Cathy Wood Ltd

We've been working with Cathy on a fairly complicated renovation on our 1960's home. Cathy is super detailed in her planning, is very willing to make adjustments and alterations, and is extremely knowledgable in matters of resource consent! Cathy also has a great team around her with a host of top notch partners (QS/Builders/Plumbers etc) that she works with.

We've been working alongside Cathy for several years now and we always find her excellent to work with.

Cathy was a real professional with a caring attitude. She was prompt in her communication and provided timely solutions to our renovation. We would highly recommend her to others! Thank you Cathy for your hard work and dedication.

Cathy worked with us on a renovation project we had some years ago. Our past experience with Cathy made her the obvious choice for our new project, which involved a addition/alterations and renovation of our one bedroom cottage. Cathy is so easy to talk to and understands completely. Her knowledge of the rural environment and some of the challenges it throws up at times were easily overcome. The consent and permit process was at times overwhelming for us but Cathy looked after everything and did an amazing job. Cathy is down to earth, professional and always available to answer questions. Even after she had completed her part of the process is still more than happy to answer any questions or concerns we have. We cannot speak highly enough of Cathy and her work and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her to anyone looking for an experienced, knowledgeable and caring Architect. Cathy really knows her stuff and works with her clients.

Dear Houzz We are delighted to provide feedback to you on our experience with using Cathy Wood Ltd in our recent home renovation. We have indeed recommended her to several of our friends as a result of our satisfaction with her competence, expertise and professionalism. Cathy ‘rescued’ us from a situation where a renovation job proved to be a bigger job than we had anticipated. Originally we had planned digging under the house for a small L-shaped workshop space. The engineer had agreed it was feasible, and we set out to do it in May 2016. But we had already started with some excavation when it became apparent that far more complex work was required than we had anticipated. In the words of the builder and engineer “once we knew the structural problem was there we could not leave it unattended”. The problem was that a supporting wall, which had a window in it, had been very badly built and would need to be removed and the house above needed supporting. Luckily Cathy was referred to us by a friend. The situation required liaison between the builder, engineer and us, the clients, and Cathy then drew up working diagrams which we all consulted on until we were happy with the overall direction of the project. Cathy then undertook to take the necessary steps to get Hutt City Council approval, first of all a Certificate of Acceptance for the structural work already done, then a Building Consent application. Cathy liaised with the Council to obtain approval to proceed and then drew up the plans and elevations in consultation with the engineer, builder and us. A key issue was that the new stairs between the basement and upper level of the house would need to meet modern Code requirements and so some of the upstairs hallway had to be re-designed and rebuilt. Cathy talked us through the issues and the nett result has been strong, convenient and very attractive, and we were very happy to achieve the Code Compliance certificate in what was, in the end, a year of renovation!

Cathy has done two projects for us. One was a change of use for a city villa and involved a new kitchen, fire rating, using an engineer to install a beam, and altering a bathroom. Cathy completed all aspects including a preliminary meeting with the council to see if the project would be allowed, drawing up plans and further meetings with the council. The second was a kitchen renovation and advising on room layouts and design. We are very happy with the outcomes. Cathy is a clear communicator and made the whole process go smoothly.

I have worked consistently with Cathy over many years. i have the utmost respect for the work she carries out and manner in which she carries it out. Most recently she has designed new Wellington offices for our company - they are superb and we get a lot of positive feedback from our own people and from visitors - we are now about to use her for our Auckland office.

Cathy is worth every cent I spent on her. I used her services for an internal renovation. She recommended 2 good builders - one of whom I choose to work with - she dealt with all things Council as well as finding solutions to 'things' that came up during the renovation, as they do with an old house. She was responsive, knowledgeable and professional. I have no hesitation in recommending her.