In honour of your memory, bro.

My all time favourite job would have to be a house I built in Queenscliff for owner-builder Rod Brennan. This job was one of a kind, both in terms of the type of skills required of the builder and the freedom it presented to be adaptive and creative.  Rod had an architectural plan with working drawings, but the implementation of it became a joint effort in problem-solving and in making it more to Rod's eclectic tastes, incorporating our mutual love of timber. 

The theme of this build was a blend of mediterranean, medieval and modern, a combination not likely to be seen again in this country.  Rod and I spent many hours looking at different parts of the build and collaborating on ways we could alter or make any changes that we felt would be more suitable to the home.    I was required to work with large recycled wharf timbers that had to be craned in, through to quite fine carpentry, carving the timber into the deformed shapes of the natural sandstone.  This stone had been quarried onsite by a couple of very skilled stonemasons, an inspiration of Rod's from his geology background.

The job went quite quickly once I took charge of getting the right people, as everyone involved in this project was motivated.  It was a busy worksite at all times, but no-one minded the view. 

One of the main challenges was the construction of a deck that extended over the cliff edge, that was about 30m above the ocean.   I created a legendary timber scaffold on the outside of the cliff and again, had to crane in steel beams as supports.  Rod's knowledge of the formation of sandstone headlands contributed to how we decided to safe-guard the deck against any future rock falls, with the careful placement of the steel beams.  The concrete pour all had to be done in one day and it went into the night under bright lights.

Clearly Rod was a man on a mission.  He was on-site almost daily and took charge of calculating and costing and later took his turn up the scaffold to assist in the creation of his master bedroom feature ceiling.  Rod's enthusiasm, trust and respect enabled my very best work to come forward. On completion, I built the family a custom hardwood table with left over timbers, that took pride of place in the home.  

This project created a bond between Rod and myself which would last a lifetime.