Doing it once and well - The Owner Builder

1 42 THE Owner Builder 196 August / September 2016 it once and wellA designer designs his own placeBY SHARYN MUNROPHOTOS DAVID TOOBY & SHARYN MUNROATHE Owner Builder 196 August / September 43 David Tooby always knew he d want to design and build a place of his own. Being a visual person as well as a practical one, he was well suited to the task, plus his profession of landscape architect had given him plenty of experience in project and site just under 50, he fi gured he should do it while he still had the energy. His wife Jen, although quite satisfi ed with their Port Macquarie home, was happy for him to go ahead. The time was right; their three daughters were all at university and son Max was nearing the end of his secondary school David is a partner in a multi-disciplinary consultancy fi rm in Port, they didn t want to move too far.

2 He and Jen had always loved the seaside village of Lake Cathie, just south of Port, with its inlet as well as great waves we were all mad surfers, says David. So that was where David went hunting for the block on which to realise this they missed out on one near the beach, with a 1950s fi bro shack on it, David was disappointed. Surprisingly, Jen was too; the dream was catching. When the block next door to that came up for sale three years ago, they were ready, with funding possible from the sale of their Port Macquarie their belongings in storage, they rented a villa in Lake Cathie for the duration of the project, so he could be on site every day. The original two-bedroom shack and old shed were demolished at the end of 2013 and the build started at the beginning of 2014. Meanwhile, David had been basicsThe house design for this odd-shaped block was arrived at relatively quickly and easily.

3 He wanted large and light living spaces, fl ow-through ventilation, passive solar orientation, no wasted space internally and for the garage to be as undominating as possible actually designed it in a weekend; son Max was interested in the design stage, and in the building process, and later made a model of the two-level building, which was a great help for Jen in visualising what was planned. Incidentally, post-HSC, Max has decided to study insisted each child have their own room, which meant a fi ve bedroom house. 43 However, the girls rooms upstairs are sensibly small, as they will be only for visits, while Max was given a larger one on the ground fl oor. This is also planned as a substitute for their own upstairs master bedroom if they should fi nd themselves with reduced mobility in later years, or temporarily, after an operation, for example.

4 Similarly the downstairs bathroom has a hobless open shower. They aim to be able to stay here for as long as drew up the plans, he and his fi rm prepared detailed design plans and sought approval from Council. He already knew the best builders in the area so put it out to two of these for tendering on a lump sum. He and Jen interviewed both and chose Clint Wall who was happy to work with David as the hands-on Owner Builder and project the buildThen the quote was broken down; Clint was to be paid an hourly rate plus a potential bonus at the end. David had designed the house as easy to build and conventional, to keep time and costs down. The original quoted price as a lump sum was $550,000; it ended up $100,000 less. David feels that the success of the project was due in a large part to the relationship formed between himself and recommended and managed the tradespeople, using only the best.

5 David would settle their invoices the day after presentation and approval by Clint. As David says, This kept everyone on site happy. David was on site daily, going through with Clint what was happening. He estimates he worked 40 hours a week for seven months on the site, as well as B44 THE Owner Builder 196 August / September 2016 Owner Builder 196 August / September 45 working full hours for his practice, but fl exibly timed. All the trades had to clean up after themselves but David took it on himself to do so for Clint, to save his time for skilled tasks. Clint worked here most of the time with another Builder , Brian Kemmett, bringing in an extra carpenter for large jobs like the all went really smoothly; there were no disputes, says David. Communication was issuesBeing so close to the sea, choosing enduring materials was essential.

6 The house is clad in James Hardie Scyon Linea compressed fi bre cement weatherboards. They re more labour intensive to fi t, says David, than the product typically used in project homes, and which was originally specifi ed. It s secret nailed underneath, then glued with Sikafl ex to the next one, so it s a complete seal. This level of cladding cost an extra $10,000, but David felt that Linea s fi ner-grained texture made the building look more like a beach steel hardware and Colorbond Ultra steel roofi ng were similarly chosen to cope with the salt-laden environment. Weatherproofi ng was a priority, for him and for Clint. They can face some strong southerly storms had wanted to visually break up the expanse of cladding, especially on the double storey, by having the windows punched out from the cladding, in box frames.

7 Clint saw problems and expense with Doing this in timber, so suggested using 24mm compressed fi bre cement board. They were hard for the builders to make and seal, but worth it, David heaterbedroom 2bedroom 3bedroom 4terraceterracebathensbedroom 1bedroom 5robelinupptrystorageArrow letters refer to photosCDEGHFABCP lans: King + Campbelllower fl oorupper fl oor46 THE Owner Builder 196 August / September 2016 in a deckThe visual impact of the double garage was designed to be minimised by the distraction of the cantilevered deck above, off the master bedroom. That deck was expensive, but they use it daily and it offers southern coolness in summer. It currently also offers ocean views, but unfortunately the next door neighbour s unaccommodatingly planned new building will block much of timber used was local, but the 150mm square posts that support the deck to the ground are of laminated white cypress from western NSW.

8 The suppliers would only guarantee it in this position if treated with a specifi c wood preservative oil called Cutek CD50. Its sole local suppliers were Bago Woodworks, which is where David saw and bought their handsome spotted gum handrails. David coated all the timbers, including the blackbutt decking, with this oil. While it was expensive, he is very impressed with how it from the rich timbers, external colours were chosen to echo the soft natural hues found in the coastal banksia trees common here. Aluminium windows are a standard metallic light grey. The one spot of colour is the red front door, which draws the visitor up the path between the two wings of the house. By now the DFGEA nticlockwise from above: Sydney blue gum table made by David; great views from upper terrace; solar panels and hot water on rear, northern roof; slow combustion heater is all that s needed in Owner Builder 196 August / September 47 red-berried lilly pilly hedge beside the path has grown, emphasising that entry.

9 I notice that next to the door is a full height Perspex sash extrasAs we walk around the house in between blustery showers David comments that he did all the outside work, like moving many cubic metres of sand, landscaping and paths, and the really unpleasant jobs like sealing under the cladding boards and under beadings with Sikafl ex. The fi rst thing he did on site was to lay a slab down the back yard, with the help of a friend, and erect a kit garden shed to hold the tools for the build. That will eventually be replaced by a timber shed. He also built a cute wood shed near the house, for the slow combustion great example of well -thought out design for living is the sports shed/room at the side of house. Accessed from outside by a roller door, it keeps the garage free for cars, storing items like fi shing rods, bikes and surf boards, and is near a tap.

10 All the exterior taps are connected to the outside water the back the solar photovoltaic collectors and the solar hot water system line the 22 degree pitched northern roof. Below is the concrete-fl oored three metre-wide verandah, with alternating Laserlite and Colorbond roof panels to keep the interiors light. David aims to go off the grid once Tesla batteries become designHaving now lived in the house for two years, through all the seasons, he knows that the fl ow-through ventilation works brilliantly with their sea breezes, and ceiling fans to help when needed. So does the northern verandah roof width and angle, allowing sun into the house to warm the slab in winter, but blocking it in summer. The slow combustion heater is all they need in winter to augment the day s sun warming, including upstairs. Their south-facing bedroom is the slightly chilly exception, as David expected, since it is over the chose natural bamboo fl ooring over the slab for the whole house, except in the wet areas and the front entry, which were tiled.