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Grand Designs New Zealand - Season 10 Episode 5 - Kawau
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00:02There's something deeply alluring about the thought of building your own private hideaway
00:08on a beautiful island far removed from the pace and pressure of modern life peace and quiet
00:18broken only by the occasional bird song and the lulling sound of waves lapping on the shore
00:27perhaps it relates to a primal part of us that craves a robinson crusoe-esque experience
00:34living in harmony with nature cut free from societal demands but then again island life
00:43has a habit of testing that romantic vision isolation complex logistics exposure to maritime
00:52weather storms and that could cause even the most ardently held paradise island dream to be dashed
01:3150 k's north of auckland rising from the sparkling waters of the whole rocky gulf is kawa island
01:42this 5 000 acre oasis has almost no roads very little infrastructure and a permanent population
01:51of just 80 people you can lead the way charlie brown so only those with determination and a true passion
01:59for this place would entertain the notion of building here whoa good throw charlie
02:05auckland couple rita and alistair along with daughter charlie are about to do just that can you see any unicorn
02:13horns yeah your blood
02:16pressure starts dropping before you even get here and once once you're here it is literally like 50
02:20years back in time that's not for everybody keep it i'll try to crack it open okay for charlie to
02:28have the
02:29opportunity to connect with nature and all these simple things in life it's a great way for her to grow
02:36up
02:38this place will be a tranquil retreat from their busy lives in auckland
02:45rita and alistair both work in real estate which is how they first met rita almost drove into me in
02:52car park at work was the first was was the first encounter uh and the second encounter was on the
02:59on the staircase and i leaned over to say hello and she completely ignored me and walked past
03:08fortunately that um promising start didn't stand in the way of love we make a very good team actually
03:15um i'm very practical um very good on the tools as our rita i'm a bit clumsy their teamwork was
03:24put to
03:25the test when they renovated the georgian style villa they bought 10 years ago it was huge um well above
03:34our skill set they tackled a lot of the work themselves and it took six years to complete
03:42it we're still together yeah and we are about to walk into our next uh adventure
03:51but initially another house project was not an adventure alistair was eager to walk into
03:58we gave her a bit of a budget which i thought she'd never achieve for us for a site it
04:03was very stingy
04:03and it had it had to have the million dollar view and access to water and had to have all
04:08of sad to
04:08tick all the boxes and we accidentally sort of came across something wonderful and lo and behold it
04:15was well within budget so i was in whether i liked it or not i was thinking oh you're not
04:20getting out
04:21of this yeah i gotcha this is an appropriately adventurous driveway steep and full of switchbacks
04:45i hope the juice is worth the squeeze after what feels like a never-ending climb i can now see
04:57why
04:57rita and alistair chose this spot ha ha look at this yeah the view opens up quite nicely doesn't it
05:05yes i love it it's right on the ridge line even these kanuka here you're going to be above them
05:11that's right uninterrupted views big part of uh buying the site was what we're going to catch
05:16out there hopefully yeah you need a long rod from here but so you can you can get down to
05:20the water
05:20though can you yeah it's a five minute walk that way so i imagine a big picture window there looking
05:25out and you sitting behind it watching alistair probably on the water that's right did you catch
05:29dinner i bet you have with this steep island site rita and alistair have opted for a pragmatic
05:37paired back design 56 piles anchor the house down and prefabricated steel forms the framing
05:46because it's lighter and cheaper to chop it over than timber the house is just a hundred square meters
05:53but it packs in a lot the master bedroom complete with ensuite charlie's room next door
06:00and a guest room which adjoins the bathroom there's even a small but perfectly formed laundry
06:08the home then opens out to encompass a kitchen and dining area and a cozy living space centered around
06:15a wood-burning stove as a counter to the elegantly restrained interior rita's designed a bold plywood
06:23ceiling outside a very roomy wrap around deck doubles the size of the house and thermally
06:30modified pine cladding that will silver off attunes this simple but beautifully crafted retreat to its
06:38unspoiled island setting oh this is quite a project yeah yes it will be how do you build here
06:46and that's a big question the how most of the issues are around logistics getting things here so how do
06:54you get stuff here um a combination of barge and helicopter nothing on the island right there's
07:00there's nowhere to buy anything no so somebody has to be super organized they do and it's rita
07:06no so you're you're taking the reins you're project managing i am i am to my best abilities
07:15what will you spend on this ideally we are currently at four nine five so contingency
07:23probably what 20 percent we'll see all that's including accommodation cost okay so your builders
07:31will be living on the island monday to friday monday to friday when do you finish it i'd like
07:36to think that we will be having a conversation on the on the deck by late august next year okay
07:44i'll
07:45wish you luck hopefully it goes like that and we'll be here looking out on a beautiful day on the
07:51island
07:51watching alistair catching dinner oh yeah he won't be with us forget for a moment the practicalities
08:03of life and allow your inner child to dream a bit where would you build a house well it might
08:10very well
08:11be on a beautiful island on the best spot on the top of the hill surrounded only by nature but
08:18let's
08:18think about those practicalities shall we because here we've got barges and helicopters 56 piles steep
08:24hills weather windows importing your own builders stacks up doesn't it and you might start to default
08:31to something a bit more mundane and suburban but rita and alistair aren't are they they're going to live
08:39that dream and however it turns out it's going to be a real adventure
08:51and on a beautiful spring morning that adventure begins a barge has set off carrying 16 tons worth of
09:00building materials for the foundations of alistair and rita's house it's huge it's huge like i have a
09:10big lump in my stomach and i'm literally shaking because access to the build site is so steep
09:17the entire load must be lifted from the barge to site by helicopter and rita has coordinated the entire
09:25operation it's excitement and a bit of nervousness going into the unknown that how how is this going
09:34to pan out this hall includes those 56 foundation piles and they're pretty hefty some as much as seven
09:56meters long
09:57there are 36 loads to shift and the chopper costs four thousand dollars an hour
10:07i'm not surprised rita's feeling a little nervous
10:11i'm timing him
10:15these guys have allocated 70 grand for transportation for the entire build
10:23barge and chopper hire today alone will cost 11 000
10:28i hope they haven't underestimated just how much it takes to build on this island
10:35the good thing is everything has gone without a hitch
10:39that was very exciting to watch honestly and i'm so grateful for this beautiful weather
10:46i couldn't have wished for a better day
10:51now materials have arrived so have the builders who'll be staying on the island not far from sight
10:58it'll just be full on every week any hardware we need we can't just race out and get it we've
11:04had to
11:04pre-think everything before we got here but the guys do appreciate the plus sides to this unique project
11:11like the location you just can't beat it just the scenery is just unreal
11:17bird life's amazing absolutely incredible it's yes don't get this in town i've already made a friend
11:22he wanted him to check out our sandwiches
11:29getting that first delivery to site was a big achievement but as project manager rita has many
11:35more to coordinate and a myriad of critical decisions to make like what's the least risky most cost-effective
11:45way to get concrete poured on an island it is terrifying i feel the pressure of all these decision
11:53making that am i gonna do it right or not because it could cost a lot if i don't do
12:00it right
12:13on karwo island rita alistair and charlie are making their way to site
12:19where the builders have almost finished bracing the foundation piles into position
12:25and any moment now an important delivery is incoming a 25 000 liter water tank
12:33which once the house is built will be cleverly hidden under the deck
12:38but that means it must be positioned very close to several of the large pile poles
12:48that's pretty exciting it's something you don't see very often in there
12:52the design of rita analysis house may be simple but almost nothing about building it is
13:04it's very snug
13:16another tricky chopper delivery successfully accomplished
13:23but this friday a much more complex mission has been scheduled
13:28okay we're talking anxiety levels friday yes
13:3220 cubic meters of concrete is to be helicoptered from the mainland to fill the pile holes
13:39my understanding is there's a hopper that hangs from below the helicopter roughly about a ton
13:45worth of concrete are we using wheelbarrows or we're just going to be hovering over the hole
13:49the team's checking in with a chopper pilot to discuss logistics
13:53and i need to move it as quick as i can pick up the uh funnel on the slider
13:58we're still ironing our details would like a a flexi sturdy plastic hose would work
14:06yeah just anything they can take the weight okay
14:09all you need to dump it into wheelbarrows
14:11as you can see rita is the master planner going tight should be she got us into this she can
14:18get us out of it
14:21there's no turning back now so i don't have a choice
14:27one way rita and alistair hope to reduce some of the on-site work and cost of this build
14:32is by choosing prefabricated steel framing which i'm really interested to see being manufactured
14:39here in this family-run auckland factory that labels every piece they roll through the machine
14:45and then the machine punches out all of the notch outs all the screw holes the plumbing holes
14:52steel is a third lighter than timber framing so that's a significant cost advantage when you're
14:58having to chopper and barge it all to site
15:04that's going to be your building that roll of steel i know
15:08it's fascinating really that a building comes together from that sheet it's incredible
15:17in a matter of seconds you've got something that complex
15:20look at that it's locked in it's just like origami isn't it yeah yeah
15:29and what i also like about it there is no wastage
15:33on site yeah and we don't have to worry about any rubbish removal and all that
15:40we don't have to worry about it before production for rita analysis steel began
15:42they already had a clear picture of how the components would all come together
15:49this is a great tool today so this is a skeleton of your house
15:53that's right i'll take you for a walk yeah rita has been right across every aspect of this project
15:59from day one i did want to be an architect when i was a child about eight i was always
16:06building
16:07things in the backyard right so this is a long-held part of you yes i guess it's it started
16:15early yeah
16:15mom never really had the opportunity to support that part for me so that kind of just got
16:23pushed aside but now it's back well it seems like i have it have an opportunity to uh to give
16:30in to
16:31that desire and enjoy the entire project yeah and you are i am loving it oh that's great
16:43the day of the helicopter concrete poor has arrived and anticipation is running high
16:53first time i've ever been involved in concrete from a helicopter
17:00about five k's away on the mainland alistair is manning the concrete loading site
17:07there's just so many moving parts we're all a little bit nervous
17:14one of those moving parts has arrived
17:19the chopper's going to transport four truckloads of wet concrete to site which will require 50 trips
17:30thunderbirds are go
17:33aca of the first concrete bucket is two minutes we're positioning ourselves
17:39i'll see you on the other side sweet as see you soon
17:44that's the easy part now they have to get it into the hole
17:49uh what can go wrong
17:57okay brace yourself my bro
18:06dust caused by weeks of hot weather is not making this mission any easier
18:12oh it's a bit dusty mate the improvised shoot built by one of the teams seems to be doing the
18:20trick
18:26well that was a pretty quick turnaround really isn't it very encouraging start oh well next hole
18:33should we go to this one eh yeah
18:44the chopper's round trip to reload takes just a few minutes so the guys have to move very quickly
19:01some of the pile holes are more difficult to access than others
19:11but the guys seem to take the challenges in their stride wow
19:19that one's so quick
19:20there we go yeah
19:27these guys have just done a fabulous job that's just a real slick operation
19:33not too bad and of course none of it would have happened without the chief planner
19:40this was the giant part and the most stressful part i say that now ask me in a month's time
20:01the
20:02on a pristine kawau island morning in the height of summer alistair's immersed in an important mission
20:10we were here about a week ago with the barge and during the excitement and all the commotion
20:15um a bag of shackles got kicked off the side here so that they're down there
20:20the shackles belong to the helicopter pilot and are a vital part of his kit
20:26oh no bites yet
20:29alistair's using a recovery magnet that can retrieve items that have fallen into water
20:35oh dear no i'm not having much luck it's not looking good for an avid fisherman that's got to be
20:43disappointing
20:48fortunately on the build front there's good news
20:53it's going really well the main thing is the weather's on our side it's all coming together so real happy
21:03the subfloor is almost complete so soon the newly delivered steel framing can start to go up
21:10it is exciting to come here and see so much work being done and it's you know it's like a
21:15it's like christmas
21:18something that's been a mixed blessing over the last few weeks has been the consistently high
21:23temperatures and today's no exception which gives alistair an idea they're off the end of the
21:30wolf here josh the youngest member of the team is keen for a cool off
21:39maybe he can succeed where alistair failed
21:46the shackles may be well and truly buried now can i get down all right yeah
22:00oh my god you've got them good man oh my god that's fantastic i was nowhere near with the magnets
22:09i was nowhere near them good work
22:16the victory dive
22:23by early autumn as predicted the prefabricated steel framing is coming together very swiftly
22:30and is almost complete
22:34it's amazing it's from a piece of paper it's it's here it it's here while this may be a celebratory
22:45moment the realities of building on this island are beginning to hit home it's all logistics and
22:52we knew what the issues were going to be but we didn't know how deep those issues were going to
22:57dive
23:00small alterations to the plans have had a knock-on effect for the budget
23:05and on top of that the 70 grand allocated for transport is already close to running out
23:13no matter how you plan and how you budget there are always things that are out of your hands
23:20money is just like really sinking down the hall very quickly
23:31of course rita and alistair aren't the first people to have poured energy and resource
23:36into creating a special retreat on car work this is mansion house once the home of governor sir george
23:43gray now gray was an interesting character the epitome of a colonial man and although his legacy in office
23:50was somewhat problematic it's his endeavors here on the island that we've come to see
23:58in 1862 when gray purchased his car wo escape there was already a more modest brick house here
24:05built for the manager of a copper mine that had recently closed down
24:10now that wasn't quite good enough for gray and so he turned to his private secretary
24:15frederick thatcher also happened to be an architect to create this much larger grand division by adding
24:22to the original house and creating well effectively an english manor house in the south pacific
24:32transporting anything to an island in the 1800s was no small feat but gray went to extreme lengths to achieve
24:40his island dream shipping in masses of materials books and artwork
24:48and gray's dream wasn't just limited to the house he effectively created a mini kingdom here
24:58gray stocked the grounds here with amazing exotic plants from all around the world
25:03and equally exotic animals emus wild hogs zebras wallabies kangaroos and these guys peacocks
25:13gray overcame huge challenges to realize his extraordinary vision
25:18and over 160 years later people still come here to marvel at what he achieved
25:25now rita and alistair's karwa island project might be slightly less extravagant and eccentric and grays
25:34but they've already experienced some of the strain of constructing on the island that he had to
25:39navigate just hope that they get through the challenges that are coming and their very own version
25:48of an island dream lives up to their expectations
25:58just 14 weeks into rita and alice's build the roof is already on and the house is really starting to
26:07emerge you know what's cool from your bedroom you have a view today a big delivery is due
26:1450 000 worth of window joinery which will be helicoptered in in a crate made by headbuilder
26:20howard with assistance from his son josh this is probably the biggest risk with all the glass and
26:28and and yeah the value so if this is this goes wrong yeah
26:37the precious cargo has just come into view
26:44that box is uh moving around quite a lot
26:52howard is a seasoned builder but his helicopter crate making skills are untested
27:00how are you feeling howie um it's spinning it is spinning more than i'd hope
27:08it's looking like the powerful centrifugal force of the spin is causing the crate walls to start caving in
27:19i'm shaking inside
27:25if the crate breaks it's not just 50 grand of joinery gone
27:29having to reorder and fabricate it would send the schedule into freefall
27:55that was a lucky escape
27:59and a pertinent reminder of the risks and challenges that come with an island build like this
28:12we are not doing this again
28:25on car wo the house is progressing at pace insulation is in and some of the timber cladding is up
28:32we could go wider to framing rita has proved herself as a master organizer on this project
28:40but it's this finishing stage where she can really express her long-held passion for design over here
28:46what about the chimney where's that going well it's going to be boxed in
28:50with a shrinking budget though my question is will she have the time energy and resources to fully realize her
28:58vision
29:01but a clever designer doesn't let budget constraints get in the way of a great idea
29:07to reduce waste and create a design feature
29:11she's hatched a plan to use the cladding offcuts to create the soffits the idea then is for your
29:18cladding to be seamless as it flows up into the soffit that's definitely the idea to keep it nice clean
29:26lines all lining up the overall design of this house may be straightforward but i love that rita's
29:34finding ways to elevate it with this kind of thoughtful detailing so i don't want any beading
29:41here ideally that's going to be the challenge so that edge will have to be yes precise i mean these
29:47things
29:47are very architectural i guess it is my my last calling bringing rita's concepts to life will be a good
29:56challenge for the builders speaking of whom so how come sites are quiet today
30:03well we had a bit of a change around we do have an allocated budget for this build and we're
30:10getting close to the end of it so we had to make a hard call it wasn't easy and we
30:16had to reduce the
30:17number of people on site to be able to keep going gosh there is a bit to do still but
30:26you've lost
30:27uh labor here yeah that's right so it was a very conscious um business decision had to be made it
30:34was just becoming a bit expensive we have quite a few overheads having a team here
30:40well that is quite the bombshell they're going to try and finish the house with just one local car
30:47wo builder that might be a bit of a worry because the next stage for this is all about the
30:55potential
30:55that thought and consideration being realized in beautiful finishes
31:00so yes the budget might thank them for reducing the build team but will the house
31:14rita and alistair hope to be finished by late august
31:17but it's already september and with an ever dwindling budget they're having to find more ways to cut costs
31:26this morning two tons of finishing materials have arrived
31:31but this time there's no chopper in sight at the pointy end of the project where uh the budget's
31:37being a little bit stretched uh yeah another helicopter got chopped putting these things together
31:43instead alistair and two helpers are loading them onto vehicles and transporting them up the steep hill
31:50in conditions that are far from ideal all heavy it's all awkward and it's raining
32:03okay no that's better can you cool this out please meanwhile indoors rita and charlie are occupied with
32:11their own industrious teamwork building cabinetry good we're learning together new skills right how to
32:21figure things out um you can and you can also learn from your mistakes that's right i mean she's a
32:28good
32:28working partner rita's maximizing storage space and the budget by using off-the-shelf kitchen cabinetry
32:38which she'll customize and then clad with the same ply being used for the stylish ceiling she's designed
32:51it's gonna be a big job lucky she has an excellent assistant
32:59one day she can look back and oh i remember doing this with mom when she will be sitting here
33:05with
33:06her own family everything we do together i know i'll remember you know that right well i do now
33:18right now rita and alistair are relying on local help for a lot of the build but soon that may
33:24change
33:27and it's very likely that we're not going to be able to pay someone to do certain things that
33:34we can do anyway we will have to roll our sleeves up to to push this through the finish line
33:42but rita's managing to put a positive spin on it provides an opportunity for us to bond with the
33:49building and not with not with each other just the building
34:05three weeks later rita's bonding with the building theory is being put to the test together
34:12they're tackling the tricky job of laying the porcelain floor tiles
34:22they've only ever done outdoor paving before so they're learning on the job
34:28the concept is the same i suppose but it's just a finer detail finish i'm just having these horror
34:37thoughts that you're just going to step on that tire that you shouldn't what you're calling me clumsy
34:46from here on they're going to try and finish the majority of the build themselves it's the kitchen
34:53and the two bathrooms and the flooring a bit of retaining and if you say it really quickly it
34:58doesn't sound like much but it is it is quite a lot it really is a lot particularly when they're
35:07trying to juggle this with taking care of charlie and their day jobs just as the busiest time of year
35:14for real estate begins i don't really have much time left to drag this out i am running out of
35:24steam
35:25so sometimes i feel like i i do have to dig deep to do it all
35:34having dreamed of being an architect as a child rita's finally getting to express herself in this house
35:40it would be a huge blow if fading stamina and funds force her to compromise her vision
35:47particularly when she and alistair have worked so hard to get this far
36:16well isn't this spectacular a reminder
36:19of the island magic out on the water but also a reminder of how tricky it is to build over
36:24there
36:26of course alice and rita are a super capable couple
36:30but even with rita's amazing organizational skills i think they found it more of a stretch than they ever
36:36imagined and so i wonder what will we find what state will the house be in what state will they
36:43be in
37:06so
37:09first impressions up close and personal with this really finely finished cladding that flows
37:14into rita's reclaimed soffit the off cuts but every board cut perfectly look at the precision
37:22signs are good
37:27hey hello good to see you you too alistair hey tommy found the place okay i did it was a
37:33bit of a high
37:34look at charlie hey really good to see you and to be here
37:42that's glorious and that's just the view i mean this place is magazine glamour in your holiday batch
37:49it's beautiful this is a custom kitchen it is custom yes built by built by these pens beautiful lovely
38:00choice of materials and curves here you curve the timber yes i thought after a couple of youtube
38:07videos that i'll give it a go using leftover fly from the ceiling there's no throwing away on this island
38:14that's right but you're looking around it doesn't feel like a house that has had seconds and reused stuff
38:21this is sophisticated
38:31the level of resourcefulness and creativity here is so impressive and it elevates what is essentially a
38:39modest build to something far beyond that the lounge it's a room within a room isn't it
38:48a big sculptural sofa that we had to buy because charlie wanted the ball-shaped cushions
38:53ah right they wouldn't sell them separately so you had to buy the whole sofa i see well they're great
38:58fun those and this is lovely so we've got this gently sloping ceiling which slopes down towards
39:04the cozy bit but then back up and out to the view and that was very important to me that
39:09your eye is
39:10being led towards the view and the openness and the height those black lines guiding you out
39:22knowing just how much rita analysis energy was flagging while trying to complete this place
39:29i was expecting to detect some compromise in the finishing but so far there's absolutely no evidence
39:36of that and that attention to detail continues in the rest of the house including the bathroom
39:42which also serves as an ensuite to the guest bedroom
39:52ah this is where charlie's been hiding that's a lovely room it's very calm actually isn't it yeah
39:58yeah no helicopters no sirens it's very different from the city yeah it's lovely
40:05there definitely is a lightness and sense of tranquility here that infuses the whole house
40:13the main bedroom you're right in your scenery and the actual cabinetry i wasn't 100 able to
40:21visualize what rita was trying to create but now it's here it's beautiful started as kitchen cabinets
40:27of course but uh looks nothing like that now and in fact you've even fitted an ensuite in which is
40:32which is compact but it's there it is compact it's luxury brilliant yeah
40:41and then the most enormous deck such a great sweep of water this is the main event isn't it
40:48this is why we built this place we knew it was going to be good but we just didn't know
40:53how good
40:53but it actually exceeded the expectations yeah it's fantastic
41:13get a real sense here that you guys have reached a summit in life with this house right up here
41:19on the
41:20headland but it's been a bit of a climb to get here in many ways right that's right it's been
41:26a
41:26journey and often we looked at each other and ask why are we doing this to ourselves and then you
41:33visit
41:33the island you're here it's like that's why all's forgiven all the headaches and complexities just
41:39just wash away
41:47alistair you must have been pretty impressed with what rita's been able to do oh rita planned everything
41:53like a military operation i've kind of jumped in to do the heavy lifting where i've needed to
41:58but generally there's been rita's gig building a house with your partner um my advice would be
42:05only go forward if the relationship is strong that there's a hundred things that will that will
42:12test you yeah so you've been tested and not found wanting well he's still breathing
42:26i think originally you wanted to spend six seven hundred thousand that's right and that was my
42:31written budget and where did you end up nine nine well a million right a little bit more than we
42:38were
42:38hoping and the land cost i think it was 265 we ended up paying for it but overall 1.265
42:45million
42:45then what does that get you it gets you a lot yeah it does isn't it
42:53recently you wanted to be an architect has that been sort of therapy getting that architectural itch
42:59out of your system it it was therapeutic you're right actually it's a very rewarding feeling to look
43:06at something that you created but is this then closure or is this the start of something new i don't
43:13know yet i'd like to enjoy this first and we'll see what the future holds you might have got the
43:19bug
43:26what a great adventure this has been of course the idea of an island bolt hole is an attractive one
43:32but i think on consideration of practicalities for most people
43:36this might have been a hmm maybe not however for rita and alistair through determination
43:44energy focus and a love of the island this has been a great big resounding yes beautifully crafted
43:52optimizing space materials design opportunities it's delight i love it let the new island adventures begin
44:11so
44:16so
44:18so
44:18so
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