
Homeowner, Hataitai, Wellington - verified Builderscrack review, January 2026
"We needed a small job done very quickly. Ethan rearranged his schedule and got it done straight away, to a good standard. Good communication. Happy to recommend Ethan to others."
Homeowner, Lyall Bay, Wellington - verified Builderscrack review, April 2025
A residential construction company based in the Hutt
West Beach Construction is a small, locally owned construction company that works across Wellington from our base at Timberlea in Upper Hutt. We focus on residential work: renovating existing homes, building extensions, bathrooms, kitchens, decks and fences. Director Ethan Mansell answers the phone, prepares the quotes and is on site for the work, and the company is a member of New Zealand Certified Builders.
Working outside the city? We are also builders in Lower Hutt and builders on the Kapiti Coast. Our guide on how to choose builders in Wellington covers the questions worth asking any builder before you commit.
FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We are based in Upper Hutt and work throughout Wellington city, the Hutt Valley and Porirua. Travel is built into the quote, not added later.
West Beach Construction Limited is a member of New Zealand Certified Builders, and restricted building work is carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner as the Building Act requires. Ask us for the details when you enquire.
We handle the builder side of it. For an extension or structural alteration you will also need drawings, which we can arrange through a designer we work with or use your own architect.
We can give a rough idea from photos, but a proper quote needs a site visit. Wellington houses hide too much under the floor and behind the cladding to price blind.
It varies through the year. Small repairs can often be fitted in within a couple of weeks; renovations and extensions are usually booked a few months out. Ask and we will tell you honestly.
As an NZCB member we can offer the Halo 10 Year Residential Guarantee on qualifying work. We will explain what it covers when we quote.
Ready to talk about your project? West Beach Construction is here to help.
See what our clients say about our service
Talk to a Wellington builder who will actually turn up
Send us the basics of your project and we will arrange a site visit. Clear quotes, honest advice and a tidy job, from a local team.