Other environmental design features include: high-performance insulation; air transfer fans that send both cool air from downstairs and heat from the salvaged wood stove to the upstairs master bedroom and the ability to access water from the Allyn River for the two toilets when water tank levels are low.
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The verandah, which includes Velux skylights with remote-controlled blinds, does more than just shade windows and doors.
"Andrew wanted to reinstate the cast iron lacework around the verandah because it was extremely sentimental," Hugues explains.
"It was complicated because, due to a change in roof design, the original lace columns were too short so we had to come up with an idea for extending them that was structurally adequate."
Medowie blacksmith Rene Rasmussen, of Cosy Iron Design, was recruited to make plinths that looked original and could be attached seamlessly while providing the required support.
As the verandah had been extended from three to four sides, extra columns and horizontal panels also had to be cast.
"Reinstating the lacework was a mammoth task, both physically and mentally, but was clearly worth it," Hugues says. "When I first put up the plinths and Andrew saw them, the look on his face was really special - it meant a lot to him."
The Allynbrook project has been a dedicated collaboration between Andrew, Hugues and architect Rizal Zaini, of Riz Design Office.
Andrew says he now has the best of both worlds. His favourite features include stained glass dormer windows that spill coloured light into living spaces, the outdoor bath that is great for grubby grandkids and the fretwork on the door breezeways. There are surprises, like the outdoor bath, around every corner in this three-bedroom house. The exterior is clad in a Colorbond product in the Lysaght Zenith range, with the vertical profile complementing the adjacent cottage.
The ceiling at the centre of the house hits seven metres, and the centrepiece kitchen was built from a Bunnings Kaboodle cabinetry flatpack for less than $10,000.
Before the build began, Hugues said to Andrew that the house would be like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
"Andrew went with that analogy as a theme and that's why the colour is the charred black [Monument matt] with the white accents," Hugues says.
"It really became Andrew's phoenix house."
