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00:00just bricks and mortar. It's also about dreams and aspirations, design and execution,
00:07making memories and mistakes. Ultimately, it takes more than building a house to create
00:13a home. Join us as we go beyond the build.
00:30On this episode of Beyond the Build, there's nothing quite like a deadline to get you over
00:40the line. We see if Jessie and Mel can achieve all their renovation dreams and be finished
00:45before the birth of their first child.
00:47This episode, we're in Windsor, a small pocket of inner-city charm located five kilometres
01:06south-east of Melbourne's CBD. Nestled between Perran and St Kilda, Windsor boasts some of
01:12the city's best shopping and dining options, with a vast array of bars and cafes set up
01:17amongst classic Victorian-era terraces. It's a dream location for many, including this
01:24ambitious young couple, looking to transform this traditional Victorian terrace into a contemporary
01:30family home.
01:31Well, Mel and I have been wanting to buy a house, a period home, since we finished the block.
01:36We love renovating and after looking for about 12 months, we finally found one and Mel did
01:42everything wrong. There's like things you're not supposed to do. Don't tell the real estate
01:47agent, you're interested. Don't tell them that you can afford it. Play it cool. Mel broke
01:51every one of those rules, didn't you?
01:53As soon as I walked into this house, I didn't even get past the first bedroom. I'm like,
01:56I want this house. Give it to me. What do we do?
01:58She goes, how do we buy it? I was like, Mel. Mel.
02:01Jessie and Mel were thrust into Australia's television screens during the 2019 season of
02:08The Block, where after a couple of early run-ins with Foreman Keith, the couple became known
02:15for their hard-working DIY approach while creating a contemporary luxury home. Juggling his job
02:23as a real estate agent with a presenter role on Open Homes Australia, Jessie will have his hands
02:29full again, carrying the reno of his own home. He's got his owner-builder licence and as a former
02:39tiler, will not only be responsible for all the tiling, but laying the floors, digging the holes,
02:45pushing wheelbarrows and just about anything that needs doing. Mel is currently working full-time as a
02:52HR consultant in Melbourne and will be taking the reins on all things budget with this project,
02:57as well as designing the home's nursery. Yep, these young go-getters have some exciting news.
03:04Mel's pregnant for one. Yay! So now we have a deadline, a block deadline.
03:09A block deadline. So first time mum, first time dad, just to be able to start a massive renovation.
03:14Baby's due in five months. You know, we don't have any time to waste. We've got the deadline and so
03:19we're going to have to rely heavily on our trades to be able to get this across the line for us.
03:24It's clear that Jessie and Mel are going to have their work cut out for them, but despite being a
03:31bit rough around the edges and in need of some TLC, it's clear the bones of this house are well intact,
03:37which might be why Mel was ready to buy it as soon as she walked in the door. The first thing I fell in
03:42love with this house is definitely the facade, how pretty it is. And to be honest, I think the size
03:47of it. It's a cute little house. It's perfect for our first renovation on our own as a house. So, and
03:53I saw the plans and I was like, this is something we can achieve. So everything about it just really captured me.
04:04The front part of the home is a beautiful example of a late 19th century Victorian terrace,
04:10with a long hallway giving way to the master bedroom and a second smaller bedroom. While
04:15this part of the house is still in decent shape, Jessie and Mel plan on knocking down the walls
04:19and ceilings between the second bedroom and the kitchen area and completely opening up this part
04:24of the house. Their plan is to renovate and extend this back area of the house into the existing backyard,
04:32transforming what was a small kitchen and laundry into a luxury modern living room, complete with
04:38expansive glass windows and a cathedral ceiling. As if this wasn't ambitious enough within a five
04:45month timeframe, Jessie and Mel will have the added challenge of attempting this reno on a tight block
04:51with very limited site access. The hardest thing about this build is because we're building boundary to
04:57boundary and we have no site access. So everything has to pretty much come through the front door.
05:02There's always a worry when it comes to renovating and I think the biggest thing for me was actually
05:06finding issues that we haven't yet identified. So I'm praying that it's as smooth as it can be,
05:12but I know there could be delays down the track. So I'm keeping an open mind.
05:17Yeah, like we don't know what we're going to find when we start excavating for the footings,
05:20when we start bringing walls down, if it's going to be structurally sound. So there's a few concerns there,
05:25absolutely. Running into unforeseen structural issues can happen when renovating a property
05:32at this age, but for Jessie and Mel, the risk is well worth it. The end result will be a home
05:37packed with period design features in one of Australia's preeminent architectural styles.
05:42This is one of my favourite types of architecture. It's a Hawthorne brick Victorian,
05:47which means you can see the different coloured bricks behind us and then they do what's called
05:51the tuck pointing, which accentuates all the individual bricks. And it's in the perfect
05:55location. We're right in the heart of Windsor, we can walk to Chapel Street, we can walk to St Kilda
06:00in five minutes, Albert Park Lake. It's a dream come true, you know. We never thought that we'd be
06:04able to afford a home like this and somehow we've managed to do it and now we get to create it and build
06:09exactly what we want. Today we've got the demo contractors here, so we're demolishing all the
06:20back of the house. There's a massive brick wall we're going to get rid of. We've built a temporary
06:24wall as well. Hopefully we can get the tiles up and yeah, that'll be a good first day.
06:31Well, the demo contractor Brendan is an absolute weapon. Like, he's going so hard. He got here at
06:36seven o'clock in the morning and come 10 o'clock, like most of the work was already done.
06:42So they'll recycle everything. All the bricks they recycle, all the hardwood timber they send off,
06:46they de-nail it and they sell it to furniture makers who recycle the timber as well. And then all
06:51the lard plaster, which is sand and cement, they take all that, they recycle it to a concrete company
06:56and then they put it in concrete. So they don't throw anything out. Everything they pull down,
06:59they recycle. They call it conscientious demolition. It's going to be a big first week and with only
07:09one day scheduled for the demolition contractors, there's no time to waste. As busy as it's been
07:17today, it was an even bigger weekend away from the building site for Jessie and Mel.
07:21It's been a great weekend. We had our gender reveal yesterday. We found out that we're having a girl,
07:31so I'm pretty pumped. And then to top it off, I've started my Monday. I've walked in the house,
07:36full demo in motion. So I'm kind of liking it because I don't have to do much now. I'm all about
07:42the baby. Jessie thinks that we'll have it done in six months, but if there's anything that I've
07:48learnt from renovations, I always add two to three. So the plan is to get in here about April,
07:54May. If we can get here by June, July, look, I'll be so happy.
08:08A few days later and almost all of the demo is complete. One element of the house that was
08:14never destined for the skit bin is this beautiful brick facade. So the story with the bricks is,
08:20this is a Hawthorne Brick Victorian. Now supposedly, when these bricks are brown,
08:25the reason for that is because they got burnt. They're supposed to be the red brick, but they
08:28got burnt and they charred them. But then obviously people decided that they look really beautiful.
08:33And so they decided to use this as a feature brick. And then what they do here is obviously all the
08:38mortar sort of wears away after time. So this is called tuck pointing. So they go through and they put all the
08:44mortar back in the joins, the same colour as the brick. And then they go through individually by
08:48hand and highlight the joins of the bricks. And it looks incredible. Everybody loves it. Fantastic
08:55street appeal. And probably what made us buy the house, to be honest, because we fell in love with it.
09:02Boasting a variety of period features typical of Victorian era terraces, one of the challenges for
09:08Jesse and Amel will be incorporating modern design features into the existing period architecture of
09:13the home. Unfortunately, it hasn't taken long for them to encounter their first significant design
09:20challenge. So the issue we have with the current design, it's actually got bifold doors. So when
09:25the bifold doors open, yes, the entire space opens, but then it opens up like 1100 into this courtyard.
09:32We don't have that room. We've only got two metres. So the time we put a dining table there,
09:36I want to put a built-in barbecue here. Like it's just the wrong solution. I'm weighing up the option
09:42of having the bifold or having them both open from the middle. The issue with that is then it means we
09:49can't have an L-shaped lounge and you have to walk through the living room every time to open the doors.
09:54So the third option we're looking at is just having two massive pieces of glass as opposed to four.
10:01And then this one piece here just opens all the way back. That means you open it,
10:05you can still walk behind the lounge and there's going to be less obstructions with those sort of the
10:11frame and the window. I think that's going to be the better option. Building on such a narrow block is
10:18not only proving to be a challenge in terms of design, but it's also making site access difficult
10:23and is affecting everything from the delivery of materials to where the tradies use the toilet.
10:29Jessie has started working on building a platform so that the concrete can be transported around the
10:34side of the house in wheelbarrows to fill in the piers for the concrete slab.
10:38So I need to get rid of this pile, build the ramp there. We can get the barrows in,
10:43fill all the holes. Once the holes are filled then we'll get rid of all the soil.
10:47I'd usually use a bigger shovel not this little teaspoon but because it's clay it's so hard so
10:56the big shovel wasn't working so it's not a lot of dirt to move. It's crucial that everything goes
11:02smoothly today so the rest of the concrete slab can be poured on schedule next week. There's no room
11:09for improvising with plans like this. The details have to be checked down to the millimetre and then
11:15checked again. So we had to put some board piers in so because there's a tree there there's like you
11:20know sort of a critical root zone and so the engineer specified putting some piers in to just beef up
11:26the slab. So this is a massive milestone to get to this stage because once the piers are done
11:31we can do the site cut for the plumbing and the slab. Having the site cleared has also given Jesse a
11:39clear idea of the yard dimensions boundary to boundary helping provide the solution for how
11:45to incorporate the bifold doors into the existing plans in the backyard. I've just worked it out like
11:51with the the way the hallway goes with the l-shaped lounge it's not going to work having the doors
11:57open in the middle because you have to be blocking by the lounge it means you'll have to have a smaller
12:01lounge suite to walk around so it's going to go one massive sliding door that's like two metres it'll
12:05look super impressive two by three metre glass panel just slides all the way open that's a go.
12:14A week later and it's a big day at the Rayburn residence after a tonne of design and engineering
12:20and far too many wheelbarrows full of soil around the side of the house to count the backyard is finally
12:26ready for the slab to be poured. So today's a massive milestone in the pour because we're pouring the
12:32concrete slab so much work has to go into that engineering and everything's come together so
12:38could not be more excited about this pour.
12:43Yeah like it's so difficult because we've got no access to the site so even to get to here we had to
12:47take out six six metre bins of soil it's 36 cubic metres of soil by hand even the demo everything had
12:54to come out the front door so there was like another half a dozen bins just with bricks and rubble and
12:59then you need engineers to come we need to screw board do board piers there's just so much involved
13:04to get to the slab. Despite the huge amount of work that's needed to prepare the property for the
13:11pouring of the concrete slab the pour itself usually only takes a couple of hours that is if everything
13:18goes to plan. Well because we're pouring a hob we had to increase the strength of the concrete and it's
13:23also got a xypex additive which makes it waterproof and so just when it came out it was too thick
13:30and it blocked the line so we had to yeah pull that off clean out the pipe add a bit of water
13:35to it to slurry up the mix and then we could pump it through. Yeah lucky the boys know what they're
13:39doing because i was just like why is the concrete stopped but the pumpy like they sit there and listen
13:43to it they got an ear for it and he knew exactly what was wrong with it so we sorted that out within about 15 minutes.
13:48Despite a brief setback early in the pour everything goes smoothly and the team is on track to finish
13:56today's work without a hiccup. It's going to be a big week coming up for Jesse and Mel. Despite all the
14:03progress that's already been made the hard work is just beginning. So next week we're going to start
14:08with the brickwork that should only take them a few days. I don't foresee any issues the only issue is
14:14we're going to carry in three and a half thousand bricks by hand. So I've allowed a couple days for
14:21that because it's a big job and then after that we'll be getting the timber frame up and ideally
14:26getting the roof on after that so it's happening.
14:30It's been three weeks since our last visit and there's been a ton of progress. The concrete slab
14:40has well and truly set by now and the renovation out the back is really starting to take shape.
14:45The bricks are up, the timber frame is in and this stunning cathedral ceiling is well underway.
14:50It feels like I'm back on the block. I'm starting at six, I'm finishing at six, we're working six,
14:54seven days a week. I'm selling houses in between, filming TV, looking after Mel and her mood swings.
15:01I don't have any mood swings. You're the one who has mood swings. That's true.
15:06No, you've been pretty good haven't you Mel? I'm living my best life. I'm pregnant,
15:09I don't have to do anything. I just come back every couple of days and there's more stuff done. I'm like,
15:13yes. It looks awesome now. You can see the height of the ceiling. It's just phenomenal. So high. I love it.
15:19Yeah, like this whole space, like it's not a big space, but now with that oversized ceiling,
15:23it feels massive. It feels so much bigger now that the roof's on, you can actually see the height.
15:28With Australia still adjusting to life after COVID induced lockdowns, there's been shortages of
15:34everything from tradies to timber. It's meant Jesse and Mel have had to be flexible with organising
15:39their trades, saving money by doing as much work themselves as they can. It's also meant they've
15:45needed to be flexible with materials, opting to use a hardwood for the timber frame rather than
15:50the LVLs they had originally planned. Well, it's no secret that there's a timber shortage
15:56in Australia and there's massive weights on LVLs. And so we spent a bit more money,
16:02but it meant that we could get them like on time without having to wait three to six months. It's
16:06crazy. And we could actually get the frame up because time is money. So it meant we could keep
16:11building. We didn't have to wait. And it means we can get out of the rental sooner as well. With the baby on
16:16the way, it's going to be full steam ahead over the next eight weeks in the hope that Jesse and Mel
16:21will be able to move in before Barbie's born.
16:29Six weeks later, and we're in the midst of Melbourne summer. After taking a couple of weeks
16:35off over Christmas and New Year, Jesse and Mel have been full steam ahead and the transformation is
16:40quite incredible. There has been so much work happening in this tiny space for the last month.
16:48It has been full on. What have we done? We've done the roughing in of the plumbing,
16:56plumbing, the electrical, redone the floors, rebuilt all the walls, had the gas plumbed in,
17:04the hydronic heating plumbed in, we had the roof go on. The window frames. The window frames. We've
17:12done a lot in the last month really. It's been full on, like there's been no days off.
17:21It's really exciting the level we're at now because we've actually put some doorways in
17:25so you can see where every room is whereas beforehand everything was all closed off. And even just having
17:30the roof on out the back with the skylights, you can actually get a sense of what it's going to feel
17:34like now when you move in. Yeah, we've already started like planning where everything's going to
17:38go. The vanities, the toilet, the wardrobes, the bed. It's great. We can actually visualise which is
17:43what I need. Otherwise it doesn't work in my head. With the plastering due to start next week,
17:48Mel and Jesse need to finalise the plan for their kitchen design as soon as possible,
17:53as it will be between four and six weeks in production. The showroom features a fully guided audio
17:58tour through nine different kitchens, guiding guests through the various features of each piece
18:03of cabinetry. You put the audio on, it tells you to go to step one, go to step two. You can push the
18:09cabinets and they open. I love it. I was like, I felt like a kid. It's everything I wanted. I could
18:14visualise which is what I need. And I think I've been through the tour four times and I still love it
18:18every time. Despite having no issues with their kitchen design, not everything over the past month
18:33has gone exactly to plan. Somehow I forgot to order insulation. So I called around like 10 different
18:39places trying to get some. Nobody had any. I finally found a place that had some inso and I was like,
18:44can you deliver it in three weeks? And they said, there's no way of holding it. Like either take it
18:48today and we'll deliver it. Otherwise it would just be sold in the next phone call. So we had
18:52all the insulation for under the floor, all the walls and the ceiling. The whole extension was just
18:56full of bags of insulation with nowhere to move. It was, it was really quite a pigsty. It was
19:02embarrassing, wasn't it? It was such a mess. The timeline is looking on time, pretty shaky.
19:11Bubz is due in 11 weeks. We've got about 10 weeks left of the renovation. So we're hoping
19:16for the best but expecting the worst because you have to. But we're quietly optimistic that we'll
19:20get it done on time. I'm going pretty well with the pregnancy. Everything's been good. I haven't
19:26really had to help too much at the house either. I'm actually, I think I've got the easiest job.
19:30Part of me does believe that the week we finish is the week she'll be here. I do ask if she stays in
19:36for another couple of weeks extra. So we're praying. Of all the good ideas I've had, probably
19:42renting the house across the street from where we're building is the best one ever. The only
19:47thing is the baby's due on the 8th of May and we have to be out of there by the 5th of May. So not
19:52only do we have to get the renovation finished in time, we have to move and then have the bubs. So
19:56there is a bit of time pressure on us.
20:05It's two weeks since our last visit and there's been a ton of work carried out. Jesse and Mel are
20:11well and truly getting stuck into work inside the house, juggling multiple trays at the same time.
20:17There is a lot happening on site at the moment. Blastering is getting done, the waterproofing got done
20:22today, the cladding is getting done, we have tiles arrived, all the sleepers for the retaining wall
20:28arrived. It's just been flat out. It's more like what isn't getting done at the moment which is great.
20:33Every day I come back and it's like 10 things going on, it's all happening. It's very intense at the
20:38moment. There's a lot of organisation which has to go on and I'm not very good at organising. Well you're
20:43doing all right babe. I'm doing all right. You're getting it done. I'm not the best at it.
20:52I'm going good. I think we've got about eight and a half weeks before the baby comes. I'm very calm
20:57which is, it's a good thing. But I think I'm pretty surprised on how quick the house has come about.
21:02So I feel like we're going to get it done before the baby arrives. Fingers crossed. I keep telling Mel
21:08that we're not going to get it done now before the baby because I'm just putting way too much pressure
21:11on myself and touch wood like nothing's gone wrong. So far we've been very fortunate given like the
21:19material shortages and like labour shortages. Building a house is like making a cake. There's
21:26just layers to it. You can't put the icing on before you, you know, get the bun ready. I don't
21:31know a lot about baking either. I enjoyed watching you try. You like that? Why don't you try the cake analogy?
21:38I don't even cook. I don't bake. Ain't nobody got time for that. Let's just wake and bake.
21:47Mel's passion for baking hasn't affected her eye for detail.
21:52Today Jesse gave me a call like he's always paying me out saying I have baby brain which I do but he
21:56had baby brain today. We realised he ordered the wrong tiles. Luckily I took pictures of them so I
22:01sent them through and Jesse gave him a call. They're going to pick up the wrong ones and give us the new
22:06ones so thank god it's all worked out but this is why I should check your work.
22:12It was so embarrassing like like I ordered the wrong floor tiles, wrong wall tiles, like everything's wrong.
22:19Jesse will be spending plenty of time laying the tiles when they eventually get here and as a former
22:24tiler this will be his time to shine. Today however the priority is plastering and there's plenty of it.
22:32Today's really exciting that the plaster is here on site they started about a week ago.
22:35They're concentrating on the back section first so they're just putting the top coat on and then
22:39tomorrow they'll stand and then we can clean out that master bedroom because at the moment it looks
22:43like a dump site.
22:51If we didn't have the baby here like we would not be talking about trying to finish in six weeks like
22:55it would be probably still a couple months away. Maybe even like three months away really. It's turned
23:01out to be a blessing in disguise because all the trades know that Mel's pregnant. They know we have
23:04like a deadline and so everybody's been helping us as much as they can to get it done for the baby.
23:09It hasn't been the best week. We had a bit of rain for the first time in months and realised our whole
23:24roof leaks and so now it's like four weeks until the baby's here. We're going to try to find
23:30someone who can do the slate roof and someone who can do the cori roof. It's just it's so frustrating.
23:36I was up at like four o'clock in the morning heard rain. I'm running around the house with buckets trying
23:40to catch water. It just yeah it hasn't been a good week. No we um yeah we've struggled a little
23:46bit haven't we now and we're we're at the final stages which is frustrating but fingers crossed you
23:51can find someone. Sort it out. I haven't stopped for four months every single day. Saturday, Sunday,
23:56like I'm killing myself on the project. I'm just getting tired now.
24:03I think it's going to take a miracle for us to be able to move in before the baby.
24:06I'm really praying that it does but I don't look I think we've come to the realisation
24:11it's probably not going to happen.
24:15We've smashed so many things like we've finished all the tiling.
24:19We're about to finish all the flooring. The painting's going to be finished in a few days so
24:24all the stuff that I can physically do myself will be finished in about a week's time.
24:28But there's just things that I can't do like I can't make the cabinets. They can't be made any faster.
24:32We can't get the stone until the cabinets go in. We can't get the roof done until like four weeks
24:40time so that may or may not even get done. We need to find another roofer to do the slate roof.
24:45If you haven't even done any of that yet. It's just yeah.
24:5012 week wait. Oh no. Drawrunners. It's just crazy.
24:57Anyway, this is what it is. I don't think people would know it was me. No it wasn't mate.
25:02While Billy swears to keep the wait time on Drawrunners to himself, Jesse and Mel fill us in on how
25:10their furniture selections are coming along. We haven't even thought about furniture yet. It's
25:14been on the back burner and there's like 12 week waits on furniture so we could be moving into an
25:20empty house. Bean bags. Lucky we've got a bed and we've got a nursery so I guess we're all in the one
25:26room. We've got a lounge suite at home. Mel said there's no way in hell that thing is coming to
25:31the new house. Now I'd prefer to sit on the floor than let that thing come into our house.
25:40We actually are doing really good. Like we have done the tiling. We're laying the flooring, the skirts,
25:45the doors. We've done a bit of landscaping. We've finished putting on the exterior walls.
25:51The cladding, yeah. The cladding. We've actually done a lot which is quite awesome but yeah it's just
25:57those little touches that we're still waiting on. But yeah I'm actually quite surprised how much we've
26:01achieved in probably the last month. It's starting to look like a house. If we don't finish it's not
26:06going to be because of things like that we can control. Everything that we can control we will do.
26:13It's just some things we can't and that's just life.
26:22It's been four weeks since our last visit and fortunately Jesse and Mel look like they've
26:27bounced back from the disappointment of the roof and the repairs are almost finished.
26:32We put a new roof on. We decided that the best thing was to do to replace the old slate roofs.
26:37They were starting to delaminate. They looked all rusted. So we put a new slate roof on the front and a
26:42new corrugated iron roof on out the back and it's awesome now. All the attic has been insulated.
26:47It's 100% watertight and it's just going to be much more enjoyable living here.
26:51With Australia still adjusting to the life after the COVID pandemic, supply chain problems have been
26:57a huge challenge for Jesse and Mel since the start of the project. Unfortunately, things aren't getting
27:03any easier as they approach the finish line. There's no wool in Australia, like supply chain issues,
27:09so the carpet's been delayed. The stone's been delayed because of Easter and then look at the
27:14place. It's an absolute dump. The good news is that all of the cabinetry has been made without any
27:19hiccups and with most of the major appliances already installed, the kitchen area is really
27:25starting to take shape. Yeah, the kitchen cabinets are looking fantastic. They've started to install all
27:29the appliances, the fridge gone in. We're now putting the aircon in which looks really nice behind the
27:33custom grill and our wardrobe doors are all right. They've got two packed, they're matte,
27:37they look absolutely fantastic. Not everything will be complete, but at least we have the TV.
27:49It's only a small outdoor area, so we wanted to create as much greener as possible, so we put the
27:53AstroTurf in between the pavers. We've got some beautiful trees that we've just planted and eventually
27:59that's going to start to cascade over the edges and this whole room will just be full of lush,
28:03green plants. The electrical work is also almost finished and the lights are on and working.
28:10It really gives us a chance to appreciate some of the design choices Jesse and Mel have made
28:15and the way they've been able to use contemporary lighting to highlight the intricacy of the home's
28:20period features. All the lights are working, they're turning on, they're turning off,
28:24the power points are working so really we are literally so close to finishing. Speaking of
28:31finishing, how's Mel going? Well it's come down to the absolute wire. We're about a week away from
28:36finishing and Mel is now officially due, so she's just gone a day over. Not sure how long she's going
28:42to be late, but it's still a chance we might finish in time.
28:55On a spectacular spring day in Windsor, Melbourne, architect Sean Lockyer gets a special tour of
29:00Jesse and Mel's finished home.
29:07It's a credit to Jesse and Mel who've not only completed this renovation within a six-month period,
29:13they've done it while they've been working and getting ready for the arrival of their daughter
29:16Chloe, which is just an amazing achievement. And standing here in this lovely quiet street,
29:21this gorgeous Victorian facade gives very little away about the transformation. I'm hoping that
29:28behind this front door lies an architectural journey that's going to take us back to the 21st century.
29:32Hey! You made it, how are you? Lovely to see you. How are you Sean? Great to see you mate. Fantastic.
29:52Jesse and Mel, congratulations. Six months you've done this. How'd you manage to get it all done?
29:58Well it wasn't supposed to be six months Sean. It was supposed to be a nice leisurely 12-month build.
30:03Mel and I can do it together and enjoy it. But a week after we got the building permit and we're
30:09due to start in a week, Mel, bless her soul and ours, we found out that she was pregnant with our
30:14daughter Chloe. And so what's supposed to be a 12-month build had to be done in six months.
30:20That's incredible. And did you literally just go, we're just going to shorten this time frame and
30:29we're just going to give it our best? Or did you actually change the way that you were doing the
30:32project or change your aspiration at all? Well it did because obviously Mel and I both work full-time
30:37as well. So I made the decision to sell less houses and just build full-time. And it was kind of like
30:44a dream come true because I've always wanted to build my own home. We did it on the block but this
30:47was the first one for ourselves together. And so we rented the house across the street.
30:52Yeah. I got my owner-builder licence and organised most of the trades that we actually have worked
30:57with before on the block. Yeah. And we told them the timeline and now they're very used to working
31:02to a short timeline. Chloe was born on the 19th of May and we moved in a week after.
31:08I've also realised I do best managing him. He's really good at building and designing but he needs
31:18to be told what to do and budget and timelines and that's where I come in and make sure he's
31:24doing everything on track. We realised that through our previous experience renovating on the block,
31:29our roles are very clearly defined. We don't lap over. And one of Mel's most important role is to manage
31:35me because I'm doing a million things at once and I'm not the most organised person. So with Mel,
31:41she's very organised and structured and then that combination with my sort of can-do attitude and
31:47you know, I would probably say overconfident enthusiasm and optimism that everything will work out.
31:56Yeah. I think what really impresses me is you guys seem to have the holy trinity of
32:07passion for what you do, the ability to actually physically be able to do it as a builder,
32:12but then also the organisational skills to be able to pull it off and I mean that's a pretty
32:16rare combination and obviously it's significant that you've had a baby while this is happening.
32:21How has that been for you guys through the process as well?
32:24Surprisingly, even though I was pregnant most of the reno, it wasn't that bad but I think because
32:30he's amazing, like he went above and beyond and then I just felt ease. I felt calm and I'd come and
32:35check on the place every day, see how he's tracking. I'm like, what do I need to do? And I don't know,
32:40he was so relaxed so it made me relax and then but literally, I think two weeks after she was born,
32:45we were moving everything across the road. I'd be like, you hold her, I'm going to take some stuff over.
32:49Then I'm like, I'll hold her and you take some stuff over. So we were pretty fortunate in regards to
32:54finishing the build before she was here. But yeah, honestly, he's what calms me.
33:08That's sensational. I mean, I think it's really lovely in these sorts of shows and these endeavours,
33:12it's not uncommon for couples to kind of really feel the stresses of either the differences with which
33:18they tackle these things or how they take on the information or how they handle actual physical
33:22heavy lifting of these things. And I know that there's something amazing waiting for us. I've
33:28got to tell you on a personal level, this project really connects with me because I grew up in Cape
33:32Town where the Victorian Terrace House is a sort of vernacular housing stock. So I spent half my life
33:38in houses like this, they're foraging underneath, understanding the sub floors, understanding that
33:42walls can't just be pulled out. Well, I appreciate Sean that this is quite nostalgic. For me,
33:46I grew up in Queensland. I'd never seen a Hawthorne Brick Victorian before until I moved to Melbourne
33:52eight years ago. And I just stopped working as a tradie. I started real estate. I literally had
33:57no income for a whole year. And my dream was to own a single front Hawthorne Brick Victorian,
34:03because I think they're the prettiest facades. I love the tuck pointing. And to me, that was honestly
34:08like a pipe dream that I thought may not be achievable because obviously price as a property is so
34:12expensive, let alone to be able to renovate one because that's obviously quite expensive as well.
34:17And so we saw this home. I only showed Mel one property. I said, hey, I found this house.
34:22I think you're going to like it. Yeah. Like, let's go and have a look at it. I want to buy it.
34:26Mel's like, we haven't looked at any. We went and had a look at it. Mel broke the cardinal sin of real
34:30estate. She opened the door, said to the real estate agent, I love it. I want to buy it. And I was like,
34:34okay, no problem. We can do that. So I got the contract and that was on the Saturday. We bought
34:39it on the Friday. And it was a dream come true. But yeah, there are a lot of difficulties when
34:47renovating a double brick Victorian home. Obviously, you don't really want to move too many internal
34:53walls because they are so integral to the structure. And so we did add a few doorways, but we left pretty
35:00much all the existing brick walls where they were and just made sure it worked with our design.
35:06And then where the end of the home is, that is where we sort of knocked off the back and did a big
35:11extension. But we were so fortunate that three previous owners before us had owned this beautiful
35:19home, tried to renovate and then gave up, put it in the too hard basket. There's no access,
35:25there's no parking, they've got joint sewers, there's easements, party walls, all the things that
35:30you know, that make building and renovating quite difficult. The previous owner, bless his soul,
35:35spent a lot of time and money on making the house beautiful, but not practical. So they actually did
35:42the tuck pointing before we purchased it, which is one of the things that we fell in love with, that so
35:46many people fall in love with, that beautiful brick facade with the tuck pointing. They did these oversized
35:51corners in the hallways in the bedroom as well. This type of architecture is something that I really
35:58love and I'm dying to see where you've gone with it. So are you happy to show me through? Well I hope
36:02that we live up to your expectations, so I'd love to show you through. Cheers, off to you guys.
36:09After the break, Sean continues the tour. Both of you have given up a lot of your time to do this,
36:14you're juggling a lot of things while it happened. Are you happy to talk about the costs that it took to
36:19get it to here?
36:32We're in Windsor, Melbourne to see this spectacular transformation. In only five months, Jesse and Mel
36:39have managed to completely transform the back of this house into a perfect space for a young family
36:45and breathe new life into this classic Victorian facade. Sean continues the tour.
36:54Jesse and Mel, wow, we've come through the house. We're sitting in this main living space and I've got
36:58to tell you I'm not disappointed. I really am not disappointed. I think the seamlessness with which
37:04you've stitched the old and the new together I think is really smart. There's this beautifully handled little
37:09courtyard which not only brings light but brings a moment of joy to the kitchen through that lovely window.
37:15But just all these sort of elements of the skylights above, I think the way that you've handled the
37:19transition of all this sort of ornate Victorian detail through to a space that's really paired back.
37:26But done in such a way that there's not a real sense of old and new. There really is quite a beautiful
37:31kind of flow between the two and you know it culminating with this amazing living space which
37:36I mean it really is an incredibly joyous space and a very you know positive place to be in. I mean honestly as
37:42an architect I really think you should you guys should be incredibly commended so you know well
37:46done on that. Well thank you Sean. We put a lot of thought into every space and we're very consistent
37:55with our design so you'll see like a lot of the timber joiner that we use in this kitchen space on
38:01the island bench we also use in our bathroom vanities. We've used the same volarcus marble throughout
38:07all the wet areas as well in the you know the niches as well as in the kitchen area out here in the
38:11island benches the same chevron flooring in the hallway so to make that because I've seen a lot
38:17of homes where it goes to old to new and it feels like they're like juxtaposed it feels like you're
38:21walking into a different property yeah they're not cohesive and I don't like that so we wanted to
38:27make sure that everything tied in and it felt like one home even though there is a stark contrast between
38:32the old and the new because the old is got lots of really rich period details and the new is very
38:37contemporary but I think by blending those you know finishing touches throughout it does feel quite
38:43cohesive. How much of what you've done here is about you guys thinking look this is our ideal house
38:53and it is a beautiful house and how much of it is you guys thinking we want this to be accessible to
38:58other people and something that we think other people will identify with. Can I just chime in
39:03just say one thing that's the best thing about Jesse working real estate yeah he sees hundreds of
39:07thousands of homes so he knows what people want so I feel like that is the greatest asset when it
39:14comes to us designing homes he sees what people want he sees what sells and he goes how can we build
39:19that into like our design and kills it. So our dream home would be an all black kitchen yeah yeah right
39:25but when we were designing this home we know it wasn't going to be our forever home and so we were
39:30very conscious of that you're right having that real estate sort of mindset and being pragmatic in
39:36not just what we want but what is going to sell well but I think for our forever home we would probably
39:40do something a little bit more extravagant. I think it's been a long-held belief of mine that when you
39:46look at the amount of resources that go into building a house not only the cost and the physical
39:51material but your guys energy you know labor you know one of the most responsible things we can do
39:56is make sure that the houses that we build are ones that not only are you know beautiful and do all
40:02the sustainable things that they should do but also that they can be taken on by other people and
40:08loved in such a way that they're not continually being rehashed. While it's technically a two-bedroom
40:16house it is a three-bedroom house because there's this beautiful quirk and for me anyone that loves
40:22cats is a good person in my book but you've got a cat bedroom. That was one of the most important
40:27features of the home because in our previous property we didn't have a cat room most people
40:31don't have a cat room they have a kitty litter that goes in the bathroom or somewhere in the laundry
40:35and it's always on display and it smells that was just one of the things that we were able to do that
40:39was really important to us and everyone who comes here you're not the only person who loves cats
40:45Sean so many of our friends love cats and that's probably one of the most talked about features
40:50of our home. I have to hand it to you the the level of execution here really is first class I must say
41:00walking through here the word I use is tightness there's a there's a real control of all the detail
41:05it's an amazing effort I must say. So my background being tiling as you know in tiling everything works to
41:10the millimeter yeah and so that was my where I did my apprenticeship my trade and now obviously in
41:17real estate I have a really keen eye for things that I know have been thought of and considered
41:23as to just thrown in place yeah I think you would see that as well you can you know like our television
41:29unit yeah right like there's a reason that it stops 150 millimeters away from the glazing because it
41:35allows for the curtains and the blinds like that thing doesn't happen by accident yeah the wall
41:42ovens and microwaves you know like the line of the wall oven lines up perfectly with the island bench and
41:47then the microwave on top yeah in our bathrooms we lowered the ceilings by 40 millimeters so it allowed
41:53us to get a full tile at the ceiling height on top of the shaving cabinet on top of the vanities
41:58on the niche all of those things don't happen by chance when you walk into the home as you do you look
42:03at it and go this feels great you can see it's done well but you're like how is it done so well
42:08why does this feel different to other homes yeah so we put a lot of emphasis and effort into making sure
42:15all of those details like matched up yeah and we're very proud of it because it's a lot of it's not easy
42:20to do it's been really lovely to see how you guys have worked together having done this for many years
42:29and seeing a lot of projects at the end where the millimeters do matter the only way you get there
42:34is by collaboration you don't get there by throwing things at each other and the house really does talk
42:39of that kind of optimism and that creativity now obviously all of that doesn't come for free and
42:45you've given up both of you have given up a lot of your time to do this you're juggling a lot of
42:49things while it happened are you happy to talk about the costs that it took to get it to here yeah
42:54certainly so i guess the the hard cost for the build with all the building materials cost of labor
43:02came in at about half a million dollars but that doesn't allow any of my time like you know i did
43:10chevron flooring i did the tiling i did the carpentry i did a lot of the work myself i essentially had six
43:14months off work and it was here every single day so there was no cost for my time as well as you know
43:19actually the design of the place selecting all the fixtures and finishes yeah so i think we were
43:24fortunate we were able to get away with it for about half a million dollars but i think if you
43:27were to replicate this build you probably would be looking at close to 650 or 700 000. one of the
43:35things that i i find i'm interested in the house almost more than anything of the relationships and
43:41the people the creative energy and the goodwill and the memories and the friendships and the kind of
43:46the energy that gets created in a positive building is something that for me is actually
43:51manifest in a space it sits here like a piece of furniture and when you walk through the space and
43:56you meet you guys and you see the love and the care that's gone into this
44:10it's something that you can actually feel it's physically palpable in my experience of it and i think
44:14that's a very very difficult thing to achieve and really congratulations to both of you deserve
44:20it and you've done an amazing job well thank you thank you so much that's all we want for people
44:24to love this home as much as we do yeah yeah congratulations
44:30well for me this project is a breath of fresh air in the built environment we're so used to hearing all
44:37the bad news stories about people that tackle the project without the right knowledge without the
44:42experience without the planning and they get it wrong it strains relationships they simply just
44:47don't get the outcome that they want what jesse and mel have done here in a six month period is nothing
44:53short of extraordinary their attention to detail the level of execution through the build and the passion
45:01that they've brought to this project to build a home for themselves and their new daughter in this
45:06heavily constrained site is just an absolute triumph and in a world where we're so used to bad news
45:12stories it's a really lovely thing to be part of a really good one
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