Grand Designs New Zealand Season 9 Episode 1 introduces the stunning Waiheke Wonder — an ambitious “empty nest” home set on beautiful Waiheke Island. What begins as a dream build quickly becomes a battle against challenging terrain, deep mud, and a tsunami of rising construction costs. Will the homeowners overcome the obstacles to create their elegant retreat?
Watch as innovation, determination, and design collide in this dramatic Grand Designs New Zealand journey. Perfect for fans of architecture, home building, and inspirational renovation stories.
#GrandDesignsNewZealand #WaihekeIsland #HomeDesign #Architecture #GrandDesigns
Watch as innovation, determination, and design collide in this dramatic Grand Designs New Zealand journey. Perfect for fans of architecture, home building, and inspirational renovation stories.
#GrandDesignsNewZealand #WaihekeIsland #HomeDesign #Architecture #GrandDesigns
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00:00on a steep climb like this you might find yourself wanting a little assistance a free lift to the top
00:14but that wouldn't feel as satisfying as if you'd toiled and suffered to get there
00:23is it the same in architecture can we simply pay for a great design and stand back or do we need to
00:37experience the toil and turmoil of the process in order to imbue your building with notions
00:43of pride personal connection a sense of achievement
00:49so
00:57so
00:59so
01:01so
01:03so
01:09so
01:11so
01:13Auckland's concrete jungle peers jealously across the Hulraki Gulf.
01:28It dreams of escape to Waiheki Island.
01:34Unbutton the collar, kick off those heels.
01:38A glass of the finest wine.
01:42Fresh oysters.
01:44Balmy weather on a tranquil beach.
01:46Toes in the sand, trousers rolled.
01:52It's where recruitment consultants Maria and Dale Gray are planning on making their downtown dream an island reality.
02:01Aww.
02:02It always feels like we're at peace when we're here.
02:04We always take a breath and slow down when you arrive on the island.
02:06You know, just to create a lifestyle that we really want to live, you know.
02:10And yet we're only 35, 40 minutes from Auckland.
02:12So it's got the best of both worlds, I think.
02:15They've spent nearly 20 years living in the central Auckland suburb of Mount Eden, where they raise daughters Hannah and Maddy.
02:24Mum, do you want some baguette?
02:26Yes.
02:27Mum is the sane one.
02:28She's a bit of a silent assassin.
02:30She really is.
02:31You know, she comes with shots in the background.
02:33Come on.
02:35You want tomatoes?
02:35I'm not leading from the front, you could say.
02:39Yeah.
02:40I'm supporting from behind.
02:42Sammy's already hit some of the bread, haven't they?
02:47I think Dad's quite a big character.
02:49He's a very generous, loving guy.
02:51But at the same time, he loves it when there's a spotlight on him.
02:56The car is definitely another element of that.
03:01I find it slightly stressful.
03:03When we're driving down the street and people are looking, that's probably the worst nightmare.
03:06It's very much a, yeah, don't make eye contact.
03:12Yeah, duck the head, lay down on the back.
03:15There's a big change on the horizon.
03:17Hannah is already living in Wellington and Maddy is about to leave home.
03:22We've worked hard to get to where we've got to.
03:24Now it's the time to just bring a bit more balance to it all, I think.
03:28Yeah.
03:28A bit more fun.
03:30We're going to be empty nesters, so I guess you've got to prepare for that.
03:34Don't eat it too fast, Mad.
03:36So they've bought a section on Waiheke where they'll be building the empty nest of their dreams.
03:42And this is a dream with a profound origin,
03:47inspired by a truly awful experience Dale had in 2001.
03:54I got caught in New York in September 11.
03:59Like, real close.
04:01So, what a scenario where I actually had to basically run for my life, you know.
04:07And it's certainly an event that certainly shapes me a bit differently.
04:11It probably just makes me appreciate things a lot more, and particularly family.
04:15As part of Dale's drive to make the most of his life, he decided to write down how he saw his dream future.
04:23I wrote a story, and, you know, it involved Waiheke.
04:28I suppose the defining point was me on a deck, overlooking a beach, having a beer, and having the barbecue going,
04:38and having a pool next to me, and going, shit, this is my house.
04:42If ever there was a place to live a Waiheke dream, this could be it.
04:51The site they've purchased is in the exclusive Palm Beach, at the top of a stunning bush-filled valley.
05:00Hey, how are you?
05:01Yeah, hey, Tom. How are you? Good to see you.
05:02Very good.
05:03Hey, Dale.
05:03Hi.
05:04So, I think I'm a bit late, I know.
05:06There's a building site down there.
05:08That's not yours, is it?
05:09No, I wish it was ours. No, not at all.
05:12Ours is the native bush right behind us.
05:15That's just trees and a really steep slope, isn't it?
05:17It certainly is at the moment.
05:19Yeah, there could be tigers down there, I reckon.
05:20Oh, yeah.
05:21It's very steep slope, but I think a bit further down you can sort of see the view.
05:26Well, let's do that. I want to see these tigers.
05:27Okay, cool. Let's go.
05:33Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it?
05:35Yes, it's gorgeous, isn't it?
05:35Green, green valley.
05:37Look at that view. I mean...
05:39That's stunning.
05:40Yeah, it is.
05:40It's pretty amazing, yeah.
05:42It's a challenging site because of the steepness,
05:44but I suppose it's part of the challenge that you undertake
05:46when you do something like this, isn't it?
05:47So, what are you going to build here?
05:48It's going to have to be special.
05:50Yeah, we're going to build a modern, contemporary sort of house.
05:53When you work out how to build here.
05:56We work out how to pay for it.
05:57That's our builder's job.
05:59Did we mention the site was steep?
06:01The builders will have to stabilise this precipitous slope,
06:05then perform some engineering magic to build up complex foundations piece by piece.
06:11Resting on those are concrete walls poured in situ,
06:14including a very unusual splayed wall, wider at the top than the bottom.
06:18The bedroom level is fully glass-fronted,
06:21with two guest bedrooms, an office, and a master suite with walk-in wardrobe.
06:25There's also a bathroom and laundry,
06:27and a compact internal garden catching sunlight from the stairway above.
06:31The living level is rotated and oriented towards the views,
06:35but it means there's barely a right angle in the whole building.
06:39Another complication made evident by the centrepiece,
06:42a lattice roof structure created out of huge beams cut at jaunty angles.
06:46A drive-on turntable serving a car stacker
06:50adds a touch of rotating theatre at one end of the house.
06:54While at the other end,
06:55the appetite for luxury is satisfied by a pool and spa.
07:00This will be a true challenge for the builders,
07:03who might just need a PhD in geometry
07:05to solve this mind-bending jigsaw puzzle of a house.
07:12How do you approach this?
07:13Are you going to be here every day with a builder,
07:15on the tools?
07:18I think we're going to let people that are really good at what they do,
07:20do what they're good at, you know?
07:21So, from our perspective,
07:24the least we have to be involved, the better.
07:26Personally, I'd love a scenario where they go,
07:28it's finished.
07:29So when is that phone call?
07:31Dale, Maria, your house is ready, here's the key.
07:34Yeah, look, we're estimating a two-year build,
07:36so middle of 2023.
07:38Yeah, OK.
07:39So what's the unknown?
07:40What worries you?
07:41It's been a long time in the making, you know?
07:43It's taken the best part of probably two and a half to three years
07:46to even get to consenting phase,
07:48so, and, you know,
07:49probably the big elephant in the room is the cost, you know?
07:51It's, things are rapidly changing around building materials,
07:55cost to build on the island, resource on the island,
07:57and, you know, that's a moving target,
08:00and at the end of the day, you know, we have a budget.
08:02Which is?
08:03I knew you were going to ask that.
08:04I think I'm going to ask Maria.
08:06You ask Maria.
08:07It's a very scary budget, I must say.
08:09Right.
08:09Yeah, it's, um, gosh,
08:12I can't even say the number out loud.
08:15It's sort of circa three million.
08:17And if you get to three million,
08:19and it rolls on from there, what happens?
08:22I think the commitment is to build our dream,
08:24and, um, like a lot of people, we've worked really, really hard.
08:28Yeah.
08:29Yeah, yeah.
08:30You know, to get to where we are, and, you know, right?
08:33God, Dale!
08:34No, I'll just say, we've worked hard to get to where we are,
08:35and, like, we're just going to do it, you know?
08:36Yeah.
08:37At the end of the day, um, I'm not going to muck around.
08:39We're committed to it, and we're going to follow our dream.
08:42Yeah.
08:42And it'll cost what it cost at the end of the day.
08:48Maria and Dale want to be hands-off on this project,
08:50but there's an uncertainty about cost,
08:54on top of which they're constructing something incredibly complicated
08:58on a terrifyingly steep hill.
09:02Projects like this have a habit of sucking you in.
09:13Such design complexity is usually a vice to be wary of,
09:17but in this case, it seems to have been embraced as a design virtue.
09:23Hey!
09:24Hey, Tom, how you doing?
09:25Hopefully, architectural designer Dylan Rind
09:28can shed light on how this came to be.
09:31It's been, I suppose, one of the most interesting projects
09:34we've really worked on.
09:35The client wanted to build something special.
09:38They wanted the joy of living in our house,
09:40which has the detail in the unexpected every day.
09:45There's something changing.
09:46Even once the building's completed,
09:48they'll still be finding different interests in the building
09:50that they wouldn't have understood were there
09:52from, you know, their initial impression.
09:57Dylan's theory is that these oblique angles
10:00and fragmented decks and roofs
10:02will offer a richness of detail
10:04that will reveal itself slowly
10:06as Maria and Dale inhabit their home.
10:10We just happen to be sitting in a proof of this concept,
10:12one of Dylan's recent designs.
10:15There's a multiplex of geometries in every vista,
10:18creating a canvas for light
10:21to paint unexpected reflections and fleeting shadows.
10:26Square metre-wise, it's not ginormous,
10:28but it is a tall house,
10:30a tall structure on a relatively unstable site as well.
10:34We've got local instability issues.
10:36Throw in an elevated pool sitting on a deck,
10:40a car stacker,
10:41all these elevated structures with masses on top.
10:44Yeah, yeah.
10:45Just in the wrong place.
10:46All in the wrong place.
10:47Yeah.
10:47This house is a great illustration
10:51of the richness of Dylan's architectural style,
10:54but it's on a flat suburban section.
10:58Replace that with a difficult island location,
11:02a precipitous slope,
11:03and Dale and Maria have signed up
11:05for a real building challenge.
11:07It's ten months later.
11:19A combination of COVID
11:20and the delayed engineering reports
11:22stalled the project.
11:24But now, lead builder Alex Toy
11:26is finally starting the returning walls
11:28and is getting to grips
11:29with this seriously difficult site.
11:34We've got such a steep slope.
11:37We're like Himalayan mountain goats, really.
11:40With winter just around the corner,
11:43things are set to get tougher still.
11:47As soon as it gets wet,
11:48it's nigh on impossible.
11:50To compound his problems,
11:51after all this time,
11:53he still doesn't have final construction drawings.
11:56If we're not out of the ground by June,
11:58we'll be snookered.
12:00There he is.
12:02Maria and Dale can finally see some broken ground,
12:05but the stresses are not far beneath the surface.
12:08We're pretty excited to be here
12:10and have a bit of a look.
12:10Oh, sure.
12:11Yeah, it was progress, eh?
12:13Come for a walk.
12:14Yeah, it's probably starting to get a feel
12:15for the level of the house.
12:16Oh, most definitely,
12:17and how bloody steep it is.
12:20It would be the steepest site I've ever built on.
12:22Oh, you love a challenge, don't you, Alex?
12:24Yeah, totally.
12:25No, the challenge is cool.
12:26It's just...
12:28I know we keep bringing up the drawings.
12:31We really need the drawings.
12:32Maria and Dale's courage and urgency to live their dreams
12:37have been a recipe for success in life,
12:40but those very same qualities have pushed them into building
12:43before things have been fully planned or costed,
12:46and that may just be a recipe for disaster.
12:59It's the middle of New Zealand's wettest July on record.
13:03Have I got the weight distributed all right?
13:05And the delays have meant that builder Alex is living his fears
13:08and building foundations in a mudbath.
13:12Can you come up any more?
13:14It's been relentless.
13:15If it's wet, we go home.
13:17Effectively, it's just too dangerous.
13:19Today, they're preparing their first concrete pour
13:21for the foundations,
13:23but these are no ordinary foundations.
13:27What you're seeing here at the minute
13:29shows you quite the complexity
13:30and tells a bit of a story
13:32of how much work we've got to do
13:34just to get to the framing.
13:3850 concrete piles up to 7.5 metres deep
13:41stop this house sliding down the 30-degree slope.
13:45But after that's done,
13:47there's no nice flat concrete pad.
13:49Oh, no.
13:50There are several levels on different orientations
13:53as well as significant concrete retaining walls.
13:57You'll see the landslide effectively.
14:01That's just after, like, a week's rain.
14:05Dale's plan was to stay away from sight
14:08as much as possible.
14:10But there's an old boxing adage.
14:12Everyone has a plan
14:14until they get punched in the face.
14:17Watch your footing, mate.
14:18Yep.
14:20We've probably spent, you know,
14:22in excess of just over a million dollars already
14:24on the build costs.
14:25Let's grab this.
14:27Yep.
14:27Already, one-third of the budget
14:30has been spent on the retaining work
14:32and COVID-related stockpiling of building materials
14:35without even one concrete pile to show for it.
14:40It's quite overwhelming for me.
14:42Oh, I don't doubt it.
14:46I'd said no idea that there was so much involved.
14:50As Dale's dream home begins to rise from the mud,
14:54so does the realisation of the true complexity
14:57of what he's signed up for.
15:11Back in Auckland,
15:12Dale has signed up for another building project,
15:15but one he has a little more control over.
15:18Slow, and go, up.
15:20So I'm building up to a bodybuilding competition,
15:23so into the hard yards now.
15:25Too easy.
15:26Nice job.
15:28You've got to be unwavering in your commitment to it,
15:30so once you flick the switch,
15:32there's sort of no going back.
15:36It is a little bit like building.
15:37Once you start, you can't stop.
15:41But the difficulties of house and bodybuilding
15:44are about to be put firmly in perspective.
15:46Maria is dealing with troubles that occlude all others.
15:55She's moved back to Tauranga
15:56to nurse her mother, who is terminally ill.
15:59I've been here for a couple of months,
16:02and I'm just here looking after mum
16:04until we're no longer here.
16:08So, yeah.
16:10So however long that takes,
16:11I'll be here for mum.
16:13Yeah.
16:13Maria has turned her mother's embroidery room
16:17into an office,
16:18where she's dealing with the invoices for the build,
16:20and they have no sympathy for her situation.
16:26Yes, we've had some whoppers come in recently,
16:29and they keep coming in.
16:32They come in with monotonous regularity,
16:34and they're still digging holes.
16:37We know we've got some really tough decisions
16:40and compromises ahead of us.
16:43It seems an uncomfortable truth is emerging.
16:47This build is going to be a lot more demanding
16:50and expensive than Maria and Dale ever imagined.
16:54The wettest July on record
17:03turned into the wettest winter on record.
17:06It's now spring, and the rain hasn't let up.
17:10The concrete work is even further behind.
17:13It's left Alex...
17:14Emotionally scarred.
17:15No, we're good.
17:19This is a big day for us.
17:21That's because they're finally ready
17:23for one of the most difficult concrete pours
17:25of the entire build.
17:26Come back real slow with me.
17:30We're pouring about 19 cubic metres today,
17:33and I don't know,
17:33it's somewhat a quarter of the walls
17:35that are on this job.
17:36The concrete walls will be 4.5 metres tall,
17:40and so the bottom of the wooden formwork
17:43will need to withstand an extraordinary amount of pressure.
17:48Are we losing any concrete down there anywhere?
17:51So any little bit of seepage is dealt with quick sharp.
17:55Corey, can we get bolts in here, bro?
17:58Yes.
17:59Real quick.
18:00Who's got the dinodrill?
18:02The consequences of a blowout on this slope
18:05would be disastrous.
18:08So far, so good.
18:10We're at the mercy of the concrete gods.
18:12And those gods reign supreme
18:14as concrete work rises fragment by fragment
18:18through the spring
18:21and the summer
18:24until summer turns to another autumn
18:28and the concrete crawls close to a conclusion.
18:32One of the final pieces is a wall
18:40that, for purely aesthetic reasons,
18:44splayed from narrow at the bottom to wide at the top.
18:48This piece of concrete gymnastics was poured yesterday
18:51and is setting behind some extremely serious wooden formwork.
18:56We've come to see the grand reveal,
18:58but before we can even get our gumboots on,
19:02Alex greets us with some bad news.
19:05Yesterday didn't quite go to plan.
19:06Oh.
19:07Yeah, we had a reasonably good concrete.
19:10Kaboom.
19:11We lost three metres of concrete down the back.
19:14Yeah.
19:15Oh!
19:16It's either going to be a real nice story
19:19for your house mad character or...
19:21And you can blame me.
19:23No, you're not.
19:25I want to be buried in that concrete down there.
19:28It'll probably be organised.
19:32Significant leaks like this
19:34usually result in ugly seams in the concrete.
19:37But for now,
19:38the consequences are concealed behind the wooden formwork.
19:41This wall will defy physics
19:44and is substantially thicker at the top than the bottom.
19:49That's remarkable, isn't it?
19:51That skinny little wall turns into that at the top.
19:55Oh, pretty boy.
19:57Did you know it was going to be like this?
19:58No, no.
19:59I knew it was complex.
20:00Yeah.
20:01Alex told me that.
20:02Yeah.
20:03Before he built it.
20:04Yeah.
20:04But the level of complexity has been a surprise.
20:06Oh, yeah.
20:07Yeah, absolutely.
20:10OK, you got the top.
20:11The damage can't hide forever.
20:14Time for the big reveal.
20:16Let's close now.
20:16Time's three.
20:17Yeah.
20:21All right, another big one off.
20:26Yes, there's a little bit there.
20:27You got a little bit of air.
20:33What do you do now?
20:35I'll probably call the concrete gods.
20:39Potentially Monday,
20:40I'll probably hit that with a sander
20:41and see if I can just sand out that seam.
20:44This wall is an aesthetic centerpiece
20:50and its floors might become more apparent
20:53once the house is complete.
20:59It's a bitter pill to swallow
21:01after a tough year of building.
21:04I think originally we spent sort of like a $3 million build.
21:09The reality is that's going to be closer to five.
21:12Gosh, that's enormous.
21:14Yes.
21:15For most people, that would be too much to handle.
21:17Do you still worry about that budget changing even more?
21:21Oh, every month.
21:22At the end of every month, we worry about it.
21:24Being over budget will not define us and I won't let it.
21:28It was never about bricks and mortar.
21:29It was about having a dream that we brought to fruition
21:32and creating a life that is richer for both of us and our family.
21:36The greys have this wonderful ability
21:41to turn lemons into lemonade.
21:44But no matter how much sugar you pour in,
21:47a lemon is still a bitter fruit.
21:50And I'm beginning to worry that
21:52once they're in their house finally,
21:55it's the bitter taste that will linger.
21:58Another spring rolls around
22:15and the complications of the concrete walls and foundations
22:19are a thing of the past.
22:22Jesus, look at that.
22:24Wow.
22:25Holy moly.
22:26God, that's stunning, isn't it?
22:29I'll say.
22:30The build has reached the living level
22:32and they can now stand on the deck that Dale once dreamed of.
22:39I could stand here all day
22:40without that noise.
22:48Downstairs, a home is just beginning to emerge
22:51from the building chaos.
22:54Watch out for those stairs everywhere.
22:56They are going to go somewhere, I'm sure, at some point.
22:59So this is Maddie's bedroom.
23:00She's got the pick of the rooms, that's for sure.
23:02That's right.
23:03Little monkey.
23:07So this is our master bedroom.
23:10It feels very peaceful.
23:10It's like a little sanctuary
23:13because you're sort of stuck in amongst the trees a little bit.
23:17It's the reason why, isn't it?
23:19It's why we're doing what we're doing.
23:20I think you need to remember that.
23:22It's easy to forget when the bills are rolling in
23:25and there's stresses and strains.
23:26But this tranquil moment flatters to deceive.
23:35The site is only quiet because there's been another delay
23:38with some steel framing.
23:40And delays are always costly,
23:42putting more pressure on the massively inflated budget.
23:45In this quiet moment,
23:51Maria can turn her attention to a smaller gesture
23:54with a big meaning.
23:58She's heading to her picture framers
24:00with a special piece of art for the new house.
24:02How can I help you?
24:05I've got a piece of my mother's embroidery.
24:08Oh, wow.
24:09Let's have a look.
24:11She won an award for it
24:13at the New Zealand Embroiderers Guild
24:15quite a few years ago now.
24:17Oh, my goodness.
24:19Look at that.
24:20What she got now.
24:20Can I ask about your mother?
24:22Is mum still with us?
24:23No.
24:23Oh, OK.
24:24She passed last year.
24:25Oh, right, OK.
24:27This is her most precious piece
24:28that she was particularly proud of.
24:31Right.
24:31Yeah, OK.
24:33It might even be my wedding dress, Silk.
24:35Really?
24:36I think it might be.
24:37Yeah, so this is precious.
24:39So this is precious, yeah.
24:40Yeah, absolutely.
24:42Bringing precious memories into a new house
24:45is a great way of making it feel like a home
24:48and perhaps banishing unwanted memories
24:51of a difficult build.
24:58It's the height of summer
25:00and an all-weather wrap
25:02covers the now-framed-up top floor.
25:04Alex is working on possibly
25:06the most striking feature of this building.
25:09Mate, I'm going to have a really sore arm after this.
25:12The roof of the living area
25:13is built from exposed beams
25:15of up to 200 kilos
25:17and will eventually form
25:19an impressive grid-like structure.
25:22We'll hook on and hang.
25:24But true to this house's form,
25:27it's complicated.
25:35This roof structure
25:37has a subtle rake of two degrees
25:38and none of the walls it sits on
25:40are parallel.
25:43So there isn't a single right angle
25:45in over 120 joints
25:47which each have to be routed out by hand
25:49to conceal the very expensive fixings.
25:54We are around 1,600 screws
25:57that countersink into here
25:59and there's about 2,500 nails.
26:02So yeah, very expensive stainless steel.
26:04So this is like $5.
26:07The roof will take over a month to finish.
26:16More time and money than necessary?
26:18Certainly.
26:19But it's shaping up to be
26:21the striking centerpiece
26:22at the heart of this design.
26:26One down, 50 to go, all right.
26:28In Mount Eden,
26:36an interesting sign
26:38has appeared outside
26:39Maria and Dale's home.
26:41Ah, Tom, how are you?
26:42Good to see you.
26:42Do you want to buy a house?
26:44I saw the sign.
26:48The financial pressure
26:49is forcing the Greys
26:51to put their family home
26:52of 15 years to auction
26:53in a few weeks' time.
26:56So you need to sell this
26:57in order to pay those big bills
27:00over on the island.
27:02I think you were of the opinion
27:03that this was a project
27:04that could be managed by other people
27:07and you were going to turn up
27:08when the house was finished
27:09and have a delivered product to you.
27:11But now you're much more involved.
27:15Yeah, we've really had to manage
27:16the budget tightly.
27:17So we had a budget that we set
27:20that we know went from
27:22$3 million to $5 million.
27:23So we're still sort of
27:24recovering from that.
27:25That's where we were
27:26when I saw you last
27:28at $5 million.
27:29That's still the case?
27:30Yeah, that's still the case
27:31and it will be the case.
27:33I think you probably understand
27:35the process a lot better
27:36than at the beginning.
27:37Is that true to say?
27:39Yes, probably.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Knowing what I know now,
27:43I think we should have been
27:44devil in the detail
27:45a wee bit more.
27:47Yeah, it's been
27:47pretty challenging, right?
27:49There's some other stuff
27:50that we've had, you know,
27:51I've had some family challenges.
27:52Hmm.
27:54You have?
27:56Along the way.
27:56Yeah.
27:57So when we get there,
27:58we've kind of got to flush
27:59the dunny on the journey
28:01a bit to getting there
28:02because I don't want to go there
28:03and live there
28:04and be a bit bitter
28:05and twisted
28:05that it's been hard
28:06and challenging
28:07and bring all this
28:08negativity to that house
28:10because it doesn't deserve that
28:11and we don't deserve that.
28:14Maria and Dale
28:15are now all over the budget.
28:17They've gone from
28:18distant managers
28:19to intimate collaborators
28:21on their dream home
28:22and I, for one,
28:24think that's a very good thing indeed.
28:37Another winter is looming
28:39but the build
28:40is gathering momentum
28:41the roof has been sealed
28:43an absolute madness
28:46of electrical cabling
28:47and ducting
28:48for a state-of-the-art
28:49heating and cooling system
28:50has been installed
28:51and Alex
28:53has completed
28:54his masterpiece.
28:56I'm not interested
28:56in doing another one
28:57any time soon
28:58but now we're getting
28:59visual progress.
29:01Dale and Maria
29:01can see what we've done
29:02day in, day out.
29:04They're like, wow.
29:08And this isn't
29:09the only building project
29:10that's made
29:11visual progress.
29:16Over in Auckland
29:17it's Dale's big night.
29:20His bodybuilding competition
29:22for which he starved
29:23and dehydrated himself
29:25to extreme levels.
29:26Yeah, I'm feeling a bit blurry
29:30a bit headachy
29:31a bit grumpy
29:32And that
29:34can be attested to
29:35by housemate
29:36Maddy.
29:37I won't lie
29:38he's been difficult
29:39to live with
29:40over the past couple months
29:41he's been hungry
29:42tired
29:43cold
29:44any
29:45small thing
29:46becomes a very big issue
29:48in our house
29:48at the moment.
29:49Dale has gone through
29:59physical torture
30:00for this competition
30:00but it must make
30:05the win
30:06all the more satisfying.
30:07medal to Dale Gray
30:10who's a Masters Athletic
30:1150-plus champion.
30:16Hopefully
30:17the same will be true
30:18of the financial
30:19and emotional torture
30:20caused by the
30:21Waiheke build.
30:22It's been a full
30:33three years
30:34since I first
30:35looked down
30:35on a wild bush section
30:37now I'm finally
30:38looking at a
30:39double height garage
30:40almost ready
30:41for the car stacker
30:42and a swimming pool.
30:45Well,
30:46there's lots of
30:47stimulation here
30:48lots of complexity
30:49incredible window
30:51opening.
30:52Look at that
30:53but also
30:55angles and angles
30:56and angles
30:57look at this thing
30:58and that's a
30:59little sliver of ceiling
31:01but it's not even
31:02horizontal is it?
31:03It kind of tilts that way
31:04and how do you frame
31:05that up?
31:07With difficulty
31:08the furniture's
31:10going to help
31:11zone the space
31:12but at the moment
31:13I don't know
31:14where the kitchen goes
31:15where do I sit?
31:17Yeah, it's confusing
31:18it's striking
31:19but confusing
31:22heading downstairs
31:27is almost a relief
31:28where the rooms
31:29are more square
31:31recognisable
31:32easier to understand
31:34Hey, hello
31:35Oh, hey, how are you?
31:36Good to see you
31:37You too
31:38and we're here
31:38Hi
31:38Good to see you again
31:39Yeah, well
31:40look at you two
31:42on site
31:42Yes
31:43You're now hands-on
31:44aren't you?
31:45We are
31:45So you know everything
31:45that's going on here
31:46right?
31:47Well, we think we do
31:48I think for the project
31:50and actually for making
31:51your own home
31:52it kind of has to be
31:53like that
31:53you've got to be
31:54fully invested
31:55no matter how that happened
31:57This is the fun part
31:58It's quite real now
31:59isn't it?
31:59Like we've
32:00you know
32:01when you're picking
32:02flooring and tiles
32:03and bathroom fittings
32:04electrical fittings
32:05it's sort of
32:05brought it to life
32:06for us
32:06A bit more tangible
32:07I'll tell you what
32:08being on this level
32:09rather than upstairs
32:10this place
32:11which has
32:12you know
32:12right-angled walls
32:13this is much more
32:16understandable
32:17as a house for me
32:18Upstairs I'm still
32:19that's a little bit at sea
32:20I mean
32:20Yeah
32:21Do you know what
32:21that's going to look like?
32:23No, it's a little
32:24more difficult I think
32:26It's probably more
32:26the space up there
32:27that's hard to get
32:28into and
32:29not so much
32:30I think I've got a feel
32:31for a lot
32:31it's just
32:32the spaces
32:33Yeah
32:33Yeah
32:33Yeah
32:34It's really great
32:39to see Maria
32:40and Dale
32:41down there
32:42in the dust
32:43and wreck at a site
32:43they're finally
32:45connecting
32:45with their home
32:46But is it too late?
32:49This is the 11th hour
32:51isn't it?
32:51The house is almost finished
32:53How well do they know it?
32:56Will they feel at home
32:57amongst all those
32:59eccentric angles?
33:13Late winter
33:14and the build
33:15is flying along
33:17The covers are down
33:21revealing the black aluminium cladding
33:23that's beginning to bed this house
33:25into the native bush
33:26The Tyler is here
33:29hard at work
33:30and the deck
33:35so central to Dale's vision
33:37of his dream life
33:38is being laid
33:40We'll make this meeting
33:44We'll make this meeting very brief
33:44today Lorraine
33:45And amongst the chaos
33:46are Maria and Dale
33:48They've managed to sell
33:49their Mount Eden home
33:50and can now focus
33:52on completing the build
33:53Is that all sorted or not?
33:54Not quite
33:55It's being revised
33:56isn't it?
33:59There's been times
34:00when we felt like
34:01we disliked this house
34:03because of
34:04all the stuff
34:06that was going on
34:07and now
34:07you sort of feel
34:09like
34:10the end is in sight
34:12it's starting to feel
34:13like a house
34:13Palm Beach
34:22was where this all began
34:23What better place
34:25to reflect on the journey?
34:28When we first met you
34:30it was here
34:30on this beach
34:32and you talked about
34:33that holiday feeling
34:34does that feel like
34:35a distant concept?
34:37Not for me
34:38There's many a time
34:40that we have said
34:41this is going to be amazing
34:42We can't wait
34:43I think the relief
34:44will be initial
34:45and then the enjoyment
34:47will come
34:47a bit later
34:49That's a longer term
34:50When we've got over
34:51the fact that
34:52we've spent so much money
34:53on a building
34:55I spoke to somebody
34:56the other day
34:57who'd been through
34:57a similar situation
34:58and said you've got to
34:58really learn to
34:59cleanse yourself
35:00quite quickly
35:01of that
35:02You can't carry that
35:04challenge and a bit of
35:05baggage maybe
35:06whatever it is
35:06into the new house
35:07You've got to wash yourself
35:08cleanse yourself
35:09and be positive
35:10and enjoy it for what it is
35:11And I think when people
35:13come across to see it
35:14it'll just reinforce it
35:16over and over again
35:17because they will see it
35:19for what it is
35:19as opposed to what's been
35:20Yeah
35:21Which I think will
35:22be quite good as well
35:23Can you see the end?
35:25Well it's going to be October
35:26come hella high water now
35:27Okay
35:28There's a battle going on
35:35within De La Maria
35:36isn't there?
35:38On the one hand
35:39they want to love this house
35:41On the other
35:43this has been
35:44an incredibly difficult
35:46traumatic
35:47and financially crippling journey
35:49For all of that
35:52to be worthwhile
35:53this is going to have to be
35:55one hell of a house
35:56Maria and Dale
36:06have crossed a literal gulf
36:07to get to this point in time
36:09They had hoped to be
36:10hands off
36:10with this whole project
36:12but the storm
36:13certainly rolled in
36:14I mean goodness
36:16four years
36:17and a two million dollar
36:19overspend
36:20let's just hope that
36:21by battling
36:22and ultimately
36:23seeing out that storm
36:24they've managed to make
36:27a real connection
36:28with their new home
36:29Oh yeah
36:38look at that
36:39that's thunderbirds
36:40isn't it?
36:41Well
36:42see if I can do this
36:43right
36:43Well that's intriguing
36:53and there's a real
36:55machine-like quality
36:57to this house
36:57isn't there?
36:58Not just the gadgets
36:58but the way
37:00this place is finished
37:01the materials
37:02muted
37:03matching in colour
37:04and then this wall
37:06tilting and tessellating
37:08and snaking down the hill
37:10it promises something
37:13very special inside
37:14doesn't it?
37:16Oh
37:16there's movement
37:17Hi
37:17Hello
37:18Well let's meet
37:19on the turntable
37:20Good to see you
37:22Hey Tom
37:22How are you?
37:23Good to see you
37:23This house looks
37:24fabulous
37:25We're absolutely delighted
37:26you know
37:27Yeah
37:27Yeah
37:27I've done a fabulous job
37:29But you deserve it
37:30right?
37:30It's been a long time
37:31Yes
37:31Come on
37:32Come on
37:32Have a look
37:33Now that is a showstopper
37:42That's amazing
37:43Your lattice ceiling
37:45It's an incredible feature
37:47of this property
37:48It's huge
37:49It is
37:49It's so dramatic
37:50It's so dramatic
37:51Feels big
37:54Yeah
37:54It feels a lot bigger
37:55than
37:55It sort of goes in and out
37:57in different stages
37:58And now it's gone out
38:00Yeah
38:00It's gone out again
38:00Right
38:01Gosh it's so visually exciting
38:04You can see the back
38:06of the breeze block there
38:07and at a slight
38:09different angle
38:09from the ceiling
38:10There's a lot going on
38:11in this area
38:13A big part must be
38:16about being out here
38:17It's lovely
38:18Yeah
38:18It's mind-bogglingly
38:22beautiful isn't it
38:22And look
38:23the deck
38:23has this sort of prowl
38:25pointing out into that
38:26big sea of green
38:27like a ship
38:28Yeah
38:28It's gorgeous
38:29It's gorgeous
38:30Definitely a lot better
38:32than what it was originally
38:34when we were
38:34on the dirt track
38:35Yeah
38:36It's an incredible feeling
38:36Yeah
38:37On the top of the world
38:38Yeah
38:39That's great to hear
38:42because I know
38:42the couple seriously questioned
38:44whether some of the
38:45complexities of this house
38:47could possibly be worth it
38:48But now
38:50the more I explore
38:51the more the house
38:53reveals itself
38:54and the value of its
38:55intricate design
38:56becomes clear
38:57I love this
38:59layering effect
39:00and the little pockets
39:01Now this is
39:03Alex's wall isn't it
39:04It is
39:05Certainly is
39:06Concrete wall
39:06This must be where
39:07it went wrong
39:08There's a wee blemish
39:10Nothing too bad
39:11thank God
39:12And of course
39:13a bit of natural light
39:13as well trickling through
39:14for the garden
39:15under here
39:16Yeah
39:16Right in the guts
39:17of the house
39:18Yeah
39:19Bit of greenery inside
39:20Yeah
39:21What next?
39:22Yeah I don't know
39:23Oh come and have a look
39:24Yeah
39:25In contrast to the dark wood
39:30and golden light upstairs
39:32the muted tones
39:33and textures down here
39:35create a spa-like serenity
39:37A looping corridor
39:39enhances the feeling
39:40of free flow movement
39:41and wraps around
39:42the family bathroom
39:43with its bespoke vanity
39:45and soft opaque
39:46reeded glass
39:47There are two guest bedrooms
39:50calm and relaxing
39:51with wonderful views
39:53and at the far end
39:54Dale and Maria's
39:55bedroom and en suite
39:57The master
39:59Oh
40:00We're in a little paradise
40:01Yes
40:02We're surrounded by green
40:06Yeah
40:06Yeah
40:07It's very calming
40:08because you've got
40:09like the trees
40:10that sort of
40:10hold you close
40:11and the room
40:12It's really lovely
40:13A little tree cuddle
40:14Yeah
40:14This lower level
40:19is all about
40:21understated elegance
40:22and quiet sophistication
40:23but if you're ready
40:25for a bit of adventure
40:26there's not far to go
40:27I love this whole space
40:29actually
40:29it's a sort of
40:30transitional space
40:31it blurs the line
40:33between being inside and out
40:34particularly with that garden
40:35back there
40:35Yeah
40:35Yeah
40:36It's a house
40:40where you
40:41find something new
40:43around every corner
40:44Yeah
40:44And you know
40:46everywhere you look
40:46there's something
40:47different going on
40:48I have to say
40:56sitting here
40:57this house now
40:58makes a lot of sense
40:59It was quite hard
41:00to get your head around
41:01I think we're all
41:01in the same boat
41:02but how do you feel now?
41:04I love it
41:05Yeah
41:06Yeah
41:06It's incredible
41:07you know
41:07the features of this
41:08of this house
41:09are just never ending
41:10Way more grand
41:11than what we thought
41:12it would be
41:12Everything is
41:18not like a normal house
41:19No
41:19Yes
41:20Geometry is the big one
41:21Absolutely
41:22Yeah
41:22And from the outsider's
41:24perspective
41:24the person who
41:25hasn't paid for the house
41:26it's a real joy
41:27but I wonder
41:28would you have
41:29taken a simpler house
41:31having gone through
41:32the turmoil
41:34of this journey
41:34to get here
41:35No
41:36No
41:36No way
41:37No
41:37We were entrusting
41:38of the architect
41:39and the interior design
41:40and the builder
41:41and we sort of
41:42held firm
41:43and did what we need
41:44to do to do the house
41:45to the standard
41:45that it should have
41:46been done to
41:46and thank God we did
41:48An expensive endeavour then
41:56chasing the dream
41:57So where did you end up?
41:59The house itself
42:005.5 million
42:01Yeah
42:015.5 million
42:04That's another
42:05half a million dollars
42:07on top of the
42:085 million you got to
42:09which is already
42:10much more than
42:11the 3 million
42:12that you couldn't even say
42:13at the beginning
42:14Rhea
42:14Yes
42:15made my eyes water
42:17somewhat
42:17But I think
42:19at the end of the day
42:20we were committed
42:21and we stayed committed
42:22to finishing it
42:24to what we needed to
42:24and
42:25Yeah
42:25we've got the air
42:26but
42:26you know
42:27not without
42:27a few sleepless nights
42:28So
42:37the big question then
42:38is
42:38this dream
42:40of yours
42:41it was you
42:41on the balcony
42:43next to a pool
42:44with a barbecue
42:45and a beer
42:46Yeah
42:46saying
42:47Shit this is my house
42:49Yeah
42:51Yeah
42:51Have you had that moment?
42:53Yeah
42:53Yes
42:54Yeah
42:54You do not have had it
42:55more than once
42:56Right
42:56Yeah totally
42:58It's
42:59It is a wee bit
43:00pinch yourself sometimes
43:01but
43:02yeah we stand out there
43:03and
43:03it's just incredible
43:05Absolutely fabulous
43:06So it sounds like
43:07you now sharing
43:08that dream
43:09Maria
43:09Yeah
43:10Yeah
43:11You know there's a take out
43:12for myself and others
43:14that
43:14if you do dare to dream
43:16you know
43:17you can pull it off
43:18For me
43:24this house
43:25has been
43:26a real revelation
43:27I had serious doubts
43:29that Dale and Maria's
43:30hands-off approach
43:30would ultimately
43:31get them what they wanted
43:32in such a personal project
43:34but even when they did
43:36get involved
43:37they had the wisdom
43:38to leave
43:39the most important element
43:40alone
43:41the designer's vision
43:43and so the vision
43:45has flourished
43:46and delivered
43:47that architectural
43:48fundamental
43:49to surprise
43:51and delight
43:52and to enrich
43:54the experience
43:55of being here
43:56in this most dreamlike
43:59island location
44:00of being here
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