About Emms Homes

Hi, my name is Steve Emms. My wife Lee and I purchased Emms Building from my parents in 1997.
I completed my apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery in 1984. I am a current Licensed Building Practitioner who you will still see out on the job swinging a hammer!

We have established ourselves in all areas of the building industry from cosy cottages to homes of distinction, including designing and building unique award winning homes. We are here to make your building process as smooth as possible from choosing the land to handing over the keys.

As well as building superior quality homes in the East Coast area, we have built up a reputation for absolute perfection. We have collected numerous awards from entering the regional Master Builders House of the Year competitions.

My experienced team work hard to accomplish your dream build and they understand the importance of getting it right. A house is more than a roof over your head it’s your home – a very valuable investment providing comfort and security for you and your family.

We also offer a professional colour consultancy service which can assist you to develop your own unique style for your home. As well as being stylish and interesting, a home should reflect your lifestyle and personality.

Working closely together with you throughout the building process creates confidence and trust. You can rely on us to deliver the best while you sit back and watch that dream turn into reality.


Norm & Jess McLeod \| 15 Gwyneth Place "My husband Norm and I totally recommend Emms Building Centre to build your home. You get the personal touch here and nothing goes forward until you are totally happy with it. They care about the finished result and take pride in building a home to your specification that you will be happy with. They do all they can to get the best deals to bring it into your budget but using good materials that will last. A long the way there were things we needed to change and they were happy to accommodate us."

Maureen & Barry "In 2013 we built our home with Emms building. From the very beginning we found the whole process stress free. We were able to fully communicate all our needs to the builders and are very happy with the end result. We now have a beautiful home."

Michelle & Paul Conole "Building your own home doesn’t have to be a headache!! We chose a local builder with a good reputation and plenty of experience. We figured that local tradesmen rely on their reputation for on-going work therefore an open, trusting relationship with them was going to be important to them too. Our builder took us around to houses that he had recently built and we got to speak to the owners. Their feedback was enough to make us feel reassured that they were all happy with their new homes. Lastly, we also felt it was essential to go with a builder who belongs to the NZ Master Builders Association. We love our new home and enjoyed the experience of getting to build a home suited to our needs."

Ian & Gill “We wish to take this opportunity to say many thanks to you and your team for building us our new home. Your guidance, professional service and attention to both detail and quality has resulted in our wonderful home. Not only have we had a positive experience working with your company, but with all the subcontractors who helped with the build. You created a top quality home at a fair price that more than met our expectations. Thanks for being so flexible in your approach with our changing demands, it must have been a challenge. We fully appreciate your patience in working with us and the fact that you shared our vision. We are happy to recommend Emms Builders to any prospective clients. Many thanks for a great job.”

Matt & Jude “In 2011 we built a home with Emms Builders. Not only do we have the house of our dreams but we found the whole process to have been completely stress free. Steve went out of his way to meet our needs. The builders were extremely cooperative professional men. The whole team made our build a very pleasant experience. We were not disappointed with anything. The attention to detail was outstanding. If we were to ever build again it would definitely be with Emms.”

Kevin & Marg “We recently built a home with Emms Building. Steve and the team were very professional and obliging which enabled the build to proceed smoothly and stress free. The workmanship is of a high standard and we regularly receive visitor’s comments confirming this. We are enjoying living in our new home.”

Andrew & Kristen “As everyone has heard or knows, the building process isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds. For us, however, building with Emms came down to Steve’s very competitive costing plus workmanship of the builders he contracted to build our house. Most people would have heard some horror stories about the building process, however, for us we had a really smooth run. Our house also picked up several awards in the House of the Year local competition. We are thrilled with our home and the finished product. We are grateful to Steve Emms and his team for doing a great job.”

M & S: “We chose Emms Homes because of the time-honoured integrity of their building practise. We found they accommodated us with any special needs we requested. As a result of this our home is a joy. We fully recommend Emms Homes.”