Goulburn builder Mitch Hogan wins a prestigious Master Builders award

The M.P Hogan Homes and Constructions director described the award nod as "self-satisfying" after a gruelling two years.

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"It has been a struggle to keep my passion for building," Mr Hogan said.

"It's just recognition of the hard work that you put into these jobs. We had a great connection with the clients on this job and the project had a few individual highlights, which made it stand out."

The Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Housing is the one of the state's most prestigious residential building awards.

It celebrates excellence in construction, innovation and quality in the building and construction industry.

In 2018 MP Hogan Homes and Constructions picked up a Master Builders award for best contract home between $700,000 and $800,000 for a project in Sanctuary Drive.

This year he won the Master Builders award for best contract home $1 million and $1.1 million and was also named 2022 Young Builder of the Year at the Regional Building Awards.

"I had always heard of other builders winning awards and it wasn't until I was doing my own thing that I thought I would try my own hand at winning an award," Mr Hogan said.

His passion for the design process, to produce something that is outside the norm and a cut above his competition, defines Mr Hogan as a builder.

"This was quite a big project and had some special features, like limestone cladding on the outside," he said.

"We are a small crew with myself, a carpenter and an apprentice so it presented some challenges to how we build things."

The award-winning project gave Mr Hogan the chance to work with a new technology and method of heating and cooling the home.

"It was done in a screed on top of the slab," he said.

"That was another element of the job that had to be factored in when we were setting things out. We had to make sure that the set-downs were correct."

The Master Builders Association judging panel described the project as an "extraordinary" limestone construction with an inventive internal feature wall.

"The property has a large living room and kitchen area which added to its overall aesthetic," the Master Builders judge said.

"The large span of the roof trusses has some special bracing detail and the ensuite window goes from clear to opaque with a flip of a switch. The house displayed excellent finish and quality of workmanship."

Mr Hogan is accredited for and passionate about passive housing, which is a style of building.

"It's a German way of building fully-sealed homes to reduce your energy costs," he said.

"By building this way you can save money by reducing the amount of energy it takes to run a house."

Normal homes are designed by people but passive homes are put through a computer program.

"When the house is designed it goes through a computer program so that accurate calculations are achieved," Mr Hogan said.

"It's all set-out in the program and it tells you if it will or will not work based on the materials and the selections."

For Mr Hogan, being a local builder is rewarding. He gets a "kick" out of driving around Goulburn and seeing the homes and other projects he worked on.

"When you're showing friends around town and you can say 'I built that' or 'I worked on that'," he said. "And now with the kids too, it's a good feeling."