- 6 weeks ago
Grand Designs Australia S12E09
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00For most of us, recycling's a simple affair, separating your paper from your
00:14bottles. Job done. But what if you wanted to take it much more seriously? What if
00:22you wanted to build your house out of materials like plastic bags and old milk
00:27cartons? What if you had an architecturally designed three-bedroom house in mind but
00:34only a couple of hundred grand to spend? You've got to worry, wouldn't it all look just a bit rubbish?
00:57Let's go and have a look at the orchard. Up the gate. Thank you. You definitely need to
01:04cover an orchard though. Look at those juicy lemons. What do you think, Hugo? By rights, James Lecomte and Rita
01:27Ordonez should never have met. He's the son of a builder in Sydney. She grew up in the mountains
01:33of Ecuador. But here they are living in Newcastle after fate brought them together.
01:39Rita and I met at a backpackers in New Orleans after a rather crazy evening of heavy rain and
01:46the ceiling of the hostel collapsing. We had a long distance relationship until Rita moved out in
01:542006. 2006. I wanted to come to see this guy in Australia. I told all my family about this
02:02gringo, you know, that I met. Not too bad. Gringo or not, things just clicked.
02:09They married and had kids, Hugo and Celeste. Together, there's nothing they enjoy more than being
02:16out in nature. The connection to earth for me is definitely my childhood. Being on my dad's farm
02:24and my grandparents' farm. Picking fresh fruit from the trees and eating berries until you feel sick in
02:31the tummy. So all of that is very important for me. Let me see your turn, Hugo. Let's get some fruit
02:38and veggies, shall we? The family spent years travelling the world, living in five different
02:43countries. Rita teaching and James working in international trade development.
02:51But their lives changed with a move to Ecuador, where Rita's dad farmed cacao trees,
02:57used to make the world's best dark chocolate. I decided to take the leap into, I guess, a passion
03:05project, which was investing in a luxury chocolate business from Ecuador. And that's where I'm working
03:12today and I do that remotely. It's exquisite handmade stuff. How exquisite? As much as $8,000 a kilo
03:23for the very best quality. You'll find it in high-end stores and James' personal stash.
03:32I love the crunchiness of caramel. It's a good combo. After all that travelling, they moved back to
03:39Australia, looking for somewhere to dig roots deep into the earth. They found that place in an idyllic
03:47little community nestled among the rolling hills of the Hunter Valley, 45 minutes from Newcastle.
03:54It's a big farm that's owned by 29 families. We're all shareholders in the farm. And the idea is that
04:01we build in a way that's sustainable and it's sensitive to the environment that we're building in as well.
04:08The first time we came, I said to James,
04:10James, look at the hills. It's like Ecuador. I love it. For me especially, I would like to see my
04:17children growing up in a place where they can see the stars, where they can interact with animals,
04:22where they can be around neighbours and friends. And that's a huge part of this place. They call it
04:30an intentional community, which involves everyone working together towards a shared goal of sustainability.
04:41This is an extraordinary place you've got here, yeah? It is. The landscape is pretty remarkable,
04:46looking around. Wow. But it comes with a catch, right? Because it's not just on its own. It's got
04:50this community wrapped around it. That's right. Yeah, we love that aspect of it, actually. Yeah? Yeah,
04:56we didn't want to be isolated on a farm all by ourselves. So having our neighbours and our friends
05:01nearby is a big plus. It's a good thing. It is, yeah. And there's also going to be a real social aspect to the
05:09build as well. The fact that my dad and my father-in-law are going to be building it with me,
05:16you know? Hang on a second. Just go back one step now. Your dad and your father-in-law.
05:22Yeah. My dad said that he's probably not able to live as a huge inheritance or something like that,
05:28but he wants to help and this is part of his contribution. That's really, that's lovely.
05:33It's a nice gift. It's a lovely gift, isn't it? Yeah. Tell me, you know, paint the picture for me.
05:37What is the dream? We're going to build a single-storey house. We've got this philosophy about
05:46building with materials that are recyclable or biodegradable and, you know, zero toxin.
05:53Simple to say, but difficult to execute. And it's all got to be off grid.
05:59Designed by architect Morten Pedersen, this house embodies environmental ambitions,
06:07starting with an earthen floor made from layers of granite, pumice and clay. James and Rita want a
06:14barefoot connection to the planet. A recyclable steel frame will be clad in biodegradable wood
06:21fibre panels. On one side, a study and two bedrooms for the kids. Feature walls will be built of bricks,
06:29handmade on site.
06:33The two bathrooms will sit back to back. One for the kids, the other, James and Rita's ensuite.
06:40In the main living space, the eco factor really cranks up. Rita will handcraft kitchen tiles for
06:47the splash back, while the kitchen walls and ceiling are ingeniously fashioned from recycled plastic bags,
06:54those environmental terrorists. Upstairs, there's a mezzanine art space. The house will be fully
07:02off grid. Solar power, rainwater tanks, composting toilets and, of course, double glazed windows.
07:09Finally, corrugated iron cladding, brilliantly bent to wrap around corners,
07:13forms a seamless barrier to bugs and bushfires. On paper, it's eco excellence. But, of course,
07:21nothing's ever built on paper.
07:26How long is this thing going to take you to build?
07:28Best case would be eight months.
07:31How did you arrive at that number?
07:33Uh, spreadsheets. So, I spend quite a bit of time in spreadsheets in my day job.
07:38They're only as good as the information you put in, you know. That's right. Yeah.
07:41That's a pretty ambitious timeline. Only because, not the scale so much as the experience,
07:46knowing where you're going and those are things, and you'll have to make the mistakes in order to
07:49correct them and move along. Correct.
07:50What about budget? Yeah, um, there's not a lot of it. So, 230 grand.
07:59You serious? Yep. Yeah.
08:03That's, that's, that's, that's not very much money at all.
08:07If you look at it in a new build, it can be up to 50% of the cost can be in the labour. You know,
08:13230, multiply that by two, it's a $460,000 house. Okay. And in a year and a half from now,
08:19when I'm standing here talking to you, and we're still looking at the building that's about to go
08:23into lock up, what will you be telling me then? Which, that's not ours.
08:30That's the neighbour's house. This one is ours, because we're going to finish.
08:33Really? In my book, something doesn't quite add up.
08:42It's not just the short time frame and the minuscule budget, but the thing that really
08:47worries me is that these guys are novice builders working with new and experimental methods and
08:53materials. It's a bit like fancy chocolate. If you want the really good stuff made with organic,
09:00handpicked ingredients from the hills of the gods, that's going to cost you big time.
09:13There's a midwinter chill in the air, but you couldn't get a more perfect morning
09:17to start the adventure of a lifetime.
09:19Well, today's a really big day. It's the first day that we're going to be breaking ground.
09:25I've got this little beauty with me. She's a five and a half tonne excavator. I just finished a five
09:32day crash course on exactly this machine, actually, which is great. So I'm feeling quietly confident.
09:38OK. Leveling a block is a skill that can take months to master. James is bravely taking it on
09:46with just a few days' instruction.
09:48Permission. Engage the hydraulics. Lift the revs a bit. Lift up the blade a little bit.
09:59Here we go. That's what I'm talking about. Ooh.
10:19Well, this is me breaking ground on my own property. I've got to say, it feels pretty good.
10:24It's kind of pleasurable watching the earth sort of curl up a little bit like butter.
10:34James is in heaven moving earth, and he's in good company. As promised, Dad's army is here to help.
10:42Secret weapon number one is father-in-law Italo, a retired politician.
10:47Some places, the just thing is, you see, you go a little bit deeper. Yeah.
10:51He's flown out from Ecuador to lend a hand.
10:55I am really very happy because I am sure I am helping my family.
11:01And I am sure we are going to overcome this challenge.
11:06I'll give you some instruction on the blade with the razor.
11:09James's dad, Steve, is secret weapon number two. And while he'll be coming and going from the site,
11:16the best news is, he's a retired builder. What are you thinking, Dad?
11:21Well, you're probably going a little bit deep. Up a bit or...? Yeah, up a bit.
11:27Run that lot right through now. He's doing well. It's a bit tougher than I think he thought it would be.
11:32But, you know, when you're on a new piece of equipment, something you haven't used before,
11:37it's not easy. But he's making a good job of it. I'm quite proud of him. He's doing well.
11:4845 minutes away, at their rental in Newcastle, Rita and the kids are settling into a different existence.
11:54James has been staying at the build site because sometimes driving back takes a long time.
12:01I think it's more productive at the build site when James is there early, early in the morning.
12:08It's a lot for Rita to take on solo. To pay the bills, she's working full-time as a teacher,
12:14as well as looking after the kids. Let's make these tiles with the clay that you collected, Hugo.
12:20But she's still finding time for everyone to stay connected to the build. They're making tiles for
12:27the kitchen. What makes it so special is that we're making them together and we are using the soil from
12:35the sides, which makes it even more special because it feels like our house is really providing everything
12:42for us. The tiles won't just save money on the tiny budget, they're taking Rita back to her roots.
12:50These tiles are definitely inspired by Ecuadorian pottery. It's definitely a bit of going down memory
13:00lane. The colour of my city, where I come from, is all terracottas because it's huge. Pottery is huge,
13:07where I come from. So it's good to bring that bit of home to Australia.
13:13Even at this early stage, Rita is clearly thinking more about a home than a house. I just hope it lives
13:24up to her dreams.
13:25You know, we are successful. We can make the bathroom tiles. Maybe not.
13:40Before embarking on this build, James researched every aspect, looking for sustainable options
13:46and ways to save money. Lots of money. One of the tools he'll need has arrived from a most
13:53unexpected place. We just drove back from Sydney at the docks where I picked up this big box that
14:01arrived from India. It is a compressed earth brick making machine, so we're going to be able to make
14:06our own bricks with this. You've got to hand it to James. He's not afraid to think outside the box.
14:13If they can get it open.
14:23This is against theft. Anti-theft. Anti-theft. Anti-theft packaging.
14:32Yeah, I love the energy of having the two dads around just get stuck into it straight away.
14:38There she is in all her glory. A little brick machine. This is an exciting moment, I think,
14:48for Italo because he's been designated chief brick maker for the job. We're going to see a good
14:57quantity of bricks coming out. Isn't that right, Italo? Yes, sir.
15:00James needs about 6,000 bricks to make three internal feature walls. Italo has his work cut out.
15:15I never made blocks, but I think it's going to be my new profession.
15:24Much like Rita's tiles, these bricks will be highly sustainable,
15:28made largely from clay and soil found on site, mixed with a little cement and water.
15:34More water. A bit more water, yeah.
15:38Unlike conventional bricks, the mix isn't fired in a kiln.
15:43This is the... It makes the pressure.
15:46It's compressed using nothing but human muscle.
15:58Look at those beauties. Steven and myself did a good job.
16:10Put them on the rack to dry. Yeah.
16:13I think we've started production.
16:16Two down, 5,998 to go.
16:21Did they really say this house would be finished in eight months?
16:24Good job, mister. Good job. We must be proud of ourselves.
16:28We are. Absolutely, absolutely. We are.
16:36It's taken James two months to level and set out the site.
16:40A fair effort for a first-timer, but there's a deadline looming large.
16:45Rita's favourite part of the entire build is the concrete pour,
16:49so she's been eager to see that happen. But before we can do any of that,
16:53we needed to really finish the excavation work, a huge amount of earthworks.
16:57I had to level the site, mark out all of the trench lines, dig the trenches,
17:02put up the formwork.
17:05With the concrete trucks bee-lining to site,
17:08some of the neighbours are chipping in to get it ready.
17:10Then we've got the trench that runs into the pit, yeah.
17:14I've been working really closely today with Marco on setting out the land.
17:19Marco's gone through all of this before and he's worked on a number of the houses here.
17:23You know, one of the great things about being on a community is that you can,
17:27at fairly short notice, give some help to a friend and neighbour.
17:31I'm just helping out as an extra set of hands to prepare for this big moment,
17:36which is the concrete pour. It's a bit of a cliche, but as we all know,
17:40getting out of the ground is the hardest bit of building a house.
17:43There's a few more hard bits to come. James will learn that as he goes.
17:50Dave's here too, and he's a good man to know. He's a concreter.
17:55In a community, in a place like this, there's really a different feel.
18:00Everyone's vibe here is really, really lovely. So it rubs off, we rub off on each other.
18:04You know, we help each other. There's humour, there's kindness.
18:08You know, there are people coming out and offer you lunch and all sorts of things.
18:11And you know, people walk around and they're happy. Yeah.
18:13So what a beautiful place to work in.
18:23While concrete has a huge carbon footprint, James has minimised the impact by only using strip
18:30footings, not a whole slab.
18:32Even better, he's found a greener variety.
18:38We chose to go with an eco-packed concrete because apparently it's about 30 to 90% more
18:44environmentally friendly than regular concrete.
18:48This concrete reduces carbon emissions by using recycled demolition material in the mix.
18:54And it's healthy for the budget too. 20% cheaper than many traditional products.
19:01Hola, Mum.
19:02Hola.
19:03Hola.
19:04Hola.
19:04Hola.
19:05Hola.
19:05Ya, por fin.
19:07I just called my mum in Ecuador because she of course has to be part of it.
19:11She was like, wow, the house looks big and beautiful and so excited.
19:16Yeah, my mum's really excited. She's always telling me, oh, I can't wait.
19:21We're going to plant the mango tree here. And then when you, when my grandchildren are older,
19:25they'll climb it and eat mango. And there'll be an old lady thinking, oh, I planted that.
19:30And she's always, she loves it a lot, my mum.
19:35I think I'm going to change careers. What do you think?
19:38I'm going to make a smiley face. What do you think?
19:43In just four hours, the start of the family's ethereal hopes and dreams has been set solid in
19:50concrete. I guess it's quite a milestone. You know, it's, it's getting the concrete poured.
19:55It's the footings that are going to hold up our family home, which we're, you know,
20:00plan to live in for a very long time. So yeah, it's a special moment today.
20:04We're going to enjoy the rest of today together, admiring, admiring the work, I think.
20:15But there's no time for dilly dallying on this building site.
20:19James and Rita want to build with zero waste, not easy in an industry renowned for it,
20:25which means a lot of research into recycled products. And they've managed to source what
20:30could be a great solution to the planet's plastic plague.
20:34I hired a truck. I've loaded it up with a bunch of soft plastic waste from the building site,
20:40which I was hoping not to send to landfill and very excited to have found a company that turns soft
20:47plastics into boards that we're going to use to line our walls and ceilings. So looking forward to
20:53checking it all out at the factory.
21:03Oh, here you go. It must be Paul.
21:04Yeah, here you go, James. Yeah, Paul.
21:06Nice to meet you.
21:06Paul Charteris is behind the operation, which is frankly, a near perfect example of recycling.
21:13The company creates building panels out of soft plastics combined with old milk cartons.
21:19James plans to paint them and use them as internal walls.
21:23Instead of actually using trees, we're actually using packaging fibre consumer waste.
21:29So, I mean, I basically brought a bunch of soft plastic.
21:33Yeah, this is low density polyethylene. It's our glue, basically.
21:40There we go.
21:43It's not even complicated. First, the plastic and cartons are chopped up.
21:53Heated to 250 degrees, the plastic becomes a kind of glue.
21:58Then it's pressed flat under 200 tons of pressure.
22:07If you're wondering, that's just steam. There are no toxic chemical emissions.
22:14And this is your finished board.
22:16Wow.
22:16Under here.
22:17I'll pull this back and you can sort of see this is the exposed black.
22:21Uh-huh.
22:21Which is what you're looking at putting in your, um, your place.
22:26It's 100% upcycled. You'd be able to see some of the different plastics and cartons.
22:30But, you know, it's all your waste and, you know, post-consumer waste that's gone into it.
22:38I mean, I just feel really good about the fact that I haven't had to take it all to landfill.
22:43I've thrown it into this conveyor belt, which spits out new building materials,
22:48which are going to go on our ceiling, on our walls.
22:50The euphoria of the plastic doesn't last long.
22:58Three months into the eight-month schedule, it's replaced by hot, hard graft.
23:04It's a drudgery of James and Rita's own making.
23:08They want the house to be deeply connected to the planet through an earthen floor.
23:12One of the coolest things about the earthen floor is that it recreates the sensation and
23:21the exact feeling of walking barefoot on the earth.
23:25One of the big benefits of that is that it allows you to still be connected to the energetic
23:31vibrations of the earth. And that's something that, as humans, we've been enjoying for millions
23:36and millions of years. And we'll be able to enjoy it in our house, walking bare feet.
23:41Bare feet and energy flows. Interesting. And it's far from the easy option.
23:47A traditional house like this would probably have a concrete slab across the entire base,
23:52but that's got a huge amount of embodied energy. And it wasn't really the feel,
23:58the natural feel, that we wanted for this house.
24:01The earthen floor will consist of compacted layers of granite aggregate for waterproofing,
24:07then pumice for insulation, then road base, then polished clay.
24:13It might be terrific for energy flow, but it sure sounds heavy.
24:17It's, you know, Italo and myself now, and tons and tons and tons of material to move.
24:24So we've shifted 25 tonne of granite. We've shifted about 15 tonne of pumice.
24:33We've had some really hot days as well. So it's just been a really laborious part of the build.
24:40The upside of all that mass? The floor should keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer.
24:45How Italo is keeping his cool, I'll never know. But he is.
24:52And I'm doing with great pleasure. Besides, the people around here are the best I've ever seen.
25:01So I feel very well.
25:18Unfortunately, two months later, very well is not how you describe progress.
25:23The floor still isn't finished. In his inexperience, James has underestimated just how long everything takes.
25:34That spreadsheet schedule's in trouble. But now there should be visible progress.
25:41Today is a, I guess you'd say, momentous day. We're aiming to put up the first part of the frame.
25:49I've got some good mates here to help, as well as my dad and Italo.
25:54You know I'm an old man. I was sore back.
25:57James has chosen steel frames, which at first glance don't scream sustainable. But he has his reasons.
26:05We didn't want to use any treated timber products in the house,
26:08because it's, you know, coated in really toxic material. And we don't want that in our house.
26:13We're trying to build a really healthy home for the family. There's no perfect solution, of course,
26:17because we opted with steel, which has a lot of issues as well. But at the end of the day,
26:22the steel is 100% recyclable. I can't see a number on this one.
26:29The frame comes in pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It was delivered on schedule months ago,
26:35and the floor delay hasn't helped. The frames are all numbered, but unfortunately they've been
26:40here for so long that the numbers have faded in the sun, so sometimes they're a bit difficult to
26:45read. Plus, as you can see, the grass is growing up around them. Look here. Here it is. W4. W4 is
26:54over in that corner. This would be a sliding door. This is a sliding door.
27:02The right pieces are eventually unearthed. They're right here, I think, isn't it?
27:06But for the first time on the build, James has the jitters.
27:12I've never put up a frame before, and I really don't like putting together furniture, and so this
27:18is like putting together a giant piece of furniture. So it's a little overwhelming and confusing.
27:23What dimension did you get, James? 11 metres to the millimetre. 11 metres to the millimetre.
27:28I guess I don't think I would have gone into this if I didn't have a dad who was a builder. In the
27:34moment when you're doing something for the first time, and you really want to make sure you get
27:38it right, having somebody who knows what they're doing and has done it so many times before, having
27:43them right there is priceless. I think we should get some timber braces. Timber, we've got, okay. And then
27:49put this one up. That's the bottom. Steve's earning his keep today, leading the team to erect
27:55the first frame. That goes right on this corner, right? Yep. Hold on. Yeah, go on the inside.
28:01Yeah, if you can just hold that there. Can you get underneath it, James? Yep.
28:07And are we okay with the position of it and everything?
28:10Yep.
28:11It's so exciting. It's good. It's happening. We're getting a house, I think.
28:23The lightweight frames are slotting in perfectly. Those frames have been lying on the ground next to
28:29the other side, haunting me for months, saying, put me up, put me up.
28:35You'll get it easily. Nice.
28:36Thank you. Thanks, Ed.
28:40Thank you. Cool.
28:42It's good vibes all round. James and Rita aren't just building a house,
28:46they're building a place in this unique community. CJ has been cheering them on from the sidelines.
28:53You know, I'll walk past this place. How's it going, James? Oh yeah, we're getting there.
29:00He's always positive. He's always optimistic. While John has been on sundowner refreshments.
29:05Their spirit is infectious, you know, it draws in people to come and stand in the blazing sun and
29:12and how, you know, just hold things up while somebody drills a hole in something, you know.
29:17You enjoy it and you have a beer and a barbecue afterwards.
29:23Every Wednesday, the village gets together to sort out local issues. They have their share.
29:33Margie Brevelle has been here since day dot, eight years ago.
29:37People who would buy into this sort of a situation are very strong individuals.
29:45And to get a lot of very strong individuals
29:48to live in harmony is, I guess, our challenge.
29:57No individual here is stronger than Jane Perkis. She built the eco village's very first house.
30:04Hello, Jane. Hello, Anthony. How are you?
30:07And I can't help but wonder what motivated her to take such a radical step on what was
30:13quite an unconventional project. Jane, you had the honor, I suppose, of building the first house
30:19here. Is that right? I do have that honor. And when I hear that said, I think I actually did that
30:24and I get really excited. How long ago was that? That was seven years ago when I, just before I turned 80,
30:31I walked into here. So that was wonderful. Yeah. What makes it so special? It's special because
30:37a lot of people got together, a number of people got together with the idea that we needed to live
30:42differently on the earth, to care for the earth, to do it with others, and just to recreate the idea
30:50of a rural farm and village. None of us could have afforded this absolutely glorious land
30:55by ourselves, but we could do that when we got together. Yeah. We all have our own home sites
31:01that we built on, but we've got all the rest of the property that we share, and it's quite a magic
31:07thing to do. Certainly, James and Rita have fallen under the village's spell.
31:18Fantastic. Hi, welcome. Hello.
31:22Look at you two. This is the, this is the idea becoming reality. It is. Welcome. Congratulations.
31:28It's looking like you're making some real progress here. You're out of the ground. This is what your
31:33dream looks like. You're starting to see it now. How does it feel? It is great. To me, it's just perfect.
31:39It's not anything else or anything more. It's just perfect. Any surprises so far? I think it's the
31:46flaws, the whole process of the earthen flaws that we really want to make it happen that I think
31:52probably so far has been the hardest part of the house. Yeah. Yeah. This is a really important thing
31:56for you, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. To feel the earth that way. Yeah. It really ties into that idea of a
32:01healthy home and a home that doesn't just have zero toxins, but actually adds health benefits.
32:09It's health positive. Health positive. Yeah. Yeah. When I look around, forgive me for saying this,
32:14but I see steel in the walls. I see a steel clad building. I see, yeah, self-made bricks and all
32:20that stuff, but I'm, I'm not seeing the usual trappings of what I'd expect to see for a sustainable
32:25home. Sure. There's no hemp. There's no mud. There's none of these sorts of traditional materials and so
32:30on. How do we read sustainable out of the house? Yeah, it's a great question. So the principles were using
32:37biodegradable materials or recyclable or recycled materials. So steel is recyclable, endlessly
32:45recyclable. But in terms of getting that sustainable feel, the whole steel frame will be completely
32:51hidden. Sure. It'll be wrapped in, you know, in wood fibre panels and then it'll be finished with a
32:57lovely clay plaster on the inside. So how are you going, I mean, you're doing this to save money,
33:01but how are you going on the budget then? Because $230,000 is what you're aiming for. That's an
33:06exceedingly small amount of money. Yeah. Budget's probably creeped up to $250,000 around about $250,000.
33:15So $20,000 in that scheme of things. Doesn't sound like much, but with this tiny budget,
33:19it's quite a lot. It's quite a lot, yeah, 10-15%. And you're five months in, so when you said eight
33:24months was your total build time. Yeah. I think so. I'm pretty sure, actually. I don't think so.
33:29Thinking that we need to realistically add another possibly month and a half,
33:35two months to that original timeframe. Yeah, okay. And that's at the moment. I mean,
33:39I don't know if there'll be any surprises, you know. I will bet you there will be some more
33:43surprises. There will be some more surprises. The biggest surprise to me will be if James gets
33:50this done in anything like 10 months. Doubly so come the new year. He's staying on site in a neighbour's
34:00shed, but he's very much alone. Italo's visa was up. He's back in Ecuador.
34:09Things have noticeably slowed down. And it's not just Italo being away, but, you know, my own dad
34:15hasn't been here as much as either of us would like, I think. He's got some health issues. He's got
34:21Parkinson's. So I guess just brought into focus for me the importance of choosing healthy building
34:27materials because a lot of the, you know, a lot of the exposure that dad had in the building industry
34:34to chemicals and the like have really, you know, influenced his current health.
34:39Dad's army was James's secret weapon and only chance of meeting the schedule. Now it's gone.
34:50Yeah, just there's, there's definitely moments when I'm on my own and I'm thinking,
34:55yeah, what am I doing? How am I, how am I gonna, how am I gonna move this thing forward?
34:59I, you know, I don't even know what, what I need to think about. I don't know what I don't know.
35:05For all his concerns, James is making progress. He's finished the frame and started cladding it
35:15using remarkable wood panels made from upcycled waste sawdust. They're both breathable and repel
35:22water. We'll have these boards wrapping the entire steel frame on the outside and then they'll also
35:28wrap the entire steel frame on the inside. And so we'll get around this issue that a lot of houses
35:34have where they're not breathable and you have all sorts of mould and health issues. This actually
35:39forms an integral part of the entire house functioning as a, as a healthy, comfortable
35:46living space for us.
35:50Whatever progress James was making soon grinds to a halt.
35:53The chocolate business in Ecuador is in need of his business expertise. So he's had to down tools
36:03entirely.
36:05So this is Quito, Ecuador, 2500 metres above sea level. It used to be the place that we call home
36:14for a number of years. So it's a city and a country that holds a very special place in my heart.
36:20And I'm here because I have to attend to some pretty urgent business matters with the chocolate
36:27business. It's not an ideal time to be traveling. And I'm really hoping that I can get back as soon
36:33as possible to the build.
36:35All right, let's have breakfast. I would like to have some eggs.
36:39James has been living on site most of the time anyway, but this unplanned trip and the ballooning
36:46budget has magnified the pressure on Rita.
36:48Get your avocado on your top. Being on my own managing the home and the kids and my job has been a
36:56little bit tricky. And the animals has been a little bit tricky. We're running out of money,
37:02running out of time. It's been really, really difficult for me to manage on my own. But
37:11on top of that, we keep getting more animals, aren't we? Hey?
37:15When we're leaving for school, everything's kind of like a rush. And I often forget things and like,
37:20oh, my homework. Oh, what a shame, you know? Because we're kind of always brushing around
37:26because my dad's not here, I guess.
37:29It has been really tricky, especially for Sele too. And of course, I'm getting emotional. And not
37:39being able to do the things she usually likes to do, like being in her room and being dragged to come
37:49and I don't know why I'm very emotional. Um, I keep telling the kids it's all worth it. At the end of
37:58the day, all this hard work is going to be really, really worth it.
38:06Come June, it's still hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Reality waved goodbye to
38:13the spreadsheet's initial eight-month schedule ages ago.
38:16But with the chocolate business back on track, James has been relentlessly grinding on,
38:23finishing the wood panels and installing double glazed windows.
38:29Today, a new chapter, cladding the house in corrugated iron. It will finally be watertight.
38:37And for the first time in months, Dad's army is back on deck with all of its members.
38:42The exciting news is that Italo is back from Ecuador. I think he would probably say,
38:49I dragged him out. But truth be told, he was just raring to come back. And
38:56it's pretty exciting to have the team back again.
38:58It's so great to be back this second time. And I am happy because I am sure that I am helping James,
39:06Rita and my grandchildren to build their dream. They say that. So if I am part of building the dream,
39:15that's very good for everyone.
39:16Like everything with this house, James has done his research. He's found special corrugated iron panels
39:25that will elevate the home from shed to chic. Normally with corrugated iron, two sheets meet at a
39:32corner, leaving a gap. This new invention is a clear case of simple brilliance.
39:38Have a look at these beautiful curves. That's the bend. That's what we're all excited about.
39:45It's got this beautiful wavy look down the corner of the building on each corner. And it's not just
39:52beautiful, but it's very functional. It makes sure that if we have a bushfire, there's no embers that
39:57are going to get in, no gaps. It also keeps the creepy crawlies out, which everyone's happy about. So
40:05yeah, it's beautiful. I'm really, really excited to have it on.
40:09The manufacturers borrowed from origami to pull off this little trick.
40:14Believe it or not, they're the first in the world to manage it.
40:20The only shame is it doesn't put itself up.
40:22A month on, now 12 months into the build. It's a mud bath here today.
40:32James is still working on the panels. Like everything on this job,
40:37it's taking much, much longer than he thought. Grab one side of it.
40:42The labour of love has become a daily grind.
40:47Feels like it's taking forever to get, get a few things done. But yeah, I mean, I think getting
40:53the cladding done is going to be a big milestone. Okay, thanks.
40:58That looks cool.
41:01Here we go.
41:01Good. We're ready to move in?
41:03Almost. Never been closer.
41:08Truth is, they're not close, not by any stretch of the imagination.
41:13The earthen floor isn't done. The insulation isn't done. It's not even close to liveable and,
41:21frankly, won't be any time soon. This bold attempt to build a super cheap,
41:28super green, healthy house might just be an impossible dream.
41:34We're kind of running out of money, so we're really trying to find ways to save money with the rent,
41:40with the bills, petrol and time. So yeah, definitely ready and we need to move.
41:58James is feeling the stress too. When not on site, the forest surrounding it is proving a refuge
42:06to calm his anxiety. I guess as time goes on, I'm finding now there are more and more moments of
42:18stress, anxiety, overwhelm. When's this going to finish? Have we got enough money? We, you know,
42:26really hit a brick wall with finances earlier. Right.
42:29And had to take some tough decisions to sell a little apartment we had in Ecuador that we thought
42:41was part of our retirement. One of the big things here was not just that it's a healthy home,
42:47but that you're trying to do it in a budget which is really, it's microscopic compared to a standard
42:53building in Australia right now. That to me has always been a massive challenge you've set for yourself.
42:58Yeah. Yeah, my estimate is that it'll be closer to the 350 mark.
43:07So time wise, when we first met, you said this is going to take eight months.
43:12You're pushing 13 months now. Where are we at?
43:16I've been trying not to focus too much on the time frame.
43:20That's a lie. I'm thinking about it all the time.
43:24That's all you think about. That's all I think about. Right.
43:27Um, yeah, I'd say we are another four to six months away from the finish line.
43:34130,000 over budget and the schedule has almost doubled. No wonder James needs the odd walk in the woods.
43:44This actually, you know, brings things back to, I guess, like the simple pleasures and the reality that,
43:54you know, I'm trying to put my values into practice. You know, I'm trying to walk the talk, if you like.
44:05You know, it's really, for me, about being authentic.
44:12Turns out that that is a lot harder than it looks.
44:15It's now 13 months since I last visited James and Rita.
44:37And I'm afraid to say the past year has been even tougher for them.
44:41On top of the very difficult build and financial worries, there's been a family tragedy.
44:51James's mother, Moira, died unexpectedly after a short illness.
45:00With all that going on, I'm not sure what I'm going to find here.
45:04Oh, that is such a relief. It looks finished. At least it looks finished from the outside.
45:18Well, it's far more industrial looking than the shabby sustainable shack I was imagining.
45:24This is going to be interesting.
45:38Congratulations, guys. Hi, Anthony.
45:40Hi, Anthony.
45:42This is extraordinary. You got there, didn't you?
45:47Thank you. Bienvenido.
45:48Oh, muchas gracias.
45:52Do you love it?
45:52We do. We love it so much, so much, so much.
45:56She's a baby. It's a creation.
45:58Yeah.
45:59I think we're in love with each other.
46:00So, yeah, it's so fantastic.
46:02A big journey, yeah?
46:03Yeah.
46:04And James, I'm very sorry to hear about your mum.
46:07Thanks, Anthony.
46:08Yeah, and that's relatively recent too.
46:10So that would have put a whole different layer over all of this.
46:13Are you guys okay?
46:14Yeah, I think...
46:16Yeah, okay.
46:17We feel her, I think, in the house.
46:18Yeah.
46:19Definitely.
46:19Her presence is definitely felt, and we had a really,
46:23really beautiful last week with mum, and so that was something special.
46:28The big ambition here too was to do the non-toxic, fully sustainable,
46:32as recycled as possible, home. That was the mission.
46:35Yeah.
46:37We pretty much did it, I think.
46:38Yeah.
46:39Yeah.
46:39Can I have a look?
46:40Yeah, of course.
46:41Let's go.
46:41Okay, show me.
46:44Yeah.
46:46While the landscaping is yet to bed in,
46:48the completed house is modestly scaled and looks great.
46:53Enough for the family is enough.
46:57Its off-grid credentials are easy to see.
47:00The water tanks, the solar panels.
47:03The whole thing wrapped in that cleverly folded, corrugated iron.
47:08This is no ordinary eco-house.
47:11And shoes off?
47:13Yeah, shoes off if you want to enjoy the full benefits of the earthen floor.
47:17I certainly do.
47:18Will my socks survive?
47:20That is the question.
47:21We'll see.
47:22We'll find out.
47:23Of course, we're in the welcoming space of the home, the central part of the home,
47:26in that courtyard, with that view out there.
47:29It's a really fantastic way to come in from a shaded sort of veranda space back into the light again.
47:36Yeah, it really opens up.
47:38But I want to get into the kitchen now, because I know that there's a lot of detail that you've been
47:42thinking about in there, so if we can go and look at that.
47:43Yeah, that's one of our favourite parts of the house.
47:45I would love to see your favourite room in the house.
47:46Show me.
47:49Come, come.
47:50So this is our living dining room.
47:54The floors, and oh wow, this space.
47:58Suddenly from that compressed entry space in the middle of the house here,
48:00all this sort of volume, it's magic.
48:03And then this ceiling with the baton panels up there,
48:06these are the recycled panels you were always thinking about?
48:10Yeah, soft plastics, milk cartons, cardboard, etc.
48:13And it's pressed into this board, which we, you know, had to use a bit of muscle
48:18and balance to pin to the ceiling.
48:21And then we covered it with a spray of cork paint.
48:24And then these walls here, same, same?
48:26Same material again.
48:27And that was a really natural lime fresco that was troweled on.
48:31So that's the result.
48:33And then the tiles, they made it to the kitchen.
48:36Don't they look fabulous?
48:37They look great.
48:38Come, have a little bit of moment of pride.
48:39You know, wonderful job.
48:41Well, yeah, they remind me of home a lot, actually.
48:43Yeah, right.
48:45I mean, all the textures in here are very warm,
48:47have that kind of sense of earthiness about them, if you like.
48:50I can't, I have to mention the floor.
48:52The floor, though, is like a whole other level of chocolate.
48:56I know you know chocolate, right?
48:57It feels unreal.
48:59I mean, you're kind of curling up your toes all the time,
49:02just sort of making sure you're grounded.
49:03It's really lovely.
49:05It's almost like walking outside, I think.
49:07You have that sensation.
49:08The touch is like you're walking barefoot outside.
49:11The floor is sealed, solid and beautifully cool on days when the temperature rises.
49:20It's a hot day outside today.
49:21It's about 40, it's more than 40 degrees outside.
49:23Very hot.
49:23But in here, I'm going to say...
49:25You're wearing your jacket.
49:26I've got a jacket on.
49:26I mean, it's warm up.
49:28There's no AC.
49:29No AC.
49:29We've only got ceiling fans.
49:30That's what I was going to say.
49:31Just the fans doing that work, yeah?
49:32And the insulation, of course.
49:33And the insulation.
49:35So that's the payoff for all of this effort is actually you've got a really kind of minimal,
49:39you know, heating and cooling system because it's all happening passively.
49:42That's right.
49:42Yeah.
49:45Speaking of cool, every stick of furniture in here is recycled.
49:50From the workbench kitchen island to the vintage stereo.
49:54Somehow, everything works together and makes this brand new home feel cosy and lived in and welcoming.
50:06Same goes in the main bedroom and ensuite and the kids' rooms.
50:14Ah, look, all the beautiful colours and this must be Celeste's room.
50:17Sharks on the wall.
50:18Yeah.
50:19Which means this must be Hugo's room.
50:21All the dinosaurs are very happy.
50:25And...
50:26So then this, another warm, generous, comfy space.
50:30What are we calling this room, our second, third bedroom?
50:33Yeah, this is my study and our guest room.
50:36So we're hoping to have a lot of friends and family come and stay.
50:39A line of mattresses here.
50:40Which is right, the bunkhouse.
50:42Yeah.
50:42That's right.
50:43I also think this room must have a few difficult memories.
50:47Mmm.
50:48Because I know...
50:48We'll be referring to the brick wall, maybe?
50:50Exactly.
50:51Memories of endurance.
50:53So much effort and work from your dads went into this particular brick wall, right?
50:58Making these bricks one by one.
51:00How hard really was it?
51:02Would you do it again?
51:03No way.
51:04We planned to make three brick walls out of our own bricks.
51:07Right.
51:07We made one brick wall and then I've never seen that brick machine again.
51:11Yeah, right.
51:11Don't know what happened to it.
51:11It's so hard.
51:12Painful.
51:13I'm thinking about your dads now, too, though.
51:15They have been such a big part of this build.
51:18I mean, Steve kind of giving you the, I guess, the advice and the confidence, maybe,
51:23to lead into the project.
51:25Totally.
51:25There's no way I would have even dreamt about building a house for the family if it wasn't
51:31for my dad being, you know, behind me, supporting me.
51:34And then Italo.
51:36Yes.
51:36He was going to come once.
51:38How many times did he end up coming?
51:40I mean, he'd have some great frequent flyer miles at this point, wouldn't he?
51:43He came three times and even though he's not here today, he has been part of this every single day.
51:51Even, like, Italo gave me one of the most beautiful gifts I could have ever asked for.
51:56He came back on the third visit and he said that he wanted me to be able to spend more time with mum.
52:05Yeah.
52:06Um, and so he came back for a third visit to make that possible.
52:10That's, that's...
52:12Yeah, which was an incredible gift.
52:13No words.
52:14Yeah.
52:24This house is greater than the sum of its parts.
52:31James and Rita's ambition for a clean, green home elevated the humble materials they chose to build it with.
52:40Their efforts given buoyancy by the family and friends who helped make it happen.
52:46It's a home that has really tangible and beautiful feels about it.
52:52Like, it just feels very lovely and very welcoming and very warm and all those wonderful things.
52:57What do you think makes it so special?
52:59I think there's a real kindness to the house.
53:02There's a reflection of that human experience, you know, which has come through all of the many hands and
53:08hearts that have contributed to the, the build process.
53:12Rita, are you proud of what James has created here?
53:15Yeah, I've, I don't even think proud is the word. I'm just, I don't know, in awe.
53:22I have never met someone with such determination.
53:25I usually call him very stubborn.
53:30He's just so determined.
53:32After a while, I knew that if something went wrong, he'll fix it.
53:36Yeah.
53:36But then, you know, Rita's just held the fabric of the family together.
53:41And I've, I guess that's given me the privilege of being able to focus on the house.
53:47When we first met, you gave yourself eight months to do the whole house.
53:50In fact, you were adamant.
53:52Eight months, that's it.
53:57No.
53:58I think.
53:59What happened?
54:00It cooked three times, over three times longer.
54:02Earthen floors, massively more labor-intensive and time-consuming than we ever could have imagined.
54:08Yeah.
54:09And then, I think just the naivety, to be honest.
54:11I've never built a house before.
54:13And so, yeah, there was just that, you know, innocence.
54:16We'd never done it before.
54:18I think you had an initial budget of $230,000?
54:21Mm-hmm.
54:22Dollars?
54:23Yeah, I think I just confused the digits slightly.
54:27So, we pulled it off for $320,000.
54:30Oh, so just swapped the first two around?
54:32Yeah, just swapped the first two around.
54:33Okay.
54:33I feel like it's a really good outcome.
54:36Oh, it's amazing.
54:37That's pretty remarkable.
54:38Yeah.
54:39Yeah.
54:39Do you feel, with all that being said then,
54:42that this really is the dream?
54:44It's our dream.
54:45Yeah.
54:46It is a dream, yeah.
54:47It's better than a dream.
54:49It's now, you know, it's so good.
54:51It's happening.
54:51Yeah.
54:52I'm sort of really glad to hear that.
54:53I'm also really glad that my socks are still quite clean, actually.
54:56Yeah.
54:57The floors are doing really well.
54:58Yeah, yeah.
54:59Who would have thought?
55:03James and Rita wanted a healthy home.
55:06One that made their lives better.
55:08Finally finished and filled with goodwill and laughter and friendship,
55:26this place just makes you feel so good.
55:29I reckon they've done it.
55:31What do you reckon about sharing a little piece of chocolate to celebrate at the end of the build?
55:37Sounds good, James.
55:39All right.
55:39We finally got there.
55:41We did it.
55:46This project has been a great teacher.
55:49And the lessons, bigger is not always better.
55:53Creating a beautiful and rich home is not about the money.
55:58To create a sustainable home is not only about environmental considerations,
56:03but about community and connection.
56:06Literally, sustenance for the soul.
56:09James and Rita have created a home here that is chock-a-block,
56:13full of all of that good stuff.
56:15So, here's to a sweet life ahead.
56:27This is good.
56:35This is good.
56:44Oh, yeah.
56:46Yes.
Be the first to comment