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| Bush pole house |
| Rebecca meets a first time owner builder who did almost everything himself, from design right through the construction process. |
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Rebecca visits 32 year old Andrew Dezwart, who left his hospitality job of 12 years to pursue the dream of building his own home. With little experience but many reading hours clocked up, Andrew and a couple of tradesmen friends created a bush retreat to be proud of.
For two months they lived in a caravan park while building the garage. Then they lived in the garage for about eight months while they built the house. The total building costs were $274,000 with the land costing $84,000 and materials $190,000 .
Andrew's first design didn't fit with the council's specifications, so he did a second plan which he gave to a draughtsman then an engineer. He chose to maximise the view by placing the living area upstairs and the bedrooms and bathrooms downstairs.
The building materials were bought from timber yards, auctions, second hand shops and the Trading Post. The majority of the building was done by Andrew and a carpenter friend. Professionals were brought in for the electrical work, tiling and kitchen cabinets. The commercially glazed aluminium windows and doors he and a glazier friend cut to size and installed. Originally he was going to put in timber windows but opted for aluminium as they're easier to maintain.
The choice to use pole supports was the best solution for the steep block. Andrew and a friend put up the 3m poles themselves but had the others professionally installed with a crane. The longest pole is 11.5m.
The ceiling is made from hoop pine plywood 8 x 4 ft sheets. He left a 10mm gap between the sheets and painted the roof beams underneath black to create a border effect. Andrew wanted to make the ceiling a feature as opposed to the usual Gyprock. The floor boards are Australiana grade mixed hardwoods scaled as low grade. He bought the floor boards for only $1.50 a lineal metre at auction. The entire floor cost just $3,000.
The glass bricks used in the staircase were acquired free from the Stock Exchange. A friend told him they were disposing of them during a renovation. In the bathroom, the vanity is made out of Tasmanian Oak with cathedral style doors. Andrew made the window seat in the living area from leftover floorboards. It actually serves to strengthen the wall as it's only a 90mm wall cavity. He also built the bar himself. The top is from Tassie Oak and the base from mini-orb.
His sister did the sponge effect wall.
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More Info
Andrew Dezwart, owner
M: 0413 456 235 or www.fsbo.com.au id no: 2377
Furniture Supplied by:
Domayne
400 Manns Road
West Gosford 2250
PH: 02 4322 5555
www.domayne.com.au
John Verbancic
Cross-saws Carpentry
PH: 0412 698 204
Tim Hunnan
Painter
M: 0419 630 859
Darren Pascoe
H & J Architectural Glazing
PH: 02 9609 6222
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Disclaimer
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