Dave completed his building apprenticeship with McMillan & Lockwood in Palmerston North in 1992 and later gained a National Certificate in Advanced Carpentry in 2003. His building career has taken him well beyond New Zealand. Dave and Sally spent five years travelling and living overseas, primarily in London, where Dave worked on a range of commercial construction projects. This included six months on the construction of Glaxo's new headquarters outside London, which at the time was one of Europe's largest building projects.After returning to New Zealand, Dave and Sally settled in Wellington. Dave spent five years working in commercial construction before moving into partnership with another builder to undertake a challenging residential development involving the construction of three new homes. Following the completion of that development, Dave and Sally established DAS Construction Ltd in 2001.In 2005, they made the move from Wellington to the Wairarapa.