His business is celebrating industry recognition for two of its homes, but, until it happened, owning his own franchise wasn't something on Jeremy Bainbridge's radar.

The G.J. Gardner Homes franchisee was a bit of a latecomer to construction, having a decade-long military career prior to picking up the tools.

In his role, often being deployed for six/to eight-month stints, it wasn't really conducive to the family life he wanted.

"When we got to the point where we [he and wife Emily] started having kids, I wanted to be a dad that was at home more," he said.

"Around the time I was turning 30, I kind of felt I was young enough to have a crack at a second career."

He was familiar with the construction world.

His brother had been a builder since he left school, and the two had worked on a

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