In true early-2000s style, this two-storey home consisted of direct-fixed poly panels with a cream-coloured plaster finish and an orange concrete-tiled roof. It also had major issues, with Gavin Brown of Waikato Build originally being asked by the owner to look at a leaking balcony. Upon inspection, Brown found that the balcony had been built flat over a bedroom and that the house showed other signs of water ingress thanks to that plasterboard. The decision was made to give the house a complete makeover – with transformative results. Cladding was removed, as was the roof and most of the roof structure. Then everything was stripped back to bare framing. A series of extensions were added to make the floorplan more open and spacious, and then came the new roof, cladding, windows, framing and internal components.

The resulting home is unrecognisable from the original. Today, it stands tall and grand with white plaster walls the predominant cladding offset by vertical shiplap timber. Interiors are clean and simplistic with timber floors and bespoke joinery adding visual appeal. The silver lining to this leaky home situation is that the owner now has a modern, open-plan home with connection to the outdoors and an under-stair wine cellar to greet the wine-lover at the door.