Character Builders Ltd is a licensed, award-winning building team based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and has been building a reputation for renovating, repairing, building and checking homes across Canterbury since 1997. The company began when Guy Gillespie started his own building operation and soon after joined forces with Lewthwaite & Son Builders, a third-generation building company, forming a partnership that has stood the test of time.
Over more than two decades the team has handled everything from small ongoing maintenance and repair jobs through to large-scale additions, alterations and brand new homes. While their marketing focus has always been conventional and traditional NZ homes, those skills translate across many building types, including light commercial mall and shop fit outs, bars, schools and churches.
Character Builders played a significant part in the home check rebuild and repair programme across Christchurch following the earthquakes. Today they are more focused on renovations and on adding the extra value and space many owners are looking for in their existing homes — with size and scale unimportant, as the team adapts to any project.
Clients consistently highlight the team's communication and management approach, which gives peace of mind throughout the process. Hundreds of clients, many recommended by others, attest to the skill and commitment to detail that ensures projects of any scale are completed to satisfaction. Free consultations are available for anyone considering a new home or a stylish renovation.
Some building companies chase volume. Character Builders Ltd has spent more than two decades chasing something else: homes done properly, with the details that make a house feel right. Based in Christchurch and working throughout Canterbury since 1997, this licensed, award-winning team has built a reputation for renovating, repairing, building and checking homes — and for the communication style that keeps clients reassured from the first site visit to the final walkthrough.
The company's story began when Guy Gillespie commenced his building operation in 1997, soon after joining forces with Lewthwaite & Son Builders, a third-generation building company. That partnership formed a business built to last, and it has: hundreds of clients later, many of them recommended by previous customers, Character Builders continues to work across every scale of residential construction.
Four core services define the business. **Renovations and restoration** work is now the focus — adding the extra value and space many owners want from their existing homes, including the sympathetic restorative work character homes demand. **New home construction** covers everything from a compact 70 square metre build completed in around three months, to larger family homes. **Character new builds** — the team's specialty — can be spotted in locations all around Canterbury and the West Coast, with typical timeframes of seven to twelve months. And **inspections and checks** draw directly on the company's deep experience: Character Builders was a significant part of the home check rebuild and repair programme across Christchurch following the earthquakes.
The portfolio tells the story well. The Leeston Farm House renovation saw a 300 square metre home dating from 1888 carefully brought back over eleven months. The Dyers Pass Homestead project, a 430 square metre property, took seven months in 2015. Character alterations typically run around four months on homes of 100–150 square metres. Every showcased project on their website lists its scale, scope, costs and timeframes alongside photographs — a level of transparency few builders offer.
Guy Gillespie, the managing director, is a qualified carpenter of 25 years' experience — a self-described solutions person, problem solver and innovator who is passionate about historic New Zealand architecture while remaining visionary about future-proofing construction. Behind him are small, dynamic teams of fully qualified craftsmen. Because teams stay small, clients deal directly with the people working on their home, ensuring clarity and understanding at every stage.
That extends to the supply chain. Character Builders has worked with some of its suppliers for more than 20 years, and those relationships give clients a real advantage when planning and managing costings from the estimate and quoting stage. The company is equally happy to work with a client's own suppliers and contacts. As a licensed building business listed with NZ Certified Builders and working alongside suppliers like Carters, the credentials back up the craftsmanship.
Though traditional NZ homes are the heart of the business, the team's practical skill and attention to detail have seen them in demand far beyond residential work — light commercial mall and shop fit outs, bars, schools and churches, plus collaborations with mass production housing companies, developers, designers and architects who need builders able to adapt.
What do clients say? Of the Ferry Road project: "Their quality of work is of very high standard. And they have been very patient with us. We cannot find fault with them." Another client, Marty, put it more simply: "Exactly what we asked for and more."
Whether you're looking at a new home, a stylish renovation, an energy efficient build or a house check, Character Builders offers a free consultation to explore how they can help. Size and scale, they say, are not important — the team adapts to give you the end result you desire. Call 027 228 8591 or email [email protected] to start the conversation. Simple communication, open and honest — that's the pitch, and the hundreds of completed Canterbury projects suggest they deliver on it.