- 5 hours ago
Beyond the Build - Season 1 Episode 4 -
Jesse and Mel Raeburn
Jesse and Mel Raeburn
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00:00just bricks and mortar. It's also about dreams and aspirations. Design and execution. Making
00:07memories and mistakes. Ultimately, it takes more than building a house to create a home.
00:14Join 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
01:06southeast 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?
01:52As 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.
02:03Jessie and Mel were thrust into Australia's television screens during the 2019 season of the
02:08Blanc. Where after a couple of early run-ins with Foreman Keith, the couple became known
02:15for their hardworking 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
02:28hands full 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, pushing
02:46wheelbarrows and just about anything that needs doing. Mel is currently working full-time as a HR
02:52consultant 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.
03:03Mel's pregnant. Yay. So now we have a deadline, a block deadline.
03:08A block deadline. So first time mum, first time dad, just to be able to start a massive renovation.
03:13Baby'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 cross 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. And I saw
03:53the plans and I was like, this is something we can achieve. So everything about it just really captured me.
03:58The front part of the home is a beautiful example of a late 19th century Victorian terrace with a long
04:10hallway giving way to the master bedroom and a second smaller bedroom. While this part of the
04:16house is still in decent shape, Jessie and Mel plan on knocking down the walls and ceilings between the
04:21second bedroom and the kitchen area and completely opening up this part of the house. Their plan is
04:27to renovate and extend this back area of the house into the existing backyard, transforming what was a
04:33small kitchen and laundry into a luxury modern living room, complete with expansive glass windows and a
04:40cathedral ceiling. As if this wasn't ambitious enough within a five month timeframe, Jessie and Mel will
04:47have the added challenge of attempting this reno on a tight block with very limited site access.
04:54The hardest thing about this build is because we're building boundary to boundary and we have
04:58no 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
05:06actually finding issues that we haven't yet identified. So I'm praying that it's as smooth as it can
05:12be, but 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
05:25there. Absolutely. Running into unforeseen structural issues can happen when renovating
05:31a property at 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, which means you
05:48can see the different coloured bricks behind us. And then they do what's called the tuck pointing,
05:51which accentuates all the individual bricks. And it's in the perfect location. We're right in the
05:56heart of Windsor. We can walk to Chapel Street. We can walk to St Kilda in five minutes, Albert Park
06:01Lake. It's a dream come true. You know, we never thought that we'd be able to afford a home like this.
06:06And somehow we've managed to do it. And now we get to create it and build exactly what we want.
06:17Today, we've got the demo contractors here. So we're demolishing all the back of the house.
06:21There's a massive brick wall we're going to get rid of. We've built a temporary wall as well.
06:24Hopefully we can get the tiles up and yeah, that'll be a good first day.
06:28The demo contractor Brendan is an absolute weapon. Like he's going so hard. He got here at seven
06:36o'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 like, yeah, conscientious demolition.
07:07It's going to be a big first week and with only one day scheduled for the demolition contractors,
07:12there's no time to waste. As busy as it's been today, it was an even bigger weekend away from the
07:20building site for Jessie and Mel. It's been a great weekend. We had our gender reveal yesterday.
07:26We found out that we're having a girl, so I'm pretty pumped. And then to top it off,
07:34I've started my Monday. I've walked in the house, full demo in motion. So I'm kind of liking it because
07:40I don't have to do much now. I'm all about the baby. Jessie thinks that we'll have it done in six months,
07:46but if there's anything that I've learned from renovations, I always add two to three.
07:51The plan is to get in here about April, May. If we can get here by June, July, look, I'll be so happy.
07:58A 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.
08:17So the story with the bricks is this is a Hawthorne brick Victorian. Now supposedly,
08:23when these bricks are brown, the reason for that is because they got burnt. They're supposed to be
08:27the red brick, but they got burnt and they charred them. But then obviously people decided that they
08:32look really beautiful. And so they decided to use this as a feature brick. And then what they do here
08:37is obviously all the mortar sort of wears away after time. So this is called tuck pointing. So they go
08:43through and they put all the mortar back in the joins, the same color as the brick. And then they
08:47go through individually by hand and highlight the joins of the bricks. And it looks incredible.
08:53Everybody loves it. Fantastic street appeal. And probably what made us buy the house,
08:57to 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
09:13of the 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
09:49we can't have an L-shaped lounge. 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
10:11the frame and the window. I think that's going to be the better option. Building on such a narrow block
10:18is not only proving to be a challenge in terms of design, but is also making site access difficult
10:23and is affecting everything from the delivery of materials to where the tradies use the toilet.
10:29Jesse has started working on building a platform so that the concrete can be transported around the side
10:34of 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, fill all the holes.
10:44Once the holes are filled, then we'll get rid of all the soil.
10:51I'd usually use a bigger shovel, not this little teaspoon, but because it's clay, it's so hard.
10:56So the big shovel wasn't working. So it's not a lot of dirt to move.
11:00It's crucial that everything goes smoothly today so the rest of the concrete slab can be poured on
11:06schedule next week. There's no room for improvising with plans like this. The details have to be checked
11:12down to the millimetre and then checked again. So we had to put some board piers in. So because there's a
11:19tree there, there's like, you know, sort of a critical root zone. And so the engineer specified
11:24putting some piers in to just beef up the slab. So this is a massive milestone to get to this stage
11:29because once the piers are done, we can do the site cut for the plumbing and the slab.
11:37Having the site cleared has also given Jesse a clear idea of the yard dimensions boundary to boundary,
11:43helping provide the solution for how to incorporate the bifold doors into the existing plans in the
11:49backyard. I've just worked it out. Like with the, the way the hallway goes, with the L-shaped lounge,
11:55it's not going to work having the doors open in the middle because you don't have to be blocking
11:59by the lounge. It means you'll have to have a smaller lounge suite to walk around. So it's going to go one
12:03massive sliding door that's like two metres. It'll look super impressive. Two by three metre glass panel,
12:08just slides all the way open. That's a go. A week later and it's a big day at the Rayburn residence.
12:17After a tonne of design and engineering and far too many wheelbarrows full of soil around the side
12:23of the house to count, the backyard is finally ready for the slab to be poured. So today's a massive
12:30milestone in the pour because we're pouring the concrete slab. So much work has to go into that,
12:35engineering and everything's come together. So could not be more excited about this pour.
12:43Yeah, it's so difficult because we've got no access to the site. So even to get to here,
12:46we had to take out six, six metre bins of soil. It's 36 cubic metres of soil by hand,
12:53even the demo, everything had to come out the front door. So there was like another half a dozen bins
12:58just to be bricks and rubble. And then you need engineers to come, we need to screw board,
13:02do board piers. There's just so much involved to get to the slab.
13:08Despite the huge amount of work that's needed to prepare the property for the pouring of the
13:12concrete slab, the pour itself usually only takes a couple of hours. That is, if everything goes to
13:18plan. Because they're pouring a hob, we had to increase the strength of the concrete and it's also
13:24got 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
13:43listen to it, they got an ear for it and he knew exactly what was wrong with it. So we sorted that out
13:47within about 15 minutes. Despite a brief setback early in the pour, everything goes smoothly and
13:54the team is on track to finish today's work without a hiccup. It's going to be a big week coming up for
14:01Jesse and Mel. Despite all the progress that's already been made, the hard work is just beginning.
14:07So next week we're going to start with the brickwork. That should only take them a few days.
14:11I don't foresee any issues. The only issue is we've got to carry in three and a half thousand bricks by hand.
14:19So I've allowed a couple of days for that because it's a big job. And then after that,
14:24we'll be getting the timber frame up and ideally getting the roof on after that. So it's happening.
14:34It's been three weeks since our last visit and there's been a ton of progress.
14:39The concrete slab has well and truly set by now and the renovation out the back is really
14:43starting to take shape. The bricks are up, the timber frame is in and this stunning cathedral
14:48ceiling is well underway. It feels like I'm back on the block. I'm starting at six,
14:53I'm finishing at six, we're working six, seven days a week, I'm selling houses in between,
14:58filming TV, looking after Mel and her mood swings. I don't have any mood swings, you're the one who has
15:03mood swings, can't you? That's true. No, you've been pretty good haven't you Mel? I'm living my best
15:08life. I'm pregnant, I don't have to do anything. I just come back every couple of days and there's
15:11more stuff done. I'm like, yes. It looks awesome now, you can see the height of the ceiling. It's
15:17just phenomenal. So high, I love it. Yeah, like this whole space, like it's not a big space, but now with
15:22that oversized ceiling, it feels massive. It feels so much bigger now that the roof's on, you can actually
15:27see the height. With Australia still adjusting to life after COVID-induced lockdowns, there's been
15:33shortages of everything from tradies to timber. It's meant Jesse and Mel have had to be flexible
15:38with organising their trades, saving money by doing as much work themselves as they can.
15:44It's also meant they've needed to be flexible with materials, opting to use a hardwood for the
15:49timber frame rather than the LVLs they had originally planned. Well, it's no secret that there's a
15:55timber shortage in 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.
16:16With the baby on the way, it's going to be full steam ahead over the next eight weeks in the
16:20hope that Jesse and Mel will be able to move in before Bub is born.
16:29Six weeks later and we're in the midst of Melbourne summer.
16:34After taking a couple of weeks off over Christmas and New Year, Jesse and Mel have been full steam
16:38ahead and the transformation is quite incredible. There has been so much work happening in this
16:46tiny space for the last month. It has been full on.
16:53What have we done? We've done the roughing in of the plumbing, the electrical,
16:57redone the floors, rebuilt all the walls.
17:02Had the gas plumbed in. Oh yeah. The hydronic heating plumbed in. We had the roof go on.
17:08The window frames. The window frames. We've done a lot in the last month really. It's been full on,
17:16like 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.
17:30And even just having the roof on out the back with the skylights,
17:32you can actually get a sense of what it's going to feel like now when you move in.
17:36Yeah, we've already started like planning where everything's going to go. The vanities,
17:39the 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.
17:46With the plastering due to start next week, Mel and Jesse need to finalise the plan for their
17:51kitchen design as soon as possible, as it will be between four and six weeks in production.
17:56The showroom features a fully guided audio tour through nine different kitchens,
18:00guiding guests through the various features of each piece of cabinetry.
18:04You put the audio on, it tells you to go to step one, go to step two.
18:08You can push the cabinets and they open.
18:10I love it. I was like, I felt like a kid. It's everything I wanted. I could visualise,
18:14which is what I need. And I think I've been through the tour four times and I still love it every time.
18:19It's everything I need to do.
18:28Despite having no issues with their kitchen design,
18:31not everything over the past month has gone exactly to plan.
18:35Somehow I forgot to order insulation. So I called around like 10 different places trying to get some.
18:40Nobody 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.
18:47Like either take it today and we'll deliver it. Otherwise it would just be sold in the next phone call.
18:52So we had all the insulation for under the floor, all the walls and the ceiling.
18:55The whole extension was just full of bags of insulation with nowhere to move.
19:00It was, it was really quite a pigsty. It was embarrassing, wasn't it? It was such a mess.
19:07The timeline is looking on time, pretty shaky.
19:11Bubz is due in 11 weeks. We've got about 10 weeks left of the renovation.
19:15So we're hoping for the best, but expecting the worst because you have to.
19:19But we're quietly optimistic that we'll get it done on time.
19:23I'm going pretty well with the pregnancy. Everything's been good.
19:25Haven't really 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.
19:34I do ask if she stays in for another couple of weeks extra. So we're praying.
19:38Of all the good ideas I've had, probably renting the house across the street from where we're building
19:44is the best one ever. The only thing is the baby's due on the 8th of May and we have to be out of there
19:50by the 5th of May. So not only do we have to get the renovation finished in time, we have to move
19:55and then have the bubs. So there is a bit of time pressure on us.
19:58It'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.
20:16There is a lot happening on site at the moment. Blastering is getting done. The waterproofing got
20:21done today. The cladding is getting done. We had tiles arrive. 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
20:32great. Every day I come back and it's like 10 things going on. It's all happening. It's very
20:38intense at the moment. There's a lot of organisation which has to go on and I'm not very good at
20:43organising. Well you're doing alright babe. I'm doing alright. You're getting it done.
20:46Not 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
20:57calm which is it's a good thing but I think I'm pretty surprised on how quick the house has come
21:02about so I feel like we're going to get it done before the baby arrives. Fingers crossed. I keep
21:07telling Mel that we're not going to get it done now before the baby because I'm just putting way too
21:11much pressure on myself and touch wood like nothing's gone wrong so far. We've been very fortunate
21:18given like the material shortages and like labour shortages.
21:21Building a house is like making a cake. There's just layers to it. You can't put the icing on before
21:29you, you know, get the bun ready. I don't know a lot about baking either.
21:32Yeah, that's good. I enjoyed watching you try. You like that? Explain that, yeah.
21:37Why don't you try the cake analogy? I don't even cook. I don't bake.
21:40Ain't nobody got time for that. Let's just wake and bake. Yeah.
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
22:42it looks like 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.
22:55Like it would be probably still a couple months away. Maybe even like three months away really.
23:00It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise because all the trades know that Mel's pregnant.
23:04They know we have like a deadline and so everybody's been helping us as much as they can to get it done for the baby.
23:19Hasn't been the best week. We had a bit of rain for the first time in months
23:23and realised our whole roof leaks and so now it's like four weeks until the baby's here.
23:28We're going to try to find someone who can do the slate roof and then someone who can do the
23:33Corrie roof. It's just, it's so frustrating. I was up at like four o'clock in the morning,
23:38heard rain. I'm running around the house with buckets trying to catch water. It just yeah,
23:42it hasn't been a good week.
23:44No, we, um, yeah, we've struggled a little bit haven't we now. We're at the final stages,
23:49which is frustrating, but fingers crossed you can find someone. Sort it out.
23:52I 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 finished all the tiling.
24:19We're about to finish all the flooring. The painting's going to be finished in a few days.
24:23So all 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
24:31faster. We can't get the stone until the cabinets go in. We can't get the roof done until like four
24:39weeks' time. So that may or may not even get done. We need to find another roofer to do the slate roof.
24:45We haven't even done any of that yet. It's just, yeah.
24:49Big risk.
24:5112-league weight on draw runners. It's just crazy. Anyway, this is what it is.
24:59I don't think people would know it was me. No, it wasn't, mate.
25:02While Billy swears to keep the wait time on draw runners 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,
25:44the skirts, the doors. We've done a bit of landscaping. We've finished putting on the exterior
25:50walls, the cladding. We've actually done a lot, which is quite awesome. But yeah, it's just those
25:57little touches that we're still waiting on. But yeah, I'm actually quite surprised how much we've
26:01achieved in probably last month. It's starting to look like a house. If we don't finish, it's not
26:07going 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. 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 air conning, which looks really nice behind
27:33the custom grill. And our wardrobe doors are all right. They've got two packs. 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 green
28:04plants. 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.
28:30Speaking of finishing, how's Mel going? Well, it's come down to the absolute wire. We're about a week
28:35away from finishing, and Mel is now officially due. So she's just gone a day over. Not sure how long
28:42she's going to 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! Hey! Hey! How are you, Sean? How are you, Sean? How are you, Sean? Great to see you, mate.
29:43You're absolutely fantastic.
29:52Jesse and Mel, congratulations. Six months you've done this. How did 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,
30:09and we're due to start in a week, Mel, bless her soul and ours, we found out that she was pregnant
30:14with our daughter, Chloe. And so what's supposed to be a 12-month build had to be done in six months.
30:19That's incredible. And did you literally just go, we're just going to shorten this time frame and we're
30:29just going to give it our best? Or did you actually change the way that you were doing the project or
30:33change your aspiration at all? Well, it did because obviously Mel and I both work full-time as well.
30:38So I made the decision to sell less houses and just build full-time. And it was kind of like a dream
30:44come true because I've always wanted to build my own home. We did it on the block, but this was the first one
30:48for ourselves together. And so we rented the house across the street. I got my owner-builder license
30:54and organized most of the trades that we actually have worked with before on the block. And we told
31:00them the timeline and now they're very used to working to a short timeline. Chloe was born on the 19th
31:06of May and we moved in a week after. I've also realized I do best managing him. He's really good at
31:17building and designing, but he needs to be told what to do and budget and timelines. And that's
31:22where I come in and make sure he's doing everything on track. We realized that through our previous
31:28experience renovating on the block, our roles are very clearly defined. We don't lap over.
31:33And one of Mel's most important role is to manage me because I'm doing a million things at once and
31:38I'm not the most organized person. So with Mel, she's very organized and structured. And then that
31:43combination with my sort of can-do attitude and, you know, I would probably say overconfident enthusiasm
31:53and optimism that everything will work out. I think what really impresses me is you guys seem to have
32:06the holy trinity of passion for what you do, the ability to actually physically be able to do it as
32:11a builder, but then also the organizational 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 it's just happening.
32:21How has that been for you guys through the process as well?
32:25Surprisingly, even though I was pregnant most of the right now, it wasn't that bad. But I think
32:30because he's amazing. Like he went above and beyond. And then I just felt ease. I felt calm and I'd come
32:35and check on the place every day, see how he's tracking. I'm like, what do I need to do? And
32:39I don't know, he was so relaxed. So it made me relax. And then, but literally, I think two weeks after
32:43she was born, we were moving everything across the road. I'd be like, you hold her. I'm going to take
32:49some stuff over. Then I'm like, I'll hold her and you take some stuff over. So we were pretty fortunate
32:53in regards to finishing the build before she was here. Yeah. But yeah, honestly, he's what calms me.
33:00That's sensational. I mean, I think, you know, it's really lovely in these sorts of shows and these
33:12endeavors. It's not uncommon for couples, you know, to kind of really feel the stresses of either the
33:17differences with which they tackle these things or how they take on the information or how they handle
33:21the actual physical heavy lifting of these things. And I know that there's something amazing waiting for
33:28us. I've got to tell you on a personal level, this project really connects with me because I grew
33:32up in Cape Town where the Victorian terrace house is a sort of vernacular housing stock. So I spent
33:37half my life in houses like this. They're foraging underneath, understanding the sub floors,
33:41understanding that walls can't just be pulled out. Well, I appreciate, Sean, that this is quite
33:45nostalgic. For me, I grew up in Queensland. I'd never seen a Hawthorne brick Victorian before
33:51until I moved to Melbourne eight years ago. And I just stopped working as a tradie. I started real
33:57estate. I literally had no income for a whole year. And my dream was to own a single front
34:02Hawthorne brick Victorian because I think they're the prettiest facades. I love the tuck pointing.
34:07And to me, that was honestly like a pipe dream that I thought may not be achievable because obviously
34:11price as a property is so expensive, let alone to be able to renovate one because that's obviously
34:15quite expensive as well. And so we saw this home. I only showed Mel one property. I said,
34:20Hey, I found this house. I think you're going to like it. Yeah.
34:24Like, let's go and have a look at it. I want to buy it. Mel's like, we haven't looked at any.
34:27We went and had a look at it. Mel broke the cardinal sin of real estate. She opened the door,
34:31said to the real estate agent, I love it. I want to buy it. And I was like, okay,
34:35no problem. We can do that. So we got the contract and that was on the Saturday. We bought it on the
34:40Friday. And it was a dream come true. But yeah, there are a lot of difficulties when renovating a
34:48double brick Victorian home. Obviously you don't really want to move too many internal walls because
34:54they are so integral to the structure. And so we did add a few doorways, but we left pretty much all
35:00the existing brick walls where they were and just made sure it worked with our design. And then where
35:07the end of the home is, that is where we sort of knocked off the back and did a big extension.
35:11Yeah. But we were so fortunate that three previous owners before us had owned this beautiful home,
35:20tried to renovate and then gave up, put it in the too hard basket. There's no access. There's no
35:25parking. They've got joint sewers. There's easements, party walls, all the things that you know that make
35:31building and renovating quite difficult. The previous owner, bless his soul, spent a lot of time and money
35:37on making the house beautiful, but not practical. Yeah. So they actually did the tuck pointing
35:43before we purchased it, which is one of the things that we fell in love with, that so many people fall
35:47in love with, that beautiful brick facade with the tuck pointing. They did these oversized corners in the
35:52hallways in the bedroom as well. This type of architecture is something that I really love
35:58and I'm dying to see where you've gone with it. So you happy to show me through? Well, I hope that we
36:02live up to your expectations. So I'd love to show you through. Cheers, off to you guys.
36:07After the break, Sean continues the tour. Both of you have given up a lot of your
36:14time to do this. You're juggling a lot of things while it happened. Are you happy to talk about
36:18the costs that it took to get it to you?
36:20We're in Windsor, Melbourne to see this spectacular transformation. In only five months, Jesse and Mel have
36:39managed to completely transform the back of this house into a perfect space for a young family and
36:45breathe new life into this classic Victorian facade. Sean continues the tour. Jesse and Mel, wow,
36:55we've come through the house. We're sitting in this main living space and I've got to tell you,
36:59I'm not disappointed. I really am not disappointed. I think the seamlessness with which you've stitched
37:04the old and the new together, I think is really smart. There's this beautifully handled little courtyard
37:09which 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 pared back,
37:26but done in such a way that there's not a real sense of old and new. There really is quite a
37:30beautiful kind of flow between the two and, you know, culminating with this amazing living space,
37:35which, I mean, it really is an incredibly joyous space and a very, you know, positive place to be in.
37:41I mean, honestly, as an architect, I really think you should, you guys should be incredibly
37:45commended. So, you know, well done on that. Well, thank you, Sean. We put a lot of thought into
37:51every space and we're very consistent with our design. So you'll see like a lot of the
37:59timber joinery that we use in this kitchen space on the island bench, we also use in our bathroom
38:03vanities. We've used the same volarcus marble throughout all the wet areas as well in the,
38:08you know, the niches as well as in the kitchen area out here in the island benches,
38:13the same chevron flooring in the hallway. So to make that, because I've seen a lot of homes where
38:18it goes to old to new and it feels like they're like juxtaposed. It feels like you're walking into a
38:21different property. They're not cohesive and I don't like that. So we wanted to make sure that everything
38:28tied in and it felt like one home, even though there is a stark contrast between the old and the
38:33new, because the old is got lots of really rich period details and the new is very contemporary.
38:38But I think by blending those, you know, finishing touches throughout, it does feel quite cohesive.
38:48How much of what you've done here is about you guys thinking, look, this is our ideal house and
38:53it 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 in real estate. He sees
39:07hundreds of thousands of homes, so he knows what people want. So I feel like that is the greatest
39:13asset when it comes to us designing homes. He sees what people want, he sees what sells and he goes,
39:18how can we build that into like our design and kills it. So our dream home would be an all black
39:23kitchen. Yeah. Right. But when we were designing this home, we knew it wasn't going to be our
39:28forever home. And so we were very conscious of that. You're right. Having that real estate sort
39:34of mindset and being pragmatic in not just what we want, but what is going to sell well. But I think
39:39for our forever home, we would probably do something a little bit more extravagant.
39:44I think it's been a long held belief of mine that when you look at the amount of resources
39:48that go into building a house, not only the cost and the physical material, but your guys energy
39:53and labor, you know, one of the most responsible things that we can do is make sure that the houses
39:57that we build are ones that not only are beautiful and do all the sustainable things that they should
40:04do, but also that they can be taken on by other people and loved in such a way that they're not
40:10continually being rehashed. While it's technically a two bedroom house, it is a three bedroom house
40:18because there's this beautiful quirk. And for me, anyone that loves cats is a good person in my book,
40:24but you've got a cat bedroom. That was one of the most important features of the home because in our
40:28previous property, we didn't have a cat room. Most people don't have a cat room. They have a kitty litter
40:33that goes in the bathroom or somewhere in the laundry and it's always on display and it smells.
40:37That was just one of the things that we were able to do that was really important to us and everyone
40:42who comes here, you're not the only person who loves cats. So many of our friends love cats
40:47and that's probably one of the most talked about features of our home.
40:54I have to hand it to you. The level of execution here really is first class. I must say walking
41:00through here, the word I use is tightness. There's a real control of all the detail. It's an amazing
41:06effort, I must say. So my background being tiling, as you know, in tiling, everything works to the
41:11millimeter. And so that was where I did my apprenticeship, my trade. And now obviously
41:16in real estate, I have a really keen eye for things that I know have been thought of and considered as
41:24to just thrown in place. I think you would see that as well. You can, you know, like our television
41:29unit, you know, right? Like there's a reason that it stops 150 millimeters away from the glazing
41:35because it allows for the curtains and the blinds and that thing doesn't happen by accident. The
41:41wall ovens and microwaves, you know, like the line of the wall oven lines up perfectly
41:46with the island bench and then the microwave on top. In our bathrooms, we lowered the ceilings by 40
41:52millimeters. So it allowed us to get a full tile at the ceiling height, on top of the shaving cabinet,
41:57on top of the vanities, on the niche. All of those things don't happen by chance. And when you walk
42:02into the home, as you do, you look at it and go, this feels great. You can see it's done well. But
42:06you're like, how is it done so well? Why does this feel different to other homes? So we put a lot of
42:12emphasis and effort into making sure all of those details like matched up. And we're very proud of
42:19it because it's a lot of, it's not easy to do. It's been really lovely to see how you guys have
42:27worked together. Having done this for many years and seeing a lot of projects at the end where the
42:31millimeters do matter, the only way you get there is by collaboration. You don't get there by throwing
42:36things at each other. And the house really does talk of that kind of optimism and that creativity.
42:42Now, obviously, all of that doesn't come for free. And you've given up, both of you have given up a lot of
42:47your time to do this. You're juggling a lot of things while it happened. Are you happy to talk
42:51about the costs that it took to get it to here? Yeah, certainly. So I guess the hard cost for the
43:00build with all the building materials, cost of labor came in at about half a million dollars.
43:05But that doesn't allow any of my time. Like, you know, I did chevron flooring, I did the tiling,
43:11I did the carpentry. I did a lot of the work myself. I essentially had six months off work
43:15and 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. So I think we were fortunate.
43:24We were able to get away with it for about half a million dollars. But I think if you were to
43:28replicate this build, you probably would be looking at close to 650 or $700,000.
43:35One of the things that I find, I'm interested in the house almost more than anything of the
43:40relationships and the people. The creative energy and the goodwill and the memories and the friendships
43:45and the kind of the energy that gets created in a positive building is something that for me
43:51is actually manifest in a space. It sits here like a piece of furniture. And when you walk through the
43:56space and you 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
44:14think that's a very, very difficult thing to achieve. And really, congratulations to both of you. You
44:19deserve it and you've done an amazing job. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. That's all we want for
44:24people to love this home as much as we do. Yeah. Yeah. It feels good. Congratulations.
44:30Well, for me, this project is a breath of fresh air. In the built environment, we're so used to
44:36hearing all the bad news stories about people that tackle the project without the right knowledge,
44:41without the experience, without the planning. And they get it wrong. It strains relationships.
44:47They simply just don't get the outcome that they want. What Jesse and Mel have done here in a six month
44:53period is nothing short of extraordinary. Their attention to detail, the level of execution
44:58through the build and the passion that they've brought to this project to build a home for
45:03themselves and their new daughter in this heavily constrained site is just an absolute triumph.
45:10And in a world where we're so used to bad news stories,
45:13it's a really lovely thing to be part of a really good one.
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