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00:00Australia's in the midst of the biggest housing crisis we've ever had and according to government
00:11figures we need to build 1.2 million homes in the next five years. The problem is Australia
00:19is the home of red tape. There's the lack of available land and traditional building methods
00:25can take months sometimes years to build just one home. It's expensive, it's stressful and even if we
00:34wanted to we're about 85,000 trades short of achieving our target. There's just simply got to
00:41be a better way. We need to throw out the rule book and design houses for Australian conditions
00:48that are sustainable, resilient, affordable and stylish. We need to build homes faster
00:55and more efficiently for all budgets and all Australians. And that's exactly what Future
01:01House is all about.
01:03Five years ago my partner Amika and I set out to build a house without compromise that's
01:12good to the planet and our children's future, Bo and Nash. We searched Australia and the globe
01:20to find cutting edge sustainable technology. You will be grid independent. Innovative products
01:26and building methods to create a stylish resilient off-grid modern home. Honestly, it nearly killed me.
01:34I don't know how many more days I've got left in me, I'm serious.
01:40Close to a year on the house that cost us blood, sweat and tears is finally a home.
01:45Now I'm taking what I've learnt to embark on an even bigger mission. Our mission is to build
01:55three houses for three families in just three months for three different budgets using three
02:03different methods of construction. Now we may not solve Australia's housing crisis but we're going to
02:09give this a red hot go. This is a farm. 72 acres of rolling hills and previously a dairy farm now no longer.
02:31Just watching the kids and the dogs run around. They're not scared of you darling. We just love it.
02:39Knock, knock, knock. Who's there? Any eggs?
02:44Two. That's okay. Tomorrow's another day.
02:48The kids love coming to the farm. Oh my gosh. They're so excited when we come up. They're always
02:53asking when we can come to the farm. Maybe over there a little bit. It's just really nice. Just
02:59gives them a different perspective, doesn't it? Be careful. They just love running around and getting
03:09dirty. We've just got complete tranquility and a little bit of chaos. Come here, don't go in that shed.
03:20It wouldn't be our house without chaos. Got my big muscles. Got your big muscles?
03:27Jamie said we were done building when we finished Avalon and I know better.
03:35Sorry Amika, but if we're serious about helping to solve the building crisis,
03:40then we need to put our money where our mouths are and throw our hat into the ring.
03:45Let's start with planning for our new house on our farm.
03:49He's saying five days, so let's tack on maybe like another two weeks and I'll say three months.
03:58But we're not the only brave ones taking on this mission.
04:02There's the Fox family in the Blue Mountains who are building a modular home with Rex from High Tech
04:07Modular. Me and Helen are in the process of separating, so we want separate houses,
04:13but we still want her to be close to Caitlin.
04:17The Quachini family from Canberra is building a precast concrete home with Mick from ResiCast.
04:24We have two beautiful children and a third one on the way.
04:27Unbelievable. At the same time, we're building a house.
04:30And us, the Duries, in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, are building a 3D concrete printed home
04:38with Nick from Contour 3D.
04:40I'm really pleased that we were able to throw a hat into the ring for this project.
04:45We're knocking down the old caretaker's cottage on the farm that certainly hasn't seen any love,
04:51or any body for that matter, for a long, long time.
04:54To make housing more affordable for Australians, we've got to try different things.
04:59And just like last time, it's probably not going to be easy.
05:03I didn't know it was coming today, no.
05:05Hey, you just knocked my sign!
05:08The structure behind me is illegal.
05:10I don't know whether I can rebuild it or build anything at all for that matter.
05:14Oh, Meeks! What?
05:16There are cows on the building site, just because we need a little bit more chaos.
05:21I'm having heart palpitations, just thinking about it.
05:27Along with the ups.
05:28It's going to be good.
05:29It's all right.
05:30And downs.
05:32No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
05:34Oh, my effing God.
05:36The system is ridiculous.
05:38One thing's for sure.
05:39Well, there's no turning back now.
05:41There'll be stacks of information, ideas and innovation that you can use in your own home.
05:49This is the best recycling story I've ever heard.
05:51And just like last time, to get started on this mission, we searched Australia and the globe
05:57to find innovative, sustainable, cost-effective and fast building solutions.
06:05Let's start with planning for our house on our farm.
06:08We found this guy who builds incredible 3D printed houses.
06:13I think 3D concrete printing has to be one of the major solutions and that's how we would solve
06:19the housing crisis.
06:20Given its brand new technology, I invited Nick Holden over to see what, if any, restrictions this
06:263D concrete printing has.
06:28These beautiful concrete trees mixed in with a real tree that might sit in the center of the house
06:36and then the tree looks as if it's coming out here.
06:38A tree or a concrete tree?
06:39A real tree.
06:40A real tree.
06:40Yeah.
06:41Jamie wants something a little bit different and that's the advantage of 3D concrete printing.
06:45Could you print a staircase like a nautilus shell?
06:48Would that work?
06:49It would.
06:50No, no, genuinely.
06:51You know, the printer doesn't care.
06:52It'll do whatever you put in there within reason.
06:54You want to stretch the boundaries?
06:55That is stretching.
06:57Let's build this puppy, shall we?
06:58Why am I doing this again?
07:043D concrete trees.
07:07I am loving this.
07:08But what does it actually look and feel like?
07:11Nick's invited me to one he's prepared earlier.
07:15Australia's very first 3D concrete printed house.
07:20This is better than the pictures.
07:21It's incredible.
07:23I know.
07:23I mean, you haven't just built a house.
07:25You've built the retaining walls, the planter boxes.
07:27It's a work of art.
07:29It still takes my breath away.
07:31It was built by a team of software engineers and scientists.
07:36Printing layer by layer using a very special cement mix.
07:42Touch it.
07:42Oh, wow.
07:44I love that, this finish.
07:46Yeah.
07:47What do you call this?
07:47A corduroy, like a jacket.
07:50Oh, yeah?
07:50Yeah, it is.
07:51And so I would imagine this is structural, right?
07:55They're all structural.
07:56So there's no columns in these walls.
07:58It's all 60 MPa that we print at.
08:00It's like a series of engaged piers.
08:02It is.
08:02Yeah.
08:03And so you printed the entire bottom floor here.
08:07We did.
08:08In how long?
08:09Well, 15 days we're on site for.
08:11And you haven't just printed the walls and the structure, but you've also printed.
08:16Yeah.
08:18The kitchen sink.
08:19Everything.
08:20The kitchen bench.
08:21Feeling these walls, knowing that this entire house was printed, absolutely blows my mind.
08:27Well, 3D concrete printing gets a layer by layer application.
08:31Most people are familiar with a desktop printer.
08:34And it's very similar, but on a huge house size scale.
08:37So break it down for me.
08:39Yep.
08:39You're essentially printing this with concrete or cement, right?
08:44It's a very special one.
08:45So we've got two full-time material scientists in house.
08:47Right.
08:48We use 40% recycled materials.
08:50That's great.
08:50It comes out like toothpaste, but we need it to not collapse.
08:53Okay, how do we build this for Australia?
08:56Could this be the house of the future, right?
08:58Yep.
08:58Is it sustainable?
09:00Is it cheaper?
09:01Yep.
09:02And could this be faster?
09:04Yes to all of them.
09:06For a typical, say, four-bedroom, single-storey, affordable house, we'd be printing for four days,
09:11set the printer up, print, get out of there.
09:14Okay, after seeing how good this looks, I'm even more excited to get started.
09:19It's magnificent.
09:23Michael and Helen Fox, near Blackheath in New South Wales, are also planning their
09:31forever home, with not one, but two prefab buildings on the same block.
09:37They're getting long, aren't they, huh?
09:39Now, if we want to solve the building crisis, then we have to provide solutions
09:43for all circumstances and budgets.
09:47And this is certainly a unique situation.
09:50Hi, Jamie.
09:51How are you?
09:51Nice to see you.
09:52Very nice to see you too, yeah.
09:54Hi, Jamie.
09:54Good day, Michael.
09:55How are you?
09:56Good day.
09:56Very nice to meet you.
09:57I've heard so much about you two.
09:59And you must be Caitlin.
10:00Hi.
10:00Yeah.
10:01Caitlin.
10:02This is Jamie.
10:02Are you going to say hi, Jamie?
10:03Hello, Caitlin.
10:05Hey, say hello.
10:05I'm Jamie.
10:06Me and Helen, we're in the process of separating, so we want separate houses,
10:11but we still wanted to be close to Caitlin.
10:15What have we got there?
10:16What have we got there?
10:16Disco.
10:17Oh, is that your disco outfit?
10:19Caitlin has got level four autism, but she's also severely developmentally delayed and she's
10:25non-verbal, so she really needs to have people around her that understand her.
10:28She loves to dance, Jamie, and she's showing you this is a disco that she went to a few years ago.
10:33Oh, well, I tell you what, I love disco dancing too.
10:36So talk me through the way this plan's going to work, because you're separating,
10:42but you're going to cohabitate on the same block, all for Caitlin, which is amazing.
10:49Well, we are separating, but we still wanted to be close to Caitlin, and that's what we've
10:57managed to do. We've managed to buy a block together. We've put in two prefabricated houses,
11:03and we are within two minutes of where Caitlin's living most of the time, which is so selfless.
11:10I think it's amazing. It's really great, guys.
11:13It is.
11:13Yeah. And might I say, very modern of both of you.
11:19Yeah, there's a bit out there, I have to say.
11:21Most people I know that are separating want to get as far away from each other as possible.
11:26Neither of us could afford to actually go and purchase a house each.
11:29This was the thing.
11:29Well, not many people can.
11:30And because Michael's and mine is virtually identical, it'll only be different decor,
11:35perhaps inside.
11:36Oh, the light bulb's just gone off. If the layout of the house is the same,
11:40then Caitlin won't feel like she's in a different house at all, and it will feel completely
11:45comfortable to her.
11:46Exactly.
11:46And they won't feel any change between Mum's home or Dad's home.
11:50Yeah.
11:50How great.
11:51Yeah.
11:52It's really brilliant, yeah.
11:55I'm really keen to see where you're going to put these two puppies.
11:59Yep.
12:00Can we have a look at the block?
12:01Yes.
12:02Okay, great.
12:02Yes.
12:03Shall we?
12:03This is great.
12:08Oh, it's good.
12:09What a sight.
12:11Plenty of trees.
12:12Yes.
12:12Yes.
12:14Plenty of trees.
12:15Lucky they're not all native.
12:17Yeah.
12:17And because they're not native, they're not providing any habitat to koala
12:22or native species around here.
12:24Yes.
12:24What we can do together is maybe work on some suggestion of a few native species here
12:30that would bring back the birds and the bees, so to speak, you know what I mean?
12:34Been about a year involving council, so it's been a long drawn out process. It's now been approved,
12:40so the building company is going to start building now.
12:44So who gets the back of the block and who gets the front of the block?
12:47Helen gets the back.
12:48Okay, you want the practicality of just being able to get in the house quickly.
12:52Is that right?
12:52Yeah, okay.
12:53We're building two prefabricated houses, 60 square metres each, so they're only small
13:00but big enough for one person.
13:02We are separating, remember, Mike?
13:04Mm-hmm.
13:04How many metres is there between you both?
13:08I don't know because the original plan was that my house will be much further forward.
13:13Okay.
13:14The council are not happy with that.
13:15Yes, because you need a setback from the front of the street.
13:18Yes.
13:18Yes, so they pushed everything back.
13:20So that's sort of brought you closer together, has it?
13:22Yes, yes.
13:23Helen, is there enough space?
13:27Is there?
13:28What are we going to do about this?
13:29I don't know.
13:30I was planning to put a garden between us and make it really nice and cosy.
13:34Well, I think we can talk that through.
13:36Okay, thank you.
13:39Coming up, is precast concrete the answer to our housing crisis?
13:43We're going to lock the fall beddy up for Sean and Sarah in 10 days.
13:47And later, our Canberra family hits their first hurdle, and it's a biggie.
13:52This has been months of stupidity.
13:55Welcome back to Future House, where I'm investigating three different cutting edge building methods to help solve the housing crisis.
14:09In our nation's capital, another mum and dad are embarking on an ambitious knockdown and rebuild, in the hope of coming up with their own house of the future.
14:21We're the Quichini family.
14:23I'm Sarah.
14:24This is my husband, Sean.
14:25We have two beautiful children, Teddy and Lily.
14:28I can jump higher.
14:29And a third one on the way, coming in just a few short days.
14:33Unbelievable, at the same time we're building a house.
14:36Yes, that was a very clearly well thought out decision, doing it all at the same time.
14:41Yeah, so the edge will be about here.
14:43Sean has done a lot of the designing of our new house.
14:48We wanted to make it big enough for our growing family.
14:51And we also wanted to really try and integrate the inside and the outside of the house to have lots of windows and doors that opened up to our beautiful garden.
15:01Growing up in Canberra and old Canberra houses with huge amounts of power needed, incorporating just some really simple approaches to bring in warmth in winter, cooling in summer.
15:12There's easier ways of doing these things that we just don't seem to be doing at the moment.
15:16So we decided the best option would be to knock it down and start again.
15:24Sean and Sarah want an innovative solution for their family home.
15:28One that's affordable, sustainable and resilient.
15:32We'd been looking at traditional building methods and we'd had plenty of quotes to get a traditional wood-framed house built with brick veneer and everything else.
15:41And the cost was phenomenal. The build times were really, really long.
15:46They were using all sorts of materials that we just didn't really like and feel nice.
15:51So I've been researching pre-fab options and pre-modular options for a really long time about there's got to be a better way of doing this.
15:59There's got to be a more efficient way of doing this.
16:00After months of research, Sean and Sarah have decided to go with a precast concrete home.
16:06I think I was a bit apprehensive about it because I didn't want to live in a concrete house.
16:13And so I wasn't aware that the inside fit out can be like a normal house.
16:18So once I understood that a little bit, it made a lot more sense.
16:22And it is our forever home. So we're never planning on moving.
16:25So we wanted to make sure that it would last us, kind of our children growing up.
16:30Yeah, I'm done. I'm not leaving.
16:31I'm not leaving.
16:32Yeah.
16:33Moved enough.
16:37A forever home. I like the sound of that.
16:40So I've come down to Canberra to meet Sean and his builder, Mick, at the house they plan to knock down.
16:47Hello, gents. How are we? Jamie. Mick.
16:50How are you, mate? How are you, mate?
16:52Very well, thank you. You must be Sean.
16:53Sean, nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you, too.
16:56Sean, first, can I say congratulations?
16:58Yeah, thank you. You've just had a baby.
16:59Yes, we have.
17:00Beautiful. Everything going well?
17:02She's gorgeous. She's doing great.
17:04Little girl? Three weeks now.
17:05That's great.
17:06Little girl.
17:08Three kids down. Number three.
17:09Number three.
17:10Three under five.
17:11You used to have hair a little while ago.
17:13Yeah, it all disappeared.
17:16And a house which is about to come down.
17:18Yes, that's right.
17:18Shall we get inside and have a look?
17:20Let's do it.
17:21Come on.
17:22Sean and Sarah have lived in their early 70s brick home for five years.
17:27Have you been happy in it? What's wrong with it?
17:29Yeah, we have. It was right for us at the time.
17:32Yeah.
17:32It's a great location, but this house itself doesn't function well for us.
17:36So when we moved in, it had an energy rating of 0.0.
17:39Wow.
17:40And the first night we spent in here was minus four mid-winter.
17:43Yeah.
17:44We were planning to extend it and just make it a bit bigger for us.
17:47Yeah.
17:47The more we lived here, the more long-term problems we're going to have.
17:51No, that's right.
17:52This place, the foundations are sinking.
17:54Yeah.
17:55The mould is up the walls.
17:57And the efficiency of the house is archaic.
18:00Yes, there's no such thing as efficiency.
18:01It's actually a good analogy of our current building system, isn't it?
18:04Yeah.
18:05Fortunately, Sean and his family are not relying on a broken system to build their new house.
18:11A normal house, looking at 12, 18 months.
18:14Yeah, realistically, yeah.
18:15But you're not up for that?
18:1612, 18, no.
18:17You want something quicker?
18:19Yep.
18:19Enter Nick.
18:24Mick Johnson from ResiCast.
18:26For the last 20 years, I've been a builder and I've done precast homes for the last 10 years.
18:31We came up with a system with the precast concrete and we turned it into a patent residential
18:36building system for other builders to use.
18:39I've never done anything like normal people.
18:41I've never had a boss, never had a nine to five job or anything.
18:44Once I finished school, I hit the road and went bush.
18:47I then became a shearer.
18:49I was riding bulls from 16 to about 19 years old.
18:53I wasn't very good at it.
18:54So I actually decided to become a professional rodeo clown.
18:59A bit of comedy at the Royal shows and the big bull rides around the country.
19:03So from shearer to rodeo clown to what ResiCast is today.
19:06Now, Mick, you're pretty good at making people laugh.
19:10Oh, apparently, yes.
19:11Because you're not telling any jokes.
19:12No.
19:13When you say to me, I'm going to build a four bedroom house in 12 days to lock up.
19:19Correct.
19:20I'm actually going to do it in 10, Jamie.
19:22Is that right?
19:22We're going to lock the four beddy up for Sean and Sarah and the kids in 10 days.
19:2610 days to lock up might seem unbelievable, but Sean has every confidence in Mick.
19:33Seeing the houses he's built, we're really lucky to be in this situation, have someone
19:39competent with a great system that ticks all the boxes for the long run and will give us our home.
19:45Well, mate, I commend your courage.
19:48You are pioneering this and you're putting all your faith in this bloke's hands.
19:53Yeah.
19:53I love Mick's can-do attitude, and I can see why Sean is putting all his trust in it.
20:02Up in the Blue Mountains, Michael and Helen's block of land is finally being cleared.
20:06Oh, look at this.
20:08Oh, my God.
20:09Oh, my God, she's going up.
20:12After more than a year of arduous bureaucratic DA delays,
20:17it's a big step towards their future becoming a reality.
20:22Oh, my God.
20:24It's amazing.
20:26That's your job.
20:34Sorry.
20:38You know, so many people that don't have a home.
20:41Like, we're renting at the moment, and we all want to have our own little slice of paradise,
20:47no matter how small it is.
20:49Yeah, you almost don't believe it for a long time.
20:53Is it really going to happen?
20:55And then now we know it is happening, it really is.
20:58Yeah.
21:00Yeah.
21:01Won't be too much longer before we'll have houses there.
21:04Yeah.
21:05And my daughter lives just down the road.
21:08Yeah.
21:08So that was the main reason we're really looking forward to it, aren't we?
21:12Just to get in and start our new life.
21:15And that Caitlin can come and she's got a home to call home.
21:19Yeah, it's just been a long time coming.
21:21It'll be 15 months by the time we're actually in our home.
21:25It's a long time.
21:26It's a lot of stress on us.
21:28It's a lot of stress on our daughter because she has special needs.
21:31It'll take time to settle her into the house.
21:33So it's a big process.
21:38Coming up, Mick from ResiCast talks the talk by saying he can have a house built in 10 days.
21:47I cannot wait to see what it looks like inside.
21:49But can he walk the walk?
21:51And what ideas can we all learn from visiting a housing development of the future?
21:56Fully solar, incredibly efficient houses, all bought together with a town centre you can walk to.
22:02It's got it all.
22:10If we're going to solve the housing crisis, we need to look at a range of different solutions.
22:15From large-scale modern developments like this Fraser one at Ed Square in Sydney's South West,
22:21to smaller modular homes and everything in between.
22:24To find out more about how we can build better and smarter, I'm catching up with Davina Rooney
22:33from the Green Building Council of Australia.
22:35Look at these beautiful buildings.
22:36Look at this.
22:37Look at the beautiful park.
22:38The Green Building Council of Australia works with builders, manufacturers and government
22:44to develop better, more sustainable ways of building.
22:47So, what makes this a standout development for you?
22:52I love many things about Ed Square, but you know, recycled water, fully solar, incredibly efficient
23:00houses, all bought together with the whole community feel and a town centre you can walk to.
23:05It's got it all.
23:06It has got it all, hasn't it?
23:07I love that it gets the property bit right.
23:10And then it creates these beautiful spaces where kids can play and jump in a fountain.
23:14Yep.
23:14So when we walk into an appliance centre, we see all those stars on the fridge and we go,
23:20yeah, that's a good star rating.
23:22I'll buy that fridge.
23:23You guys are creating stars for houses.
23:25Yeah.
23:26And what's wild is people's most valuable asset, their home, we haven't known what they score.
23:34And so we're working with the Australian government to pull out a disclosure scoring for all existing
23:39houses.
23:39Because if you buy the thing, you want to know.
23:42Yeah, of course, yeah.
23:43Like, how much is it going to cost me?
23:45How uncomfortable are I going to be?
23:47Now, you've kindly come on board to help us judge some of these homes we're building.
23:53So what are you looking for?
23:54Some of the things I'll be looking for, highly efficient building.
23:57Yep.
23:58Powered by renewables, fully electric, great thermal shell, healthy.
24:03I'll be looking for better air movement.
24:06Do we have some gorgeous plants, you know?
24:08Yes.
24:09And what have we done with the materials?
24:11We want low toxin materials.
24:12Yes.
24:13And the last is resilient.
24:14Is it designed for today and tomorrow?
24:16Does it have a light coloured roof?
24:18What have we done to set it up for this great, beautiful Australian climate, which is just getting
24:24hotter?
24:24Devine is right.
24:26When it comes to building smarter and more sustainably, we as a nation can do much better.
24:33Which is exactly what I'll be trying to do in our own future house.
24:37This 70 acre farm is our family sanctuary.
24:41But it's about to get a whole lot more chaotic as we prepare to knock down this old caretaker's cottage.
24:47A little bit of a mess.
24:49Oh yeah, daddy's got a lot of stuff in here.
24:52Yes.
24:53Uh oh.
24:54Uh oh.
24:55Look what I found in here.
24:56A farm.
24:57He's a little green tree frog.
24:59I'm going to have to pull this out.
25:02Here he comes.
25:04There he is.
25:05Hey, look at him, isn't he beautiful?
25:11All right, now we need to put him somewhere where the duckies won't get him.
25:16Well, we've got a lot of stuff to move, haven't we?
25:21Maybe we put him in here.
25:23He'll like it in here.
25:26There you go.
25:28That's not bad, is it?
25:30And then we'll take him down to the creek on the motorbike.
25:32To help me get through council approval as smoothly as possible, I need a town planner
25:37like local legend, Adrian Zacharis.
25:41Adrian.
25:41Good to see you, Adrian.
25:42Nice to meet you.
25:43Hello.
25:43Yeah, this is Bo.
25:44Hello, Bo.
25:45Say hi.
25:46Say hi.
25:47Say hi.
25:48So, this is the old caretaker's cottage.
25:53Yep, falling down.
25:54Falling down, as you can see.
25:55Mate, you can have a look inside.
25:58Dilapidated?
25:59Dilapidated.
26:01It's riddled with mould.
26:02Oh, wow.
26:03Yeah.
26:04There's no way I'd put anyone in the house at all.
26:06Daddy, the frog is gone.
26:09The froggy's gone?
26:10Yeah.
26:11Okay, well, maybe he's hopped away to somewhere better.
26:14We want to see.
26:15Okay, maybe we'll find him in a minute.
26:19So, basically, I'm working with a 3D printing company.
26:23Yep.
26:23Who are going to 3D print all of these components.
26:26Yep.
26:26The walls, the columns, the pillars, all structural.
26:29Yep.
26:30They'll all be core-filled with steel.
26:31Yep.
26:32But I guess, first things first, we should have a chat with council, right?
26:35Correct.
26:35Absolutely.
26:36Yeah.
26:36Hmm.
26:37Looks like there's a bit of work to do.
26:40Back to the Cochini's build in Canberra, where their builder, Mick, is keen to show me one of
26:45his ResiCast homes.
26:47G'day, Mick.
26:47Hey.
26:48How are you, mate?
26:49I'm well.
26:49What is ResiCast?
26:51So, ResiCast is a patented building system using precast concrete panels for the exterior walls.
26:56Yeah, yeah.
26:57So, we achieve lock-up with ResiCast within 10 days, and we also finish our normal three,
27:02four bedroom home in as little as eight, 10 weeks, you see.
27:05People must be banging down the door to build these things.
27:08It's pretty busy, mate.
27:09Yeah.
27:09Well, mate, it's very clear you've come up with something extraordinary.
27:13I cannot wait to see what it looks like inside.
27:15Mate, let's go and have a look.
27:19Here is the main living area, the feature of the house.
27:21Absolutely magnificent.
27:24Only the outside walls are precast concrete.
27:27Yep.
27:27We still have a 40 mil cavity in this and a 90 mil frame.
27:31Okay, so that's where you get your thermal insulation.
27:34Correct.
27:34Okay, so the chippy comes in after all the concrete's gone in.
27:38Exactly.
27:38And then it's kind of normal house building.
27:40That's exactly right.
27:42I love this.
27:43It's cost effective, it's warm, it's luxurious, and it's fast.
27:48It sounds a lot like me, Jamie.
27:50With a new baby having just arrived, getting out of this tiny rental is even more important
27:59to the family.
28:02The speed of Mick's ResiCast system will be well and truly put to the test.
28:06Hello.
28:07How are you?
28:08This is Lily.
28:09Hi.
28:10And who's this?
28:11I'm Teddy.
28:13You're Teddy?
28:14And who's this?
28:15Teddy.
28:15Oh, she's absolutely beautiful.
28:19Yes, you are, aren't you, darling?
28:21What a perfect looking little child.
28:23Now, how old, Sarah?
28:24So, April's about three weeks old.
28:25Three weeks.
28:27Wow, congratulations, yeah.
28:29My mummy's 39.
28:31Oh, mummy's 39.
28:32Thanks for telling Australia.
28:33That's so nice of you.
28:35Thank you, darling.
28:36That's lovely.
28:38And how old are you, champion?
28:39Four.
28:41Are you excited to see your new house?
28:44Have you got your own bedroom?
28:45Yeah.
28:46And a playroom.
28:47And a playroom.
28:48Yeah.
28:49Wow.
28:50Did Daddy design all that for you?
28:52Yeah.
28:53He's very clever, isn't he?
28:55He is.
28:55Yeah.
28:58Safe to say you're pretty keen to get out of this rental, I would imagine.
29:01We very much are, yes.
29:02Yeah, yeah.
29:03What are you looking forward to most about this new home?
29:07I'm mostly looking forward to the space.
29:08Yeah.
29:09And the, I guess, seamlessness of the indoor to outdoor area.
29:13Yeah.
29:13That's what I'm looking forward to.
29:14Yeah, totally.
29:15And I think the way Sean's orientated it, you know, with that northern aspect, it's going
29:20to be a life changer for you.
29:21It will.
29:22Yeah.
29:22Yeah, we think it will.
29:23Yeah.
29:23Bye, kids.
29:24Say bye.
29:25See you soon.
29:28Coming up.
29:29The system is ridiculous.
29:31The main issue has been this tree here.
29:33Sean is stumped by a major tree issue.
29:35I'm having a rant.
29:37All I want is a home for my kids.
29:44In Canberra, the Cochini family home is about to be knocked down to build their new precast
29:50concrete home.
29:51But then, owner Sean received some disturbing news.
29:55It is, mate.
29:56Hey, how you going, Troy?
29:57Oh, mate, I'm doing all right, but I'm kidding my head against a bureaucratic brick wall.
30:02It is so frustrating, mate.
30:04I've just got no words.
30:05It's like...
30:05So what happened was, day before the demolition was supposed to go ahead, everyone was lined
30:12up, ready to go.
30:13It was discovered that we'd missed one of the key planning permissions in the process.
30:19Nobody really knows how it got missed, but the house had been designed within two metres
30:23of the edge of the tree canopy, which breached the tree protection zones on my beautiful trees.
30:28I'm a big believer in these trees.
30:30I've designed this house around trying to keep these trees alive.
30:32And now we need to put in a whole load of applications to get permission to build around the trees.
30:39And unfortunately, that takes two to three months, potentially, to work through the process
30:45to get permission.
30:46After years of planning, this added delay could cost Sean and Sarah thousands of dollars
30:52in extra rent and design changes.
30:54I don't even know how to say this.
30:56Look, it's not the bureaucrat's fault.
30:58They're just doing the job right.
31:01But the system is ridiculous.
31:03It's just absolutely ridiculous.
31:05Even more frustrating for Sean and the family is the part of the tree most at issue is not
31:11even on his property.
31:13This tree here is technically 10 centimetres on government land, so it becomes a government tree,
31:18which it needs major protections.
31:22As opposed to if it was on my land, it's too small to fall within the regulated trees
31:26and we would be allowed to put a driveway right next to it.
31:30The new driveway has to go right through our hedge.
31:32What's happened with that is moving the driveway over here may then breach the regulations
31:37on turning circles for the driveways.
31:39So we've created a whole new problem that we have to solve by solving the previous one.
31:48Just I'm having a rant and I feel silly having a rant on Australian television.
31:53All I want is a home for my kids.
31:58Let's hope there's no more holdups for the Fox family in Blackheath.
32:02As their blocks being cleared, I'm off to learn more about the advancement in modular home methods.
32:08High-tech modular home have been in business for over 35 years and Rex Ratnam is the man
32:15who will be leading this project.
32:16G'day.
32:17Hey, Jamie.
32:18How are you, mate?
32:19Yes.
32:19Good to see you.
32:20Good to see you.
32:21Are you Sri Lankan?
32:22Yes, I am.
32:22Oh, this is amazing.
32:24It's really good to have you here.
32:25Very good to have you here.
32:26Now, my mother's from Gaul.
32:28Where's your family from?
32:29I'm from Colombo.
32:30Colombo?
32:30Okay.
32:31Capital of Sri Lanka.
32:31Not far away, my friend.
32:33Yeah, not very far.
32:33Mate, it is nice to see that a fellow countryman is also building prefab.
32:39Great product.
32:40Come and show you around.
32:44Modular homes typically are houses that are built in a factory
32:48and then delivered and installed on site.
32:51Mate, this looks fully constructed.
32:53How far are you into this?
32:54This one is two weeks.
32:55The steel sashi came in last week.
32:57And the boys sort of pretty much, you know, have come up to a frame level.
33:01So you are almost at lock-up.
33:04In another two weeks, we'll have the walls and the roof.
33:06So four weeks, lock-up achieved.
33:09Wow.
33:09The advantages of modular homes are time, cost, and then it's sustainable.
33:15If someone ordered a house from you like this, from start to go, DA approved,
33:21how quickly can they get into their house?
33:22Between 8 and 12 weeks.
33:24I'm not impacted by the weather, rain, hail or shine.
33:27Action happens.
33:29Amazing.
33:29Back in the old days, modular houses were used for temporary homes or small houses.
33:34But today, there's no limit to the sophisticated designs you can have with modular housing.
33:40And how many of these could you build a year?
33:42In this factory, last year we built, I think, about 68 houses.
33:46So it's a lightweight construction and you're floating above the earth.
33:50So you've got good ventilation underneath.
33:51Underneath, yes.
33:52And you've got a steel chassis, which is termite proof.
33:54Yes.
33:55What's wrong with this?
33:57Nothing.
33:57Why isn't Australia building like this?
33:59There should be.
33:59I mean, there's a lot more take-up of modular housing now.
34:02Right.
34:03But it should be more to also solve the current housing crisis.
34:07Right.
34:08Modular is the way to go.
34:10Incredible, mate.
34:12Rex is right.
34:14Modular building certainly makes sense.
34:16But historically, there have been some challenges, especially when it comes to financing.
34:22Well, I'm on my way to meet a couple whose dream was a tree change for this country.
34:27They bought a block of land and decided to build a modular home on it.
34:32Then that dream turned into a nightmare.
34:37It was honestly devastating.
34:38Yeah.
34:38We were at that point where we thought, what are we going to do?
34:42Prista and Kirsty's house is now at lock-up, but they came very close to losing it all.
34:50G'day, ladies.
34:51How are we?
34:52How are we?
34:53Hold on, I come bearing gifts.
34:54That's amazing.
34:55You'll love this.
34:56Oh, my gosh.
34:58Oh, thank you.
35:01Isn't she a beauty?
35:02She is a beauty.
35:03How are you?
35:05Nice to see you.
35:05Lovely to meet you, Jamie.
35:07Nice to meet you too, yeah.
35:08Thank you so much.
35:10All right, should we get out there?
35:11Absolutely.
35:12This way.
35:18Wow, nothing wrong with this.
35:19This is beautiful.
35:20Stunning, isn't it?
35:21Of course, when you wake up in the morning with both of the mountains.
35:24This is a great room.
35:25Yeah, so that's what we wanted to wake up to.
35:28This is a beautiful home with a stunning outlook.
35:32So how did it almost go so horribly wrong?
35:35You were told that your finance was approved.
35:37Yep.
35:38Why wasn't it approved?
35:39I think it may have been because it was a prefab.
35:42I think that we were told, don't worry, it's all in the bag.
35:45Right.
35:46And then all of a sudden, it wasn't in the bag.
35:48With just two days till payment was due, on their still half-built home,
35:53their dream was in danger of collapse.
35:55Letting go of your dream is really...
35:57Horrendous.
35:58And it's heart-wrenching.
35:59You're going to have to sell everything and then start again from scratch
36:02and put all of our dreams that were on paper for the last five years
36:06of designing and planning and all that sort of stuff literally went up in smoke.
36:11And just when they thought things couldn't get any worse,
36:14from seemingly nowhere, a bit of good news.
36:17So a friend of ours, who happens to be our financial advisor,
36:21put us onto CommBank and within 48 hours, yep, I think saved our marriage
36:28and got us our construction loan through to be able to continue the project.
36:33So that's why we're sitting here today.
36:35I remember the phone call like it was actually one of the best phone calls I've ever received in my life.
36:41And then all of a sudden she said,
36:42it's done.
36:43Yep.
36:43And then her words were, it's done.
36:45And I was screaming down the phone.
36:47It was phenomenal.
36:48CommBank is the first big four bank in Australia to lend for modular construction.
36:54And for Krista and Kirsty, it was an absolute game changer.
36:58This is new ground.
36:59Absolutely.
37:00Came through with the funds and came through with saving our marriage.
37:02Absolutely.
37:03Absolutely.
37:04I was going to say, absolutely.
37:05Tick, tick.
37:06Tickie.
37:06Win, win.
37:07Yeah.
37:07Amanda Chalmers from CommBank was Krista and Kirsty's knight in shining armour.
37:14And until this moment, they've never met in person.
37:17I think you were a lot more positive than I am, just naturally.
37:20I was trying.
37:21I was trying to be positive.
37:22Trying to keep it floating.
37:23And I was like, you know, that's it.
37:24Hey, ladies.
37:25Oh, look at that!
37:29Someone's come out to visit you.
37:31Oh, my goodness!
37:33Come here, hi.
37:34I can't run up the stairs.
37:36That's amazing.
37:37I don't think I've ever seen this kind of a connection between, you know, the bank.
37:43There are real people behind it as well.
37:45And I think that's what we, you know, if we forget with this, there are real people and they really do want to help.
37:50It's great that this has worked out so well.
37:55But I'm keen to find out from Amanda why CommBank has jumped on board the modular housing wave.
38:02So what's the difference between funding a prefab house and funding a house that's built on site?
38:07OK, so with the traditional construction loan houses, our building stages from deposit to slab to lockup,
38:14and we pay in stages to the builder based on what's actually on site.
38:18Pre-fabricated homes just didn't fit that model.
38:22CBA became the first major bank in Australia to be able to finance the construction cost before it actually gets to site.
38:28And if it's incredible, we just want to help people build their dream home sooner.
38:33And to be able to bring in this policy, to be able to give that option to clients is just amazing.
38:39And I'm very honoured to be able to do that with for my clients as well.
38:42More, more, more.
38:48Up next, things get real on the farm.
38:51I must be actually mad.
38:53Anyone else would have left me by now.
38:55Today, I'm back on my farm where I'm building a revolutionary brand new 3D printed home.
39:13But first, my mate Daz is on the way with his demolition and excavation team from Sydney.
39:19Hello. Ah, Dazzlebrush. How are you, mate?
39:23Not bad, mate.
39:25Where are you, my friend? Because...
39:27Oh, you're right here.
39:31Yeah. Sensational.
39:35Dazzle and his team did an incredible job on our own house in Avalon.
39:40What you just did was incredible.
39:42What took us two days to dig one hole, you've just dug four in an hour.
39:48There's a reason why Darren's second name is Pace.
39:54See you soon.
39:55All right, how long?
39:56See you, mate. Cheers. Bye.
39:58OK, well, it looks like our excavators have arrived.
40:03Only today, they're going to be demolishing the boys.
40:06And that house is going to come down in, I would say, about two hours.
40:13At the Quichini's house in Canberra, it's not just Sean's bad back that's causing him pain,
40:18but also the red tape holding up his project.
40:23Well, we finally got some good news, which has just been a big relief.
40:27We finally had step one of the process approved.
40:31So we have official, formal approval for the demolition.
40:35And honestly, I was feeling pretty low.
40:36And then this email appeared to say, finally, guess what?
40:41We've got the approval for the first step.
40:42I'm going to pop over the house and check the mailbox later.
40:51And I'm half expecting to find Mick there with the shovel just digging a hole somewhere.
40:56I'm getting started, Sean.
40:57That's terrific news for Sean.
41:02Back on our farm, and things are starting to gear up.
41:06Luna, what are you doing?
41:08Christening the joint?
41:09Our demolition boys are due any minute.
41:17They're not scared of you, darling.
41:19They're not scared at all.
41:21And they're our friends.
41:23They keep the lawn mowed.
41:25Come on.
41:25Hello.
41:30You're out the front, are you?
41:31Yes, yes, mate.
41:32And what are you delivering?
41:36Oh, the shipping container.
41:39Right.
41:39Yeah, yeah, my vertical garden blankets.
41:42OK, we're going to need them for sure.
41:44I'll talk to you when I get out there.
41:45I'll see you soon.
41:47Thanks, mate.
41:49This container could not have arrived at a worse time.
41:53Oh, there are cows.
41:54Meeks, there are cows on the building site.
41:57What?
41:59The whole thing's covered in cows, and I'll deal with that in a minute.
42:03The shipping container's just arrived.
42:05Oh, wow.
42:07Just because we need a little bit more chaos.
42:09I need to get this container offloaded quick smart before Daz's team arrive.
42:14That is the worst-looking container I've ever seen.
42:18Our excavators have just arrived.
42:21OK.
42:21What am I doing?
42:26OK, wow.
42:27Hey, guys, our demolition boys have just arrived.
42:31So we're going to get this container off so that they can get in.
42:34OK?
42:37One second.
42:41This container just arrived.
42:43Can you do one loop?
42:44I just need to get this container out of here somehow so that you're not holding up traffic.
42:55Well, those three machines are the ones that are actually going to take down our building.
42:59We've got a 12 tonner, a five tonner, and I think a little two and a half tonner.
43:05And they need to get in and the container needs to get out of the way so they can get in.
43:10And of course it's all happening at the same time.
43:12I cannot believe this container has turned up on the one day you guys are coming in.
43:24I didn't know it was coming today, no.
43:28You just knocked my sign.
43:30This is not looking good.
43:32I need a coffee and then I need my blood pressure tested.
43:41More, more, more.
43:54Luckily, I'm not the superstitious type.
43:56Otherwise, I'd be saying this is a bad sign.
43:59It's so good at news.
44:05Here he is.
44:07You want it back in here?
44:09Yep.
44:10Come on in.
44:12Trace it hard.
44:13Wow.
44:14Mate, you literally have about 100 mil there.
44:18Incredible.
44:22Daz, hi boss.
44:24You are a sight for sore eyes, my friend.
44:27Welcome back to the chaos, mate.
44:28That's it.
44:29Part two begins.
44:30It's not a Jamie job, there's no chaos.
44:32That's right, mate.
44:36Coming up, things get real on the farm.
44:38There's no turning back now.
44:40Up until now, we've been concentrating on how our homes will be built, but what about the
44:51interiors, you ask?
44:52I'm at Beaumont Tiles today and I'm so excited to be looking for all the tiles for our home.
44:57So for our en suite, main bathroom, powder room, laundry and kitchen.
45:01Well, our Canberra and Blackheath families have big ideas and Beaumont Tiles is the first port of call.
45:08So we love colour, we love texture, so we want to get a little bit of all of those things into
45:14every room that we're styling.
45:17We're really excited because this is an opportunity finally now to choose the tiles for our kitchen
45:22and bathroom.
45:24What colours are we thinking?
45:26I particularly like black and white.
45:28Okay.
45:28I'm not sure.
45:29I'll see what she picks first.
45:31All right, cool.
45:32So if we're going to go black and white, Helen, we've got a couple of options.
45:34We can do a two by two.
45:35Then we have what we call Flourish Motif Black.
45:38I like that.
45:39And when you put it together, it will create that beautiful pattern.
45:43Oh, that's like a key.
45:44It's gorgeous.
45:45Yeah, I love it.
45:45Now, Michael.
45:46Yeah.
45:47Your choice.
45:47Maybe a bit more colour than that.
45:49Okay.
45:50All right.
45:50How about?
45:52Oh, that's nice.
45:53Combination of blue, grey, and then sort of a misty white colour.
45:58Yeah.
45:59Do you like that?
46:00Yeah, I do like that, yes.
46:06Now, let's talk about the ensuite.
46:07Part of what we loved about our house is the garden.
46:10Okay.
46:10And so what I'd really like is to bring some of that greenery inside.
46:14Oh, look at that.
46:15How about something like that?
46:16That is just lovely.
46:18So now we just need to pair it with a really nice floor tile.
46:23We've picked the floor tile.
46:28Yes.
46:28Which is a six by six.
46:30What I've done is I want to show you what it's going to look like with the big format tile.
46:34That would be wonderful.
46:35That looks great.
46:36So you are going to be bringing the green in.
46:38And that's essentially what your bathroom will look like.
46:41That looks fantastic.
46:42I really like that.
46:43Yeah, it's beautiful.
46:43I think that'll look wonderful in.
46:45I love our selections.
46:46I feel very happy that our design choices will fit in with who we are as people and what
46:51we are hoping our house will look like.
46:57Back on the farm in Bangalow, the big machines are finally up on the property
47:01and the professionals are about to go to work.
47:04You're f***ing crazy.
47:21Look at that.
47:23The last time we built a house together, we almost lost our sanity.
47:29I must be actually mad.
47:31You are actually mad.
47:33Anyone else would have left me by now.
47:38Well, there'll be no stress once that's gone.
47:42We'll have a nice flat playing field.
47:44Perfect.
47:45And I'm going to pull it out away from the tree.
47:47Yeah.
47:48So we're going to be out here in the sunshine.
47:51We'll have a north facing aspect.
47:53This is pretty beautiful.
47:54Yeah.
47:55It's going to be great.
48:07I promise this one will be a lot quicker.
48:09Don't make promises you can't pity.
48:13It's going to be good.
48:15Well, there's no turning back now.
48:27Next time on Growing Home Future House.
48:32It's game on for our three houses.
48:34Look at this.
48:35This is so cool.
48:36The website where your own house talks to you to help protect your home.
48:41So this will tell you where your flood risks are.
48:43Build a love goes to a whole new level between Sean and Mick.
48:48Sean.
48:49Thank God.
48:49I love you.
48:50I love you too, buddy.
48:54And our very first concrete 3D print test.
48:56Oh!
48:57No!
48:58Doesn't quite go to plan.
49:00No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
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