Grand Designs New Zealand S06E02 | Piha Clifftop Retreat

auckland is often thought of as gentle and benign with its beautiful white beaches but it has a dark side too the wild west coast with its rugged topography and ferocious storms if you're after action and excitement this is it but building your first home here well now that's what i'd call gnarly whatever your grand plans are we'll help get you home anz proud sponsors of three's grand designs new zealand [Applause] for the past six years susan joseph hardy and their children william and madeline jane have made the west coast beach settlement of piha their home you're gonna take the dog surfing famous for its epic black sand beaches and wild weather piha is not for everyone but the hardys have fully embraced it it's 45 minutes out of the hustle and bustle of the city and then you come here and you just feel so amazing to be in the energy of the land here it's also a playground it's everything i love to do in one place every day we're in the water with the kids pretty much pretty much they've really settled into the piha lifestyle joseph who runs his own business is a member of the volunteer fire brigade and sues an events organiser helps run the junior surf club it's a great community it's really there's really really awesome people that live here but the one thing that doesn't work for them is their house without growing it i think so quite a loud family and little spaces don't work for us no their old house is a batch on a steep hillside which they vacated for a nearby rental because in just a few hours it's being demolished and what a day for it the wild west coast is living up to its reputation hi hello gilda bring it in welcome to piha thank you yeah how on earth did you find this place well we actually used to um it was a batch so people didn't live here but we used to jump the fence with a bottle of bubbles and sit here on the deck and just drink the bubbles and pretend it was ours and no right yeah we actually did yeah and then it was like how do we make something like this houseman when it was on the market somehow we made it happen why are we and now you're gonna demolish it and now we're getting rid of it i know it's not our previous house had a big dining table and so we'd have friends come over we'd get the guitars out we'd cook for them we'd sing all night and you know that's us that's what we love doing and we can't fit a dining table in this place so you know up on this level up here it felt to us like a floating apartment almost and there was no real connection to the whenua yeah so what is your plan we're gonna change all of that around we're gonna put all the living and the entertaining on the lower level where we're connected to the earth hunkered into its perilously steep site their new home will center around the all-important living area with polished concrete floors rough sawn timber animal hide furnishings and bespoke leather trims susan joseph hoped to capture the raw aesthetic of the wild west coast this open plan space flows seamlessly outside to an entertaining area where joseph will have his own argentinian style outdoor kitchen beyond this a magnificent infinity pool will reach out to that extraordinary ocean view to protect this alfresco zone from pihar's punishing westerlies a wing projecting out will contain a media room and master bedroom upstairs other kids bedrooms a dedicated music room and the main entrance with steps to a car deck resilient steel cladding the colour of piha's dramatic iron sands will protect most of the house while the north side will be clad in contrasting warm hued cedar to harmonize beautifully with piha's rugged but stunning environment so what what's your budget the budget is sitting around 1.3 yeah it started at one it started at one and then like a little snowball it ran down the mountain and it really is everything we have so we are borrowing as well or we are borrowing are there other assets that you're kind of bringing to the party as well or yeah i've been um joseph's the asset that we're bringing to the park that's such a nice thing to say um you're the brains babe um you know we're in an okay position we've got we've got a business that's been going for 20 years so you know we've yeah we're feeling confident there yeah i love it is this a confident face so far so good for susan joseph the demolition of their old home really marks the official start of their project fitimate and it's important to soothe who's of ngati pero descent to honour the significance of this moment [Music] i didn't want to start without acknowledging the land here ancestors here and i'm really grateful for peter to come and be able to do that for us nice day yeah dinner quickly i feel better about it now i feel like we can start now [Music] we're doing it it's happening we've been building to this for a long time this moment and we're ready we're ready for it [Music] it's incredibly confronting how fragile everything is i mean it's just like watching matchsticks being broken [Music] this is a serious piece of history for you too yeah it's you know it's been a um a big journey to this point and you kind of you're on such a roller coaster to get here and then it's the it's day dot you're like oh are you doing the right thing yep i think we are you can tell me later [Music] with their old place reduced to rubble there really is no turning back [Music] and to build their forever home on a site as extreme as this one is not going to be cheap so susan joseph have taken on a lot of debt to do it so how are you guys feeling now that the house is gone yeah a little nervous i said to joseph towards the end of last year are we ready for this we almost didn't do it in fact it was about a month ago we were just no this is ridiculous let's not do this at all so why well it's a lot of money you know it's not like we're in our 50s and 60s and made all our money and and it's a big commitment and my mother's very ill with um alzheimer's and this is so emotionally intense i don't know if i've got big enough shoulders to do a house build as well but i think together we do have big enough shoulders don't we we're ready for we're ready for trouble bring it on i don't know about that i'm trying to avoid trouble you're building a house darling [Music] a month after the demolition of the old house earthworks for susan joseph's new home have begun and the builder they've lined up is long-time piha resident and friend al sanders who like many locals is a die-hard surf devotee i like to try and get a surf in before work if i can joe's and sue's house it will be a challenging one the site's pretty tricky al's definitely got his work cut out for him not only is the site incredibly steep which makes it very difficult to build on the only access to it is via this precipitous track on top of that there's piha's notoriously unpredictable weather the earthworks were scheduled for summer in the hope of encountering dry conditions but so far that hasn't really panned out it's just a total mud pit so much rain there's more rain scheduled and it's just like i can't believe that we've had such bad luck unfortunately there's more bad luck so how good is that oh we know in europe this time with the massive pile holes for the serious retaining work required on such a steep site we've hurt rock at about two metres deep and we need to get to five meters so i'm going to have to get in touch with the engineer to come up with a different design or we might have to look at different machinery to keep drilling through the rock which normally means a little bit of money don't like the sound of their owl and i really need to push on because of the weather yeah using new machinery to try and drill through the rock could take weeks but having the engineer draw up new plans and get them cleared by council could take even longer you know i've often had this saying that it's not about the destination it's about the journey but i think this build is going to be very much about hating the opportunity and loving the destination [Music] in piha after bringing in specialist heavy duty machinery it took the team only a few extra days to drill through the rock for susan joseph's retaining work how's it going good news so far the holes are now at the required depth and have been signed off by the engineers winning that's at least one major hurdle i've managed to navigate building on this difficult site one person who's all too aware of this project's challenges is susan joseph's architect hamish guns i love what this model illustrates the difficulty with this topography were you scared getting it wrong yeah there were real concerns that what we were doing was on the edge of what could be done with the slope of the side on the edge off there just not i'm just looking at that section and thinking you said just on the edge but this swimming pool is slightly off the edge yes what for more drama the whole reason hamish has pushed the boundaries literally to the edge is to try and create what susan joseph were missing in the old house generous ground floor living space both indoors and out i think they instantly saw possibilities for future parties and how many people they could have over and uh joe immediately started thinking about the outdoor kitchen and all that good stuff that was really nice to see that that real time for the for how they wanted to live their lives and on site the foundations for susan joseph's future life are firming up because the concrete has arrived to fill the deep pile holes for their retaining walls believe it or not it's actually harder to push concrete downhill through a hose and uphill because what happens is the concrete's separating as it slides down the pipe it's very very easy to block especially when you when we're pumping so far from the road and on top of that it's a hot day if the job isn't done quickly enough the concrete could set mid poor [Music] and within minutes the challenges of the downhill paw have proved too much the hose is jammed i just want to save this hose mate if the concrete sets inside it's all over for it what's even more alarming is the pressure that's building up inside the hose the only way to release it is to unclip the joints which must be done with caution because wet concrete can burn the skin just stand back fortunately they've had a lucky escape no one is seriously injured but they have another problem on their hands oh now we've got the concrete going off in the back of the pump the team is adding water to the concrete in a desperate attempt to save it [Music] thankfully the concrete has been saved put it on a hole mate the team has managed to turn this stressful situation around and the holes are finally getting filled could have gone better but it could have gone a lot worse i thought we may have lost at least one track of concrete today which is not ideal cost wise so i'm happy i'm happy with the outcome [Music] it's a good outcome but i can't help thinking the house isn't even out of the ground and already they've faced a lot of challenges it seems they may have a long costly road ahead of them much of the financial burden for this complex project is resting on joseph who runs his own business supplying fasteners to the manufacturing and construction industries heidi fast is joseph speaking joseph was only 24 when he started the business so the early years were a real learning experience it was nothing like what i expected it was going to be things to get quite hard so i moved into the warehouse and lived in here and and survived on instant noodles for a while and you know showered in a bucket there were grim days when sues first came and met me i was living in a warehouse but now it's a thriving organization that employs 13 full-time staff really good boss really good to work for annie gets stuck in even sweeps the floor for us that this place has become a vehicle for us to be able to do our house but i guess it's not just a vehicle for us to do stuff it's a vehicle for everyone that works here to be able to do things in their life so you know i guess i'm proud of that [Music] by mid-autumn susan joseph's house is beginning to feel more of a reality because today the concrete slab is being poured so today's a great day it's perfect weather we're also getting the pool piling in place today to support the pool these pile holes are even deeper than the last ones all up the retaining walls in earthworks are going to cost over 200 000 that's a lot of money but for susan joseph it's worth it to achieve the outdoor living they're longing for we need another meter out of that another meter from this point on in the build a lot of very heavy components are going to have to be carted down this difficult track but al has taken drastic action and bought himself a crane as you do i've been wanting to get one of these things for quite a long time just to make building on these sites easy yeah it's a pretty big toy to use they are easier than lugging it down the hill i guess so it's basically what the greatest toy i've ever owned al's clearly fulfilling a passion with his new purchase and the house he's building suz and joseph will incorporate one of their big passions too by featuring a dedicated music room [Music] all of the family are keen musicians and tonight sues is performing in the city with a new band but it's not the kind of music she usually goes for i randomly got asked to audition for this kind of punk rock band and saying that i can't really say no to anything that sounds remotely fun i said yes i'm loving it see you rocking it they're definitely big music fans joseph's a guitarist and songwriter and both kids play instruments so a practice room at home will come in very handy you want to be able to go and just play pick a guitar up and have it there ready to go in the original house there was no room to come do anything so that's really exciting we'll have permanently set up guitars and drums to support their friend is al and his wife's dad sue's is like a force really she kind of represents the west coast i reckon exactly what the west coast is pretty wild yup [Music] two weeks later that wild west coast delivers a severe blow 200 kilometer an hour winds batter piha causing widespread destruction and leaving the community without power last night i was up here about 9 30. we had the crane folded down but it still was moving i stood up with it just to make sure it wasn't going any further it was pretty full-on it's the worst storm i've ever seen here i've lived here for 14 years and i've spoken to people who've been here for 40 odd years and they've never seen anything quite like that and three days later there's still no electricity and the build is at a complete standstill i really feel for susan joseph just as their build was starting to gain momentum they've been thwarted all they can do now is pray the rough weather eases so they can try and get back on track [Music] after the severe storm pihar famous for its extremes has turned on some gorgeous settled weather allowing sues and joseph's home to progress today the steel framing is being installed that will help anchor it to the hillside and withstand any crazy west coast conditions it's like another one of those really exciting steps because you can walk around and stand and understand space and where rooms are going to be it's really exciting the most cumbersome and heavy element that needs to be moved today is the large picture window for susan joseph's bedroom which will project right to the outer limits of the site why do they have to be so huge it's massive hey is that size of the window that's in there you wanted for your heart okay yeah how much does it weigh it's 460 kilos so that's a bit of a challenge yes we'll just we'll just have a little roll no toes get your toes back moving this very top heavy frame to the edge of the steep site without it tumbling off is going to be a difficult and potentially dangerous maneuver [Music] we need to keep it an even sort of tension though you happy the worst situation would be that the steel fell and landed on someone hopefully if we don't have that happening today we're going to take every precaution for it not to happen holy sam move back sam sam that's it it's gonna go it's coming down [Music] the frame is safely in place mission accomplished now that really is a million-dollar view i'm beginning to understand why sues and joseph are willing to throw every cent they've got at this place [Music] just two and a half weeks after the steel went up the framing is in place and the house is really starting to take shape it's like oh my gosh this what was i've only seen on paper and dreamed on paper is actually i'm now walking through this my own 3d model you know it's like so cool the entire design of this house is about maximizing the outdoor living space that's so hard to achieve on steep pihar sites and it's clearly the thing that excites susan joseph the most that's all decking out through there with the pool recessed down a bit and there's my kitchen right there i can actually already see it you're standing pretty much where the fireplace would be it's gonna be so rad these two might be having fun imagining how their outdoor area is going to look going for a swim but i'm keen to see what's actually already been built wow i know i am utterly blown away by how much you've done already good that's what we wanted we wanted to blow you away what i think what the builders have done is they've gone let's just focus on getting the house weather tight and then they can start on the outdoor as much as i want to see the deck start to happen and the outdoor fire and the water and the outdoor fire it's always it's always the fun stuff you know i mean [Laughter] nogging up the house is you know it's boring so we want to see that you know we want to see yeah but the boring stuff is really important yeah pouring stuff sorry for the united stand okay you can't say i didn't try obviously with these two it's all about the fun stuff what is this it's a mini brewery yeah in his outdoor kitchen there'll be a keg fridge and he'll be able to you'll be able to come around and he'll be able to pour you a beer and cook you some meat on his fire and the kids will be jumping in the pool and it's living the dream wow impressive you like that yeah that's great well joe's clearly across the fun stuff for their outdoor zone soos has the indoors covered because she's taking charge of the interior design and today's getting inspiration from an award-winning piha home i thought this would be really good for you to see this place cool it's a lot of timber she's with mark kessner a lighting designer who she's working with to create a lighting plan for the new house what's this one here that's a pendant that's gonna even though that's hanging in your view what i'm learning about susan joseph is that they're definitely drawn to quality it's really gorgeous the bespoke natural finishes in this high spec home are very much in line with their vision which is going to include a luxurious 70 000 kitchen ouch great i love it awesome as well as embodying the earthy textures of piha susan joseph want their new home to reflect who they are and a significant part of susa's identity is her love of horses in particular her own horse indy being able to come out and ride in my backyard with my mates it's like there's really no feeling like it it's good for the soul we have her out here you know we're building this dream home it's like everything just seems to be fitting in in our lifestyle you know sues is going to incorporate this passion into the house with a one-off element she's rather intriguingly commissioned her saddlers to create so where are we up to doing crazy jobs for crazy people graham moore and his son sam create highly sought after handcrafted saddles that have been used by olympic equestrians but they're redirecting their skills to create an illuminated leather handrail for susan joseph staircase leather kind of reminded us of seaweed initially you know that kind of that color and that texture but then it's also that connection to the horses the leather encased hand rail has a hidden space beneath that will be fitted with a lighting strip so it's going to fit in there like that and that'll all get hand sewn around here awesome yeah it's kind of real nice for a small piece of the house it has a little bit of luxury but it's it's the entrance way the leather is the most expensive italian leather but it's beautiful and you know it's important it's going to get nicer with age you know every time someone walks up the stairs and they're running their hand up it feels nice it looks good and it smells good when you're building your forever home it's very easy to push the boat out with top quality products and get carried away and i have an uneasy feeling this is a trap that susan joseph could be falling into only uh female handrail in the world eh that's it and the most expensive [Music] back on site as more quality materials are delivered expenses are mounting and with the added cost of living and rental accommodation the strain is beginning to show there's always stress with money i mean there's no hiding that you know um and there's never enough we have those moments where you're just thinking well this is you know this is just huge and one of us will be freaking out one of us will be not freaking out and luckily we haven't both freaked out on the same day that becomes an art work so is the project managing the build i think's worked quite well she hasn't ever built a house before but she's a very fast learner but what i've learned about susan she can spend money really quickly could that be nervous laughter i'm detecting there now i'm like oh you know what we get we do this once so let's make it really flaming awesome let's spend more and get that amazing designer kitchen and have those feature things and do it properly uh oh i can see where this is heading change that take that out and make that one big window we can do that yep we can do any of that anything you want will do so anything anything of course can be altered at a cost across here what we want to do is not make it look like a doorway make it look like a continuation of the kitchen so that effectively it's like a secret door so i think we need to take this out there's no problem we can do that anything for you anything for service yeah okay now i'm feeling nervous you know the compromise is okay well if you're going to spend an extra 30 40k on that then we have to take it away from somewhere else so that's fine we've just got to figure out where we take that away from at the stage because i keep adding and not taking away it's really naughty but [Music] by mid-winter susan joseph's pihar home is almost closed in the roof is on and the steel cladding and glazing are well underway which means they're on track to meet the christmas deadline they're hoping to achieve this is cause for celebration the cheese platters we've got cheeses salamis dips and crackers susan joseph are throwing a roof shout and they don't do things by halves the neat thing about this lamb is it's actually a lamb that me and a mate we grow together on his farm up the road the builders are going to have a beautiful dutch pilsner to drink that we've brewed so you know these things are all just so fun to do you know but for susan joseph this celebration is bittersweet in terms of the budget we were warned that we would go over and we have now it's looking like you know the 1.1 went to 1.3 and now it's kind of looking like it's going to push to 1.5 and that's a real stretch for us like it really is with some of the choices that we're making we're really reaching for the best of everything of course you're drawn to the things that look the most amazing especially when it's a forever house it's only been recently that we've just gone yeah oh my gosh there's been a few sleepless nights there's been you know joseph pacing the house and how are we gonna do this i don't know how we're gonna do it i feel like i've got too much on my shoulders whilst it is incredibly stressful right now we have to stay on the positive and go in 10 years time we'll look back and we'll be okay or we'll be broke and living on the streets [Laughter] i admire the fact that in spite of the significant financial stress their build has put them under susan joseph are still choosing to celebrate in true sue's fashion probably the biggest roof shout we've ever seen thank you so much for coming and celebrating with us because it's definitely not your average roof shout half of piha has been invited and lastly to joseph thank you for going to work every day [Laughter] and working very hard and probably working out for the next 30 years of your life i sincerely hope not one way though that joseph does get some downtime from his business is by heading for the hills today he's taken off for the carwicker rangers for a much anticipated annual hunting trip with friend and neighbor pat no one can email us right now i can't get a text message no phone's going to ring i think one of the words that i that susan i talk about is joy you know there's just so much joy in just being out in the bush and being quiet and just being reflective would you call this a grand design i think you could it might seem like joseph is absconding from all responsibility with the build but there is a significant endgame to this hunting trip it would be fantastic to get a big stag head for our new house be amazing but at the same time you know we we eat the meat and we use the skins as well joseph's plan is to be able to mount a stag head in the living room and use a hide as part of the furnishings should i think i've got a snack here this breather from build pressures has helped joseph reignite his enthusiasm for what he and sues are creating together you can just picture the sun setting you know the back stakes on the fire outside glass of wine kids playing in the pool you know it's just absolutely my dream [Music] but in spring as the final touches are being made to the timber and contrasting steel cladding it seems the headiness of suez joseph's dream is continuing to put their finances in peril looking around me the house is shaping up beautifully they've invested so much in the quality of the build it's extraordinary i mean they're using beautiful exquisite cedar with copper nails it's really starting to look fabulous but there's one thing missing to contain spiraling costs susan joseph have made the tough decision to put the pool and entire outdoor living area on hold i feel so disappointed for them because that's the part of the house they've been looking forward to most delaying it it's giving you more cash flow now is that what yeah well it's making us comfortable as opposed to really uncomfortable hey yeah so i want josh to be able to sleep at night we will be opening a door to a drop into some dirt but that's okay it's not gonna take that much longer it's it's one more summer i do think it's a sensible decision but i just hope it's going to be enough to ease their financial pressures this is your big dream so hang on to it yeah yeah with the outdoor area on hold there's a push to at least get the inside finished so they can save on rent and move in and today souza's vision for the interior is starting to come together the rough sawn macrocarpa ceiling is being installed in the open plan living space for me it's it's just like a discovery seeing susan's ideas actually come to fruition and every time i come here there's like you know something new that i didn't know was going to be there so it's awesome awesome but not cheap a lot of labour involved in it and we're sort of having to install the lighting as we go it's all recessed up inside it so it's fiddly but it's uh effect is pretty amazing so i mean we could have just done a straight jib ceiling but um when you look at it you think absolutely it's worth it yeah i got no regrets looks amazing [Music] this beautiful timber is a pivotal part of the natural look susa's been working so hard to achieve even the paint she's chosen has an organic texture to it it's a paint that has um sand through it which is a kind of nice feel because we're connected to the beach yeah hopefully it works so see how i mean it's kind of breaking up the light and it's that really natural texture which will look really good the wood and the fire and the wine it looks awesome it does they yeah i do love susan joseph's concept of a home that mirrors its environment in such detail but i'm concerned that they may be pouring their budget into these quality finishing details at the expense of the whole project it's now three weeks before christmas which is when suze and joseph were hoping to have moved out of their rental and into their new home but it seems that's not about to happen anytime soon oh are you coping [Music] i think we underestimated how expensive it is to build a house and i guess what we underestimated was it costs at the end yeah the end is when you need all the money because all that money went early into the ground exactly it's the hard conversations that you've got to have i said susanna's going to give us this house you know do we want this house and we're going to have to fight for it susan joseph now believe the only way they can hang on to their home is by putting the entire build on hold with the plan to slowly finish sections of it when they have the available cash i sort of explained to them that stopping any project's a bad idea it's just gonna cost more money for it to sit and it's harder to get started again i've seen it before so i know what happens i just don't want to see them go through any extra stress [Music] al's recommendation is to borrow more money from the bank and get the project finished but susan joseph are unsure and just need some respite from financial pressures and time together as a family despite their disappointment and the long-term cost they could face by putting their build on hold like i feel like a bit of a failure a little bit because you know you just have this dream of this project and then you're at this point where potentially it's going to be on hold for however long and it's like oh you're not a failure thanks [Music] so it's been a year and a half since i last saw joe and sue's and they completely stopped all the external works the pool the barbecue the deck all the stuff they love and i kind of feel that's the heart of the house so i'm a little bit nervous about what we're gonna see oh my goodness i can't wait to see what sort of bold statement the stunning cantilevered home will make as it clings to the precipitous cliff overlooking the ocean g'day g'day chris good to see you see you welcome i am nervous and excited i guess the big question for me because you certainly can't tell from here are you finished or not are we finished is anything ever finished wow do i find out yeah can't wait take me down yeah i can't wait to show you [Music] okay welcome gosh what's this it may look like a piece of abstract art it's actually a photo it looks like some kind of ancient forest what i loved about it was that it kind of introduced all the colors and the themes around our wild west coast house artfully orchestrated themes that begin with the gritty sand paint and the custom-made illuminated leather handrail that span the giant stairwell all right you're finished i know right surprise what a relief joe and susan's dream is complete and with so much panache inside the textures of the wild west coast continue with the rough sawn timber ceiling wrapping down the wall to create a cavernous warm multi-functional living space what we've tried to do with the kitchen is mirror our environment the stone top and splashback which is like the iron sand and little green accents like the nods to the waitakere ranges it's beautiful then i'm seeing something that i'm thinking you probably have some responsibility for what's down the end there joe so this is my seeker stag from the car wickers we spent eight hours looking for it and we're so stoked to find it and it's really important you know for us that we we use every part of the animal when we're hunting so as you can see the skins around and of course we uh we get to eat them and i guess that's your kitchen out there that's my baby out there oh let's go and have a look at that yeah with its euphoric views of line rock and pihar beach the outdoor living area is the beating heart of this home it's a veritable playground with a dreamy infinity pool and spa on one side and joe's argentinian barbecue on the other wow this looks like a serious kitchen my goodness so this was the last part of the house to get built and this was my part of the house the dream was always to have the you know food cooking on the fireplace kids playing in the pool beer on tap would you like a beer no way oh you're never gonna ask [Music] woo-hoo [Music] wow i'd come to your parties but as much as i'd like to stay and chew the fat with joe and there's still so much of the house to see like their incredible window on the world [Music] that is a view to die for my goodness i know you can see why it's hard to get out of bed in the morning what i love about this room is that you have the view of the lion and then you get the head of the tanipha of north pihar and just across the hall is the room with no view the dark and moody music and media room with guitars cleverly turned into dimmable lights upstairs is daughter madeleine james room with more twinkly lights and next door brother wills no prizes for guessing what he's into how does it feel to have such an amazing view on the waves oh it's pretty cool like when i wake up and i always like look out the window for about five minutes and just watch the surf so you're pleased with the house yep pretty good you can say that again what kiwi lad wouldn't be stoked to have such an easy surf check but then that's what this house is all about feeding this family's many passions boy what a process guys this has been quite an unbelievable journey it's been the full mixture of really amazing great little moments and discoveries and then terrifying gee what are we gonna do so what were the terrifying moments usually it related to money and i guess that's where it all kind of can get on top of you so as i remember you at one point thinking you're a bit of a failure how do you feel about it now i did feel like that i felt like i'd stretched stro too far but now i feel like just this sense of accomplishment eh yeah we did it what do you really love about the house i love this room i come home from work and i normally sit on the end of the kitchen bench there and just take a moment i used to go out quite a lot and i said to joseph you've built a house where i don't want to leave [Laughter] kind of just happy to hang at home through all of this it was going to cost roughly about 1.1 but then things slipped so what did it end up costing um it ended up a lot more than we had anticipated what double triple [Music] quadruple no it wasn't double but it was it was heading up towards that in the order of two million yeah so what have you learnt about each other through this whole transformational process you don't give up you don't give up easily and we and we rely on each other a lot how about for you sis what have you learned from joey that he has incredible patience i've seen him lose a lot of sleep over this house and really be pushed to the extremes of stress but still come home with a smile on his face and pour a glass of wine and take a deep breath and get up and go again the next day i really take my hat off to you too it is such a wonderful celebration of who you two really are and that's that's very special to me so congratulations [Music] unlike many other grand designs joe and sues had a grand idea right from the start of their relationship long before they had the means to do it and they had to fight to achieve such a big dream what's wonderful is that they stuck to their guns and held to their family ideal which is big-hearted celebrated by many and shared with gusto and boy does this represent that [Music] [Applause] cheers [Music] you

Channel: Architecture Decor

Views: 39,179

Rating: 4.7974682 out of 5

Keywords: grand designs, grand designs australia, grand designs new zealand, grand designs nz, grand designs uk, S06E02, Piha Clifftop Retreat

Id: AQmmfpBynHM

Length: 46min 32sec (2792 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021