Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour is not where most Australian builders would expect to take a tour of a residential construction business. Yet that is exactly how The Good Builder podcast episode begins, with Stonewood Homes general manager Gregg Somerville walking past the waterfront, filming on a phone, and explaining why prospective franchisees are asked to visit the support office before they sign.

It is a small detail that hints at a larger theme of the conversation: Stonewood is positioning itself as a systems-led franchise builder, arguing that many capable trades-and-site operators struggle not with construction quality, but with running a modern building business.

During the episode, host Aaron frames Stonewood Homes as a franchise model built on “structure, consistency and support”, and Somerville leans into that positioning. He describes the franchise offer as a “business model” designed to sit around a builder’s existing construction capability, with tools and processes that aim to improve sales conversion, estimating accuracy, customer communication, and delivery consistency.

The discussion also provides a snapshot of Stonewood’s early expansion across Queensland, with current operations in the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba, a Townsville launch planned for March, and other prospective franchisees progressing through due diligence.

A franchise pitch built around systems, not site skills

Somerville is direct about what Stonewood does and does not do.

“We’re not going to teach someone how to build,” he says. “We expect them to bring… the ability to quality homes efficiently.” Instead, Stonewood aims to supply the operational structure and business tools that many smaller builders do not have the time, resources, or specialist staff to develop in-house.

In Somerville’s view, the biggest gap for many builders is not construction know-how, but lead management, estimating discipline, and repeatable processes.

For builders doing modest volume, he argues, that gap becomes a ceiling: they may be competent on site but stuck at five to ten homes a year because marketing, sales, documentation, cost control, and client experience are not set up to scale.

Stonewood’s model, as described, is designed for a specific builder profile: those with aspirations to grow into a 20-to-50 home-per-year business.

“It’s not for everyone,” Somerville says. “If you only want to do one or two homes a year… it’s not worth it for the cost of the systems. But likewise, if you wanted to do a hundred homes a year… you’ve got potentially the scale to actually put some of those systems in yourself.”

That “middle band” is where Stonewood believes the franchise structure can change outcomes, by bundling software, marketing, and support overheads across a network.

The core tool: plan customisation with live costing

A major portion of the conversation centres on a system Somerville calls “Home Eye”, presented as a design-and-estimating tool that enables rapid plan customisation with live cost updates.

Somerville says Stonewood has more than 270 standard plans in Queensland, designed for the local market, and the tool allows sales staff to take one of those base designs and modify it in real time with a customer.

The examples are deliberately practical: dragging a wall out to turn a double garage into a triple, updating materials and cladding types, and generating a revised bill of materials and cost estimate instantly.

The purpose, he says, is speed and accuracy. The system is intended to reduce the time lag between a client request and a pricing answer, while keeping estimates close to true job cost.

Aaron links the tool to a broader industry issue: builder profitability. In a separate conversation, he references a builder who defined a “good builder” as someone who is profitable and “knows their prices”. In this episode, he positions accurate estimating as a key ingredient in staying solvent, especially in a market that has recently experienced extreme volatility in demand, material availability, and costs.

Somerville agrees with the logic but adds a distinction: a builder can build well and still run a poor business.

“You can be a good builder and still have a bad business,” he says. “No one wants to have a bad business.”

Where the franchise fees go, according to Stonewood

Franchise fees are a common sticking point for independent builders considering network models, and the episode addresses it directly.

Somerville breaks the fees into broad buckets:

Marketing spend pooled at scale.
He argues marketing contributions are used more efficiently through Stonewood than they would be by a standalone builder running a local brand with limited budget and buying power.

His phrasing is blunt: it is “not really a fee”, but a way to advertise more efficiently.

Software and integrated systems.
He says the franchise package includes a chain of systems: CRM into the plan-and-estimate tool, then into project management, with accounting integration. His argument is that the franchise provides tools “way more efficiently than you could buy off the shelf yourself”, and in some cases “you just can’t buy them”.

Support office costs and ongoing business viability.
Somerville describes the Auckland support team as central to onboarding, ongoing assistance, and network operations. He also notes Stonewood needs to run a profitable organisation to continue delivering those services.

The claimed end result is that, for the “right” builder, the model should cost less than building the same capability independently, or at least deliver better margins through higher conversion, tighter estimating, and lower operational friction.

A different definition of “good builder”: judged by the customer

The most pointed section of the conversation comes when the discussion shifts from systems to reputation.

Somerville challenges a common industry assumption: that “quality” is the primary differentiator in a customer’s eyes.

In his framing, quality is a baseline expectation. Clients assume they will receive a compliant, well-built home from any builder they shortlist. What shapes the customer’s judgement, he says, is the experience: communication, the ability to manage changes, transparency, and how the builder performs when things become stressful.

His definition of a good builder is simple: a builder customers would recommend.

“It’s in the eyes of the customer,” he says. “A good builder is one that they’d refer to their friends and family.”

Aaron responds by describing this as a more meaningful benchmark than industry awards judged by architects or industry panels. Somerville then reveals Stonewood plans to introduce awards judged entirely by customers.

In an industry where marketing often leans on trophies and badges, the idea of customer-only awards stands out as a deliberate positioning move: the brand is signalling that client experience is not an add-on, but core to its identity.

Somerville links it to business outcomes: referrals outperform paid advertising, and delighted customers become a growth channel.

Network value: colleagues, not competitors

The episode also highlights a softer benefit of franchising: access to peers.

Somerville says many owners running standalone businesses lack colleagues to “bounce stuff off”. In a network, franchisees can share solutions, compare performance, and build relationships that become both friendships and operational support.

Aaron adds a specific example from his earlier interview with Sunshine Coast franchisee Sean Hewitt, who described calling other franchise leaders for advice and perspective. In Somerville’s view, those cross-region relationships are a feature, not a by-product.

Stonewood’s ambition, as described, is to operate as one Australasian team, while still recognising local differences in design and market conditions.

He notes variation exists everywhere: between Australia and New Zealand, and even between regions within Queensland and New Zealand.

Queensland-first expansion, with Townsville next

On the business growth front, Somerville confirms Stonewood currently has three Queensland operations referenced in the episode:

• Sunshine Coast (South) led by Sean Hewitt
• Toowoomba led by Ian and Dee Carrie
• Townsville, planned to commence trading in March

He notes Townsville’s launch has been complicated by an arson fire in a nearby unit that caused sufficient damage to the franchisee’s premises to require a knockdown, forcing a rapid search for a new location, while still aiming to open on schedule.

Somerville also confirms other franchisees are in the pipeline, going through Stonewood’s due diligence process.

That process, he says, includes meeting existing franchisees face to face, visiting the Auckland support office, and allowing Stonewood to visit the candidate builder in return.

The aim, he says, is mutual fit: “We want them to make the right decision for them… and likewise, we want to make sure we bring on the right partners.”

For now, he indicates Stonewood’s priority is building density in Queensland, because its current plan library is designed specifically for Queensland conditions and compliance, and the operational focus is to support franchisees tightly before expanding to other states.

Comparing New Zealand and Queensland market conditions

Somerville also offers a brief comparison between building in New Zealand and Queensland, suggesting Queensland is currently the easier environment.

He points to a mix of structural and policy differences: support packages for first home buyers (in Australia), more buildable flat land, and what he characterises as lower compliance requirements during the build process.

He also highlights demand: Queensland has strong internal migration, while New Zealand’s recent demand has softened as immigration flows have reduced compared to earlier peaks.

Aaron ties this back to the volatility the industry experienced through and after COVID: abrupt demand drops, then surges, then supply constraints, and then slowing demand again once materials stabilised.

Somerville describes it as a “rocky road” and argues that Queensland’s long-term outlook appears stronger, with population growth and major event-driven infrastructure momentum ahead.

Who Stonewood is trying to attract

By the end of the episode, the target builder profile is clear.

Stonewood is not pitching to a hobby builder doing a handful of projects. It is also not trying to convert high-volume builders who already have corporate-level systems and staff.

Instead, it is aiming at builders already operating with capability on site, but seeking a faster path to scale: a builder doing around five homes per year who wants to reach 20 and does not know how to build the commercial engine around their construction skills.

Somerville says that is where Stonewood believes it can help: “That would be the ideal type of mindset… ‘I’d love to be at 20, don’t know how to get there.’ And that’s where we would come and show you how.”

Aaron closes by asking what makes a good builder, and Somerville repeats his earlier answer: the customer decides, and referrals are the real test.

For an industry where trust remains fragile, that point may be the sharpest takeaway of the episode: systems matter, margins matter, but reputation is ultimately built one customer experience at a time.

Author: TGB Editorial