Building the dream: Dylan Cossey’s journey from school drop-out to building boss

At just 15 years old, Dylan Cossey’s first day as an apprentice carpenter was a complete surprise to him. He’d been working at Carters in the timber yard for several months when someone asked his supervisor whether there were any “young guys with a work ethic” who’d be keen to start an apprenticeship.

The enthusiastic young Dylan offered his services immediately, but had misunderstood the job description: “So I went home and I said ‘Mum, guess what? I'm going to be a carpet layer. I've got an apprenticeship.’ And then the guy sent me this tool list and I was thinking ‘why do carpet layers need combination squares?’ I turned up on my first day and we were building a deck, and I was quite confused, but it was a good surprise!”

Dylan had grown up in Whanganui and was more concerned with rugby than with school, and at the time he started his apprenticeship he was knees-deep in a blossoming sports career. He played in the Baby Blacks national division and for New Zealand Marist, and was an age grade rep for Whanganui.

It wasn’t long before he was picked up by a UK club, where he played professional rugby for 10 years. But it was in the off-season when his passion for building really took hold. 

In England, he had the opportunity to rebuild, renovate and repair Grade One listed buildings, which use green oak carpentry (where no nails are used) and ancient methods of construction. 

“One that pops into my head is Hever Castle in Kent, which was built in the 11th Century. We rebuilt the drawbridge and when we were disassembling it we were finding old musket balls and arrow heads and it was just honestly mind boggling, because we just don't have that type of history here. And some of these joints that we were tying were locked in with a couple of pegs -  and that was designed by some joker when Robin Hood was running around in tights!”

The experience was incredibly exciting for Dylan, and it deepened his fascination with construction.

“That was when my passion shifted from rugby, and I found myself daydreaming about carpentry,” he says.

Around this time, he and his new wife, Libby Cossey, shifted to the Bay of Plenty, as Dylan had been offered a spot in the team. It was during one of the rugby locker room chats with a mate that the idea of auditioning for The Block NZ came up, and in true Dylan style, he didn’t hesitate at the opportunity and put together an audition video.

“I thought, I'm gonna get amongst it so I got naked and put my tool belt on and just made a bit of a ‘Dyls’ building tips 101’, did a bit of  creative “propping” - put a smiley face over my bum - and sent it off.”

The rest was history, and Dylan and his mate Dylan Guitink became two of the most memorable and well-liked contestants to appear on the programme.

Asked about his experience there, Dylan is equivocal in his response.

“It was really cool, but it was super stressful. It was designed to be almost impossible, unless something gives, and the ethos of ‘just hurry up and get it done’ didn't sit well with me, because I'm delivering a home to someone that I want to stand the test of time and that's my name on it. It's the biggest investment that anyone's ever going to make in their lifetime, so you know, we just skipped sleeping to achieve the high-end finish that we were after.”

Even though the pair weren’t the winners on the day, his reputation gained on The Block has paid dividends, because people trust him to deliver a very high-end and exacting product.

“People know that I'm very OCD and I’m very black and white when it comes to my standards. For me, if it's not right, it's wrong.”

After The Block, Dylan continued to work in building in Mount Maunganui, but with a baby on the way, and a desire to move closer to his Libby’s family, the couple decided it was time to leave professional rugby behind, shift to the Hawke’s Bay and for Dylan to set up his own building company.

“It was a bit of a shell shock because you know, I knew how to build but there's a lot more to business than just building; you've got to be the face of the company, there's marketing, there's invoicing and if you don't stay on top of that, you're going to sink very quickly.”

That was five years ago and DC Construction certainly hasn’t sunk. Under Dylan’s leadership the team has carved out a reputation for perfectionism and professionalism. Dylan puts this down to working with great people: “We've got six guys and one apprentice and they’re some of the best carpenters I've ever worked with. I've been in it 20 years and these guys are better than me. When you surround yourself with great people it makes it easy.”

They must be good, because Dylan entrusted them to build his own 400sqm home in Taradale, which he recently moved into with Libby and their two young children Bloem and Oakley.

“Honestly, it's been an awesome experience to build a family home with my wife.”

It was also the clincher for Libby, who had previously worked as a detective in the NZ Police, to start an architecture degree. A fact of which Dylan is incredibly proud.

“She found a calling within the building trade through all of this and soon we’ll be a one-stop-shop for design and build!”

For Dylan, it’s a dream come true to have his wife be a part of the DC Construction team, and from the constant smile on his face, it’s clear he’s found his place in life.

“My grandfather said to me when I was young fella, ‘If you do something you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life’ and, you know, I'm 35 now, and I still don't consider myself working, I just get to hang out and build some beautiful homes.”

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