PAAL KIT HOMES, STEEL FRAME HOUSES IN KIT FORM FOR THE OWNER BUILDER & OWNER MANAGER
TESTIMONIALS
Building their first Paal kit home had been a satisfying experience, so Phil and Gail did it all again.
Phil and Gail Ritchie built a Paal kit home some years ago and were willing to tackle another one when they retired from their jobs in Sydney.
Their first Paal home, a Hunter 3, was originally built for Phil's sister-in-law and was later bought by the couple.
"Now we need more room," Phil explained. "Our furniture won't fit in the house and we need space for our children and their families."
The original home is more than 17 years old but is still in excellent condition. The cornices are all in place and there isn't a mark on it.
"Building that home was a satisfying experience for us, so we reasoned that a much larger home would be more satisfying still," he said.
The Ritchies chose Paal's Hawkesbury, which they mirror-reversed and extended with a garage. They tackled most of the work themselves, including roofing, plaster-boarding and painting.
They chose Hardie's wall cladding instead of bricks, so were able to complete the house to lock-up stage without the help of a bricklayer.
A qualified electrician, Phil installed the wiring, but employed contractors for the concrete slab and a licensed tradesman for the plumbing.
"I'm older than when I built my first Paal home, but I'm reasonably agile and it all came together well. The building system was very easy to understand.
Phil and Gail appreciated the fact that the home kit contained everything, including PC items such as the kitchen stove, toilet and tapware. "This was so convenient. It saved us having to find and purchase these items.
"As it turned out, we were short of some brackets, but we notified Paal and a box arrived by courier the next morning. Considering we are 400km away, this was excellent service," he said.