Hanging on to heritage

Because of the home’s location in a heritage zone, demolishing and building new wasn’t an option, even if they kept to a similar style. The Claytons also couldn’t build up, because it would change the roof line. Instead they added a basement, which meant the house had to be lifted then shifted back to make way for construction.

Having to preserve the building seemed crazy at times, because so much of it was rotten and couldn’t be saved, says Greer. In the end the only thing they could salvage was part of the building’s skeleton. The home’s frontage was “pretty much just copied and replaced”. However Greer managed to find fretwork to match the original style. “It was a bit of a wild goose chase to find the one bit of fret that was a match.”

Inside, Greer wanted to reference the home’s original features. When panelling in the hallway was ruled out (“It was too inconsistent with all the doorways.”) they decided to replicate the look of the original panelling on the kitchen, bathroom and laundry cabinetry. “It echoes the look and feeling of the panelling,” says Greer.

‘This reno was a test of patience. You’ve got to remember when things don’t happen, don’t get wound up. Otherwise you could be stressed about everything’