About the Team
OnlyBuilds doesn't run crews of project managers rotating through sites. It's one builder, on your job, every day. That's exactly why clients choose it.
Rodney "Rod" Harvey
Rod has spent his working life on building sites: first as a tradesman, then running his own business, then overseeing other people's projects at scale. OnlyBuilds is what happens when someone with that much perspective decides to go back to doing the work directly, instead of managing from a distance.
Rod has personally lived in ten of the homes he's built, across 40 years in the industry. Living in his own build changes the way he looks at it. The person he's building for has to live there too, waking up to the same details every day, so if something's off, they'll notice it constantly. That's part of why Rod keeps improving with every home, not just in the finishes, but in the floor plans and layouts as well.
Career
Started out doing carpentry work under a contractor's licence, then launched his own carpentry business, which he ran for 16 years.
Moved into supervising builds directly, overseeing trades and quality on site day to day.
Managed supervisors, teams, and clients across a large volume of projects, including a period as a building inspector and holding a building consultancy licence. He's been the carpenter, the boss, the supervisor and the inspector. That's how he knows where builds go wrong.
Now running OnlyBuilds solo, by choice. One or two projects at a time, on site personally, every day.
Why Only One or Two Projects
Rod only takes on one or two projects at a time. It's a deliberate choice, not a limitation. A project home builder is exactly that: a project, built to a template, without much room for a customised service. Rod wanted something different. Running a tighter ship means real quality control, on site every day, checking the work as it happens, so clients get exactly what they're paying for.
In Rod's Words
"I only take on one or two projects at a time because I want to give the client exactly what they're paying for. Running a tighter ship means better quality control, and it means the job comes out the way it should. Being on site every day gives me a real understanding of what's going on, so I can keep an eye on the work as it's carried out, make sure no corners are cut, and leave the site tidy and safe. If there's ever an issue, it gets picked up straight away and fixed, not covered over."— Rod Harvey, Founder