Be is tiles, windows, barbeques or doors, the BuildBITS App provides Australians with access to an online marketplace dedicated to the trade of excess, new and used, building products.
The App and online marketplace is the brainchild of Western Sydney builder, Neil Turrell, and his wife Leisa, who were tired of seeing reusable building materials being taken off to the tip to the detriment of the environment and clients, who often had to pay hefty disposal fees.
“I think many Australians would be horrified to see the amount of great products that lie around construction sites, homes and supplier yards waiting to be thrown out,” said Neil Turrell.
“BuildBITS aims to address this inefficiency, help the environment and provide tradespeople and renovators with a dedicated service to buy building materials at low prices or monetise excess items that they may have lying around.
“It is actually cheaper for me as a builder to list a pallet of bricks from a job site on BuildBITS for free and give them away, rather than spend $280 to put them in a skip bin and dispose of them, he said.
Once the App is downloaded, a user simply takes a picture of the surplus products, enters a short description and a desired price – and the product instantly appears for sale in the BuildBITS online marketplace.There are no commissions or fees for sellers and buyers on BuildBITS.
BuildBITS has already listed some exceedingly cheap items, including, timber flooring for one dollar per metre and brand new windows for $100 each. Some unique items featured include an Insinkerator, steel beams and a purpose built arm wrestling table.
Despite the online market having only been live for one-and-a-half months, the company has already attracted some of the country’s biggest businesses as partners and supporters, such as Century 21, Kennards Hire, CSR, Trend Windows, Actron Airconditioning, Clarendon Homes, Narrellan Pools and Bendigo Bank.
The App is unique in that it not only provides access to a dedicated online marketplace for unwanted building products, but it was also designed specifically with builders, project managers and renovators in mind.
“Having been in the building industry my entire life I know that renovators and builders are often time-poor and tired, so for the service to be used it had to be quick, simple and easy,” Neil said.
“I believe we have achieved that balance and I hope as word of mouth grows around BuildBITS – eventually the marketplace will grow large enough that there will be noticeably less waste from building sites and more and more projects built entirely from BuildBITS excess materials.”
One of the resident builders on A Current Affair and The Block, Brad Trethowan, is the face of BuildBITS and provides commentary on how to use BuildBITS on the company’s website.
The Android APP is free to download at www.buildbits.com.au and costs $1.99 to download for the iPhone.
