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00:00say you want to get away from it all disconnect from city life immerse yourself in the wilderness
00:15commune with nature and reconnect with family what would you build a cozy low-key log cabin
00:23in the woods that celebrates the simple life or if money was no object a wildly ambitious project
00:31a giant size pile that matches the epic wilderness that surrounds it would that just be more trouble
00:39than it's worth
00:53when you think of hectic city living Tasmania's Launceston doesn't jump to mind inside I've actually
01:15got the plans for prospect I'll show you unless that is your names are Richard and Erin Sims
01:21what we need to organize here is that big tree that's in the back corner so we need an arborist
01:26yeah that's fine well I've dealt with one reason over the last 15 years it has been busy we've got
01:30that at 10 the short stays coming very shortly so seven days a week really you know running two
01:36businesses and having the kids and having these projects that on the side we have not stopped
01:40because I have to pick up the kids quickly and drop them off I've got to go sorry they met at a
01:47gym 20 years ago Richard was a fitness instructor Erin was studying law but it was not necessarily
01:54love at first sight one of my friends took me to a gym class his gym class and it was a box fit class
01:59I hated it so I never never went back then we met out again one night a couple of weeks later so we
02:06recognized each other and that was really it she actually bought me a beer and it just kind of caught
02:11my heart straight away he was a really nice guy nice guy in a suit young professional and then I
02:17saw there was another side to him as well I saw the farm side to him when we went out to his family farm
02:22yeah and you could reverse that trailer I've always always since then said I like the fact that you can
02:29reverse any trailer anywhere there's a there's a letter from you Lexi not only did they marry but
02:38had two kids Lila and Deacon okay ready to go yeah and set up two businesses in real estate buying
02:46selling and managing properties well I think we've thrived on the stress to date but I'm no longer
02:53thriving on the stress all we did was work and as years went on I was just trying to make it hit
03:01home to you that the kids aren't around forever but you've only got limited time before they go off
03:06and do their own thing so yeah your 40th was the turning point for us yeah that was crunch time
03:11things needed to change yeah and that change involved tapping in to one of Tasmania's greatest
03:27assets mother nature so we purchased a bit of land and when we first went on site it was under a foot of
03:37snow so we actually didn't get to see a huge amount of the property very barren we went back up in in
03:45the summer a lot after all it all melted and we thought crap what what they bought was 3,000 lakefront
03:56acres in the central highlands of Tasmania where they want to build a wilderness escape to make the
04:02most of it we've got no reception we've got hardly any neighbors power was that was a problem we
04:09didn't even think of any of that or the challenges it would it was just a place to get away this will
04:14do we think that's a 10 kilo trout in there you are yeah nice work and it's family that's front and
04:26center of their plans the important element to get right in this project he's just having calm calm
04:42within our family once we're living in it you're looking at the end result I am yeah I'm a little
04:47bit different for me it's more about the journey making sure the journey is enjoyable because I feel
04:54like if the journey is not enjoyable then the end result will be ruined thanks mom isn't the first
04:59snag I've got today isn't the first no I can see that it'll be horrible if the kids don't enjoy the
05:05process or you and I argue throughout the process we might actually because I haven't seen the devil
05:09yet me and dad do once did you yeah that's why we think differently don't we because you're
05:14always fixated on your end point you look after the journey and I'll make sure we get there
05:18well they do say opposites attract let's hope so because they're gonna need to pull together big
05:27time on this one why here and why this particular location yeah escape the rat race of life the the
05:36tranquility and the space that we have is as exciting when you say tranquility I could also say
05:41isolation like it feels really removed yeah like intentionally leaving the world behind so that
05:51is the plan yeah yeah it's definitely a place for family and friends it's sort of an extended mob
05:55that's gonna end up landing here with you to retreat yeah we tried to bring people together yeah tell me
06:01what are you going to build here I think it's probably going to be bigger than we first thought
06:06because there's a hunter's hut that was already pre-existing on the property which is very basic and that
06:11would that was that's me yeah I was quite happy just to slide in there and enjoy the the tranquility
06:15of that but we took that idea to our our architect and said well this is what we want to do and then
06:21he came I said come up with some concepts and that's what he did and he got excited we got excited and here
06:28we are this sounds like a terrible relationship Richard and Erin's original idea of a farm style
06:36lodge has ballooned into a building of epic proportions set on a slab of over 400 square meters
06:43architect Charlie Ellis has designed a series of three wings reminiscent of the blades of a windmill
06:50that aims to blend seamlessly into its environment one wing houses the three bedrooms for the family
06:56another the games room and guest accommodation and the third is dedicated to living and dining which
07:03gazes out over the glistening Lake Sorel each wing is flanked by huge seven and a half meter monolithic
07:11concrete chimneys that will be clad inside and out with dollarite stone handpicked from the property by
07:18Richard Erin and the kids that sense of bringing the outside into the home extends throughout with
07:27timber lined cathedral ceilings 32 thick and reclaimed black butt window frames and a burnished concrete floor to complete the natural look
07:36each wing is topped off with steep pitch gable roofs and even more dollarite outside in the form of walls
07:44pavings and a giant pizza oven a back-breaking total of over 150 tons of stone will need to be found and unearthed no small feat
07:55indulging in high-end finishes and unrestricted views of the beautiful bush outside Richard and Erin have
08:03set themselves the monumental task of building a super-sized off-grid lodge in the hope that this
08:10will be a jaw-dropping jewel in the crown of this precious landscape so how often will you be using the
08:18place i mean is it a weekender so this is going to be home eventually but um i'll be up here you know
08:23looking after the cattle and doing a few bits and pieces looking after the cattle i mean looking around
08:28me and this is not sort of cattle country in my mind yeah it's an experiment so you know this is
08:33yeah right this is in cattle country but i thought i'll give it a go i'm always you know wanting to
08:37push the boundaries and see how it works and if it works great but if it doesn't well no problems
08:42we'll try something else and so uh there is a precondition i think it's fair for me to say that
08:48if he goes down the agricultural line it will be a completely separate part of the property okay yeah
08:54yeah because we don't want to disturb the natural environment yeah yeah the thing you've been
08:58attracted to yes in the first place that's exactly right it sounds like a a big dream how long is this
09:04project going to take you oh well the builder thinks 14 months we we reckon 19 months 19 our plan is
09:11christmas next year yeah christmas it's always christmas we're going to be in for christmas yeah
09:18yeah 19 months then what about budget how much are you going to spend we're hoping that it'll come in
09:25under three at about 2.9 million all-inclusive um and i mean that does take into account that it's a
09:31it's a very remote location it's a difficult build there's a lot of travel we have to pay for
09:36for uh all the subcontractors so it's definitely a lot more expensive than building in cobat or
09:42launceston for example three million dollars gets you a pretty luxe offering yes um but as you said
09:48given the travel and the size of it too 400 squares is pretty big building i think you're going to test
09:52your three million yes but um it's a marvelous undertaking and i have to say just again this
09:58landscape that you're working in is so precious it's so wonderful it sounds to me like you're very
10:03tuned into it my concern is just the remoteness really of it all and you've put a lot of faith
10:09in your builder we do so let's just hope that's well placed because there's a lot riding on that
10:14relationship more than normal yep because you can't just go down the road and pick another one no
10:22erin and richard are a bit like kids in a candy store their eyes are way bigger than their stomachs
10:28they've got this glorious site here where anything is possible and a budget to match but i am a bit
10:33worried they're getting carried away by it all they say they want to get back to nature and lead the
10:39simple life but supersized houses require supersized amounts of work and maintenance especially out here
10:47in the middle of nowhere but first they've got to get the house built and that's a giant task in itself
10:58it's midwinter and today the serenity of the central highlands is shattered by the sound of cranes pumps
11:17and trucks after several weeks prepping the foundations builder phil is overseeing the laying
11:24of the concrete slab in the industry for over 20 years he's never managed anything on this scale with
11:32so many confounding elements
11:36i think it's a really exciting project it does have a few challenges we get heavy rain during winter
11:45and it can be sunny one minute and snowing the next compounded with the isolation creates challenges
11:52that we're not used to with access for cranes the semi-trailers not able to get in so i've had to
11:58rethink how we get everything into site just the proximity from from anywhere really is not something
12:06we deal with every day there's a hut on site that um we're using for accommodation
12:15and at times sharing it with the clients going to be a very interesting process
12:19hopefully rich is still talking to me at the end of it
12:28a couple of weeks later the team are bracing themselves for the heroes of the home
12:32to take center stage the chimneys
12:36i couldn't believe they got this machine down
12:39the tight spots down up here in the corner here
12:41the pressure of installing these massive chimney panels is immense each one weighs up to six and a
12:49half tons and towers over seven meters tall
12:54yeah if they're not lifted properly they'll snap for sure it's dangerous you know it can really
13:00cause some damage so um you've got to be on on your going
13:03and um there's major defects in the panels as far as dimensions go they don't fit so we don't want
13:11to be going down that path
13:14each chimney is made up of three concrete panels
13:18the perilous task of lifting them into place relies on a crane extending up to 36 meters with
13:25counterweights of 44 tons required to stop it falling over down like a hundred yeah that 36
13:34meter reach is right out there on the limit just because the building side's probably a little
13:37bit more cluttered than we thought um and the building's a lot longer and and wider than we we'd
13:43hoped this is where you can make or break your build
13:45the thinnest panel goes first a deceptively fragile piece for such a massive slab
14:01the design of it's it wants to crack through the window the sides of the window there
14:07so it's probably the most slimline difficult panel we're going to do
14:11it's a lot of weight until the panel is upright there's no knowing for sure if it can take the
14:22strain there she goes wow so it's the inside chalk line is our panel line
14:35it's finally in position but now the crucial part will it fit
14:40now you're going to go in a bit
14:49oh tell you what she's not bad boys you got the receiver boys
14:55that is that bloody close it's not funny i'm happy don't say very often but i'm happy
15:01you think it's big we might have gone a bit too big i'll just get this on hook onto this one pull
15:14off i'll just double check the drawers a lot of work for one panel hopefully hopefully the rest go just as smoothly
15:20the enormity of this project is starting to dawn on richard and erin and they're not alone
15:35nice and steady it's nice and steady
15:43simsy it's not too late for a second story mate
15:51i think we're there anyway
15:52it will take two days for the remaining chimneys to be installed
16:01as each panel requires patience and precision
16:05just come down and then i'll bring him back to me
16:10what's probably wowed me the most is the um yeah the sheer size of these structures
16:15yeah i'll bring it around to you feel sorry for the stonemason he's gonna get right up up there to
16:22veneer the whole lot it's a massive job
16:28hope he likes laying stones
16:33but they've got to find them first and that's not their only challenge
16:37on air online on digital radio there's a severe weather warning for large parts of the state
16:42this afternoon and evening as a strong cold front moves across the state damaging a potentially
16:48destructive wind gusts of around 120 kilometers an hour are forecast in some districts
16:58over the next six weeks the wild tassie winds threatened to blow them off course
17:06but with the crew living on site
17:19they're able to work fast between storms to install the trusses and roof structures
17:27yeah i think it's um starting to come to life you can see it brings the height of the chimneys into
17:32play and they looked a bit too tall and skinny but now with the roof line it brings it all into
17:36play and yeah it looks good
17:47four months into the project richard and erin are also making the most of the breaks in the weather
17:53roaming the property and collecting hundreds if not thousands of dollarite stones
17:58a hard once molten rock some two to three hundred million years old
18:03that'll be used for cladding the giant chimneys and some walls
18:11for stonemason ray hilton it's a massive undertaking
18:15hey ray how are you looks good looks really good oh thank you we're loving the colors the grays and
18:21the browns don't mind the mix of everything no i really like it no how's the stone to work with
18:26it i mean the picking's been awesome like really good quality you've obviously got an eye for it we
18:32just need a lot more okay say you've picked 30 ton and let's let's not look up until we've got another
18:39150 right yeah right okay so we've done roughly 20 loads so far we've probably got another 120 to go
18:48okay don't count yeah as long as you're staying here to me yeah yeah okay that's the plan we've
18:55had a good head start though so i think you're going to use it up pretty quickly we'll have to
18:59get our skates on yeah i was hoping that he was going to tell us that we were halfway there but we're
19:07nowhere near halfway there how how long ago did we start collecting stone it was over a year ago
19:11oh geez that long it was over a year ago and he only yeah it was and he only started yesterday
19:18so he said that we're quite a way ahead of him but i'm very worried that he's going to catch up very
19:23quickly but they've got a lot more on their plate than just rock collecting
19:32hey mate it's time to go while erin's back in launceston managing the kids and the business
19:37all right shoes on got your drink bottle we don't have time to do that you've got to get in the car
19:41let's go
19:46richard's spending more and more time on site and on his pet project
19:53so just finishing off this fence here we're planning for for cattle and sheep in time to come
19:59the stockyards are a sheep and cattle stockyards so it's plans to have these animals up here roaming
20:04around enjoying the doing the property yeah we can have up up to well geez 800 odd sheep
20:10i don't know if aaron would probably appreciate that being so many but we'll see
20:20when i was young my parents did separate very early on in the piece and
20:25my grandparents had a farm down the tamer river which i spent a lot of time with growing up
20:30experiencing the wildlife and beauty of of nature and work working the land
20:37that in itself i suppose installed a lot of good work ethic and values that i
20:42have today to start a job and finish a job and tackle pretty much anything
20:47i'm really excited to what we are creating here essentially going back to where i started
20:52um with the animals and the bush and the space and i wish to pass it on to my children
20:59okay
21:07but so far the kids are not convinced
21:13every single time i lift up a rock i'm scared there's gonna be like
21:16big monster underneath the only adventure they're having is rock collecting
21:23and the novelty is wearing thin
21:27there's like five fireplaces and massive big peaches and not including all the
21:32massive walls we've got a huge pile of rocks just over there and i think that that big pile
21:38hours and hours of work has only gone into like not even half a wall it's just crazy
21:45the scale of all the rocks we're going to have to need is going to be massive
21:50it's not going to be fun in a couple hundred more loads that's a massive fireplace
21:55you get a fireplace from all the stone
22:13it's now eight months into this 19-month project and i'm curious to see how they're getting on
22:21it's a bit of a rough road getting in here it's a bit like a rodeo jumping around
22:25all over the place but the remote location is the reason that richard and erin chose this place
22:31it doesn't make it easy for building though hard to get stuff in and we're a long way from anywhere
22:36that adds to time and budget added to that just about every element of this build is massive
22:47including today's challenge wrangling some giant extremely heavy timber frames into place
22:54it's all coming together it's all coming together i can see you've got a new delivery of beautiful
23:06window frames here yeah yeah look at that timber that is delicious it is yes all reclaimed reclaimed
23:12blackboard and do you know where they've come from from north queensland from an old warehouse back in
23:17the 50s okay yeah i love the idea that you walk down your hallway and that history is just kind of
23:21whispering to you every time you walk past yeah yeah that's gorgeous yeah that's nice and i'll tell
23:25you what though you know those old timbers they're really deep yeah yeah lovely and really heavy
23:30so heavy in fact the frames come in two halves
23:42and need to be assembled on site is it gonna go only just if they can get them in
23:49back out again and then back out through the side door yeah all right
23:58it's pretty awkward isn't it middle that's that post like that
24:13with both halves of what will be a corner window navigated inside
24:17oh hang on is that going in there the next challenge is joining them together
24:21yep good job cut down a little bit i haven't got much out of there
24:26is it no it's not stuck
24:31well we're too high we gotta get the top in first
24:34so the thing about this house is it's so bespoke everything is done to millimeter
24:52tolerance which is perfect if you're in the workshop when you get on site when you're used to working
24:57with much larger tolerances trying to get something like that into a corner so you get frameless glass
25:03that is the glass paints have to meet perfectly there's a price to pay
25:09and they're paying it right now they're all going individually they're just not going together
25:15perplexing to say the least the final throw of the dice
25:19chiseling out the housing in the hope the pins will slide in
25:33the other way
25:35blaze you're a wizard
25:40blaze worked his magic with his little chisel
25:43pardon the pun
25:47with the frames finally fixed now comes the real test the installation
25:52so we're just slide just sliding it forward ready
25:57yeah go
25:58there you go there declan
26:02Hold on.
26:09Oh, you .
26:13Nope, no reach.
26:15This is one monster window frame, I tell you.
26:18One, two, three, four, six, seven, eight.
26:23Eight people moving this.
26:25And it's like this.
26:28I'm trying to get it in.
26:32It's just a little bit snug right in the middle there.
26:39There you go.
26:40Oh, yeah.
26:41That's it righto.
26:42Now come to me.
26:44Yep, that's it.
26:46We're in.
26:47Happy?
26:48Yeah.
26:49That's a mammoth effort, that one.
26:53That's a huge window.
26:55That's, yeah, good to get that one in.
26:58That's only one of them.
27:01It's in.
27:02The window's in.
27:03Yeah.
27:04Glad it actually fitted.
27:05Back's a bit sore, a bit worse for wear.
27:06You were doing some literal heavy lifting then.
27:08We had to.
27:09They needed help because it was just so bloody heavy.
27:11One down, only 31 to go.
27:17And I thought they wanted a wilderness hideaway for some rest and relaxation.
27:23If it's chill thereafter.
27:24They could well look to a tiny property on Sydney's Hawkesbury River for inspiration.
27:34Known as Murrah Murrah Shack, here the homeowner's quest for peace and tranquility has informed
27:41every element of the design.
27:43It's about a thirtieth the size of Richard and Erin's and by God it's cute.
27:48There is a little jewel hiding on the hill, beautiful.
27:53Designed by architect Leopold Bancini as an off-grid weekender for his young family, the only way to get here is by boat.
28:02Just don't blink or you'll float right on by.
28:16Oh, I love this.
28:17It's a less is more approach.
28:19It's kind of like a boathouse, but it's not.
28:22And that giant glass window, that's an invitation to come on up.
28:30With non-combustible fibre cement cladding on the outside in case of bushfire,
28:35inside is a wholly more rustic story.
28:49The inside is wall to wall timber.
28:52I love this essay in Australian hardwoods.
28:55Recycled columns from telegraph poles, iron bark.
28:58We've got recycled turpentine planks here from the jetty out the front.
29:02Even the furniture is made from the off-cuts of the spotted gum beams above our heads.
29:07Everything here was made by hand, and much of it on site.
29:14From the kitchen sink, to the furniture, to the elegant dropped cornet fireplace, the space is uncluttered and elemental, but at the same time dramatic.
29:27Helped by all of that wood and the five metre high ceiling.
29:31The way timber's been used in here, it reminds me of a traditional Japanese tea house, or maybe even a Swiss mountain hut, somewhere in between perhaps.
29:41But look at this.
29:42This giant six metre window is so big, it had to be brought in piece by piece and welded on site.
29:49And even though it's really heavy, check this out.
29:52I should be able to open this up to this magic view.
30:05At only 59 metres square, this really couldn't be more different to what Richard and Erin are building at Interlaken.
30:12With just two small bedrooms and a bathroom out the back, it's got everything the homeowners need, but nothing more.
30:19It's very crafted, but not fancy.
30:22A spare, peaceful space to just be.
30:26There might be some lessons in that.
30:32And when the weekend's over, it's no fuss, it's just lock up and leave.
30:36And that's my idea of a relaxing home away from home.
30:42But there's no relaxing back at Interlaken.
31:03It's two weeks since the giant timber frames were installed, but big frames need big panes of glass.
31:11For something quite fragile, they weigh a tonne.
31:20Yeah, they look heavy.
31:26They're going right. They're going to be tired by the end of the day.
31:30We might need to give them a hand, I think.
31:3742 pieces in all.
31:39And 40k an hour winds.
31:43Yeah, so a bit of a breeze which is coming up, a bit of a concern.
31:52Making sure that those panels don't tip off.
31:56The boys are trying to get these glass panels in before the wind gets up.
32:06All right, how many of this?
32:08There's not much room.
32:09You're going to have to go up near vertical, straight up.
32:13We're trying to fit a big sheet of glass in a little area.
32:17This one's going to be tight.
32:19We're going for it?
32:20Yeah.
32:22We're going to have to go up.
32:23Keep going up.
32:24You guys have to go down a bit.
32:25As much as you can.
32:26Bring it back.
32:27Unless we go onto the roof and then we go flat and just slide it straight down.
32:42Not in this wind.
32:44I'll keep going with the others while everyone's here.
32:47Yeah.
32:48And just keep working on volume.
32:51We'll take it back.
32:52Yep.
32:55It's going to be a long week.
33:08As the months roll on, Richard and Erin's dream of living close to nature
33:12is getting a little too close for comfort.
33:17It's going to set the possum trap up over here tonight.
33:21We've had a few fairy critters living in here.
33:24It's getting to the stage where it's going to start to cause big problems
33:27if we end up with animals going through our concrete.
33:31Trap is setting free.
33:33A good drive from site.
33:36So we'll leave that till the morning and hopefully we don't get one.
33:40We'll wait and see.
33:46The build has reached a critical phase.
33:49Before the harsh Tasmanian winter kicks in, there's a race to reach lockup.
33:57But the seemingly endless stonework is going at a snail's pace.
34:01There's so few curves.
34:07It's slightly annoying when we're looking for straights and we keep finding curves.
34:12Now I want curves.
34:14I can't find any.
34:15I guess we need to ensure that we're not putting too many straight pieces in.
34:25And we do really look for those prized stones that span a long distance with the curve.
34:32Because that's what gives the wall continuity on the curve rather than having jagged angles.
34:36But at this stage we're just running out of stone.
34:40So we're looking to get Aaron, Richard and the kids and find me 10,000 perfectly curved stones.
34:49No pressure.
34:52The wall's only as good as the stones they find.
34:54It's not Ray's only struggle.
35:00You can't just go home at the end of the day.
35:02You have to live away.
35:05Eat average food.
35:08Cold.
35:12It's a bit of a grind.
35:13It's also a bit crowded.
35:23With the project coming up to the one-year mark, on-site accommodation is at capacity.
35:30With the team bunking down in the hut, the shed...
35:34No, no, that's a microwave. That's a microwave.
35:38That's not you.
35:40No.
35:41It's starving.
35:43And a caravan for the boss.
35:45One of Inderlaken's luxuries, having a caravan.
35:53Pub size, a veal schnitzel.
35:56A schnitzel.
35:58We'll see.
35:59First time.
36:00You've had a few of these I've seen, so...
36:02My favourite one's the bacon carbonara one.
36:05That's good.
36:07Real good.
36:08So a bit of extra cheese in it and bon appetit.
36:12Do you eat better here than at home?
36:14Yeah.
36:15Really?
36:16Yeah.
36:17Oh, that's dismal.
36:19Obviously we're pretty remote, so definitely wearing thin on the team.
36:23It's a big ask to pull them away from friends and family for such a long period.
36:30We're kind of lucky that within our team everyone gets on really well.
36:35I wandered out, then Lucky said to me the next day, I'll ray work up and only see where someone's bare arse go to the toilet.
36:41Most people's comment is not necessarily loving having to come to the bush but still loving being part of the project so you can't have one without the other.
36:54Had it been five minutes from home, it would have been a fantastic project to be involved with.
37:00It's asking a lot of its workers alright, including chief stone collectors Richard and Erin.
37:16They're all just pointy, they're not curved.
37:25With the children quitting the job about a thousand stones ago, Richard and Erin are on their own hunting for the precious curves in short supply indeed.
37:34But you'd think there'd be some, but not many.
37:41I tell you what, I was pretty excited about having stone walls but I didn't quite realise what a big job it was going to be.
37:49I don't know, the tarnish is starting to wear off.
37:53It is, you know, a hundred, a hundred odd loads in, probably another hundred to go.
37:59But yeah, it is going to be worth it. I tell myself that every day that we're up here hunting for rocks.
38:07I thought it was going to be a nice, enjoyable little family gathering and collect these items but it's turned into a bit of a mammoth job.
38:16But we've committed and we won't stop. I promise Ray that we'll do it.
38:21We will get there.
38:24As long as my back holds up.
38:26Richard's just the type of person, anything he does, he gives one hundred percent to.
38:32Nothing the painkillers won't fix.
38:35So he has, I think, not that he's ever said it to me, but there's no doubt he's struggled at times giving a hundred percent to this project.
38:43Hang on.
38:45I'm like two parts of the bargain.
38:47Hang on.
38:49You've got to get one corner.
38:50All right.
38:51He's suffered a little bit this year with some back pain.
38:55So he always puts up a good front, but there's, you know, times at the end of the day where you can see for sure that he's tired.
39:02I think it's time for a new patch.
39:04I feel like I'm scratching around like an old chook.
39:06Yeah, I'm scratching around like an old chook too.
39:07Yeah, move.
39:08We'll move on.
39:0912 months into the build and as winter makes its presence felt with a brisk two-degree dawn.
39:28It's an early start for the team as they get ready to pour the 400 square metre concrete floor.
39:34These are actually up at the finish level.
39:38Mate, I'm just impressed you've got a heated shower floor.
39:43The concrete's travelled 120 kilometres to get here, right at the pointy end of its initial set time of two hours.
39:52Blockery, are we?
39:53We're two hours away from anywhere. That's probably the biggest challenge here.
40:06It's not ideal carting concrete that far. It's just the way it is.
40:23The boys face a tough day ahead, but chief concreter Ben is staying positive.
40:29It's hard work to get the fine balance between actually getting the concrete to come through and not come through too fast.
40:36So we're just all these pump operators just trying to work out the right speed to run the pump at.
40:42We will get there.
40:46As all systems go, these boys are busy. Unbelievable.
40:48Yeah, not the easiest thing pouring inside a semi-finished building.
40:54Had we done this in summer, the boys would be racing it to try and get a finish on it before it dries.
40:59But now we're in winter, it's about trying to get a cure on it.
41:05That's the first truck empty.
41:08So hopefully we're halfway or we haven't got enough concrete.
41:10It's the only way to bring more up here.
41:16Richard's staying one step ahead of the concreters, taping up the windows in the bedroom wing.
41:25Once it's laid, it's going to have to be locked up for a good seven weeks for it to cure and harden properly before the concrete polisher comes in.
41:35So yeah, once we finish up here, we just need to really make sure we close all windows and sliding doors to make sure that no animals get in in this process.
41:44It would be horrendous, to say the least, if we had an animal slip in while the concrete is being cured.
41:57For the next seven weeks, all eyes will be on the weather.
42:00If it's too cold, the slab won't harden or cure properly.
42:06But it's not great for laying stones either.
42:09Looks, looks good.
42:11Mmm. So I just got, um, one more lift from the scaph.
42:16Okay.
42:18And then we should think about moving the sand under cover for...
42:21Yep.
42:23We had a bit of snow yesterday, so...
42:24My goal is to keep you happy, warm and content so you can keep going because...
42:29Well, there's plenty.
42:30We are going to come into some crappy weather, unfortunately, and...
42:33Yeah, we'll just keep going.
42:34Just keep chugging away.
42:35Yep.
42:36Still a bit, still a bit to go, though?
42:38Ah, yeah, still a bit to go.
42:41Will the, will the body last?
42:43The days aren't long enough.
42:45No. The year's not long enough, actually.
42:47The stonemason's doing a great job. He's, he was a bit cold yesterday.
42:53I think any other stonemason would probably be shutting up shop until, um, summer.
42:59But, um, I really want to try and keep him here as much as, much as possible.
43:04He hasn't even started on the, uh, northern and eastern, assuming he's yet.
43:10Um, he's got a fair bit of rock walling internal to do.
43:12Um, he's really got a lot of external rock walling around the water tanks and, um, that front entrance that's gotta be done.
43:20Um, there's a lot of, also, flagstone paving around the barbecue area, um, up the back into the guest wing.
43:27And also at the front entrance is all, is all stone paved.
43:30So, um, yeah, I, I don't want to shock him, but he's got a fair bit ahead of him still.
43:35Uh, some days you shape the stone, other days the stone shapes you.
43:43But if he leaves, I think we'll have, we'll have a bit of strife on our hands.
43:48Cause I'm no good at laying stone.
43:49Yeah, I'm no good at laying stone.
43:55Hmm.
43:56Driving through the Tasmanian bush, it's easy to see why Richard and Erin wanted to swap
44:21the rat race of the city for the laid-back pace of the countryside. But it's one thing
44:28to crave a simpler life and another entirely to achieve one, especially if the home you
44:34want to build, on paper at least, is so large. I do hope, for Richard and Erin's sake, the
44:42hard yakka is over and they can finally enjoy what they came for.
44:49Such amazing bush up here and you really are kind of working hard to get to the front door
44:55over this very bumpy, rough track, but I guess that's all part of it.
45:00These guys wanted a retreat and they absolutely have that. You feel like you're leaving the
45:05city way behind and it's just so beautiful.
45:08Oh and there it is, just sort of emerging out of the bush. This feels like a very lovely
45:18little welcome. I know it's a big footprint, but actually it doesn't feel over-scaled here.
45:24This is working.
45:30Erin, Richard, this is unreal. Thank you. What an arrival. Very dramatic. And the whole sequence
45:51coming through the bush to get here, I mean, so poetic. It's beautiful, isn't it? So beautiful.
45:54A little glimpse of the water through there sort of orients us all, but the house itself
46:00is quite enigmatic, a little mysterious. Understated. Understated, doesn't give too
46:04much away, you know, so you know that you're kind of like, you haven't really properly
46:08arrived yet. So all this build-up of anticipation, it's very clever and it really works on you,
46:14which is what I really love. Yeah. The stone looks amazing. Yeah, it's amazing. And I know
46:18this was a total labour of love, wasn't it? It was. So grateful to our stonemason, Greg,
46:22he was just phenomenal. He's not sort of lurking around the back of the chimney or something.
46:26Chip it away. He only finished Sunday, funny enough. The last little bit. Yeah. He's been
46:32brilliant. I mean, so well put together. Look at this detail. I know, yeah. He's a true artist,
46:36our stonemason. He's beautiful. As he said to me, every rock has its place and he's right.
46:40Magic. Yeah. Well, I mean, on a day like today, a bit of frost on the ground. Yes. It's about
46:44two degrees. Yep. I'm standing here with a jacket on. You're not. No. It looks warm
46:49in there. Come inside to the warmth. Excellent. Yeah.
46:54Shoes off here. Yeah. I like a shoes off house. Oh, here you come.
47:05What a sensational room to walk into. The sun's streaming in here, this low winter sun. And
47:11I'm like, God, that lake looking spectacular. The bush is just this magnificent wallpaper,
47:17isn't it? Yeah. It's beautiful. It's my favourite room in the house. I get it. I mean, the panorama
47:21is extraordinary, but the feeling of the room in here is, you know, it matches that. You
47:26know, there's a comfort level here and there's an easiness to it all and there's a warmth to
47:29it all. There's the concrete, there's the timber and there's the stone, but the balance of those
47:33three elements coming together, I think you've got it just right. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
47:36That window too. I remember that going in. My God, that was a piece of hardware, right?
47:40What a day that was. Yeah. Just heavy timber. Yeah. Surprising heavy actually. I actually
47:45have an, I have an invoice to you for that. Yeah. I know another thing too, when we were
47:49talking about the slab, you were worried about possums crawling across and leaving little
47:53footprints at one point. Did any little prints get left? No. No, we were fine. We had
47:57to have a possum come in of our own accord. We left our skylight open unaware and we had
48:02a little animal come in and visit us during the night, three o'clock in the morning. The
48:05possum was in the bedroom. Yeah, a little bite. With you. Somehow I feel being where you are,
48:11that's not going to be the last time a possum walks in, you know? Yeah. Well, this is an
48:15incredibly successful space. I mean, it really feels so beautiful. Thank you. So natural.
48:20And I think also the whole arrival sequence from the road to here, now we've got these little
48:25mini versions of that. If we go from here down through the little bays of the home. Can we go down
48:30and help? Yeah. There's more stone there. More stone? Yeah. With so much stone and glass,
48:37the house is essentially a heat trap, warm and cosy, helped in part by the heated slab
48:43and the giant wood-burning fireplaces. How many is that you've got? Five in total. Five
48:48fireplaces? Yeah. And a fire pit. There's plenty of firewood though. Plenty of wood. They're
48:53not going to run out. I mean, it's a beautiful object, isn't it? I really like the way you've
48:57kind of let it just be the room. That's taking the stage. Yeah. Nothing else to be said. That's
49:02the piece of art. Like, there's no artwork in here. Yeah, exactly. That is, yeah. Yeah. That
49:05is the art. Gorgeous. I think too, you know, like in the dining area and in this room, that
49:10could have been one giant pane of glass. But I actually think you've done exactly the right
49:13thing, having those mullions in there, kind of break up that view. Yeah, it creates different
49:18pictures. And it's funny you say that because it was one pane of glass in the original concept.
49:22Yeah. Yeah. And we changed it. We thought it would be too much of a glass box. Exactly.
49:26Yeah. Yeah. Really neat.
49:31The three separate wings of the house actually give it a more intimate scale. As well as the
49:37kitchen and lounge, there's the guest wing, which can be shut down when not in use. And then
49:42the family wing. Oh, the art, it's a beautiful gallery kind of approach here. Yeah, thank
49:47you. Including Erin and Richard's Sanctuary of Calm. And so welcome to the final room. This
49:53is the master bedroom. Oh. Yeah. What a great way to end that whole journey. Yeah. Spectacular.
50:03You've got this beautifully framed kind of, I guess it's the best painting of all, isn't it?
50:08It is. Yeah, it is. The layers of the stonework framing out the box seed and then the wallabies
50:14jumping by outside. Yeah. And the landscape constantly changes. I mean, you see it in the
50:17snow. Yeah. You see it in the rain. You see it beautiful blue skies like we've got today.
50:22Yeah. When you kind of close your eyes at the very beginning of this whole journey and imagine
50:26this, is this what you saw? This is better. Oh, nice. Yeah. It's better. Waking up to this
50:32every morning. Exceeded expectations. It has. Yeah. Tick. It's worth it. Yeah.
50:37You're thinking worth it. Richard and Erin have definitely exceeded my expectations too.
50:45As concerns about the home being too big have somewhat been laid to rest. Inside, dropped
50:53ceilings have created a sense of proportion and intimacy. While outside, the home has a scale
50:59that sits into the landscape and doesn't dominate it, embracing the surroundings rather than
51:04fighting them. It really is wonderful to behold. What an achievement. It's a great house.
51:14It feels fantastic. It was sort of conceptualised as a bit of a circuit breaker for you both.
51:19It would reset the family dynamic a bit, give you a bit of space, just take the pace off a
51:23little bit. Has it done that? Well, the last two years, no. It's been the opposite.
51:29It's been, but it's been a, I mean, I think it's fair to say we like to be busy. We're
51:33people that want to be busy. Um, but the whole purpose was to change that direction where our
51:38lives were going and just be busy in a different way. What do the kids think? Oh, they love it.
51:43And we're, yeah, we're so grateful to them for, you know, being with us through the journey.
51:47It hasn't been easy every weekend for them up here collecting stone, but I think it's
51:52made us closer as a family. I mean, I remember that time specifically in this room after a
51:57long day of rock collecting when we were staying up in the cabin where we all just got our camp
52:02chairs out and you got the portable barbecue and we were literally just here having sausages
52:07on the barbie looking out. There was no windows or anything in looking out just at what it was
52:12going to be. And it's just those, I mean, you just create those moments, don't you? I mean,
52:16life's the little things at the end of the day, isn't it? Yeah, perfect. Yeah.
52:19Let's talk about how long it took. You gave yourself a 19 month build time. You said you're
52:25going to be in by Christmas. Yep. And? We were. We did. We did. You were in by Christmas.
52:31Yep. Yeah, yeah. I've got to have a little breath here. That's the first time ever, I think.
52:36We made it. You made it. Yeah. You know, but that stonework, that took forever, didn't it?
52:40Yeah, it did. That was a commitment. Yeah, no, and we knew that. We knew the stonework
52:43was going to take longer than the actual build itself, because it was lots, lots of other
52:47elements, both internally and externally. And to raise credit, he was adding more himself
52:52and giving more suggestions that I think we should do this, which we hadn't planned, but
52:56he wanted to do. So it's a testament to him too, to evaluate as well.
53:00Owning the project. Yeah. Yeah, correct. Yeah.
53:02Seeing it through from start to finish. Yeah. Yeah. So you're on time. You've got high quality,
53:07which obviously means that you totally blew the budget. Yeah, well, we did. But it was
53:13worthwhile doing so. You had, what was it? 2.9 million was the goal. Yeah. Yeah.
53:17Where did you end up? 3.3. 3.3. Okay. Actually, in 10% over for a house this size, this kind
53:22of quality, you're kind of within tolerances, I think. Oh, yeah, no, we're happy. Yeah.
53:26Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we've got a lot of work to do to pay it off. To pay for it.
53:30But, but we're happy for the long term result. Yeah. Yeah. When you walk around the home,
53:36or you arrive after coming back up from the city, you know, what is the favourite part
53:39of the home for, for both of you? Every time I stand behind the kitchen sink, I'm, I'm just
53:44in a happy place. Yeah. Well, it's funny for me, it's actually the driveway coming in. Yeah,
53:48you love the drive. Yeah. Yeah. It's like a bit of a... Well, that's your journey. And then
53:52I've turned into the destination. Yeah. Yes. Look at that.
53:59And as destinations go, it's their own personal Nirvana. Cozy enough for them and the kids,
54:12but generous enough for extended family and friends. And while plans to run cows and sheep
54:19are on the back burner for now, they've got plenty to keep them busy.
54:27On behalf of Aaron and I just, we do want to say a big thank you to all of you.
54:31Apart from Phil being the builder, he's way on holiday, he's having a lovely time.
54:34We'll catch up with him later. Charlie, the effort that you put in getting this place designed,
54:39something there, and I truly appreciate. And another big one, Ray and Matt, you guys,
54:45unbelievable. The willingness to keep coming up on those minus, what it was, minus nine.
54:51It was horrendous. But you just kept on soldiering on. So yeah, thank you all. Thank you.
54:58Cheers. Cheers.
55:00I like to have jobs to do. You've been everywhere, mate. Thank you. Thank you.
55:12I really, really appreciate it. Just quite a bit. I couldn't go that far.
55:16This project was all about getting back to nature. Little did Aaron and Richard realise
55:27that nature can be a very hard taskmaster. What I love most about this place is that
55:34it's of this place. Stone by back-breaking stone. And that's why it works. Once again,
55:42Mother Nature to the rescue.
55:54You can watch Grand Designs Australia on ABC iview. Or join the conversation on the Australian
56:00housing crisis in the home front with Anthony Burke on Radio National and on the ABC Listen
56:06app now.
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