Continuing the legacy of his father and grandfather, Brian Burke Homes Managing Director Michael Burke is a third-generation builder who has a strong hand on the tiller.
Speaking with New Homes, Mr Burke said he had grown up in and around the building industry and was given great advice by his father and grandfather.
“They told me to stay the course and not to waver,” he said. “A lot of people want you to take shortcuts and do cheaper prices, but that will bite you in the end. If you just stay the course you will be rewarded for it in the long run.”
Attributing his success to hard work and dedication, Mr Burke began a carpentry apprenticeship in 1979. After gaining experience, he eventually stepped out into the home-building industry and worked as a roof carpenter for many years.
“I worked in the Northern Territory for a few years building homes in remote communities,” Mr Burke said.
He has worked everywhere from islands off the coast of Darwin to remote communities in Arnhem Land and the Tanami Desert. He said he enjoyed the challenge of working in those locations, where he learned many invaluable lessons.
“After a while I decided the time was right to settle down, so I came back to Perth and started a renovation company,” he said. “My father eventually coerced me to start working with him.”
In 1996, Mr Burke bought the company from his father and has been at the helm of Brian Burke Homes ever since.
“Basically, he retired and I just kept going,” Mr Burke said.
“I have a great deal of love and respect for what I do, which translates into the homes we build.”
Known for going above and beyond, Brian Burke Homes has an impressive reputation.
It is the only Western Australian builder to have won three national Master Builders Association (MBA) awards and has also collared the MBA WA Top Home Award 12 of the 26 years the prize has been awarded.
Mr Burke said the design aesthetic and ethos at Brian Burke Homes was driven by each individual client.
Staying focused on the bigger picture, he said the company paid a huge amount of respect to its clients and really listened to their needs.
“We have a team approach to design whereby all of our key staff sit with our clients and our architect,” he said. We listen very carefully to what they want and how they live.”
Mr Burke said one of the most rewarding elements of his job was seeing a home come to fruition.
“I love building beautiful homes, particularly when you have been there throughout the entire design and construction process,” he said. “My clients make the work rewarding. I get to meet wonderful people and we invariably become friends.”
To ensure the building process progresses unhindered, Mr Burke said he tried to keep the teams small to avoid overcrowding the workspace.
“We work very effectively but never want to compromise quality; the quickest route isn’t always the best,” he said. “Having good tradesmen and working with good tradesmen who share our attitude is really important. You can have the most expensive marble in the world, but if the person laying it is no good then it ceases to be the most expensive marble in the world – it’s just a mess.”
In 2015, Mr Burke added a new direction to the company with the launch of Refined Edge.
“Refined Edge is another tack we have taken and it has proven we can build exceptional homes in the middle-tier market,” he said. “Previously, people only saw us as an expensive luxury home-builder. A lot of people didn’t bother contacting us because they thought they couldn’t afford to build with us. We have taken that luxury to the middle-tier market with Refined Edge and are really enjoying operating in that space.”
