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00:00When it comes to building your dream home, it's natural to crave the best of both worlds.
00:18We want to be connected to nature, inviting in the sunshine and the fresh air and the landscapes.
00:23But at the same time, we want to be protected from the worst of the elements, things like floods.
00:30So in these days of climate change, the problem with living on a river is you might just end up living in it.
00:38Can you build a flood-proof house? Is that even possible?
00:41If it is, I'd like to see it.
01:00The muddy Brisbane River flows through the veins of Richard Rolls and his wife, Jeanette.
01:21Richard's family has lived on its banks here in the suburb of Sherwood for almost as long as the city has been here.
01:33The family came here from Ireland in 1863.
01:38First of January, they arrived at Moreton Bay, so been here for 160 years.
01:47We grew up here as kids, so we spent a lot of time in canoes, swimming and fishing and shrimping and that sort of thing in the river.
01:56These days, the family runs a busy construction consultancy, but that golden time on the riverbank has never left Richard.
02:05He shared that experience with sons William and Ollie as they were growing up.
02:10Now, their kids are playing here too.
02:14Look, I've spent a lot of time on the river, like, through, um...
02:21Oh!
02:23Oh!
02:24In the cabin!
02:27Look at that!
02:28Oh, yuck!
02:30That's alright.
02:31Well done, Ollie.
02:32Yeah, thanks.
02:34He's only little, isn't he?
02:35You gonna kiss him?
02:37No, I wouldn't either.
02:39Righto.
02:40See ya, fish!
02:41That'd be the smallest catfish I've ever seen.
02:44Richard and Jeannette raised their family two suburbs away in Chelmer.
02:49Richard's mother lived on the river block until she passed away in 2015.
02:55And an emotional decision was made to move back here to Richard's roots.
03:00Selling Chelmer was really difficult because it was our family home.
03:05We raised the kids there.
03:07But we would say it would be really nice to finish up living somewhere that was relevant.
03:13I think that's the big thing for us.
03:15We wanted to finish living somewhere that was relevant.
03:19Yeah, we like the connection with the fact that we come from somewhere and that we sort
03:24of return into where we came from, I suppose.
03:26That's probably the best way I can put it.
03:30The plan is to build a new home on the site.
03:33But living by a river, particularly this river, is not always as idyllic as it sounds.
03:40Sometimes it's terrifying.
03:47The damage in Queensland is as spectacular as it is widespread.
03:52The river peaked this morning at 4.46 metres.
03:59More than 25,000 residential and commercial properties have been affected by significant flooding.
04:05In 2011, Queensland was hit by catastrophic flooding.
04:11A giant section of concrete walkway was ripped from its pylons overnight.
04:16Waterfront place.
04:17Look at it.
04:18Yeah, I think it's going to take a while to pump that out.
04:22The Brewson River has a big catchment and, as a result, there's periodic flooding and always
04:31has been and there always will be.
04:33So, we have to be aware of that and we are.
04:37In a century and a half, Richard's family has endured multiple floods.
04:42In the worst, his mother's place here on the block was inundated.
04:47So, with eyes wide open about the risks, they plan to start building in 2022.
04:56But the river had other ideas.
04:59End of February, the floods came through.
05:04And about two weeks after the flood, there was a landslip.
05:08The ground has dropped by about, between about six inches and two foot across the backyard
05:14in various places.
05:17Flooding and landslips.
05:19It'd be enough to make most people walk away.
05:22But the tidal pull of Richard's heritage was stronger.
05:26Just.
05:27If we knew 12 months ago what we know now, we probably may not have gone down that path.
05:36Would have been a bit too...
05:38It's been, yeah, we're taking a lot on doing what we're doing.
05:42Yeah.
05:43Richard, Jeanette, this is an extraordinary site.
05:46Yeah.
05:47Look at the river, it's right there.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Just sort of beckoning, right?
05:50Yeah.
05:51We see the river as, you know, it's a living thing.
05:54You know, it breathes in two times a day, breathes out two times a day.
05:57It's got its own character and it changes all the time.
06:01And when it gets angry, you don't want to be anywhere near it.
06:04And, um, but the rest of the time it's pretty good.
06:07What was it like when it flooded?
06:09Oh.
06:10Well, it floods over a couple of days.
06:14So you're sort of constantly watching this almost slow, insidious sort of creep of water.
06:23And it sits there and hangs around and then it just slowly goes away.
06:27So it's sort of like this torture over a few days, isn't it?
06:31And you came back.
06:32Yes, we came back.
06:33I mean, that's a pretty big call to make.
06:35Well, it was a big call, but, um, we basically put ourselves in a position where we didn't
06:40have any options.
06:41So, uh, we decided that if we sold Chelmott, then there was no turning back.
06:45It was kind of a statement of commitment, I suppose.
06:48We didn't have an option.
06:50When it does flood...
06:51And it will.
06:52And it will.
06:53Oh!
06:54Yep.
06:55Sorry, Jeanette.
06:56Yep, that's okay.
06:57What do you do then?
06:58Well, you just build something that you can hose out and just prepare for it.
07:03So you're building a hose out house?
07:04Pretty much.
07:05Anyway, yeah.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Hose out house makes this sound like a shower block.
07:11In fact, it's the exact opposite.
07:16Designed by architect James Russell, this light-filled open house will sit high up on the riverbank,
07:22safely above most floods.
07:2426 piers will plunge an astonishing 13 and a half metres into the earth, locking down the
07:31foundations that support the home's unique steel frame, which cantilevers out over the bank.
07:37On the riverside, there are views from the deck and master bedroom, which flow into the
07:42open kitchen, living and dining rooms.
07:45The steel frame is exposed, with 170 water-resistant melamine panels inserted into the walls and raked
07:53ceiling.
07:54Halfway down the house, more landscape.
07:57A garden courtyard and pool, sunlit through the opening in the roof.
08:02There's a mezzanine office, two more bedrooms and a garage.
08:07Metal sheets and ironbark battens line the exterior, providing shade and ventilation.
08:13And screens will keep out the mozzies.
08:16In case of a record-breaking flood, Richard's taking no chances.
08:21The house is semi-submersible.
08:23The blockwork undercroft is impervious to water.
08:27Ironbark floorboards will survive days submerged.
08:30And the melamine wall panels can be screwed off and replaced.
08:34Could this be the future of riverside living?
08:38So the strategy of the hose-out sort of approach makes a lot of sense to me.
08:44You're working out what's fixed and what you can let go of.
08:48Yeah.
08:49And that's the kind of the set-up for the home.
08:51Yeah.
08:52Given all of that, it sounds very bespoke.
08:54I imagine a lot of work from the design point of view as well as the builder.
08:57How much money are you going to spend on this?
08:59As modest as we can, maybe, you know, with sort of thinking, hoping, about 1.5, maybe 1.6.
09:07Yeah.
09:08Yeah.
09:09Yeah.
09:10You've got a very challenging site.
09:11Yeah.
09:12How long is this going to take to build?
09:14We think 12 to 14 months.
09:17This to me is sounding like an extraordinary adventure.
09:20Not only because you're talking about a contemporary home that's in an absolute harmony with its
09:27environment, but you're actually offering a really interesting redefinition of materials
09:32and an approach to materials that is appropriate to here but has all sorts of relevance across
09:38Australia.
09:39So that to me makes this a really exciting project.
09:41I'm really looking forward to see how this shapes up.
09:44So are we.
09:46This is a fascinating project because to create something really simple is actually
09:55really complicated.
09:56For example, you think using less materials would save you time and money, but actually
10:02it's the opposite.
10:03With everything on show, there's nowhere to hide mistakes or sloppy work.
10:08Like the steel, it's visible and so that means the welds have to be detailed beautifully
10:14as they'll also be seen.
10:15And there are no mouldings or architraves, so there's nowhere to hide errors, which means
10:21everything has to be perfect.
10:23That means more time and that means everything costs more.
10:30That one and a half million dollar budget is starting off on some pretty shaky ground.
10:36The budget might be on shaky ground, but Richard is starting by ensuring the site is as solid
10:45as it possibly can be.
10:49Well, today's probably 12 months in the making.
10:54A year pretty much to the day since the 2022 floods.
10:58There's been a lot of geotechnical work, a lot of structural work, engineering work.
11:02So today is the day that we start piling.
11:07Yeah, a bit apprehensive, I suppose.
11:10Didn't sleep a lot last night, but I never sleep much anyway, so.
11:15And frankly, how could you sleep?
11:19Richard and Jeanette are gambling everything on the belief they can build a house strong
11:23enough to hold back the river.
11:25I mean, this has been the biggest problem on the job.
11:29It's been trying to deal with the vagaries of the river, I suppose.
11:34You know, if you're going to build on the river, you've got to take all those things into account.
11:39The specialised piling machine will create the piers that anchor the whole house,
11:45drilling the holes, pumping in concrete, then reinforcing them with steel.
11:54No, that's right, it's good to finally get something going.
11:59There's a long way to go, of course.
12:03But you've got to start somewhere.
12:13Next, a gigantic concrete capping beam is run across the piers.
12:18These industrial-scale earthworks, necessitated by last year's landslip,
12:23have added nearly $300,000 to Richard's original budget.
12:28And given he programs huge construction jobs for a living,
12:33he sees where every dollar is going.
12:37That's 150.
12:40And then there was 0.6 by R-squared.
12:46There's about 300 cubic metres of concrete in the ground here,
12:54which is a lot, a lot for houses.
12:56Yeah.
12:57For residential.
12:58Hi, Dad.
12:59How are you going?
13:00As fate would have it, Richard's son, Ollie, is a builder on the job.
13:05He's more than familiar with his dad's eye for detail.
13:09He's got a pretty good idea of how long things should be taking.
13:13So if we're behind on things, he'll know.
13:17So that hasn't, um, that's, uh, that is what it is.
13:22It's a very exciting thing that Mum and Dad have moved back down here
13:26after all this time and the house that they're building,
13:30that I'm sort of a part of it.
13:31So that'll be really good.
13:33Ollie's not the only family connection.
13:36Richard's brother Graham owns the neighbouring site
13:39and plans to build here soon.
13:41In fact, Richard's huge concrete capping beam extends across Graham's site
13:46to anchor his house too.
13:48We're sort of doing it all at once just to save doing it twice
13:51on two different blocks.
13:53I just sort of leave him, leave him a note,
13:55leave him a note in the, uh, in the capping beam.
14:02There we go.
14:06RR was here.
14:11He'll cover it all up.
14:14With so much family history in this place,
14:19everyone is hoping the house really will be flood-proof.
14:23It's, it's just, you can build a shopping centre on this thing
14:26with, um, the piers that they put in.
14:28This thing just, it just can't move.
14:31As of today, this, this site, it'll be secure,
14:36and we can go forward with the house.
14:40I just hope he's right.
14:42But there's a danger by building so far back from the river,
14:46Richard will lose connection with the whole reason he loves the place.
14:50That's where architect James Russell comes in.
14:56He's all about connecting houses to the environment.
15:00This is magic.
15:01I mean, check out his office.
15:04G'day James.
15:05Anthony.
15:06There you are.
15:07How are you going?
15:08I'm really well.
15:09Thank you for coming.
15:11I love your place here.
15:12It's so, it's so open and airy.
15:14It's not your typical architecture studio, is it?
15:16Single pavilion open to the elements like this
15:18with a single desk and one screen.
15:21I think if clients come here, they may as well see what I like.
15:24Yeah.
15:25I don't like feeling closed inside.
15:28Yeah.
15:29Um, when I'm working or at home.
15:30No kidding.
15:31Um, so...
15:32This is your office.
15:33I mean, marvellous, right?
15:34Doors can close down if you need to, but almost never are they closed.
15:39Yeah.
15:40I think in our architecture, we're not trying to make beautiful indoor spaces.
15:45We're trying to make those beautiful transition spaces
15:48that are neither indoors or outdoors.
15:52The challenge for James is to bring that same sense of connection to nature
15:56to Richard's house, while at the same time,
15:59he also has that other big environmental issue to grapple with.
16:03The most obvious question is, from your point of view as the architect here,
16:07why would we even build here?
16:09I mean, seriously, it's going to flood.
16:11We know that.
16:12So why go back there?
16:13I think if you were to go back on flood-affected sites
16:17and just build the same way that has always happened before,
16:22I don't think that's acceptable.
16:24Yeah.
16:25I think we really need to change the way we look at building on these sites
16:28so that a flood can go through and you can hose it out.
16:32There will still be and there are still parts that go down into areas that are likely to flood.
16:38Within those zones, there are no power points.
16:42Everything's out of materials that can cope with being underwater.
16:47It's not the kind of conversation that's easy to have
16:50with a new client who walks in the door
16:52and the second thing you say is,
16:54yes, we're going to be hosing out your house when the house floods.
16:56That was Richard's family site or family home, so where he grew up.
17:02So it was a really easy conversation to have.
17:06It was, well, if you're going to build here,
17:09we need to make sure you can actually enjoy a flood, if you like.
17:15Enjoy a flood? I don't think so.
17:20But four months into the build, back on site,
17:23they're trying to make that dream happen.
17:25The block work is being laid for that hose-out lower level.
17:34The rest of the house is under construction too,
17:37but that's happening an hour away at Deception Bay.
17:41In this shed, the enormous steel frame.
17:49More than 5,000 individual pieces are being meticulously plotted,
17:54measured and cut.
17:57It's been nine months in the planning.
18:01Not many homeowners visit a steel fabrication factory,
18:04but details guy Richard can't stay away.
18:10You know, you've got about all the elements.
18:12They all fit together, all bolted together, welded together.
18:15So there's a lot of complexity to bring quite a simple structure together.
18:21I'm intrigued about these ones here.
18:23What are these little follows?
18:25I believe they're little stiffness for some of the angles.
18:27Oh, okay.
18:28Yeah, well, that's it.
18:29It's all about preparation with this thing,
18:31and it comes down to the smallest pieces,
18:34and, you know, knowing how many of them you need,
18:37how many of them you need, and just, you know, focusing on that.
18:40Yeah.
18:41Everything should go together like a Meccano set.
18:43We supply so much information in the drafting part of this
18:46that tells everyone how this is going to be assembled
18:49once it gets to site,
18:50that it really is just like putting a Meccano set together.
18:53Some Meccano set.
18:56More than 18 tonnes of steel will go into the frame,
19:00and, unusually for a residential house,
19:03nearly every nut, bolt and weld will be visible in the finished home.
19:10Very excited.
19:11Always nervous, though.
19:13Always nervous.
19:14James tells me not to be nervous,
19:16but I'll leave that for him.
19:18Those nerves are heightened eight months into the build
19:23when the steel frame is finally delivered.
19:28Hundreds of numbered sections,
19:30all needing to piece together perfectly.
19:33It's up to the riggers to make sense of it all.
19:37So this one here, it was going to be...
19:41These individual little ones here?
19:43These ones here, yeah.
19:44All right, we're looking down there, boss.
19:47Oh, yeah, that's it.
19:52That's it, bro.
19:54OK, that's pretty vertical there, man.
19:56OK, hold your tube there, mate.
19:57Rope it up only.
19:58Yep, OK, mate.
19:59The hole's definitely your side.
20:01Yep, spinning.
20:02Ready to hook up.
20:08The first of eight spans is gently lifted into position.
20:12See, it's good.
20:13Just keep coming in like that.
20:14Looking for about another two...
20:15Two and a half metres down that hill.
20:17Two and a half metres down that hill.
20:30It fits.
20:32Everyone can breathe out.
20:34Well, have you done this before?
20:37Work experience.
20:38So it is happening.
20:40And so when you see the steel up and you can see the shape of the house and all that sort
20:43of thing, that's when you start to believe then.
20:46Up until then you sort of think, is this actually going to happen or it's just a dream?
20:51Mmm.
20:52Thanks to all that pre-planning, the frame is falling into place.
21:06Three weeks later, the last span is going up.
21:09Jeanette's popped out to see it happen.
21:12This is very exciting.
21:13It is.
21:14This is a moment, right?
21:15I come down and I say, oh, they put one up and I didn't get to see it.
21:19How are you feeling about the whole design at the moment?
21:22Um, look, if I had a dollar for every time I said to Richard, can you just build me a normal
21:29house?
21:30He said, you've got to be a bit adventurous and yeah, Richard's not a stock standard sort
21:37of guy.
21:38So how's he enjoying it?
21:39How's he going actually?
21:40Um, it's just an added layer to his stress level, you know, but it's just all coming into
21:47fruition now and he comes out every day and I say, you don't have to go out every day,
21:53but he can't help himself.
21:54Yeah.
21:57Just like that, the bones for Richard's flood-proof vision are built, standing strong high above
22:03the river.
22:06And now that you see it like this, because now you can see the volume of course, so the
22:09house is sketched out now in front of you.
22:11What's your impression?
22:12Is it what you imagined?
22:14Um, pretty much.
22:15Yeah.
22:16Yeah.
22:17Yeah.
22:18Yeah.
22:19I think so.
22:20Yep.
22:21We knew that it was going to be...
22:22A little bit of underwhelming in your voice there.
22:23It's like, oh yeah, it's going to be alright.
22:24It's not like, wow!
22:25This is our house!
22:27Well, it's just different.
22:28And the big bolts.
22:29Are we going to see the bolts inside?
22:31Yeah.
22:32Oh good.
22:33Okay.
22:35I'll get used to it.
22:37So far so good, hey?
22:38So far so good.
22:39Yeah.
22:40I think I'm going to love this.
22:41I mean, Jamie's architecture is clear and very well considered and the whole thing feels
22:50very precise.
22:51But we are in Queensland and I'm always looking for that indoor-outdoor connection.
22:57And here, because of the flood, it does feel a bit like the house is sitting up out over
23:03the landscape rather than in it, which means the life in the house is detached from the
23:08backyard as it were.
23:09I'm pretty sure that's not the intention.
23:12Let's just see if they've got this one right.
23:21With the steel frame erected, there's another important piece of flood proofing to be done.
23:26The metal is painted with a special epoxy.
23:29It's the same stuff they use on bridges.
23:32It's really good for metal that's going to be exposed to the elements because it will
23:39stop it from rusting and stop it from decaying.
23:43Just because it's all the frame for the whole house, it'll need that little extra help.
23:49Jess is still an apprentice painter, but she knows all about the demands of this location.
23:55I wouldn't live here personally, but it's a nice area, so I can see why people constantly
24:02build and rebuild after the floods.
24:05We've had to fix up a couple of places around here that have had some flood damage over time,
24:11and it's just delaying the inevitable for the next year that it happens.
24:18Did someone say inevitable?
24:20Is it a normal way?
24:21Has it been rain?
24:22Is it a natural thing like a storm?
24:23Is it a cool thing like that?
24:24Is it a natural thought?
24:25Is it a natural?
24:28Is it a natural just tointend the river to make a lead?
24:30Right on cue, Brisbane's summer rains arrive.
24:36The river rises...
24:41And work on site grinds to a soggy halt just when it looked like speeding up.
24:45It's no torrential flood, but it's a setback Richard could do without.
24:55But he has his own way of dealing with pressure.
24:58No surprise, the river is at the heart of it.
25:034.30am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, you'll find him on the water with his mates.
25:11The key part of it is to get out of bed at 4 o'clock in the morning and get your sorry
25:16arse down here.
25:17And once you get in the boat with the boys, you just stop thinking about work, you stop
25:22thinking about building houses and worrying about that sort of stuff.
25:27I suspect this time on the water is the only time Richard isn't thinking about the house.
25:33He's in it up to the gunwales, in part because he and architect James approach the whole business
25:39in entirely different ways.
25:41Jamie's brilliant concept architect and what he's trying to achieve with the design.
25:49It's just probably my nature and Jamie's nature are very different, I suppose.
25:54I'm a real detailed person and I like to know all of that right up front.
26:01Jamie fills in a lot of the details of how we're going to do things as we go along.
26:05And that's where there's a little bit of anxiety, I suppose is probably the best way to put it.
26:12What that anxiety means in practical terms is there's not a day goes by when Richard doesn't
26:18take the time away from his busy construction business to visit the site.
26:22He can't help himself.
26:23How you going, Ollie?
26:24How you doing?
26:25How you doing?
26:26How you doing?
26:27All right.
26:28It's trying to rain again.
26:30Never ends.
26:33This big open house with its inside out spaces is different to anything they've built before.
26:40There are a lot of questions.
26:42It's a bit of an unusual sort of house so there's lots of little spots where there aren't typical
26:49details so we've got to work out what those details might be.
26:53Dad's, he's pretty worn out in that regard at the moment just because there's been so
26:58many questions and conversations about so many details.
27:03We could have done this in a more simple way.
27:07You can only live life once so you know as well go in and out of every nook and cranny
27:13to experience life to its fullest.
27:16And that's probably what we're doing here to a certain extent.
27:20It's the end of February before the weather lets up and the complexity of building this
27:30simple house reveals itself to building Manager Simmo.
27:35The connection between the timber work like our new timber frames and the steel is probably
27:41what's going to become a little bit tricky.
27:44But yeah, it's a good challenge and it's definitely something different to what we normally do.
27:49It's different alright.
27:51In fact, I'd say everything from here on in will be unique because the steel frame will
27:57stay exposed and the challenge will be to seamlessly mould the interiors around it using flood resistant
28:04timbers starting with the deck.
28:07It's ironbark, ironbark timber, same as all the joists, all kiln dried, just super hard,
28:16really durable timber, really clean finish.
28:19And then the flooring inside will be the same.
28:21So it'll be really, just a really nice sort of flow through the house from the decking
28:26inside and stuff.
28:27So, yeah.
28:28It's going to be pretty cool.
28:30Yeah, really cool.
28:32The 14 month target for the build slips past as winter approaches.
28:44But at last, the roof is going on.
28:46And this is no ordinary roof.
28:49It's quite difficult because it's quite a steep roof.
28:54But it's a nice day and it's finally going on, so we're happy.
29:00Given the house is so high above the river, a key design challenge is to connect it to the
29:05landscape.
29:06To that end, the middle of the house is a virtually open air courtyard, garden and deck.
29:12And that's where the roof comes in.
29:15We're coming up to the section where there's going to be a polycarbonate clear roofing section
29:20over the courtyard.
29:21And that's something that we haven't done yet.
29:24So that will be interesting.
29:27The clear polycarbonate sheets will allow natural light to flood the pool and courtyard areas.
29:34It's so thin, isn't it?
29:35Mate, it's like Gladrup.
29:36Push it up to the sky.
29:43Keep going.
29:44Up, up, up.
29:45The poly's so thin, it's like a soft drink bottle that's really flexible.
29:50I don't know if you can see that, but that's not a lot of pressure on there.
29:57And it just shows you how thin it is.
30:01The challenge is that we can't walk on it because it's like quite fragile.
30:08So we're having to screw off the sheets as we go.
30:11Yeah, very awkward.
30:13Just trying to sort of...
30:16It's hard reaching over the sheets and like getting pressure down on the, um, on the screw.
30:22The solution is a precarious-looking blend of gung-ho tradie and circus performer.
30:39As awkward as it is to build, the roof is finally offering a glimpse into what's so special
30:45about this house, drawing in light and space to the central courtyard.
30:54It's good to get a roof on.
30:55That's for sure.
30:56We'll get a bit of coverage.
30:57It'll stop raining now.
30:59That's always how it goes.
31:02Isn't it?
31:04By the end of the week, the roof is on.
31:09Some flesh on the bones of that steel skeleton.
31:12If that's not worth celebrating, I don't know what is.
31:16Righto.
31:17Ready for Friday or what?
31:23Righto, Sim.
31:24Choose your weapon.
31:26Sometimes, when you're deep in a project, it does well to remind yourself of why you're
31:46there.
31:47That's right, the river.
31:50Let's just say we'll just do it every Friday.
32:10Every Friday.
32:11Once again, you just turn it on.
32:12It's no question.
32:13And bringing the blade in the morning, that's definitely the way to do it.
32:16I reckon.
32:17Yeah, that was good.
32:20This bend in the river has a relentless hold over all the Rolls family.
32:32Richard's dad Clifford's headstone keeps watch on it.
32:37His grandfather, William Spirit, lives on in the century-old Arboretum next door, where
32:42he was the caretaker.
32:46The trees drip with memories.
32:49Richard's brother Graham feels it too.
32:52Life was great.
32:54Yeah, no, we had fun every day.
32:56Like, we're always down the river.
32:58We used to have a trapeze, go off that tree.
33:01We had a jetty similar to where we've got the new one here.
33:04My grandfather's brother lived in that house.
33:08And now my cousin's there and mum's sister was across the road.
33:13Her brother and cousins were up the road.
33:16Mum was adamant that she stayed here till the day she died.
33:20We valued our childhood here.
33:22We valued the effort that she put in with us.
33:25And it was pretty important for Richard and I to keep the legacy of the family, keep the history here.
33:32That history had value to us.
33:35Graham owns the other half of their mum's old block.
33:38And months after Richard broke ground, Graham started building his own house right next door.
33:44We're both out of the ground.
33:46Richard's well advanced into his house and ours will continue to gather momentum from this point on.
33:52And we're confident that we'll both be in pretty close to the end of this year.
33:55So that'll be good.
33:56Looking forward to it.
33:58Graham's is a more conventional house.
34:01And unlike Richard, he's just relying on its height above the river to keep it safe from floods.
34:07They're just different designs, different thoughts, different outlook on things.
34:11So, yeah, there's not...
34:13No, I don't think I'd change anything in ours.
34:16No rivalries about who'll be in.
34:19We'll both be here for a while.
34:20The rivalry is he'll be here for the longest, I guess.
34:24He'll win that too, I reckon.
34:33The build is now three months over schedule.
34:36Every day is adding cost to this house.
34:39The bills are piling up.
34:41And there's an unforeseen setback with that awkward clear roofing.
34:46Yeah, so under the poly sheets,
34:49there's been, like, condensation forming all on the underside.
34:53The worst thing with the condensation is if it sits on the underside of the sheet
34:57and then it runs down and starts to go inside the ceiling space,
35:02it can start basically just start getting mould and stuff inside, like, up in the ceiling.
35:08It means some of the sheets will need to be pulled out and replaced with a more conventional skylight,
35:15costing more time and money.
35:17It just sucks when you've laid all the roof and then you've got to pull something out.
35:21That's all right.
35:23But the building is what it is.
35:30When it's finished, the house will have a quiet palette.
35:33Ironbark timber, white steel, white walls.
35:37Architect James thinks the kitchen benchtop offers the chance of something more, but might
35:44have some convincing to do with Jeanette and Richard.
35:49As an architect, it is very much my role to talk about what it was in the first place
35:56that we're trying to achieve.
35:58So for Richard and Jeanette, a beautiful site on the river that floods.
36:03And so how do we bring landscape up to that house, and how do we bring landscape into
36:09that house?
36:10How do you get landscape into a benchtop?
36:14For starters, James is insisting they get hands-on.
36:17Hand over it, you can feel the textures.
36:20So rather than choosing from a picture and then having something sort of similar turn
36:26up three months down the track, pretty wild actually.
36:30It's allowed us to run our hands over and get a feel for what those different finishes
36:36are like.
36:37More porous.
36:38And that's granite.
36:40That's leather finish.
36:42Leather finish granite.
36:44That's very safe.
36:47Do we want to do safe?
36:48It's not blowing safe.
36:49Yeah.
36:50Just want it to be, um, statement safe.
36:54Shall we have a look at some crazy ones?
36:56Yeah.
36:57Let's go crazy.
36:58I just thought, oh, where do you start?
37:01Um, yeah, that was a bit, a bit daunting.
37:04But, um, once you sort of got the feel for it, yeah, you can eliminate things straight away.
37:10Um, you just sort of know what you like and what you don't like.
37:14Jeanette, Richard.
37:15Hello.
37:16There is one more crazy one.
37:17Okay.
37:18That's like, that reminds me of, um, the Dane tree.
37:23Yeah, or the rain.
37:24That's not a bad thing.
37:25Or the bottom of my sister's fish pond.
37:28And look at this here.
37:30I know.
37:31It looks like a dead bird in there.
37:33It does.
37:34It looks like feathers.
37:35The stone is a big bucks purchase, upwards of $6,000.
37:41James navigating the tricky middle ground between what Jeanette thinks she wants and what he thinks
37:48she needs.
37:49Jeanette?
37:50Yes?
37:51There's one here that I think's worth having a look at.
37:54Like, that is, that's really over the top.
37:58These.
37:59I think, surprisingly, not too over the top.
38:05It's the sort of thing you'd sit around and spend half your time drinking coffee and just
38:10looking at it.
38:11Red wine.
38:12Mm-hmm.
38:13You know, it's got beautiful greys, greens, browns.
38:16It's like a...
38:17It's a landscape.
38:18Mm.
38:19I think we should get a price.
38:20I think so.
38:21Yeah.
38:22And it might be frightening.
38:23Yeah.
38:24Which might help with some of the decisions.
38:26That's usually our go, isn't it, Richard?
38:27What's that?
38:28Whatever we like, we can't afford.
38:30Oh, yeah.
38:31Absolutely.
38:32Yep.
38:33Good taste, but no money.
38:35Whereas some people have got...
38:36Champagne taste, beer.
38:37Beer pocket.
38:38Beer pocket.
38:39If there was a race between the brothers to get their house finished first, by October,
38:48Graham's is closing fast.
38:51The painstaking task of building Richard's bespoke house around that exposed steel frame
38:57is dragging on.
38:58And there's another innovation.
39:01Huge mesh screens will allow doors in the house to stay open all year round.
39:06It'll be tightened up a little bit so you won't see any folds or creases or anything like
39:10that in it.
39:11But the idea, I suppose, is to insect-proof the house.
39:15And there's a bit of weather-proofing to it.
39:17There's a bit of sun-screening to it.
39:19Once fitted, it's structurally strong, so they shouldn't technically need a handrail across
39:26the elevated deck.
39:27The only thing there is probably going to need somewhere to put a beer and, you know,
39:31all that sort of thing.
39:32So, you know, sort of, if there's nothing there, that'll be a bit weird to be standing
39:37on the veranda and not have anywhere to put your beer.
39:40So, yeah, we might need a beer rail.
39:43I won't call it a handrail, just a beer rail.
39:46So, yeah, that might be the plan.
39:49Jeannette is clearly getting in the beer rail spirit.
39:52Beer time.
39:53As Christmas looms and this fiddly bill drags on, it feels like everyone could do with a
39:59drink, particularly as she's not a fan of the screens.
40:04Yep, it's shade cloth and I don't know whether I like it either.
40:09The kids are going to run through and just bounce off it.
40:13They're going to, yeah, be vertical around the lane.
40:15Yeah, on a bike, push bike and, yeah, I can just see Emmy and Harrison, yeah.
40:19I'm sport with the view at the moment and I want it to stay just like that.
40:23So, I'd be happy with the balustrade, but that's never been on the agenda.
40:28Yeah.
40:33The screens are just one of the jobs yet to be finished.
40:37To add warmth to the home's cold steel heart, tough, water-resistant ironbark battens
40:43are being applied to the exterior.
40:49Four lineal kilometres of them.
40:51Four kilometres.
40:53Every single one painstakingly measured, cut and fixed.
40:57Inside, the timber needs to be fitted around the exposed steel frame.
41:05It's a very slow process, but they can get in there.
41:10It's just, it's like everything we got to do when you're trying to fit into this steel.
41:15There's like, there's bolts in the way.
41:17There's like the angle that's coming down.
41:19You've got to check into here.
41:21Around there, you've got to back out the corner.
41:23And coming across here, you've got like another plate there.
41:27And then you've got bolts in the way there.
41:29And everything you have to mitre, cut, scribe around every little piece of steel.
41:35When they're not doing that, there are the melamine sheets.
41:47They're commonly used in kitchen cabinetry, but Richard is using them to line the entire building,
41:53including ceilings, in part to mitigate against flood damage.
41:58The panels here are, they're water resistant anyway, but nothing's completely water resistant when it comes to a bud.
42:07So all the bottom ones and that sort of stuff, they just screw them off and put new ones on.
42:12So it's pretty simple.
42:15What isn't simple or fast is putting the sheets up.
42:20So the process is we get it to length fairly accurately.
42:26We then have to put the sheet up and then scribe it against the steel.
42:33Send it back down, cut it, pre-drill all the screw holes.
42:39And then we're sending it back up and we can finally screw it on.
42:44Total sheets, there's 170 to do.
42:48And I think so far, this is number 61.
42:53So some of the days we're only getting like three or four panels up a day.
42:59So it's been a slow process.
43:04In fairness, building a bespoke, flood-proof house that opens up to the landscape was always going to come at a price.
43:12But this 12-month project now looks like running double that.
43:17Not to mention all the additional costs that go with it.
43:21And with more than an eye to Nextdoor rocketing up, all the extra costs and time are testing Jeanette's patience.
43:29And her nerves.
43:31A house built like next door, that is a breeze compared to this.
43:38You can see so much happening quickly.
43:42We don't do anything that's easy.
43:46It's part of Richard's DNA.
43:48Everything has to be done the hard way.
43:50Yeah.
43:51Unless it's been done the hard way, it hasn't been done well enough.
43:54You know, you've got to do it.
43:56It's kind of a bit overwhelming at the moment.
43:58A bit stressful.
44:00Time-consuming.
44:01But you're at a stage now where you can't court us.
44:06It's just not good for the job.
44:08It's not good for the house.
44:10So, yeah.
44:13This is our heart and soul.
44:15We have kind of got nowhere else to go yet.
44:18So it is a bit scary, but, oh, I don't know.
44:22What do you do?
44:24What do you do?
44:25It would be just soul-destroying if we did have to...
44:29..sell it.
44:33Yeah.
44:34And where would you go?
44:35Yeah.
44:36I don't know.
44:37Just have to make it work.
44:53For 160 years now,
44:56the Rawls family has been drawn to the Brisbane River's beauty
45:01and, at times, awed by its power.
45:07For Richard and Jeanette,
45:09finding a way to live safely on the river
45:11has proved a much bigger mission than they expected.
45:15I can't wait to see if they've achieved their flood-proof house.
45:26Oh, now that's unexpected.
45:29A bold statement.
45:30Wow, that's so striking.
45:32This is unlike anything Sherwood has seen before.
45:44Look at this!
45:45Jeanette, Richard, you have created a masterpiece.
45:49What a beautiful presentation to the street this whole thing is.
45:54How are you feeling?
45:55A bit relieved.
45:56Yeah.
45:57Yeah.
45:58It's been a long road.
45:59Very happy.
46:00Yeah.
46:01I mean, it's very...
46:02It's quite bland on the outside.
46:03It's a tin shed with, you know, batons each end.
46:07Inside, it's very rich.
46:09And that's the...
46:10That's where I get excited every time I come out here.
46:13Well, I mean, you said all this is bland
46:15and I think that's being a bit cruel.
46:17I actually think, you know, it's a very elemental kind of geometry.
46:20There's a simplicity to it and a straightforwardness.
46:24It's sort of suggesting there's a life behind here.
46:27Why don't you come on inside and see what it's like, you know?
46:29OK.
46:30Yeah.
46:31Come on in.
46:35From the outside, the house only shows its pragmatic functional roots.
46:40That strong steel shed-like frame anchored deep into the riverbank.
46:47But step through the door...
46:51Welcome, Anthony.
46:53..and the magical secret of this house is revealed.
46:57Welcome to our palace.
47:01You walk in, but you're still out.
47:04Bathed in the cool open air and light and space.
47:12Talk about an oasis.
47:14I mean, you come through that sort of mysterious front screen
47:18and look what's sort of been laid out in front of us here.
47:21Bit unusual, isn't it?
47:22It's a great way to enter a home.
47:24Yeah.
47:25It feels really good.
47:26Yeah.
47:27Do you get that feeling when you walk in?
47:28Oh, yeah. Yeah, we love it.
47:29Yeah.
47:30I was, you know, thinking, how is the polycarbonate going to work?
47:33And I'm a bit nervous about polycarb because it can get a bit dirty.
47:36Yeah.
47:37If you're seeing on that slope, it's going to be self-cleaning.
47:39The battens work really well there.
47:40Yeah.
47:41Yeah.
47:42And I think, too, especially opening up that space, allowing the green...
47:44It just softens it.
47:45Yeah.
47:46It does. It softens the light.
47:47Yeah.
47:48The big feeling is that this is a house that understands its climate very well.
47:51Yeah.
47:52That works very easily with it.
47:53Yeah.
47:54Absolutely.
47:55It's very important to get the cross breezes.
47:56Yeah.
47:57All those classic Queenslander traits, all those lessons.
48:00Yep.
48:01Here they are in a contemporary expression.
48:03Exactly.
48:04Yeah.
48:05With guest bedrooms and a study on the street side, there are lovely details everywhere.
48:12The pool tucking under a bathroom.
48:18Internal awnings bringing that soaring ceiling down to human height.
48:26And sliding walls, opening up nearly every room to the cooling breeze off the river.
48:34So we're calling this the roadside?
48:36Roadside.
48:37The roadside and the riverside.
48:38And the riverside.
48:39Yeah.
48:40Yeah.
48:41Can we have a look down the river?
48:42Sure.
48:43Come on.
48:44Let's go.
48:45It's so clever.
48:48That's what I love about this.
48:50I mean, it's a whole inversion of the Queenslander.
48:53Your veranda is on the inside here and you've made one house actually out of two beautiful
49:00little houses.
49:01This whole moment where you've kind of got a kitchen island bench which becomes a bench
49:08against a kitchen window.
49:09Yeah.
49:10So that's kind of a nice little option for you.
49:12Now I've got a cosy little kitchen.
49:13You've got your cosy little kitchen happening.
49:14Yeah.
49:15Look how clever this is.
49:16Yeah.
49:17That's beautiful.
49:18And then they all slide across.
49:20So then we've reset the whole house.
49:22You've brought the veranda which is on the outside to the inside here.
49:26And that's this game that's going on.
49:28Yeah.
49:29You spent a lot of time picking this stone didn't you?
49:33Yeah.
49:34Yeah.
49:35And I just love it.
49:36Great.
49:37I'm so glad you said that.
49:38Yeah.
49:39But it's quite subtle rich and it's yeah it just sort of works.
49:45One thing it does lead to is you know like there's a slightly industrial almost kind of
49:50sense when I look at just this part of the room here.
49:53That's an interesting choice to make in a home.
49:55Homes would normally you'd think oh it's softer perhaps.
49:58How are you feeling about that now that you see it like that?
50:01Probably the key for us has been is the honesty of the design that we've stuck to all the
50:06way through so I am very comfortable seeing the structure of the house because that's
50:11what it is and that's what you see.
50:13Are you happy with the bolts?
50:15You were questioning those?
50:16No I'm happy with the bolts.
50:18Yeah.
50:19Just simplicity is pretty well what we were aiming for.
50:21Yeah.
50:22Yeah.
50:23It looks simple but it wasn't simple to build.
50:24Exactly.
50:25It's hard to get simple.
50:26It is very hard to get simple.
50:28Yeah.
50:29Yeah.
50:30Ask the builders and they'll tell you how hard simple is.
50:35The perfectly crafted timber, the blemish free steel.
50:42All those individually fitted crisp melamine boards.
50:48The effort is everywhere you look.
50:53And so is the river.
50:58The house dances with reflected light.
51:05This is really what it's all about isn't it?
51:08This is it.
51:09This is it.
51:10This is the river meets the house moment and the river was always the beginning and the
51:14end of this story.
51:15Right?
51:16I was worried at the beginning when we first met, we were standing down there on the lawn
51:19and I was thinking, oh you're kind of really taking yourself up the hill.
51:23Are you going to lose that connection?
51:25But it doesn't feel like it.
51:26No we haven't.
51:27Not at all.
51:28No?
51:29No.
51:30We just sort of perched over, sort of looking down on it.
51:32Yeah.
51:33Yeah.
51:34You've won the battle about the copper mesh screen.
51:36Yes.
51:37The full length mesh is gone, replaced by a more conventional balustrade.
51:42Yeah.
51:43It was a big decision.
51:45We really agonised over that didn't we?
51:47Yeah.
51:48But everyone that comes, they just put their elbows and lean.
51:51Yeah.
51:52Put your beer on the balustrade?
51:53My beer.
51:54Yeah, my beer.
51:55And it's been a big problem for you, Richard?
51:57It is a big problem.
51:58It's just a boy thing, isn't it?
52:00This is your suite.
52:02So this is your bedroom over here.
52:04That's it.
52:05This is interesting because normally the master bedroom is very generous.
52:10Yours is, if I take the footprint here, is actually quite modest.
52:14It is.
52:15But if you open up the doors as you have here, you've got the whole deck.
52:18That's right.
52:19And do you imagine that you'll have the windows and doors open most of the time?
52:23Yes.
52:24That's just us, isn't it?
52:25Yeah.
52:26Leave the doors open like this and that's just how you sleep on the balcony.
52:29Yeah, pretty much.
52:30You really are, sleeping on the balcony.
52:31Yeah, yeah.
52:32Can't get much more Queensland than that, can you?
52:33No, you can't.
52:34That's right.
52:35That's exactly right.
52:37Yeah.
52:38This house is a thing of beauty.
52:43But it's also a thing of strength, anchored above the floodline.
52:49But with its hose-out undercroft and tough ironbark timbers, it's resilient enough to withstand the water if the worst should ever come.
53:00It's quite an achievement.
53:01First thing I've got to say is congratulations on finishing.
53:07Yeah.
53:08Yeah.
53:09Looking at the house from here, I think it looks pretty great.
53:11Just saying.
53:12I mean, this is a homecoming, really.
53:13Yeah.
53:14Yeah.
53:15How does it feel coming back?
53:16I wouldn't call it coming back.
53:18I'd call it going forward.
53:19Yeah.
53:20So we've sort of reinvented our lives and this property.
53:27Your brother's place next door here started after you started and finished way earlier.
53:33Yeah.
53:34Well, not way earlier.
53:35He's only been in for a month or so.
53:37Yeah.
53:38Yeah.
53:39Was it worth the wait?
53:41It is to us.
53:43Yeah.
53:44But on our journey, it's been worth it for us.
53:46Yeah.
53:47It did take a long time.
53:49You said initially 14 months, 12 to 14 months, I think.
53:53Mm.
53:54And it took 29 months.
53:56Mm.
53:57Oh, stop it.
53:59Yeah.
54:00Yeah.
54:01Extra time usually equals extra money.
54:02Yeah.
54:03You started off with one and a half million, I seem to recall.
54:06Yeah.
54:07As your budget.
54:08Yeah.
54:09Drum roll.
54:10Drum roll.
54:11Where do we end up?
54:12Well, not...
54:13Yeah.
54:14A little bit more than that.
54:15Yeah, more.
54:16Thanks, Jeanette.
54:17I've got to guess that.
54:18How much more?
54:19Just to say two million?
54:20Yeah, north of two.
54:21Okay.
54:22Yeah.
54:23Just two and a half?
54:24No, just north.
54:25No, no, not two and a half.
54:26Oh, no.
54:27Okay, somewhere between two and two and a half.
54:28Yeah.
54:29So with that in mind, I mean, it's a beautiful outcome.
54:31Mm.
54:32And there's a lot of really intelligent and very clever things that have gone into this.
54:37Do you feel safe from the floods after going to all of this trouble? Do you feel safe?
54:42Yeah, I think I do.
54:44Yeah, I do.
54:45Especially with all the in-ground works.
54:46Yeah.
54:47Very much so.
54:48Yeah.
54:49So we know that we are sitting on rock solid ground.
54:51Yeah.
54:52Yeah.
54:53Yeah.
54:54Yeah.
54:55Yeah.
54:56Yeah.
54:57Yeah.
54:58Yeah.
54:59Yeah.
55:00Yeah.
55:01Yeah.
55:02Yeah.
55:03Yeah.
55:04Yeah.
55:05Yeah.
55:06Yeah.
55:07Yeah.
55:08Hello, Ollie.
55:09Nice to be you.
55:10This will all be yours one day.
55:11Thanks.
55:13You're so gorgeous.
55:14Thank you for doing all this.
55:15That's all right.
55:16You're very clever and I'm very proud of you.
55:19No problems at all.
55:20Okay.
55:21Come on through to the party.
55:22All right.
55:24Richard's heart dragged him home to the river, but he didn't leave his head behind.
55:32This house is a smart, pragmatic approach to the increasing issues of climate change.
55:40In their cool, open, airy home, he and Jeanette can sleep more soundly by the river.
55:57Great architecture, like art and fashion, is a response to the world in which we live.
56:05But Richard and Jeanette, with the help of James, have gone one better.
56:08Pushing the boundaries of design, function and materials to create something that is
56:13not only practical, but beautiful and perfectly suited to its situation and its surroundings.
56:20So, let the rivers rise and let the winds speak.
56:24This home will welcome every ebb and is perfectly poised to go with the flow.
56:35On ABC iview, there are more episodes of Grand Designs Australia, following the brave homeowners
56:47taking on the challenge of their lifetime.
56:50Or tune into The Homefront with Anthony Burke on Radio National and on the ABC Listen app.
56:55Mr.
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