Grand Designs New Zealand Season 9 Episode 8 follows a spirited retired bricklayer determined to build one final dream home on his farm near Whanganui. Inspired by mid-century design, this heartfelt project becomes a personal legacy for himself and his ever-patient wife.
Blending craftsmanship, experience, and passion, this episode highlights the emotional journey of creating a forever home that reflects a lifetime of skills and ambition. A must-watch for fans of timeless architecture, personal builds, and inspiring Grand Designs New Zealand stories.
#GrandDesignsNewZealand #MidCenturyHome #Whanganui #Architecture #GrandDesigns
Blending craftsmanship, experience, and passion, this episode highlights the emotional journey of creating a forever home that reflects a lifetime of skills and ambition. A must-watch for fans of timeless architecture, personal builds, and inspiring Grand Designs New Zealand stories.
#GrandDesignsNewZealand #MidCenturyHome #Whanganui #Architecture #GrandDesigns
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00:03One of the great perks of being in the trades is having the skills to work on your own projects.
00:09Brickies can build their own walls, plumbers can fit out their own bathrooms, and builders
00:14can build their own entire houses. Okay, so the work takes time and energy, but there's
00:23a genuine satisfaction in doing the job yourself. If it goes well, you can give yourself a pat on
00:28the back. Not so well, and you don't have to look very far for the person responsible.
00:34But there's something else going on here, isn't there? There's work and there's life. So what
00:39happens to that work-life balance that we all know is so important when the professional
00:44becomes personal? Does that make the job easier or harder? Is it a blessing or is it a curse?
01:13The Manuatu-Fanganui region covers a large part of the southwest of New Zealand's North Island,
01:19watched over by the majestic Mount Taranaki. The beautiful coastal plains and rolling hill
01:24country support a range of farming activities for people living a rural way of life.
01:30I'm going to get the sheep in and take that ram out today. Then I'll put them all in the
01:33paddock with the windmill.
01:35People like Dave and Jan Poppy, who have a 40-hectare farm, about 30 minutes' drive from Whanganui
01:42City.
01:45It's a maize planter. Plants a maize seed. This is a bit of a pastime for me, really. This
01:52is just an enjoyment.
01:54Dave, who's actually a bricklayer by trade, has owned the land here for about 30 years. He
01:59and Jan got married in 2006, although they go back a lot further than that.
02:05I noticed Jan right from the start. He lived pretty much next door to our family farm.
02:11I used to wander down the road, didn't I, and see your father and we'd talk about tractors.
02:15I've been on the scene since forever, really, haven't I? Yeah.
02:19You just didn't even notice me. No. Yeah. Certainly didn't. It was pretty sad. No, not really.
02:29Dave and Jan describe themselves as small-time farmers and agricultural contractors, but
02:35they've got their fingers in a lot of pies.
02:40This is our dump truck. There's probably quite a few women out there driving big machinery.
02:47Definitely. Probably not round here, but definitely somewhere in New Zealand, I'm sure.
02:54Their main business now is their line-stone quarry, providing shell rock base course used
02:59in roading, construction and general landscaping.
03:04Most of this is by accident. Unraveled in front of us and we saw an opportunity and we thought,
03:09oh, well, give it a go. Give it a go. What have we got to lose? Other than everything. Yeah.
03:19Dave's life improved immeasurably when Jan moved in. For one thing, she took the garage where he was living
03:26and transformed it into a cosy farm cottage.
03:30I can't believe you're still needing that. That's why I'm the cook and you're not.
03:35Well, it's good that you do something right in the house. Yeah. What? Yes.
03:43Don't quite know what to say, really. No.
03:45But despite working hard all their lives and putting their money into the farm and their businesses,
03:50Dave and Jan haven't got the one thing they really want, a proper house of their own.
03:56Well, it would be nice to get out of here, that's for sure.
03:59All the years that I've been building houses for everybody else, I've always said I don't need to build one.
04:03Yeah, I know. So let's just get on and do it, eh? Yeah.
04:06Don't. As long as I'm in there before I'm 60.
04:10You'll always be 25 to me.
04:12Mmm, yeah or whatever.
04:21Although Dave and Jan have their choice of building sites all over the farm,
04:25they've given me directions here to the very top.
04:29There's a giant pile of mud over there, so I know I'm in the right place.
04:36Hello. G'day. G'day. Jan, Dave, nice to meet you. And Jo.
04:41What a location.
04:42It was tantalising. I can see this great site-access road and presumably something beautiful over there.
04:49Yeah, it's certainly better on top.
04:51Well, can we go and see that? Absolutely.
04:55It's fairly still up here today, but that's deceptive.
04:59This site is exposed and the house will catch the wind from all directions.
05:04But that's the price you pay for the views, of course.
05:07Oh, and look, there's the Grand Canyon.
05:10Yep, there's our quarry.
05:11Oh, look at that.
05:12Yep.
05:13The view is immense.
05:14Yes, yep.
05:16Even on a grey day like this, what a spot.
05:21But what about the house proper? What are you going to build?
05:23Well, it's sort of from the desert, like, or...
05:28From the desert?
05:29Yay!
05:30The desert.
05:32Which desert?
05:33American, you could say it was American, maybe.
05:36Jen's sort of a bit more cottagey, aren't you?
05:39You're sort of...
05:40I'm more old villa.
05:40Yeah, yeah.
05:42Whereas I'm square lines.
05:43Which this is totally not going to be.
05:45No, no, so...
05:45This is all about Dave.
05:46This is all about Dave.
05:48You seem to be standing slightly further apart now.
05:51So you persuaded Jan to build your house.
05:53It was the only house we both agreed on.
05:55Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:56We've been looking for four or five years.
05:58We've done a few drawings.
05:59Yeah, we didn't want what other people have got.
06:02Okay.
06:02No, something different.
06:02We wanted something that makes a statement.
06:05This site certainly makes a statement.
06:07So the house has plenty to live up to.
06:10This will be a multi-tiered building formed on the solid base of a double garage
06:14and what Dave calls his man room.
06:17Something Jan wants to keep at arm's length from the main house.
06:20Into the entrance and up to a glass-lined hallway.
06:23Guest bedrooms, bathroom and laundry.
06:27Turn left into a whopping 4.5 meter high living and dining space.
06:31The great room in Dave and Jan's language.
06:34The kitchen sits here contained in its own niche
06:37behind a large island unit and connecting to a hidden scullery.
06:41Light floods in through high clear story windows and sliding doors below
06:45which open onto a broad patio complete with spa and views forever.
06:50Beyond the great room, there's a separate formal lounge
06:52and on the other side, Dave and Jan's bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe.
06:57Warming the great room is a large fireplace
07:00set into an imposing schist-clad wall that flows uninterrupted to the outside
07:04and steps down to provide shelter for another patio
07:07and a lap pool with infinity edge
07:09that creates a waterfall cascading beside the main entrance.
07:15Slim profile bricks wrap the exterior
07:18while the cantilevered steel roof line is interrupted by a pop-top tier
07:22that accommodates the great room.
07:25A distinctively modern design.
07:27So how will it all come together on this rural Whanganui Hill?
07:34It's a big undertaking here on top of the hill.
07:38I've seen this house for years but it's just putting it on paper.
07:42Yeah.
07:43You know.
07:44And Dave, are you heavily involved?
07:46I'll be planning it as it goes
07:49and trying to build as much as I can
07:50because there's a lot of concrete work and stuff like that in it.
07:53So yeah.
07:54I'll do the outside, Jan will do the inside.
07:56That's how we're sort of hoping it's going to go.
07:59And when will you finish?
08:01Jan's saying that it's going to take a long time
08:03where I don't want it to be a long time.
08:05I'd like to think 12 months.
08:07But in today's times, I don't know.
08:11I really just don't know.
08:12And also we're trying to build the house as we go financially as well,
08:19which is a big ask these days.
08:21Does that mean that that pot of money
08:23isn't enough to finish the house at this stage?
08:25No.
08:26No.
08:26Okay.
08:27Then you'll add to that pot as you go along if you need to.
08:31With the quarry and your income here.
08:33Yeah.
08:33How much do you expect it to cost?
08:35650, 700 I'd say.
08:37It'll be up there, I know that.
08:39Well 650 spreads pretty thinly nowadays for house people.
08:43It'll be a little wire.
08:43It'll be a little wire, I'd say.
08:45We think that when it's finished that it'll have that wow factor.
08:48We hope so.
08:49So when you come up, you can look at it and go, wow.
08:51Yeah.
08:51Look at that.
08:52You know, that's what we're hoping for.
08:54And I think we're going to achieve that too.
08:56Hopefully, yeah.
08:57I wish you the best of luck.
08:58Thank you very much.
09:04We've got an interesting situation here and it's quite subtle.
09:08Jan and David are partners in life and in work and by design in this house.
09:14But I get the sense there's a bit of an imbalance.
09:17You see, Dave is determined and clear in his vision for this place.
09:21He can really imagine it.
09:24Jan can't.
09:25She likes villas and cottages.
09:29And this place will be neither of those.
09:31It's going to be an assertive, robust, even masculine house.
09:36I just hope that in the next year or so, as this house comes out of the ground,
09:41that she really begins to feel that it is her place, her dream house, as much as it is his.
09:55By the time the couple went to see architectural designer Paul McKenna,
09:59Jan's villa idea had been set aside and Dave's plan was the only one on the table.
10:04Plus a pile of photos of houses he liked the look of.
10:09Dave's plan, I was quite surprised, was very good, very well thought out.
10:14It looked like it would actually work.
10:17Modern houses, but all of them had wide, flat brews with big wide soffites,
10:25very horizontal and I thought straight away I know what that is.
10:27And I went to my bookshelf and grabbed this book and we have wide verandas and flat brews.
10:37What David was showing me was prairie style Frank Lloyd Wright.
10:41That's where I'll go to get some more design cues.
10:43Just have a look at that and see if I can bring that into the 21st century.
10:51Well, if you're going to be inspired by anyone, why not American Frank Lloyd Wright?
10:57One of the most famous and influential architects of the 20th century.
11:01With their open floor plans, horizontal lines and emphasis on natural materials and light.
11:07Wright's prairie houses built between 1900 and the early 1920s were a key influence on a later architectural style that
11:16we now call mid-century modernism.
11:19And while the vast open spaces and natural beauty of the southwestern landscapes in states like California were perfectly reflected
11:27in American mid-century modernist homes,
11:29their design, materials and whole spirit was embraced all over the world.
11:34And still is.
11:36These old styles, or these styles that were popular in the past, becomes popular because it's good and because people
11:43like it.
11:44So, and it's timeless.
11:47So people of all periods will gravitate towards it or recognise it and like it.
11:52So, the big one, this is what I thought of straight away.
11:56Wright's masterpiece, the falling water.
11:58Now, I knew Dave wouldn't want that.
12:00It's too organic for him, but that's where I got the idea of the swimming pool with the waterfall leech.
12:07So there are some pretty impressive architectural references at work here in Dave's American modern influenced home.
12:15But that begs the question, has he been secretly hiding a comprehensive knowledge of 20th century architecture?
12:22Or has he, by sheer chance, hit upon this distinctive architectural style?
12:27One that's either going to work or not work in this location.
12:39It's been a very long wait to finally get going.
12:42So when Dave and Jan get the green light, they're off at pace.
12:47Today we're pouring the garage floors, ready to go.
12:50Obviously been a bricklayer for 25 years.
12:53I've laid a lot of concrete blocks and things like that.
12:55The whole bottom of the house with all the retaining walls.
12:58Everything that's involved, I do myself from now on because it's all concrete block and brick.
13:03So that's my trade.
13:04I can get that tootling along pretty well.
13:10A lot may have changed on building sites since Dave hung up his tools.
13:14But laying block work is still hard graft.
13:17And Dave has taken on the bulk of it here.
13:23Bring a tear to my eye.
13:35The first concrete pour is a properly huge milestone for Dave and Jan.
13:39It's the beginning of a build after years of planning, of hopes, of dreams.
13:45Are you all right?
13:46Oh no, it's just a big day.
13:48Oh, how long have we waited?
13:50It's like it's come true.
13:52It's all right.
13:54It's good.
13:56We'll get over it.
13:57Just need a moment.
13:59The build underway is perhaps something Dave and Jan were beginning to think they'd never see.
14:03So no wonder it sparks some emotion.
14:06I had a sand fly in my eye.
14:08That's what it would have been.
14:09Surely.
14:11We've never had a new house.
14:13Always lived in someone else's.
14:15So, you know, this is really, really good for us.
14:18The dream's starting to come through.
14:29By March 2022, Dave and Jan Poppy's build near Whanganui is out of the ground and Dave is in his
14:37element.
14:40I'm not letting you get off that easy.
14:42Don't you put me on the back burner.
14:43As well as project managing the build, Dave is doing all of the brick and block work.
14:48A huge job.
14:50And while he's got 25 years experience bricklaying to call on, he's not as young as he used to be.
14:59I'm averaging about 120 to 150 a day.
15:04In my younger days, I used to do 350.
15:07Not now though.
15:09Those days are well and truly gone.
15:10Yeah, the old body knows I'm doing it.
15:13Put it that way.
15:14Yeah.
15:17Dave is now completely immersed in the build and will be for some time.
15:21Meaning Jan will have to take on even more work.
15:24As if she's not busy enough handling the business finances and all of the livestock.
15:30Come on girls, come on.
15:33Including her prize herd of Hereford breeding cows.
15:38How are you doing girly?
15:40Hey?
15:41Be nice.
15:43I wouldn't say I was an animal person a few years ago.
15:47Well quite a few years ago.
15:48But I definitely am now.
15:51Eat your hay you guys.
15:54I sat at a desk for 24 years doing office work and I would much prefer to be doing this.
16:01Definitely.
16:02Yep, I love it.
16:03See you tomorrow.
16:09After so much time and effort spent getting the build out of the ground, Dave knows the only way now
16:15is up.
16:16Hey!
16:18Not too close.
16:21And the living and dining space they're planning is certainly right up there.
16:25Remember, this room will be four and a half metres from floor to ceiling.
16:33Today we're standing all of the steel frames for the great room in the house.
16:41We're joining them all together and we're going to stand them with the 30 tonne digger.
16:48Jan's also taking an active part in the build whenever she can.
16:56Everything's 100% with Jan. Everything she does she takes private.
17:01Definitely works way too hard.
17:03Most of my life spent around slowing her down.
17:07She never stops surprising me what she can do.
17:16With the steel in place it's now abundantly clear just how tall this great room is.
17:22But will it be too dominant in this location?
17:27We really, really didn't want to make it too high because it was going to look like a school auditorium.
17:35But we still wanted that height.
17:37Yeah, yeah, we needed it to be a great room.
17:40And as you can see it is.
17:42Well done. We've done it, buddy.
17:45We've done it.
18:00It's May and Dave has laid most of the blocks for the base of the building.
18:04Truly impressive for one man working alone.
18:07But with winter on the way, Dave's now on site seven days a week.
18:11Trying to get as much done as possible before the weather inevitably closes in.
18:21It's very rewarding being able to be involved with it so much for sure.
18:26I'm basically building the structure of our house.
18:32Typically there'd be a whole team of bricklayers on a sizeable job like this.
18:36Dave's solo effort is a lot cheaper, of course, but it's soaking up all of his time.
18:43My feeling at present is when the sun shines, I work.
18:47Yeah.
18:47Because the sun's not going to shine forever.
18:50And when it really opens up, it tends to mud up here and just can't do anything.
18:56From our point of view, we'll be much happier when the structure's up and the floors are down.
19:01Yeah, yeah.
19:01Then there'll be a sigh of relief.
19:04We'll have a break for a while.
19:06We need to have a break, eh?
19:07Yeah.
19:09There's no effort spared here.
19:11And so if everything goes to plan, Dave may be right and it will be a 12-month build.
19:16I can't help feeling, however, that could all change as fast as the weather on this Whanganui hilltop.
19:22Ooh, it's got a bit nippy.
19:24It has.
19:25Clouds are coming in.
19:37Nine months from the start of the build and the wet weather has fully set in.
19:42But I'm due a visit and can see straight away Dave's taken his block work to a whole new level.
19:50Well, this is a great sign, isn't it?
19:52Look, a giant chimney breast above an enormous fireplace.
19:57The backbone to many a good house.
19:59And this one, this one is, I don't know, it's kind of like a giant grey space invader.
20:06Full of character.
20:08Just like its owners.
20:13But as the house starts to take shape and its scale becomes increasingly apparent, it's clear this is no ordinary
20:21build.
20:22Certainly not for a farm in the back blocks of Whanganui.
20:26Looking at this now, is this how you imagine the house?
20:29Is it the size you thought it would be?
20:32We're not sure yet, are you?
20:34No, we're not.
20:35Once the framing's up, then we'll get a better idea.
20:37You think?
20:38Yeah.
20:39And also the block layer, who's stepped up to the mark really well.
20:44Are you talking about yourself, Dave?
20:48So it'll be hand over to the builders soon to start doing the roof peelings and all those sorts of
20:53things.
20:54And Muni, where are you with that?
20:56Yeah, yeah, the moolah's running out a bit.
20:58We're at about $400,000.
21:01Well, I don't know until the...
21:02It's going to be another $200,000 to get it closed in.
21:05Oh, at least.
21:06But we just have to do it as we can afford it.
21:09Sure.
21:09So, you know, it's a good time to hand over to the builders.
21:12Once we've knocked the frames together for the builders, they'll stand them,
21:16and then they'll start prepping the roof up all the way through it.
21:20That's when you'll see what we're building.
21:22You say that with a little glint, I think.
21:24Oh, absolutely.
21:25By my reckoning, that extra $200,000 to get closed in will take the bill over the $650,000 to
21:33$700,000 Dave thought the whole project might cost.
21:39But running through that is another thread.
21:42And there's a thoughtfulness and intelligence about what this place could be,
21:47what the finishes are going to be like, how that coordinates with the substructure.
21:51And that comes from Dave and his ingenuity.
21:53And that tells me that this could be a brilliant house.
22:00But there's a long way to go yet.
22:13A blustery start to summer, almost a year since the build began.
22:18So Dave's initial estimate of 12 months to finish is nowhere near being met.
22:23And although a lot of the timber framing is now up, there's not much else happening on site.
22:31We stopped about four weeks ago because the old bank account had run out a wee bit.
22:37It's quietly ticking away up there.
22:40But, yeah, just nowhere near at the pace it was before.
22:44It is what it is, you know.
22:45We'll get in there, it might be a year.
22:47Let's hope so.
22:49But Jan and I don't want to get stressed about when we're in there.
22:55It's not only the extra 12 months on the build.
22:58With building materials and labour costs all continuing to go up,
23:03financially, the whole project is really starting to hurt.
23:07So Dave and Jan's focus is very much off the house and back onto making money.
23:18We do grass silage to start with and then we'll go through and we'll do a lot of bales wrapped
23:23up in plastic.
23:24And then we move on to our hay season where we do dry hay.
23:29They've also cashed in on one of the farm's forestry blocks.
23:33Another job one man Dynamo Dave is doing all by himself.
23:38One thing's for sure, when the house is finally finished, Dave and Jan will have really earned it.
23:44And a lot has been sacrificed.
23:47We've actually got a truck that we're just in the process of selling.
23:50So we just decided, well, we've got that big asset sitting there.
23:53And if this truck sells, well, we can probably afford to buy the windows and the roof.
23:59That'll be pretty handy.
24:01Pretty drafty otherwise without any windows.
24:05Despite their side hustles, it's the quarry that pays the bills.
24:08And it's Jan who looks after the finances.
24:11So she knows exactly what the bottom line is.
24:16And she's as determined as Dave to finish the build without going to the bank.
24:24If we can't afford it, we don't do it.
24:28And that's been one of the things with the business too, buying machinery in there.
24:32And if it gets too much, I'll say, no, no, that's enough.
24:36You know, we'll make do.
24:38But we may have to, but I'm not.
24:40At this stage, we're good.
24:44Dave and Jan's continued determination to avoid borrowing money is a time-honoured and sensible practice.
24:52But while they're focused on sticking to the plan, it must be hard finding the patience to do so.
24:58With the build site lying largely idle.
25:00It helps to have a few distractions and a fine day on the farm.
25:06Come on.
25:07Come on.
25:09Come on.
25:10Come on.
25:11Come on.
25:15This is Miss Goosey.
25:16She's been here for many years, but unfortunately her partner died, so she kept crying, didn't she?
25:24I'm her best friend now.
25:26That's good.
25:28She is a bit annoying when she comes up to the house and pops everywhere, though.
25:31I don't appreciate that.
25:33I don't appreciate that.
26:01What about just forming the sill with a capping stone?
26:04Yeah.
26:06Oh, it's unreal, isn't it?
26:07It's something different.
26:07It's something enjoyable to build.
26:10It's not a run-of-the-mill thing.
26:11It makes you want to actually, you know, get up here and help.
26:17Dave's pretty much handled most things up to here.
26:19I'm just sort of steering him around in the right direction, but now I've got the roof structure he wants
26:23us to take over and he's going to back off and carry on with his retaining walls and that.
26:28If we can get the lid on, get the roof on for him, he'll be more than happy.
26:34But while Dave's now prepared to step back and let the builders get on with their jobs, his own work
26:39is far from finished.
26:42The brickwork around the outside is Dave's doing a whole lot of that and he's going to do some plastering
26:45as well, so he'll do all the external envelope, really, of the build.
26:49And we're just putting the lid on.
26:51He's still got plenty to go.
26:54Dave and Jan are caught a bit here.
26:56They need to keep the build going, but money continues to be an issue.
27:00It's quite the conundrum.
27:04Priorities at present for the quarry and any sort of money that we might have and things like that really
27:10need to go towards that.
27:12There's just so much at stake.
27:15We can't have this without that.
27:17If we're not supporting the quarry, we're not getting a home.
27:22But there's an even deeper and more pressing problem.
27:26The quarry is coming to the end of its working life.
27:29So unless Dave and Jan can find another site on their farm for a new quarry, their financial pipeline could
27:36be turned off.
27:38But Dave, as always, has a plan.
27:43We'll be sort of taking that piece in the middle. The new quarry will be in four stages. That's stage
27:48one, stage two, stage three, and then out the front here will be stage four.
27:55There's a lot at stake here. Not only does setting up a new quarry need serious investment, there's still a
28:02risk there won't be enough usable shell rock to justify it.
28:06So does Dave even know he's planning to dig in the right place?
28:11No, no I don't. I actually don't. I just, the topography of the land as it lies, that there looks
28:21exactly what that used to look like.
28:25And at the end of the day, if it's not there now, hopefully it's good rock.
28:45It's now nearly two years since I first met Dave and Jan Poppy on their farm near Phanganui.
28:51Dave's initial 12-month build estimate went out the proverbial window long ago.
28:57And in fact, the actual windows aren't even finished yet.
29:00The plan to have this house watertight by winter never happened.
29:07Money's still tight, but the new quarry's now open for business.
29:11And the good shell rock was just where Dave hoped it would be, just as well.
29:18Everybody's worked hard down there. There's been six or seven of us down there working, just trying to get on
29:24top of it really.
29:25So the house has sort of had to come second best.
29:28But all of that's about to change with another milestone day on site, at last.
29:41Finally, the glass goes in our aluminium.
29:44Really excited to be able to get in my house and the wind doesn't blow through.
29:48It'll be just nice.
29:52Once the house is closed in, Jan can start on the interior decorating.
29:57But how much money she'll have to play with will depend on how much has already been spent.
30:08I think the budget we started at, was it 6,650?
30:116,650 I see.
30:13Yeah, yeah. And we're at a million now.
30:16I don't quite know how that happened. How did that happen?
30:19How much more do you think we've got to go? A couple of hundred?
30:21Yeah, maybe something like that. That should stop it.
30:23Ooh, I hope not too much more.
30:24Yeah.
30:26The money coming in from the new quarry has to be balanced against the huge expense of setting it up,
30:32plus the cost of turning the old quarry back into pasture.
30:35But heading into 2024, the couple must be feeling that this is their year.
31:00Six months later, and the massive job Dave's tackles single-handedly is almost done.
31:06And he's putting the finishing touches on the brickwork, like the craftsman that he is.
31:13I'm just looking for that real sharp, clean lines look.
31:19You know, I'm only going to do it once, so I might as well get it right.
31:24Jan has kept the faith over what's turned out to be a very long time.
31:28But despite her strong work ethic and stoic personality, she's fast running out of patience and steam.
31:38I just can't get excited yet.
31:40I'm trying to do interior stuff now and that's getting stressful, to say the least.
31:46But I'm just tired, I think. Just tired. We'll get there.
31:50At this stage of any build, I kind of think a house hasn't got its soul yet.
31:56Now, I don't mean that unkindly.
31:59It's just that layer of comfort and homeliness is still to be added.
32:03That show-stopping view will always be the Starlow.
32:07And while the landscaping typically comes last, almost all the brickwork and cladding is done.
32:14What happens here? You've got some substrate.
32:17Yep. What's the finish?
32:18That'll be all stone, schist.
32:21Yeah, it's a yellowy colour, rusty yellow colours.
32:24Yeah, it's pretty monotone at the moment, so that will bring colour.
32:27And so I should wait to judge this, how should I, till the artist has finished his composition.
32:33That's exactly right.
32:35It's been a huge effort and Dave's clearly proud of his workmanship.
32:40And justifiably so.
32:42You've hit the sofik perfectly. No cut bricks.
32:45Yeah.
32:45Honestly Tom, he's been the most reliable tradesman on site so far as a brickler.
32:50Yeah.
32:51He really has been. So we've been really impressed with him.
32:54Um, we'd put him on any job.
32:59Now I always thought Jan was taking the lead on interior decorating, but it seems Dave is still calling a
33:05few shots.
33:07All around the outside and all the way across the ends here is all jib, and that'll be black.
33:13Black ceiling.
33:14Yes, interesting. We're pretty out there having a black ceiling.
33:17Oh, you've got enough height here haven't you for that to not feel oppressive.
33:21No, well...
33:22But I can't quite see it yet. Well...
33:24No, neither can I see it.
33:26This isn't a normal house, is it Dave?
33:29Even right down to the chandelier, it's going to come down and it's all handmade.
33:34Yeah.
33:35There won't be another one like it.
33:38So there's a bit of work to do still.
33:40But if they get cracking, they'll be in by Christmas, six months or so away.
33:45That will depend, of course, on the interior decorating and the couple agreeing on what they're doing.
33:52Jan, your vision was, well, maybe it's an old villa with roses and...
33:56Yeah.
33:56..and clearly the house is not black.
33:59No.
34:00So will we see some of that as this house gets finished, some of that hominess?
34:04It might sneak in, yes, definitely.
34:07Yeah?
34:07Because I'm certainly the country, country villary person.
34:11I'll sneak it out when you're not looking.
34:13No.
34:13Yeah.
34:13No, you won't.
34:14Where would you bring country in?
34:16Even your kitchen and everything that you've got is really stylish.
34:19Oh, just in for the floor.
34:21The...
34:21Oh, okay, yeah.
34:23That's country.
34:23In our table, where our table's a little bit.
34:25So, how much has this two and a half year trundle cost so far?
34:29Goodness me, really?
34:31Got into that pretty quick.
34:32How about hopping on to the next question?
34:35Well...
34:35There we go.
34:35I can see that this isn't...
34:37It's probably not where you want it to be.
34:39But that's...
34:39No.
34:40I think about 1.3.
34:42And to come?
34:43About 300,000 I'm hoping for.
34:47It's a gotta be.
34:48It's a gotta be.
34:49Hard point.
34:50I don't really want to spend any more.
34:52Yeah.
34:52That's enough.
34:53I'm not going to build another one.
34:55You know, we've done the hard yards.
34:57We deserve what we...
34:58Yeah.
34:59We've worked so hard in our lives to get to this point.
35:07So here we are in a, well, a tough, unrelenting construction environment.
35:13And to this point, it's all been concrete and brick and Dave doing the heavy lifting.
35:18But actually, the next stage is what excites me.
35:21Because remember back to Jan's vision of villas and roses.
35:26That softer, more romantic view of what a house should be.
35:30I think that's what we're gonna see next.
35:32And what's more, Dave, despite appearances, he's a big softy.
35:38Well, at least somewhere.
35:39And I think he's gonna enjoy that side of things as much as I will.
35:52I'm genuinely excited about today.
35:54Going to see Dave and Jan's place finished.
35:56Because, frankly, up until now, it's been three years.
36:00Well, more than three years of hard work.
36:03Sometimes pretty horrible weather conditions.
36:06You know, all the runty construction stuff.
36:08So now, hopefully, we're going to see their well-earned reward.
36:21Wow, look at that.
36:23The hill has got a crown.
36:31Oh, yes.
36:33I mean, this house appears like a grey object from a distance.
36:37But up close, its textures and light and these lovely blue tiles.
36:42Cascading water shests, that looks amazing.
36:45Oh, look.
36:47An intergalactic front door.
36:49I mean, that's mesmerizing.
36:51Never seen anything like it.
36:52What do we do?
36:53Do we knock or teleport in?
36:56Yeah.
36:58It opens.
36:59Hey.
37:00Hi, Jan.
37:00How are you, John?
37:01I'm doing good. How are you?
37:03Good to see you.
37:04Dave.
37:04How are you?
37:06Good, mate.
37:06What an arrival.
37:08This house is impressive.
37:09Not least this thing.
37:10I know, I really love that door.
37:12Yeah.
37:12Love the colours.
37:13What's next?
37:14Come on in.
37:20This is lovely, isn't it?
37:21You walk up the steps and you see the water.
37:23Great view there.
37:25Yeah.
37:30Oh, yes.
37:31And it is a moment.
37:34The great room.
37:35It is a great room.
37:36Your eyes are drawn up to the ceiling.
37:38So that's the timber that you milled.
37:41Mm.
37:41Planted them, chopped them down and then milled them.
37:44Yeah.
37:45I worried about the grey paint, but that's the perfect backdrop now to these amazing copper and timber and stone
37:52tones.
37:53Yeah.
37:56And then, kitchen.
37:58Mm.
37:58More textures and colour.
38:00Mm.
38:01Lovely green, emerald green tiles.
38:02And that's copper, isn't it?
38:04Yes.
38:04On the back of the island.
38:05Yes, yes.
38:06But unlike any copper I've ever seen, it's all beautiful.
38:09Jen's done a lot of the colours, obviously.
38:11And, uh, she's really nailed it as far as I'm concerned.
38:14We're really, really proud of it.
38:16And it's got your names written all over it.
38:19Which is how your house should be, right?
38:20100%.
38:21Yeah.
38:21I think it's Jan.
38:22I think there's Jan in here.
38:24No, I just did the work, mate.
38:25Right.
38:25Okay.
38:27Jan brought the magic.
38:28Yeah.
38:28Yeah, yeah.
38:28Oh, absolutely.
38:30I'm the one.
38:31She's the magic.
38:32She's the magic.
38:33There you go.
38:33Yeah.
38:40Of course, the main event, that's just war.
38:43It tells the lie.
38:44Is it inside?
38:44Is it outside?
38:45It's sort of seamless as it flows through.
38:47Yeah.
38:47Really happy it's finished.
38:49I know that.
38:51Each individual stone was laid with these, so...
38:54Those two hands.
38:56Yeah, the ones with glue all over them.
38:57Right, right, right.
38:58And so you're going to get a manicure soon, then?
39:01Are you finished now?
39:02Yes.
39:02Oh, yes.
39:04While the great room is deservedly the centre of attention, it sits between the two wings of the house, which
39:10are more private.
39:11One near the front entrance has a bright guest bedroom and a generous home office.
39:18And tucked away behind the schist wall in the other wing is a smaller TV lounge, and just around the
39:24corner, the master bedroom.
39:29The main event is this.
39:31Great view to wake up to.
39:32And then behind me.
39:34We pushed it.
39:35We pushed that out with glass all around it so that we could feel as though we were sitting outside.
39:39And the cows can look back at you.
39:41Yeah.
39:41Nobody else, though.
39:42Yeah.
39:43No.
39:44Yeah.
39:44Yeah.
39:45Yeah.
39:48Yeah.
39:48The inside of the garage is not quite finished, and neither is Dave's man room alongside.
39:54But if you ask me, the best spot in this house is the one that Jan and Dave can enjoy
40:00together.
40:02Now, this spot right here is just glamour, isn't it?
40:07Yeah.
40:08It's special.
40:09It's almost like we're in the Hollywood Hills up above everything else.
40:13Mm.
40:14We have to pinch ourselves quite regularly to realise that we've actually managed to achieve it.
40:19Like, even this pool, there's a huge amount of work in this pool.
40:22Like, it took months to do it, you know?
40:24Now we just get to enjoy it.
40:26Mm.
40:27After three years and three months, mate, we get to enjoy it, finally.
40:41This is such a strong house, you know?
40:43For the moment you walk in, this shiny copper front door, textured wallpaper, oxidised copper and, of course, a schist.
40:50It kind of grabs you.
40:51We wanted to go for that wow factor.
40:54Yeah.
40:54You've got that in space.
40:56Yeah, absolutely.
40:57Yeah.
40:57Yeah.
40:58I knew what it was going to look like, but I never believed that we could build it.
41:01It was actually going to happen.
41:02Yeah, yeah.
41:03Like, right up until almost a couple of days before we moved in, you never believed that it was our
41:07home, did you?
41:08Well, it just felt like somebody, I was just coming up to...
41:11Yeah, yeah.
41:12To somebody on a job site.
41:13To somebody on a job site.
41:14Yeah, yeah.
41:15But that's changed, has it, now?
41:16Yeah, well, sort of.
41:17Oh, absolutely.
41:18Are you still getting used to it?
41:19Yeah, I'm still getting used to it, yeah.
41:20There's a big change from living in a converted garage.
41:24Oh, absolutely.
41:25Well, it was lovely, you know, but it wasn't the ideal home.
41:28No, no.
41:30Through the construction, Dave, your stints were epic.
41:34Hours and hours, days and days, months and months, three years.
41:37Did it ever get too much?
41:41Uh...
41:41I think it, well, it did for me at some stage.
41:44I think I was just so sick of it.
41:46We had a few disagreements, yeah, and some of them pretty full on.
41:49Mm-hmm.
41:50I think we'll take a bit of time out.
41:51A couple of months of just taking it easy, A, and trying to build the batteries back up,
41:56because they're pretty empty right now.
42:00I think you said it, Jan.
42:02We only spend what we've got.
42:04Yes.
42:05Right?
42:05Yeah.
42:06But with this house, you know, the original ambition, the budget at 650, probably dreaming,
42:12as you found out.
42:13But the last time I talked to you, it was 1.3 million, and then there's another 300 to
42:17spend, maybe.
42:18No, it wasn't.
42:19No?
42:20It came in at 1.3.
42:21So you came in at 1.3?
42:23Yeah.
42:23Oh, wow.
42:24Yeah.
42:24It's made a day.
42:25I went and looked it up.
42:26So you stuck to that.
42:27You said, right, this is what we've got.
42:29Yeah.
42:29We don't want to spend any more.
42:30No, no.
42:31So did you have to get a mortgage?
42:33That was the thing you really wanted to avoid?
42:34We did in the end.
42:36Yeah.
42:36Not a very big one.
42:37No, we only borrowed a little bit of money at the end.
42:39No, not too much.
42:40We needed to finish.
42:41Otherwise we'd still be building.
42:42Yeah.
42:42But I always had one house left in me.
42:46I always said that I would build one home at the end.
42:49Yeah.
42:49And this is it, really.
42:50Yeah.
42:51So I was going to make it a good one.
42:53Mm-hmm.
42:54Yeah.
42:55Oh, well.
42:55That's pretty special.
42:57Yeah, absolutely.
42:58Absolutely.
42:58And I just, yeah, I know what sacrifices Jen's made to be here.
43:05It's all right.
43:06Yeah.
43:06You don't need to cut off.
43:07No, no, absolutely.
43:08She has.
43:10She's so good.
43:10You make us all cry.
43:11Yeah, certainly.
43:12I'm not going to play.
43:13Ha, ha, ha, ha.
43:18This house seems to me to be the perfect example of where passion transcends mere bricks and
43:26mortar, transcends a particular architectural style or taste.
43:29Yes, it did rely heavily on Dave's skills and expertise building things for other people.
43:34But remember, he said that he would only truly ever build one house for himself, a true passion
43:41project.
43:42And it seems to me that that passion was only activated when he met the true love to build
43:48for in Jan.
43:51And the wonderful thing is that we are seeing an undiluted full saturation reflection of that
43:58passion, a reflection of Dave and Jan.
44:02And that makes this a remarkable house to behold, sitting here, pride of place on the
44:10top of the hill.
44:19And thank you very much my dear.
44:25In such a weird wreck of the sea.
44:39Well, you enjoy your way.
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