Garry Terry had always dreamt of building a Paal kit home and finally the time had come. “When I was about 18, I said to my girlfriend, who’s now my wife, ‘I’m going to build one of those Paal homes one day,’” he says.
Years later, the couple settled on a five-acre property in Noosa’s beautiful Cooroibah, just under two hours from Brisbane. Garry had retired by this stage, and they decided to build a second residence on the block to capitalise on the growing rental market. “It was basically to add value to the property,” says Garry.
However, the cost of adding a second dwelling was not cheap and Garry immediately thought of Paal. “I thought I’d do it myself,” says Garry. “And I remembered wanting to build a Paal home when I was a kid!”
Garry met with Jamie at the Paal Queensland showroom in Caboolture who suggested a modified version of the Met-Kit Forest 3. Met-Kit is a sister company of Paal offering a range of designs which are affordable and very easy to build for the owner builder. “Jamie put the Forest 3 up on the computer and trimmed it down to two bedrooms,” says Garry. “He just shrank the whole thing.”
Garry had vast experience in buying properties and building project homes, but he’d never personally completed a build. “I’d move, buy a block of land and have a home built,” he says. “But I’m retired now so I had time to do it myself.”
As an ex-underground miner, Gary felt comfortable going owner/builder, and apart from engaging a couple of trades people such as a plumber, electrician and concreter, he completed the work himself. “It was a bit of a mission because I worked through summer,” he says. “I was doing the roof the week before Christmas, and it was about 40°C – I lost 12kg doing it!”
Overall, Garry was extremely satisfied with the building process and found Paal’s products and customer service to be outstanding. “Jamie was great,” says Garry. “Then after sorting the plans, I mostly dealt with Mauree, and she was excellent too.”
Now after 15 months, the home is finished and almost ready for its first lucky tenant. For Garry it was a huge undertaking but one that he is proud of. “It’s the satisfaction of seeing it finished,” he says. Plus, not only did he rise to the building challenge and succeed, but also achieved a long-life ambition in the process. “It’s ironic really,” says Garry. “I wasn’t just saying it, I eventually ended up building a Paal home.”