Grand Designs New Zealand Season 9 Episode 5

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Transcript

00:00When you were small, I bet your significant elders took you on adventurous excursions

00:07to appreciate the view.

00:10Except of course, you didn't really appreciate it, did you?

00:14Perhaps you thought, how boring.

00:19Once you get older though, things change and you'll go to great efforts for a good view.

00:26But it's not just the view that attracts us, there's something more at play here.

00:31You see, deep in the human psyche, we're looking for a vantage point to survey our surroundings,

00:36to find safety and security.

00:39And with that high ground, there's more than just a little bit of prestige.

00:44And that's why people want to build like this, often at significant costs.

00:50But architecture should be about stretching the boundaries, reaching for the skies.

00:56The only thing is, you might just end up with your head in the clouds.

01:20Dunedin is a city of character, of history, of knowledge and learning, all set in a stunning

01:31natural environment.

01:38Jamin Haldestad and Cindy Hall have been living in Dunedin for the last 25 years, a world

01:44away from where they were born and raised.

01:48Indiana is the state that I'm from, which is known as part of the Bible Belt of the

01:55US and lots of corn and soybean fields and flat as.

02:00Cindy and Jamin met while studying psychology in Washington, DC.

02:04Both graduated with PhDs, but with employment hard to find in the US, they started looking

02:10further afield.

02:14This job came up in New Zealand and I don't think we knew where New Zealand was at the

02:17time, but that definitely sounded like the most exotic place.

02:21I don't think we thought we would stay here like our whole lives.

02:25Before you know it, it's, you know, 25 years later.

02:28They quickly put down roots, buying a villa on the city side of Otago Harbour, near Port

02:34Chalmers, starting a family and settling into their careers.

02:42Nowadays, Jamin is head of the psychology department at Otago University and Cindy runs

02:47a private clinical psychology practice.

02:50Their two sons have grown up and moved into town, leaving their parents to consider making

02:55a change themselves.

02:59I had this dream when I was a little kid, growing up on a farm, that I was going to

03:03live somewhere with the ocean in front of me and a mountain behind me.

03:09I said to Jamin, I have this idea, what do you think about maybe selling and building

03:17a new house?

03:20Cindy went further, finding a harbourside section for sale at nearby St Leonard's.

03:25Still, it wasn't quite her dream site.

03:29I said to Jamin, it's a really beautiful spot, it's really, really nice, but I'd like the

03:33one on the top, because that would be fantastic, wouldn't it?

03:38And then Jamin and I actually hiked up the hill to get up there and looked at the views

03:43and it was just, yeah, that was the one.

03:49Cindy and Jamin decided to take the plunge and now there's no going back.

03:54We sold the beautiful villa to partially finance the new house and now we're renting in town

04:00until the house is ready.

04:02I feel like we took this very big risk, in a way, but we wanted to try something new,

04:08a new kind of adventure for the two of us, and so we just went for it.

04:15Their plan hasn't got universal approval, though.

04:18The younger members of the family are openly sceptical.

04:22Building an entire house from scratch is a pretty crazy undertaking, even when you're

04:27not sort of working a very, very high-intensity job.

04:31I think that it's going to be harder for them than they think it is.

04:44What an astonishing view.

04:47Some very lucky people here.

04:51How are you?

04:52Jamin.

04:53Good to meet you.

04:54You too, and Cindy.

04:55Hi, nice to meet you, Tom.

04:56Hi, you too.

04:57And what a fantastic piece of coastline.

05:00I could look at that all day.

05:01Yeah, well, that's the plan.

05:02Right.

05:03Not going to leave, ever.

05:04People come to Austin.

05:05Probably won't be able to afford to leave.

05:08It's a steep site.

05:09Yes.

05:10Yeah, it's long and narrow.

05:12We designed a version initially that was tall and squat, but it involved taking out a huge

05:18piece of the hill, so we redesigned and now it's skinny, but it's a long walk from one

05:24end to the other.

05:25Right, a long house.

05:26Yes, a long house.

05:30Building a long house here needs a long retaining wall, 80 meters long, in fact, and up to four

05:35meters high.

05:37Enter the living wing through an oversized rolled steel front door.

05:41The stud here is a massive 6.3 meters at its highest point.

05:47Showcasing the view is a wall of framed glass in the mountain modern architectural style,

05:52while outside decking runs the length of the whole wing.

05:56A supersized entertainer's kitchen features a four-meter long black granite island, a

06:01restaurant-style pantry, and a cozy breakfast nook right by the view.

06:06A double-sided fireplace warms the lounge and Cindy's office library, featuring a domed

06:11ceiling and fresco designed by Sun Percy.

06:15The generous master bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and en suite leads out to a private deck with

06:20a hot tub for two.

06:22The living wing also includes a large laundry, an American-style mudroom, and a bathroom.

06:28Following the curve of the hill, the garage wing contains a spacious media room, bathroom,

06:34two guest bedrooms, Cindy's music and crafts room, and a two-car garage.

06:42Cladding is a combination of steel and timber, and the gable roof is higher than you'd normally

06:46see in New Zealand.

06:48In fact, everything about this house is big, American big, proving perhaps you can take

06:54the couple out of the U.S., but not the U.S. out of the couple.

06:58I think we've come up with something that's going to be really cool.

07:03What are the gems for you in this house?

07:06Well, I have to give credit to my sister who had the idea for the domed ceiling.

07:11A domed ceiling in the library?

07:13Yeah, in the library.

07:15Right.

07:16We kind of like things that are a little different, a little quirky.

07:19Our oldest kid and one of my friends who's in art school are going to fresco it for us.

07:26So I'm excited about that.

07:28The living room has got a massive open wood fire.

07:32So you hope to spend...

07:34Yeah, honestly, I don't know.

07:37We budgeted about $1.4 million.

07:41Really?

07:42$1.4?

07:43I mean, that doesn't seem like enough.

07:47I feel like I'd be really happy if we came in under $1.6 million.

07:51Under $1.6?

07:52Well, it's a big house.

07:55Good luck with that.

07:58When do you hope to finish?

07:59I'm hoping that 10 months to a year of actual building, of the construction of the house.

08:07That's what I was sort of imagining in my mind.

08:10And this is the first house you've built?

08:12First and probably only, I'm sure.

08:15I mean, that's our goal.

08:16So a lot of hope, dreams, energy, money.

08:21I think it's an ambitious plan for the budget that you have, but I wish you the very best

08:26of luck.

08:27Thanks.

08:29Yeah.

08:30Cindy and Jamin's mountain modern home is going to be quite some undertaking, a complex

08:39design on a steep and exposed site.

08:42And it's their first build.

08:45No baby steps here.

08:47It's going to be a bit like trying to climb Everest on your first hike.

08:51I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to do it, but I think these two are.

09:01I want to be supportive at this early stage, but alarm bells are already ringing.

09:05The budget is fantastic and not in a good way.

09:09In the time frame, 10 to 12 months is far-fetched.

09:13Bravery alone won't be enough to get these two over the line.

09:17They'll need all the help they can get.

09:21I came to meet Jamin and Cindy through a builder that I know.

09:27He called me up one day and said, hey, I've got some American clients.

09:30They want to do a house up on the hill.

09:33He said, they've got some pretty out there ideas, see how you go with them.

09:38That was the start.

09:40Alison certainly had her work cut out for her.

09:45Because it's such a steep site, we need a massive retaining wall.

09:49And because there's some underlying rock, we can't do giant round timber piles.

09:58So that left us with doing a gabion basket-type wall.

10:04Any 80-metre long retaining wall up to 4 metres high is a very expensive undertaking,

10:10especially on this site.

10:12Even so, when the builder's estimate for the whole project comes through,

10:16it's far beyond what anyone expected.

10:21We had a little bit of a setback.

10:22The estimate turned out to be about $4.3 million.

10:27I just put my head in my hands and went, oh, how do I bring them back from that?

10:34I actually couldn't believe it.

10:36I was expecting it to be high, but not that high.

10:40I think it was 600 truckloads of dirt they were imagining they would have to take out.

10:44And like 300 truckloads of rocks to bring in to build the wall

10:50that was at some point going to have to be 4 metres high.

10:53So it's like basically building your own mountain to accommodate the house.

10:59I definitely thought, yeah, this is a fantasy,

11:04as opposed to a dream that's going to come.

11:08The figures do not lie.

11:10Cindy and Jamin were hoping to spend no more than $1.6 million.

11:15$4.3 million is out of the question.

11:19So all options are on the table.

11:22All options are on the table.

11:24They have to be.

11:26So the idea is that we bring the house up in elevation by about a metre,

11:31so bring it up out of the ground.

11:33Right. But the other thing we need to do was to slim the house down

11:37so that it stretches across less number of contours,

11:40cos the more contours it stretches across,

11:43the more we've got to either dig out or retain it or form a foundation for it at the front.

11:48And you can see all of this suddenly we don't have to make room for.

11:52Behind. Behind, that's right.

11:54OK. So we can just bring that wall down closer to the house.

11:59If anything that reduces the Great Wall of Dunedin is good.

12:04Professionally, I'd be recommending a complete redesign.

12:07Whatever happens, it will have to be radical.

12:11Perhaps you reduce the size of the house or you don't build one wing of the house

12:17until the following year or something.

12:20Or don't have a garage and a powder room and... Yeah.

12:24Sadly, it appears the only way to save the project is to demolish the dream.

12:30Like I had named my children before they were conceived,

12:33I also had this house planned, decorated, everything, years ago, at the beginning.

12:40So it's really, really hard to not even be in a place where we think we can even start.

12:49Yeah. OK.

12:50I just think it's over. Like, it's not going to happen.

13:03It's now eight months since I first met Cindy Hall and Jamin Halberstadt

13:07on their section high above Otago Harbour in Dunedin.

13:12And in all that time, there's been no building at all.

13:16Not here, anyway.

13:19All those other people have houses.

13:21Yeah, it does seem like we've fallen behind a bit.

13:24Well, those two hadn't even bought the sections when we bought the section.

13:28I know. And ours is looking still a little bare. There's no house.

13:32There's also no chance of it starting any time soon.

13:36With the builder's estimate of $4.3 million

13:39and the couple's budget a mere $1.6 million,

13:42obviously something's got to give.

13:45So far, that hasn't been Cindy.

13:51I can't think of anything I don't want.

13:53Like, we want that cantilevered deck,

13:55so we basically are just looking over all that down there

13:58and just straight out to the view.

14:00It's just full view.

14:02Compounding their problems, there's a construction boom going on,

14:06a shortage of tradespeople,

14:08and the price of materials is going through the roof.

14:12I guess we could always get a tiny house.

14:16Or maybe a whole village of tiny houses.

14:19No. For the price of that estimate,

14:22we could probably build a little city.

14:25We've got to figure out a way to get the house that we want, Jamin.

14:29But while the lack of progress is frustrating,

14:32one part of the project is providing a welcome distraction.

14:38Where the house actually sits and all around it

14:41has been sheep paddock for, I don't even know,

14:44maybe decades, who even knows?

14:46And Jamin and I are really serious about bringing our section back

14:50to what it originally was, what it's meant to be.

14:53We want to have the native plants and the native wildlife all around,

14:58so that's the goal.

15:00Inspired by the large scenic reserve above the property,

15:03Cindy and Jamin have prepared a detailed native planting plan.

15:07That could be very expensive,

15:09but Cindy, who had a huge garden at her previous house,

15:13aims to do it for next to nothing.

15:16I go around collecting seeds wherever I can

15:19and just see what I can grow.

15:22You know, we're not going to change the direction of global warming.

15:26You know, we're not going to repopulate New Zealand

15:29in all of its native flora and fauna.

15:32That's disappearing, but we can do our little bit.

15:35Of course, the priority is actually building on the site,

15:39and that means tough decisions have to be made

15:42on reducing the astonishing estimated cost of the whole house.

15:50Advising on how that could possibly be done,

15:53Cindy's mother, aunt and niece are calling in from the United States.

15:57Love you, Jamin.

15:59I would take out the music craft room

16:02and that would smooth it up, then make it shorter.

16:05But where am I going to do my crafts?

16:10In the kitchen. In the kitchen? No, no!

16:14Clearly, compromise is not a concept Cindy readily embraces.

16:19Yeah, was there, like, loft space? Yeah, I had.

16:22Well, that was going to be storage.

16:25But you don't need storage.

16:27Anything you put up there, just get rid of it.

16:30You won't see it again after you put it up there anyway.

16:36It doesn't sound like much progress is being made.

16:39It's more an exercise in moral support.

16:42$4.25 million.

16:45$4.8 million.

16:48That's ridiculous.

16:50You shouldn't have to pay that for this very nice house.

16:54I think it's way overpriced on their end.

16:57You're going to get your house, Cindy.

16:59Just hang in there.

17:06By June 2022, it's a full 16 months since I first met Cindy and Jamin.

17:12And, lo and behold, their build is finally underway.

17:17Look, you can see the end of the platform!

17:20Oh my gosh!

17:22We got building consent, what, like 10 days ago?

17:25Yeah, we finally got building consent.

17:27A little change around of the design along the way.

17:30We have changed the long and skiddy.

17:32We changed a lot of the cladding to aluminum, which didn't cost as much.

17:36We took a room out and co-opted on top of their garage.

17:39We did, yes.

17:40So, he's going to have an office up there,

17:42and I'm going to have, like, my craft room up in the loft part.

17:46And a lowering of the wall.

17:48That was the essential thing so that we could actually afford it.

17:51Yeah, so we made it work.

17:53And it's day two of excavation right now.

17:57The couple have followed architectural designer Allison's idea

18:00to straighten the house and push it all further back on site.

18:04It's also higher out of the ground, so the retaining wall can be lower.

18:08These are big changes that should mean big cost savings.

18:13But...

18:14We don't know how much it's going to cost

18:16and we don't know how much money we have.

18:18So...

18:19We only got our bank to approve a loan until this July,

18:24and then they told us that actually they're going to review it even sooner,

18:28so, like, this month.

18:30So we don't even...

18:31Like, we actually don't even know how much money we can borrow.

18:35Because the site is narrow, with limited access,

18:38the plan's always been to build the living wing first.

18:41Then borrow against it for the garage wing.

18:43So even though the cost estimate for the whole project is astronomical,

18:47Cindy and Jamin can still believe, in time,

18:51both wings will be completed.

18:53However, they still have to come up with ideas to save money.

18:57We own the land and this is a place, like,

18:59that we can physically live, like, this actual spot,

19:03like a camper van, if necessary,

19:05until the whole house is built.

19:07Jamin, I don't know if I can live in a camper van.

19:10Not forever, just for a little while.

19:12Just while they're building.

19:14These are certainly challenging times,

19:16but I wonder how much of that reality is sinking in.

19:28Into the new year, and Cindy and Jamin

19:30have managed to secure finance

19:32to at least cover the cost of the present work.

19:36Go, guys!

19:37Go, guys!

19:38Go, guys!

19:39Go, guys!

19:41They've even found a builder.

19:43Close to home, too.

19:44Alison's husband, Peter.

19:47The concrete blocks are going to be as tall as this over there.

19:51About 150 metres down from there.

19:53Wow.

19:54So it's going to actually start to look like...

19:56Yeah.

19:57Like a big building.

19:58Yeah.

19:59Pretty soon.

20:00OK.

20:01It's also a relationship that goes beyond the build.

20:04Cindy and Jamin have moved

20:06into one of Peter and Alison's rental properties,

20:09so Peter is now their landlord.

20:12I hope the build goes well.

20:16They'll kick us off the job, we'll evict them.

20:19No, no.

20:20Today, the reinforcing steel for the concrete footings

20:23is going in,

20:24but while it's great to see more progress,

20:27the skyrocketing cost of construction

20:29is chewing up more of the couple's budget.

20:33And work on this site won't get any easier.

20:42For Cindy and Jamin,

20:43access to finance is a major stumbling block.

20:46Hi.

20:47Hi.

20:48One of those, please.

20:49Yeah, sure, of course.

20:51They've been forced to face facts.

20:54The garage wing of their house won't be built anytime soon.

20:58A radical scything of this project has occurred.

21:01Cindy and Jamin have literally cut the house in two.

21:05Of course,

21:06it was always their plan to build the house in two stages,

21:09one after the other.

21:10But for the foreseeable future,

21:12until their financial situation improves,

21:15they'll have to settle for a half measure.

21:18The guest bedrooms, the media room, the crafting room,

21:22who knows when that will be built?

21:25They're essentially left with an enormous one-bedroom house.

21:29Now,

21:30sometimes getting only half of what you want

21:34isn't all that satisfying.

21:36Unless, of course, the half remaining is really good.

21:41We'll see.

21:54It's July 2023,

21:56well over two years since I first visited Cindy and Jamin

21:59on their Dunedin section.

22:01It's been a long, slow haul so far on the long, narrow site.

22:06For Cindy, though,

22:07the laborious progress is only part of the problem.

22:15How have you been coping?

22:17Not that well.

22:18Yeah, it looks like a public toilet or a bunker,

22:21and neither of those is what I want to live in

22:23or want people to think I'm living in.

22:25But, no, come on, that's just the base.

22:27I know.

22:28Everything good happens above that.

22:30There's a lot of base there.

22:32Hundreds of thousands of dollars already in that.

22:35You kind of have to do that,

22:36particularly on a site like this.

22:38It's always going to be expensive

22:39until you get to the status.

22:40Yes, I know.

22:41Everybody told me that.

22:42It doesn't mean that it's not frustrating and, like, yeah.

22:47While Cindy's having trouble coming to terms

22:50with the reality of building in this difficult location,

22:53Jamin is his usual calm and collected self

22:56and with good reason.

22:58He's not here.

22:59He's on a business trip overseas.

23:04You're obviously relaxed enough to leave the project.

23:08Well, not really.

23:10It makes me a little nervous

23:11to see so many work people there at once,

23:13just knowing how much they cost.

23:16And am I right?

23:17I understand everyone says

23:18that it starts happening really quickly now,

23:21now that we're out of the ground.

23:23We're officially out of the ground.

23:24Oh, absolutely.

23:25Supersonic speed now, of course.

23:27Well, maybe.

23:28We'll see.

23:29It's a big house, Jamin.

23:30And we're only looking at, well, half of it almost.

23:34There's a way to go.

23:38I don't know if Cindy and Jamin's attitude

23:40to the build has changed that much.

23:43Cindy's still impatient.

23:44Jamin still pretty much goes with the flow.

23:47And I'm not sure either

23:48is the best approach

23:49when building such a complex and expensive house.

23:59What I do know is Cindy and Jamin's motivation

24:02is to build a home to enjoy as a family.

24:05Even though sons Percy and Paxton now live elsewhere,

24:08their dinners together are quite the occasion.

24:12This is why we're going to need a big kitchen,

24:15because we're big people with big ambitions.

24:19Our island is going to be one

24:21that we can put hot stuff straight on

24:24and not worry about.

24:26Cindy has carefully planned the interior design and fit-out,

24:30and while she's had to change some elements

24:32and materials to save money,

24:34she's determined to be as creative as possible

24:37with what she can afford.

24:39What we want to try to do

24:41is not necessarily have to pay

24:43for a bunch of rolled steel items in the house,

24:47because that's really expensive,

24:49but makes the door,

24:50all the doors in the house look like rolled steel.

24:54The bespoke painter has done up a sample board.

24:58So what he's going to do now is go back

25:01and maybe do like a bluish wash over it.

25:05So it's not as warm.

25:07It's rust.

25:09Yeah, they kind of all look the same to me.

25:20One feature of the house

25:22that was always going to survive any budget cuts

25:25is the dome ceiling for Cindy's office.

25:27She's keeping some of the work in the family too.

25:30Keen artist Percy is designing the dome's painted fresco.

25:36I think that what we want to go for

25:38is just sort of the illusion of stars on the ceiling

25:42and then have a few little individual details

25:45that my mom wants to focus on,

25:47like, for example, our different star sign constellations.

25:50But I think the main thing is the way that it's going to look.

25:54It looks like you're looking through the ceiling

25:56and it's sort of kind of creating

25:58this very unique space within sort of the library,

26:01I guess, nook.

26:04Percy's working on the dome

26:06as well as casting his artistic eye

26:08over the interior design of the whole house,

26:11all the while going through a gender transition.

26:14Getting surgery and things like that,

26:17I tried to sort of plan it around the house-building process

26:21because I didn't want it to get, you know, in the way,

26:24even though it was a really important thing for me.

26:27But it was equally important that, you know,

26:29we didn't all feel like we were being really overwhelmed

26:32by a million things at the same time.

26:36We've definitely sort of figured out

26:38where, like, our boundaries are

26:40and what does and doesn't stress us out

26:42and how we interact with each other in the same space,

26:45and that's been really significant

26:47for, like, my own personal development as well.

26:58Rolling on to November 2023,

27:00and the build has steadily progressed all year.

27:03And now the framing is up.

27:06Cindy and Jamin can walk through their house for the first time

27:10and appreciate just how big it is.

27:13You really can get a good idea of what it's like, finally.

27:17Wow, it's going to be so amazing.

27:19And the deck out this way.

27:21I know, I'm very excited about the deck.

27:26As I understand it, the psychology

27:28behind making the studs so high

27:30is to give Cindy and Jamin the space

27:32to relax and unwind away from their busy professional lives.

27:37However, the height has caused a bit of stress for builder Peter.

27:43I got quite a fright when I saw how high it actually was.

27:46When you say six metres, yeah, you think six metres,

27:49but when you actually see it, it's high.

27:56The house is now a long way from a bunker

27:59or, heaven forbid, a public toilet,

28:01and Cindy and Jamin finally appear to be happy.

28:04And no-one's happier about that

28:06than architectural designer Alison,

28:08who's here for a lighting meeting with the electrician.

28:12Remember, I'm kind of a lamp person,

28:14so, yeah, not so much bright overhead stuff.

28:19While lamps are pretty standard,

28:21lighting a domed ceiling is something else again.

28:25It's a feature of the house Cindy and Jamin have fought very hard to keep

28:29and they want it just right.

28:32It's going to be plaster cast,

28:34but not sticking out of the roof.

28:36Fit it into the ceiling, yeah.

28:39But while the finer points are now being discussed,

28:42I trust someone's keeping a close eye on the money.

28:45Cindy and Jamin have taken their house

28:48and literally cut it in half to come in on budget.

28:52It will be devastating if they don't.

28:59It's autumn 2024 at Cindy and Jamin's house.

29:02The framing is all up, the roof is on,

29:05and the windows won't be too far away.

29:08And youngest son Paxton is taking a look around.

29:15Wow, this is pretty big.

29:17It's absolutely massive,

29:19and it's all one story as well.

29:21But I'm a bit worried.

29:23It doesn't look like there's anywhere for me to sleep.

29:26There's no bedroom for me.

29:28This entire area is pretty much all my mum and dad's domain.

29:33With Paxton flatting in central Dunedin

29:36and Percy in Scotland,

29:38their bedrooms will have to wait until the garage wing is built,

29:42whenever that is.

29:45It's a lot bigger than I'm used to,

29:48a lot more opulent than I'm used to.

29:51I don't know what to do.

29:53It's a lot more opulent than I'm used to.

29:56I do think it's a little overkill.

29:59I really hope they can enjoy their lives and just relax after this.

30:08Right now, though, Cindy has only one thing on her mind,

30:12the domed ceiling for her library office.

30:18So this is the first coat?

30:20Yep, which is called the face.

30:23To make the dome,

30:25the couple have engaged at an Eden company

30:28specialising in fibrous plaster mouldings,

30:31decorative features normally associated with stately homes

30:35and grand traditional buildings.

30:38Because the plaster sets in about 20 minutes,

30:41we've got to keep it moving.

30:44Cindy and Jamin have worked hard to save their dome from budget cuts,

30:49and now it's being made one quarter at a time.

30:53A lot of skill involved and Dave's probably the best around

30:56to do that sort of work, aren't you, Dave?

30:58You're the best around.

31:00Yep.

31:01I'm going to have the poshest office in the South Island, I think.

31:06The dome is the star of the show,

31:08but it needs a rim surrounding it,

31:10and making one is another skilled operation.

31:14Definitely feel stressed.

31:16I don't want to say it too much

31:18because I don't want to put it on them.

31:20Don't be stressed.

31:22You wouldn't want to mess this up

31:24because then you'd have to start over.

31:29Historically, dome ceilings are associated with classical architecture

31:34and certainly not with North American mountain modern,

31:38except perhaps in what Cindy has in her mind for her house.

31:45Mountain modern with just once in a while

31:47some really, some jewel-like things.

31:50That's kind of the idea.

31:51I want to have spaces that are like, ooh,

31:53but just spaces, not the whole thing.

31:56So I think this is going to work perfectly,

31:58especially with the pretty extravagant painting

32:01that's going to be on the dome.

32:09I've timed my visit to witness the dome being installed.

32:13Hopefully it's something special

32:15because there hasn't been much to celebrate so far on this build.

32:19Here we are, though, with a house

32:21that's starting to look like it belongs on the hill,

32:24albeit only half the house they wanted.

32:28Now that's a bit better.

32:31Today the builders are continuing to put the linings on the walls.

32:34Stylistically, a little bit country farmhouse, perhaps,

32:38and yet the huge windows are very industrial.

32:42Whatever's going on with the design, though,

32:44it's easy to be distracted by the amazing view of Otago Harbour

32:48and by the sheer height of this room.

32:52You really have to be in this house to feel the volume.

32:57It's so tall.

32:59And this is only half of the house.

33:01I know. I can't even think about... I know.

33:03Do you like it? Do you like the house?

33:05Do I like your house?

33:06Yeah.

33:07Gosh, I'd better say the right thing here.

33:09Yeah, I...

33:10No, seriously.

33:11Honestly?

33:12Seriously?

33:13Yeah, seriously.

33:14Seriously, here we go.

33:15So I've been worried about your house,

33:17but you stand in here and it feels lovely.

33:22Yes.

33:23You don't need my approval.

33:24But...

33:25But you've been waiting for it for the past three years.

33:28And...

33:31But, you know, we're not finished yet.

33:33No?

33:34Let's hold that hug for later.

33:35Yeah, exactly.

33:37On the library ceiling, the dome is going in quarter by quarter.

33:44Well, that's the theory, anyway.

33:47It's not long yet.

33:50Possibly not the best time for the clients to walk into the room.

33:54Plus that guy off the TV.

33:57So, what's happening?

33:59OK.

34:00OK.

34:01Piece of cake.

34:02Right. OK, yeah.

34:04That's what they're all trained to say.

34:05Piece of cake, no worries.

34:07Everybody look and they smile.

34:09Uh-huh.

34:10OK, how's it going?

34:11No worries.

34:12Needless to say, the quarters do have to line up precisely.

34:16There's only one way this dome goes together.

34:21Well, the truth is,

34:22there's a reason why we don't build spheres very often.

34:24Yeah.

34:25You know, they're very difficult to construct.

34:28There's no mistakes in art, they're just features.

34:30Ah.

34:31Well, that's a good thing to hold on to.

34:33OK.

34:34Who needs perfection?

34:35Uh...

34:36What do you do?

34:37Well, I'd like us to aim for it

34:41and then I know we're going to get really good, at least.

34:49OK.

34:50No pressure, man.

34:56And before too long,

34:58after some patient and expert persuasion,

35:01the four quarters make up the whole.

35:06Woo!

35:07Yes!

35:09Yeah.

35:10Yeah, I can tell it was stressful.

35:12Woo!

35:14Yay!

35:15Yay!

35:19We're starting to see the first glimpses

35:21of all of those things that Jamin and Cindy have been dreaming about,

35:25turning this construction shell into a house.

35:28And to be honest, it's a bit of a relief, isn't it?

35:31I mean, it's been some time.

35:33And remember, they've cut their coat to suit their cloth.

35:36They're only getting half of that original dream.

35:39The question is, with their lofty expectations,

35:43will half be good enough?

35:55Try and imagine how Cindy and Jamin are feeling right now

35:59after four long years of wrangling this build.

36:02Countless hours and money spent.

36:05A few highs, but probably a few too many lows.

36:08And remember, we're only going to see

36:11an incomplete version of the house that they wanted.

36:15So how are they feeling right now?

36:17Let's find out.

36:19MUSIC

36:35Well, for half a house, that's a deck and a half, isn't it?

36:40It would grace any good public beauty spot,

36:43which feels appropriate.

36:45Actually, the scale here is amazing.

36:47You could be walking up to a little hut,

36:49but as you approach, it gets bigger and bigger.

36:55Oh, and an enormous front door, of course.

36:58KNOCK AT DOOR

37:00Hey!

37:01Tom!

37:02Hello.

37:03Hi.

37:04How are you?

37:05I'm really good to see you.

37:06Finally.

37:07Jamin.

37:08Hey, Tom.

37:09Good to see you again.

37:11I have to say, this is astounding.

37:14MUSIC

37:17The quality of light.

37:19Mm.

37:20And that view.

37:21Mm.

37:22And I love how, the fact that it's so tall,

37:24you sort of forget about ideas of roofs and ceilings.

37:27It floats away and you're just connected with that view.

37:33What I was intrigued to find out was,

37:35how do you fit normal-sized furniture in such a big space?

37:39And here, well, it's all antique,

37:41so there's quite a contrast with the style of the house.

37:44Yeah, I guess that's the mountain part

37:46of the mountain modern design.

37:52And this is...

37:53Well, it's not an island, is it?

37:55It's a continent.

37:57Enormous!

37:58We finally got the chef's kitchen for Jamin.

38:01That was our second big necessity after the windows.

38:04And this is an intercontinental landing strip of a light.

38:08It's amazing.

38:09It's got these lovely little delicate curved corners

38:12and slots where you get a flash of light through.

38:15Mm.

38:16No, it's fantastic.

38:23The size comes at a cost, though.

38:25Literally half the house is kitchen and living.

38:28And there's only one bedroom.

38:30The other two bedrooms planned

38:32were in the wing that hasn't been built.

38:34And the only spare space here has a higher purpose.

38:38So here's the library in my office.

38:41What do you think?

38:45I told you, magic!

38:46Yeah, there's a bit of magic.

38:48So this is Percy's design.

38:50And what are we looking at?

38:52Is that Gemini twins?

38:53Yeah, you're looking at feminised astrological symbols

38:56superimposed on a southern night sky.

38:58Yeah.

38:59It's magic, eh?

39:00Yeah.

39:01It elevates this room, doesn't it?

39:03This is a room for thinkers and stargazers and whatnot.

39:06Thinkers and stargazers and dreamers.

39:08And this is your desk.

39:09Yep.

39:10Right?

39:11So this is Cindy's experience.

39:12Yep.

39:14Which is...

39:16That's a lot of contemplation, isn't it?

39:18The earth and the sea, the heavens, a bit of academia.

39:21The only thing is,

39:22I don't know how much the computer would be turned on.

39:26That's the only problem.

39:29Each room in the house offers a distinctly different experience.

39:33The living room with its antique furniture,

39:35the kitchen with its industrial look and feel,

39:38and the library office, a study in Victorian style, perhaps.

39:43And the bathroom?

39:44Well, this is in a category all on its own.

39:48Well, I wasn't expecting this.

39:51The wall covering it, it's a trompe l'oeil, isn't it?

39:54It feels like riveted steel.

39:57Sexy prison cell was what we called it.

40:00Yeah, well, I'll leave that to you to describe,

40:03but gosh, yeah, yeah, it's a strong look.

40:07Mm, thanks.

40:10The distinctly gridded windows provide another strong aesthetic

40:14from the social spaces right down to the master bedroom.

40:19With its light and airy ensuite,

40:21a big contrast to the bathroom we just left.

40:25Wow, the eyes open again.

40:27Mm.

40:28After the dark bathroom, wow.

40:30I feel like we get to appreciate the bush a lot from this room.

40:33It's almost coming in.

40:34It is, it's growing towards you, isn't it?

40:36Yeah.

40:37Well, it's four years of growth there.

40:40Ooh, yes.

40:41So, there'll be a hot tub out here eventually.

40:44But until then...

40:45Until then.

40:46...there's more gazing.

40:47Yeah, we can just stand and look.

40:50It's been a real journey through this house.

40:53Very different feelings in all the rooms,

40:57and very stimulating.

40:58Thanks.

40:59Well, we love it.

41:07Do you know what I'm curious about?

41:09Is that you've got this great house,

41:11but you got here through a process that was quite the opposite.

41:15It was, you know, financially terrifying at times, lengthy.

41:19And so, is this just one big psychological experiment

41:22with you two as the test subjects?

41:25Is that what's going on?

41:27It could seem that way in retrospect.

41:30I agree, but it wasn't meant to be that way.

41:32I think it was harder for me.

41:34And Jamin was an amazing balance

41:36to my stress and impatience and frustration

41:40about how long things took.

41:43The steadying influence in the storm.

41:50There was a sense that you were also diving into

41:52quite a lot of unknowns.

41:53You were also diving into quite a lot of unknown territory.

41:56With budget, which was tiny, then massive.

41:58Building on a hill.

42:00All of the things that you don't understand until you do it.

42:03Yeah, totally.

42:04There was that horrible 4.25, 4.3 million figure

42:08that meant you had to rethink.

42:09Yes.

42:10Quite drastically.

42:12And so, we now have a really big one-bedroom house.

42:16Yep.

42:17Your family people, where are you going to put them?

42:20Well, Paxton just slept on the couch the other night,

42:22so he didn't really love it.

42:23Yeah, I think that they'll be happy

42:25when Stage 2 happens and there's a place.

42:27Well, let's talk about that Stage 2.

42:28So, it is going to happen?

42:29Yeah.

42:30Yeah.

42:31So, how does that work?

42:32How much have you spent to date?

42:34We haven't gotten the final invoice,

42:36but I believe it'll be about 2.1 million

42:39on what we've done so far.

42:41And so, the next part?

42:43We have an estimate from Allison and Peter

42:46of about 800,000 for the addition.

42:50It will depend on what we can negotiate from the bank

42:53and if we need to, we'll change the design.

43:01I would say, enjoy this part.

43:04You've got to where you want it to be.

43:06Soak in what you have.

43:08And hopefully, those four years

43:10will be just a distant memory.

43:12Looking forward, right?

43:13Mm.

43:14Everyone who comes here is just,

43:16first they're stunned and then they feel calm.

43:19Add me to that list.

43:21And, like, how could you want anything more?

43:30This house, for me, represents an intriguing dichotomy.

43:34Cindy and Jamin were more than a little naive

43:36about what it would take to build this house,

43:38but at the same time, and as it turns out,

43:41entirely resolved in the idea of the home

43:44and what it would be like.

43:46Yeah, they fought the battles, didn't they?

43:48I mean, at the stage where

43:50the budget costings came back at three times

43:52what they wanted to spend,

43:53most people would have rightly folded,

43:55compromised, pulled back, built something simple.

43:58But they didn't.

44:00Okay, so, phase two.

44:01Let's call that a rain check.

44:03But play this one out

44:04and they will get the home they've dreamt of,

44:07the ideal home.

44:08And for me, that resolve is truly inspirational.

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