Dave Firth
B.Sc.(Hons) / MRICS MNZIBS MCIOB
Dave is a Chartered and Registered building Surveyor, Registered Clerk of Works, Chartered Construction Manager, Licensed Designer and has a total of over 40 years construction experience in Europe and NZ.
Dave worked as a building contractor for 20 years, carrying out property repairs and additions in the UK and three years as a council building inspector and consent processing officer for the Auckland Council Reclad Team.
Extensive Experience
Dave’s extensive experience in clerk of works inspecting and reporting, design and design peer reviews, council building consent processing and inspections has given him the knowledge and experience to offer expert services to clients to help achieve construction projects right first time by reducing or eliminating construction defects, advising on building code compliance, reducing delays and contractor claims for repeat work or abortive work, reducing long and short term maintenance issues and potential ongoing legal disputes and claims.
Dave has a meticulous eye for detail and exhaustive patience for checking construction drawings, specifications and building work, applying his in-depth understanding of the building code, acceptable solutions, standards and regulations. A great believer in the quality assurance process for construction projects, engaging Dave to undertake design peer review and construction observation for your project ensures a quality outcome for any project, no matter how large or small. Dave also has a keen interest in low energy design and sustainable construction.
Project Experience
- Clerk of Works/Quality Assurance inspections for multiple new commercial and residential buildings up to 35 million GBP value in UK
- Auckland Council reclad team, reclad inspections and peer review of reclad consents for building code compliance
- Expert witness in weathertight and other construction related disputes in NZ
- Condition surveys and reports before and after building works in UK and NZ
- Disabled access audits of schools and commercial buildings in UK and NZ
- Commercial landlord and tenant lease condition surveys in UK and NZ
- Design of recladding and alterations for residential and commercial buildings in NZ
- Engineer to the contract (client’s representative) for recladding and repairs to residential and commercial buildings in NZ
- WSG Assessor 2009-2019
- Survey and design of school WC refurbishments and classroom extensions for schools in UK
- School condition surveys and preparation of asset management schedules in UK
- Lead surveyor for design and implementation of disability access alterations to public access police buildings in UK
- Measured surveys of commercial and historic buildings for English Heritage
- Forensic audits of cleansing and disinfecting work to farm buildings during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Cumbria in 2001
- Pre and post contract administration duties for various size refurbishments to schools and commercial buildings in UK
- Planned and reactive maintenance inspections and monitoring contractor’s performance to a British Navy missile storage site in Scotland
- Maintenance officer and building surveyor for Sheffield City Council; reactive and planned maintenance of a mixed portfolio of housing; design of alterations/refurbishments of commercial buildings; dilapidation surveys for commercial buildings
Qualifications and Affiliations
- Bachelor of Science Building Surveying with Honours (2:1), (Sheffield Hallam University)
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (Architecture and Surveying Faculty)
- Member of the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors
- Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Building Surveying)
- Member of the Institute of Clerk of Works and Construction Inspectorate
- Member of the Architectural Designers of New Zealand
- Licensed Designer (LBP level 2)
- City and Guilds Class 2 Construction Plant Operator Mechanic (UK)
- B2 Combat Engineering Certificate, School of Military Engineering, Chatham (UK) (Stand alone page for reclad design.)
Meet the team
Work with the professionals
Nick Gaites
Nick, a graduate Manufacturing Systems Engineer is a New Zealand Registered Building Surveyor, Certified Passive House Consultant and has over 10 years’ experience in the New Zealand Construction sector. Prior to becoming a Registered Building Surveyor, he was director of an Auckland residential building company which latterly specialised in leaky building remediation. Nick also has UK building experience and a multidiscipline expertise with a mixture of engineering, construction, building surveying and energy consultancy experience.
Angus Pengelly
Angus is a qualified builder and construction manager, with over 13 years of experience in the NZ construction industry. More recently Angus has three years of experience as a building consent processing officer. The combination of hands-on experience across multiple disciplines has given Angus a unique and broad knowledge base of the NZ Building Code and construction techniques and technology in New Zealand.
Diego Ariel Zirlinger
Diego is an Argentinian Architect, graduated from University of Buenos Aires. During his studies he designed houses, schools, public museums and sports centres. He worked as an Architect assistant for a local studio for four years.
There, he developed several projects, from bars and hotels to residential buildings, where gained most of his experience.
Julieta Lucila Meyer
Julieta is an Argentinian Architect, graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in 2017. Julieta is very responsible and committed, loves to learn, and get fully involved in the projects that she participates in. Above all, she always tries to find a sustainable solution to the project, because it is in her belief that it is very important to include sustainability in construction.
Claudia Morales Mirabal
Claudia is a Chilean Architect who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in 2018. She is methodical and disciplined in her work and eagerly accepts new challenges.
Tristan Henson
Tristan graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK with honours in Building Surveying. Since moving to New Zealand in 2016 he has gained over 8 years’ experience working within the Building Control environment in both residential and commercial capacities across multiple Councils in both the North and South Islands. Prior to this, he worked in Australia within the private sector as a building certifier gaining exposure to a wide variety of construction and legislative practices.