Thrifty couple build entire home out of timber salvaged from the tip

That’s one way to get on the property ladder! Thrifty couple build entire home out of timber salvaged from the tip for just $50,000

  • Frank Deveson and Samantha Hawker built at house in southern New South Wales made of recycled timber
  • Hardwood from a demolished office destined for the tip was re-purposed for their home near Canberra
  • Wood from an old bookshelf seen on the back of a trailer was even reused to create a new kitchen for $50 

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A thrifty couple has virtually built an entire house made out of timber that was salvaged from the tip.

Frank Deveson, 34, and his 30-year-old girlfriend Samantha Hawker built a small cottage at Wamboin, near Canberra, made of logs and Australian hardwood that was destined for landfill.

The couple, who grow their own food and only visit the supermarket to buy matches, spent two years searching for discarded timber to built a sustainable, dream home among the ghost gum trees in southern New South Wales.

 

A thrifty couple has built an entire house in southern New South Wales made out of timber that was salvaged from the tip 

The 100 square metre, open-plan house with no bedrooms was built in August 2016 at a cost of $50,000 – with the timber obtained for free as they searched tips and the Gumtree website for things people were throwing out.

The outdoor cladding came from an office in Sydney that had been demolished while the kitchen was fashioned from an old bookshelf.

‘There were many years of collection of materials involved in this house building,’ Mr Deveson told Daily Mail Australia on Friday.

‘In fact, the house was basically inspired by the materials.’ 

The kitchen was built last, after the couple spotted an old bookshelf on a trailer outside a Canberra recycling depot.

‘We were scoping what was on people’s trailers as we were at the tip,’ Mr Deveson told the ABC’s Escape From The City program. 

Frank Deveson (right), 34, and his 30-year-old girlfriend Samantha Hawker (left) built a small cottage at Wamboin, near Canberra, made of logs and Australian hardwood that was destined for landfill

Frank Deveson (right), 34, and his 30-year-old girlfriend Samantha Hawker (left) built a small cottage at Wamboin, near Canberra, made of logs and Australian hardwood that was destined for landfill

‘You could say we were in the right place at the right time but I think it’s about keeping your eyes out.’ 

He explained how the cypress pine posts, holding up their north-facing house, were made from dead trees that had died during the drought. 

The outside cladding is a combination of corrugated iron and recycled ‘radially-sawn’ Australian silvertop ash, where a hardwood log is sliced into pizza-shaped wedges so no plantation timber is wasted.

The structural beams were the only pieces of wood that weren’t recycled. 

The solar-powered house was built for Mr Deveson’s parents Pip and Ted to live in, with the couple living in the original house on the same, eight-hectare bush block where Frank grew up.

The couple grow their own vegetables, including kale, and raise chickens. 

The timber kitchen cost just $50 to build, with the couple searching the Gumtree website for items people were throwing out

The timber kitchen cost just $50 to build, with the couple searching the Gumtree website for items people were throwing out

The kitchen was built last, after the couple spotted an old bookshelf on a trailer outside a Canberra recycling depot

The kitchen was built last, after the couple spotted an old bookshelf on a trailer outside a Canberra recycling depot

They also barter with their friends and have been self-sufficient for five years.

‘We have lots of friends who grow fruit and vegetable as well and we do trade with them,’ Ms Hawker told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We do what we can to keep ourselves out of a regular job and provide for ourselves and our community.

‘We don’t earn a monetary income.’

But living a life in accordance with permaculture principles has its challenges, with the couple having to visit the shops occasionally.

‘You can’t do everything yourself. We do go to the supermarket to get matches,’ Ms Hawker said.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk