Log cabins conjure up images of snowy mountains, roaring fires, bear rugs on the floor. But if you were gonna build a modern log home, you'd want to put a contemporary spin on it, wouldn't you? Dad's home! Grand ideas start at home. ANZ ` proud sponsor of Three's Grand Designs New Zealand. (FANCIFUL CLASSICAL MUSIC) Captions by Alex Walker. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 (SOFT MUSIC) Ash Brownrigg has always loved skiing and been drawn to the mountains. It's just being in touch with nature. It's just beautiful. I just absolutely love it. Positive attitude to life ` that's really important to me. I'm always prepared to have a go. Sometimes get stretched, but I have a go. I love skiing in New Zealand, but I've skied all round the world. A lot of places that I've been in the mountains, the houses there, they're log cabins and log houses. And that's what inspired me. And I thought, 'I'd love to have something like this.' And it's been a dream for a long time. They're nestled in the mountains, and they look as though they belong there. But of course, our mountains come with geological baggage. The North Island ski fields sit on our largest active volcano, Mt Ruapehu. Eruptions by Ruapehu and other nearby volcanoes have created a plateau littered with volcanic debris. And it's right here that Ash is cementing his plans for his alpine dream home. Look at those boulders ` a thousand years old. Wow. When I first bought the section, there wasn't a lot of boulders here, quite frankly, cos they were buried under the ground. And then, in planning for the house and laying out the possible driveway, they uncovered 60 boulders. All of these come from the drive and...? From there and there, yes. Whoa. I think it's a bonus, because, you know, people would give their right arm to have boulders to use in their landscaping plan like we've got. Why did you buy this? I mean, what's the idea here? I've always wanted to build a true log house. In the past 30 years, life has taken over, so there's work, marriage, kids, divorce. Oh, you've been through the whole thing. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I've always wanted to do it. I've only just, in the last year or so, been in a position to be able to do it... on the terms I wanna do it. To me, a log house should be in the wilderness or near water or near a mountain. You mean in a kind of primeval landscape? Is that it? Yes. Sort of like the forefathers, you know, that's how they built houses ` using nature, getting back to nature. And, you know, we plan to do a bit outside ` have an outdoor fire with a pizza maker and hot tub, usual stuff. And a petanque court... And a petanque court? ... for summer. Yeah. That sounds awfully primitive (!) Yeah, yeah, primitive (!) (BOTH CHUCKLE) To create a building platform, Ash has excavated 60 volcanic boulders, each weighing at least a ton. A heated concrete slab will provide a newfangled base for an old-fangled home. Huge Douglas-fir tree trunks, whittled off-site, will be stacked on top of each other, interlocking without nails, to form walls. An ample living room with soaring, double-height void will sit beside a cosy loft and bedrooms. A dormer window off the master bedroom will frame views of the omnipotent volcano. Cyprus sarking will be topped with a corrugated steel roof. More logs bear up a chunky veranda that sweeps around the house and connects to Ash's outdoor playground ` with a fire pit, spa pool and a petanque court, landscaped with those hefty boulders. An alpine log home with a volcanic twist that Ash hopes will become adventure central for his family. That's if he can sell them his dream. My darling daughter didn't want me to build a log house, because she thinks they're old-fashioned. So she thinks you've gone back to the dark ages? Yeah, yeah, a little bit. And is that true? Have you gone back to the dark ages? No, no, I've not. To some people, a log house is just a traditional structure and, um, it's not modern. So therefore, to compensate that ` I think, especially, for example, lighting and, uh, possibly furniture, uh, floor coverings ` they become really important. And I think if you can get a real modern feel to that part of it, it just makes it far more interesting and, uh, like I call, 'stylie'. And what's it gonna cost? Have you got a budget? Um, I haven't finalised that yet. I don't think there's gonna be a lot of change out of $600,000. The interesting thing for me is that, you know, there aren't that many log houses that get built. They're quite unusual in New Zealand. And often, they do look out of place. So for me, it's gonna be really interesting to see how you pull it off and how it's gonna look. Just... Yeah. I'm intrigued. Ash currently lives on the other side of the mountains in a remote corner of Lake Rotoiti, where he also runs his mobile accountancy practice. This house is, um, was my` our family home since 1998. So the two children grew up here. My daughter got married back here. And so it's quite a special place. Family is everything. I am on good terms with all of my family, get on well with my ex-wife. We're all together. We still do stuff together. I'm hoping that a longhouse will be a place where all the family gets together. We all love skiing, so it's gonna be a magnet for family and friends to get together. But Ash's choice of a log home is dividing the family. My son, Ben, loves the idea, but my daughter, Nat, is a modernist. They're poles apart in terms of their ideas on interior design and building things. But probably more so` Ben more so is that... He's of the mind set that, 'If you're happy, Dad, I'm happy. 'I might not agree with everything, and if I don't, I'll tell you, but I'll accept your decision.' Probably not quite the same with Nat. (CHUCKLES QUIETLY) Natalie, who lives in Mt Maunganui with her husband and two daughters, studied interior architecture. Hi, kids! Poppa! Hey! How are ya? Despite her initial reservations, Ash wants her to help him with his design. Oh. You wanna play some backgammon? Yeah, man. When it comes to my dad, I actually think no one's really good enough. He's a top bloke. Ooh, yeah, all right. We have a real bond over the girls. He's a really fantastic poppa, and I would totally take a bullet for him. Um, unless it was gonna get him in the ass, and I'd kinda point and laugh, but... (CHUCKLES) Yeah, that's it. On the three. When my dad first told me he was gonna build the log cabin, I was really surprised. Totally took me by surprise. I really never thought he would actually get round to doing it. Uh, he always pegged it as a bucket-list item, which, to me, sounded ridiculous, because most people jump off a... out of a plane or something. They don't build a log cabin. So no eco building, then? It's gonna go... No, sorry. Yeah. Modern, super modern? OK. No, no. It's traditional. Draw Poppa with this pen. Do you know what? Poppa loves log cabins, and he always has, hasn't he? Whilst I've got fixed ideas on the outside, I would like some input on the interior design. So I get` I get some sway on... a few minor-ticket items ` is that it? No, no ` the kitchen, the dining table, the lounge suites. You can have your input. 'Input'? Who has final sign-off? I will have input from other people as well. Oh really? Oh gosh. No, you and I will have final sign-off. So, what's this, a 50/50? Or do I have 51% vote? Do you have 49%? No, I've got casting vote. Sorry. Oh God. You've gotta think about how you can modernise the inside. And my gut feeling would be to whitewash those walls and really tone down that wood, cos that's a lot of timber. At this stage, no. I like the look of the logs. I think... we need to really think about how we can make the inside as cool as possible. I'm not` I don't wanna ruin your dream, but it's a lot of money, and I think we should really try and challenge, I don't know, the traditional log cabin inside and make it a bit more easy to live in. I've` I've still got an open mind, so we'll see how this develops. DERISIVELY: 'Open mind'. Ash's log home journey starts at the source ` in Kaingaroa Forest. Ash and I are meeting specialist log builder Derek Mullooly to choose the Douglas-fir trees that will be used to build Ash's log home. Hey, guys. Gidday, Derek. How are you, Chris? Ash? Gidday, Derek. So, what are we looking for, Derek? We're looking for a nice symmetrical tree, not too much of a sweep in it. No kinks. About 300 SED ` small-end diameter. Yup. At about 10m. It's looking pretty good. I'll put the calipers up here. Yeah, we have. We've got about 440 mils there. So we estimate, by about 10m up, it's gonna be about 320 ` 300, 320. So that's a perfect tree for us. So we'll mark that tree. The guy on the machine, when he turns up here, he'll see this mark; he knows it's one of my trees. So this one's gonna be my house. Yahoo! Hoo-hoo! (CHUCKLES) This one's going in your house ` one of the many. Yes. Yes! Derek will need about 80 trees to build Ash's 190m2 home. They will be stripped but otherwise used directly ` green, natural and untreated. It is so magical being here in this... incredible environment. I` You know, it takes me back to when I was a kid, and I just think that that primeval thing of coming into a forest to select, literally, the logs that you're gonna build your house out of ` how exciting is that? Of course, this is a commercial operation from planting to harvesting. I've never before seen huge trees mechanically felled and de-branched en masse. (CRASH!) The power... of this thing is brutal. It's utterly merciless, and... you can see how incredibly easy it is for these... huge trees just to be chopped ` boom. And then you can... feel the ground quivering under your feet as they fall. Ash wants an old-time log home built in the traditional way. But this process is a far cry from using an axe or a handsaw in the woods. I wondered just how handcrafted his modern log home will be. Rotorua is 200km away from Ash's building site. But curiously, this is where his log home is now being prefabricated in an old-world way. I can't believe the progress. I'm just so excited. It's starting to look like a house. Derek runs the only specialist log-home-building company in the country. His team is trained to build traditionally using some 21st-century techniques. You go back centuries, they probably had adzes and axes and whatever. But now we have mechanical machines to make it easier. We can peel a log with this within half an hour. You know, whereas if you do it by hand, you might be taking two hours. And then some, probably. Yeah, yeah. After being peeled and sanded, the logs are placed in layers or rounds and shaped to fit the contours of the log beneath. So, we've ... this log, so it's in the position where it's going to finally go. Now, to get it down, we're gonna scribe the log. You're mapping the levels of the lower log on to the upper log? Yes. That's right. The contour of the lower log reproduced on to the top log. It's like a translation of the landscape, because, you know, it's organic. It's not dead straight. CHUCKLES: No, no. No, it's not. No. The contours are delicately etched... with a chainsaw. (CHAINSAW REVS, GRINDS) It's just a lovely form of traditional craftsmanship. That's correct. It's like a sculpture. You actually... This house is gonna be a sculpture, because everything is cut out. Everything is done by hand. So, is this expensive? Um, a log house, yeah. It's not a cheap way of building. It's very, very labour-intensive. Probably twice the cost of a... conventional... group house. But at the end of the day, you've got something that's really, really special. While using some modern tools, these builders are artisans practising an ancient craft ` one easily underestimated by novices. This is where it all started. My first adventure. Oh, look at this. First log house. My goodness. So, you actually built this, Ash? Yes, I did. I built it. I did have help from a couple of friends at time` from time to time. But I was the prime builder. So, they're half-logs, aren't they? Yes, they are. So you could almost say it's a pseudo log cabin. And that's all I knew at the time. So this was my first attempt, yeah. Ash's home-made log-clad cabin has stood the test of time. But he sold it over 30 years ago, and like most Kiwi baches, it's been altered. Oh, all this is new? Yes, this is new. That was supposed to be` That was logs. And they've extended the lounge... and made the deck a lot wider. The thing that intrigues me about log houses is that they're really an anomaly in the New Zealand construction tradition, which then makes it kind of an intriguing eccentricity ` bit like the chap who's building it. (BOTH LAUGH) I've always been a rebel. (CHUCKLES) I was the first person in Opotiki to grow my hair long, which I can't do any more, but that's OK. And, uh, I like doing stuff that other people are not game to have a crack at, yeah. Good on him for giving it a crack ` not once, but twice. And 35 years later, back in the building yard, we both get to see how a true log home is crafted. Look at that! Look at that. Here we are. Every time I see it, I get goosebumps. It's starting to look stunning already. It certainly is. I mean, the sheer robustness and the scale of those logs. The corners look magnificent. I love the way that the scallops come together like this. I mean, it's absolutely beautiful, isn't it? Look how precise... Look how tight it is. Yeah. Yeah. It's incredibly tight. These are magnificent, aren't they? Fantastic, yeah. And in some ways, it was created the answer to a problem, because, like the logs sticking out over there, they would have come too far out into the passage. So Mike came up with this, and it's just a neat little feature as you come into this passage. It's beautiful. All interlocked. It's a real dance, isn't it, between one log and the other log, interlocking. I mean, it's a big Jenga house. A Jenga house. (BOTH CHUCKLE) There are absolutely no nails holding the logs in place, which is handy, as the walls are about to come down again. We're actually at the end of the stage of the pre-build here in the yard now for Ash, so, um, we're actually not too far away to start dismantling this house. Dismantling? Dismantling. Every log has got a number on it and a position in the house, so when it moves down to Ash's site, it just goes back up again exactly the way you see it here. You're making it sound awfully simple. There must be quite a few challenges ahead. There's still some challenges ahead for sure. You've gotta remember that these logs are not dried logs; they're green. So there's a certain amount of shrinkage in the logs. So each log, if it shrinks, say, 10mm ` and you count up 11 logs, 110mm from the bottom log to the top log ` the house is gonna shrink that much. You can't just put a frame wall or a door, etc, in here without leaving some space above it to allow for it to shrink down. And how long does it take to shrink that 10cm? It's` Oh, I'd say it could be up to seven years. So you've gotta shrink a little bit, Ash. There's the... I've already shrunk a little bit. (LAUGHS) Well, apparently, you've gotta shrink some more. No, as the house shrinks, he'll actually get taller. I'll get taller, yes. (LAUGHTER) While Ash built his own log-clad cabin, this time round, he's leaving it to the experts. A team of Derek's builders will travel with the dismantled walls to Horopito and stay there until the large-scale operation is complete. This house here will basically take about two days to strip down, which includes the drilling of all the holes for the electrical wiring, any, uh, logs that go through for vents, etc. Work that we've done in the yard is not the real hard work. The hard work is actually finishing the house off. The real thrill is when we see the house in its finished state. So, um, it's not a problem of moving the house from this site to the final site, because we know better is to come. (CURIOUS MUSIC) It's midsummer, but unseasonably foul weather for the day of the big move. Little bit wet, little bit soft. Uh, that's our major concern at the moment. Ash's log-building team is working to a fixed price. A 40ft logging truck and crane arrive today, and with the meter running on these expensive utilities, no one can stop for rain. It's like putting a jigsaw back together. They've done this many times. I've got complete faith ` as long as the crane doesn't get stuck in the mud. Uh-oh. Someone spoke too soon. There's always little hiccups, yeah. He probably came in the wrong way. I think he should've gone over there and come in, but that's all right. He knows what he's doing. Now they gotta work out how to get it unstuck. Righto, boys! Come on! Oh, great start, isn't it (?) You gotta come up with plan B right from the start, and, um, it's just too soft. We're only an hour late, and now it's starting to bucket down again. I would say there's at least... 20 ton on that truck. The whole bottom floor. Pretty awesome. Can't wait just to see even the first round of logs go in today maybe. It's my very first log. Oh, this is amazing. This is just amazing. (CURIOUS MUSIC CONTINUES) Over the next few days, rain continues to fall in Horopito. But Mike and the team push on. No, we had a good morning this morning. As you can see, this morning, we were on the base logs. So between this morning and about 1 o'clock, you can see how much we've done. Tomorrow's supposed to be a good day, so we'll charge on ahead. Nearly up to light switch height, so a lot of wiring happens then, and that'll slow things down a bit. Part of the process. I'm amazed at how nimbly the team handles these logs, especially in the rain. A full-length log can weigh up to a ton. If one dropped or slipped, it could cause serious injury. I just hope I'm first at home and first in the shower. Mike and his team are staying locally until Christmas, and Ash is their host. He's putting them up nearby in his son's rental house in the ski hub of Ohakune. Gidday, guys. Hello. Food's up, boyos. You better get the big boss first. 'Foreman Mike and the lads create one or two log homes a year, 'and almost all of them are away from their home base in Rotorua.' Ooh, this looks superb! 'It's much more than a job to these builders.' So, Mike, what's Ash like as a host? Look at our meal tonight. He's fantastic, not only as a host ` as a client, you know. It's, um... People who commission log homes are a little bit different anyway, you know? They've got a passion for what they're building, and... and that just shines through in Ash. Couldn't wish for more, to be honest. Every log house is special. Like,... how Ash has had this dream for a long time now, we can finally make it come true for him. It's a pretty cool feeling. They've gone into the forest. They've selected the logs. And they're building the house with it. And 90% of the house is untreated timber. Yeah. Yeah. That's extraordinary. And so in the house, you're gonna get the smells of the timber, which is a bit different to` You don't get that in a normal house. It really is kind of primeval, you know? There is this, almost, mystique about it. You know? This mysterious thing that has been around forever. It's almost that it's gone through a period of having been forgotten, and, you know, teams like you guys are kinda bringing it back into... into the light again. Yeah, that's` that's a very true statement, Chris. We, um... We run across a lot of people who ask what we do. We tell them, and, 'Oh, I've always wanted to build a log home!' But, you know, it's, as you say, a primeval thing. Um, people who actually follow through with it are few and far between, and, uh,... (SIGHS) thank God for people like Ash. - We've got a real diehard here, haven't we? - (LAUGHTER) But I've been doing it 22 years now, and it's not a job, you know? It's a... It's a, uh... It's a passion, you know? You're making people's dreams come true, at the end of the day. So I guess the crowning glory is ` do you want one for yourself? (LAUGHS) I can't afford one! (LAUGHTER) It takes less than three weeks ` and erratic weather ` to reassemble the first-floor walls of Ash's home. And eight months after construction started, the home's biggest doubter, Natalie, is about to see it for the first time. Here it is, darling. Look at this. Far out. It's not small. (CHUCKLES) It's a log house, not a cabin, darling. This place will last 200 years. Probably outlast me, I'd say. (SCOFFS) Probably. It's weird. Honestly, this is such a weird thing, but it feels like being in a bloody doll's house or something. The logs ` like, it's kinda... It's just so unusual. (CHUCKLES) You'll get used to it. No, it's not a negative. But, you know, you think about,... like, a Sylvanian Families doll's house or something. It's kind of like these little people in this ginormous... log cabin that's huge. Yeah, she loves it. She just can't admit it yet. Oh, you cannot argue ` those logs are incredibly beautiful. And the smell is just... pretty special. Nat's biggest bugbear has always been the colour of the wood. So, this has... been covered, yeah? Stained. Stained. Stained? Mm. Mm. I wasn't privy to that conversation, was I? No, you weren't. It possibly could have been a bit lighter, but, um... To me, it's the warmth I worry about, which is, to be honest, relates back to my original concerns about a log cabin. This warmth is just a lot. Yeah. I don't know. I'm a bit nervous about that. This is where your interior design skills will be tested to the max, darling. Your ability to say, 'Yes, Natalie. What would you like to do?' will be tested to the max. Yeah. I think when he thinks about a log cabin, he's more fixated on the memories that we're gonna build there than the actual details and the finishing touches of the interior. So his passion is probably slightly more on the outside and the rocks over here and the way the snow could fall to 2ft high when the kids are here. And that's amazing. That's awesome. That picture is so cool. For me, I'm a bit more, I don't know, interior-focused. And so I just don't want it to be too rich. I don't want it to be too naff. Before leaving town, Nat and Ash visit a local icon for interior design inspiration. Horopito Motors, also known as Smash Palace, is the largest vintage car dismantler in Australasia. Oh my God! Cool. It's quite nuts. Like, this little town of Horopito, where there's kind of quite literally nothing. It's beautiful, but there's this... Who would have thought this was here? Unbelievable. Look at these. They're old road lamps. I reckon a couple of those on the corner of the house would be quite cool, actually. I mean, I want those in my house. (CHUCKLES) The only way we could use something from here if it's sort of quite quirky, and, like, those roadside lamps, possibly. Downstairs ` I doubt if they'd ever sell it ` there's a massive, big handsaw for sawing logs,... That'd be cool. ...which would be cool, because, you know, that's how they built the log houses 100 years ago. They sawed the logs by hand. There's also a really cool boar head down there. (BOTH SNIGGER) It's a bit manky, I thought. I know. Looks like a dog's had a go at it. And the other thing you could do ` cos I saw this once with a bus ` you could get a vehicle, and you could cut it in half, and you can make that into a playhouse for kids. Do an Ashley special? You'd be the coolest poppa in town. Well, I am anyway, but... Old road lamps? Boar heads? And sliced cars? Now I'm getting worried. (RELAXED MUSIC) Come autumn, and Ash's builders are under pressure to get his house closed in. The priority is to get this roof on ` in other words, cover up this timber sarking. Um,... it's not treated, and if it gets wet, it expands. And, uh, you imagine, you know, 30 boards in a row suddenly growing by a couple of mils, you know, and it starts rippling, and, yeah, a major problem. Days like this are magic, but maybe we've only had half a dozen of these since new year. We've already lost four or five days through to the weather. So, that'd be 1.5m that way, would it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it would be. Yeah, yeah. That could come across. If he can drag it across... OK. Ash has commissioned a landscape design and is repositioning his volcanic boulders. When this is all done, it's gonna look magic. Just push it that way about 6 inches. The builders, meanwhile, are dealing with the aftermath of a more formidable force of nature. After Natalie's visit, there are a few changes to the plans. Ash is` Ash is a great client, but, uh, I think he should be` give a little bit more thought to certain things, like,... yeah. Like, I suggested last year that we put a skylight above the kitchen window over there to let more light into the kitchen. And he was all for that, but... turned up here a week ago and said, 'Oh, no, we don't need that.' But now, of course, Natalie's said, 'Yes, we do need that.' So we've gotta cut a hole in the veranda over there and put a skylight in. The staining of the beams possibly happened when I was about to go to Canada, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I don't think it's that bad, but... And I don't quite know what my darling daughter means when she says, 'It's too warm.' So, yeah, it's a work in progress. Well, this is the colour, these rafters, um, and the product that Ash selected last year. But, nah, well, I don't know quite where we're at with that, but Natalie's... I don't think quite likes it. It seems strange to me that Ash is putting his interior design in the hands of someone who never had much love for log homes in the first place. So I'm off to meet Natalie in Mt Maunganui to find out how things are working. So, you were never keen on this log house at all, to start with, and you didn't really even understand your dad's dream at the beginning. It's a big call to make when you're at that stage in your life, and it's a big investment. I don't want Ash to build something that I like. I want him to build what he likes. But he has always put, I guess, a little bit of trust in what I've said. And he's wanted to make it a bit modern, a bit appealing to the younger generation, a bit more exciting, perhaps, than a standard log cabin. But then along the journey, my interpretation of that is not always the same as his. So he wants modern elements, but he wants traditional elements too. We can't treat it like a Danish hotel in the bathrooms and then have Nana's Canadian hut in the lounge, you know? They've gotta talk to teach other, I think. Cos he was quite prepared to do that. 'Oh, well, we'll just go white in the bathrooms, 'and then we'll go full timber here.' And I'm like, I just don't know if that's gonna be cohesive. You're holding him to account from a design sensibility. Yeah, a little bit. So you're basically saying, 'OK, there needs to be some integrity here, Dad.' Yeah. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) LAUGHS: Now I feel anxious and bad. So there's still a lot of conversations and a lot of decisions to be made. The biggest decision that's kinda keeping me awake at night is the flooring. It's a hard one. And I think that's gonna define the rest of the styling. Well, you know, that's interesting for me, because Ash... gave me... some little bits and pieces to pass on to you. Cool. Great. I think they're all the same product, aren't they? Or whiter still. (GROANS THOUGHTFULLY) Just to be a pain in... (LAUGHS) Oh, is that what we need to do, is it? (LAUGHS) Do you know what? For me, that's working. There's a bit of consistency there. (LAUGHS) Isn't there? A natural product like cork could work quite well. I'm so glad you said that. I don't think it's a` What is that? I think it's vinyl on top of... Oh my goodness, it is too. Yeah. And I said to Ash from the word go I just think it would be sacrilege to put a fake timber on the floor of a timber house. I think, at the end of the day, I'm a bit of a perfectionist in what I like, so at some point I've got to relax and understand when he's happy, and that's all that matters. He wants to do this, he's wanted to do it forever, and so I'm totally getting behind that. But I want it to be as cool as possible for him. But Ash is not entirely at the mercy of his daughter's opinions. He's got a secret project on the go in cahoots with a local craftsman. Gavin Brown is a semi-retired farmer with a passion for wheelwrighting. So, what are we making? Well, Ash came to me and asked me to make a wheel for a chandelier for his new log house. How many wagon-wheel chandeliers have you made before? Uh, to be honest, none. I've made a few wagon wheels but never a chandelier, but I guess, uh, we can fit some lights in it somewhere. I'm amazed that you're even doing this. I thought you were gonna have something modern. I've looked at all sorts of alternatives, and because of the size of the lounge, especially the height of the ceiling, I've decided I need something a lot bigger than anything else that's on offer. I mean, the question for me is ` does Natalie know about this? Who's Natalie (?) Oh, my daughter! No, she doesn't know about this yet. So is she the boss, Ash, is she? She is most of the time, yes. Most of the time. Except when it comes to paying the bills, Ash. Except when it comes to paying the bills and when I need to draw a line in the sand and say, 'Hey, this is my log house.' What do you reckon, Ash? Amazing. Look at this. Oh yeah. Look at this! I admit that initially I felt a wagon wheel would be a bit out of place, even kitsch, in Ash's home. But I'm coming around. Look at that. Just like that. Oh! She's on fire! Quick! This wagon wheel has a real connection to this land and its people. Now, that really is primeval. (LAID-BACK ACOUSTIC GUITAR) After six months of building on site, Ash's house is closed in, and landscaping is well underway. But the interior ` the flooring, lighting and cabinetry ` are yet to be decided. Father and daughter are still at loggerheads about whether to re-stain the interior. It's gonna be a big job redoing all of this. Ash's son Ben is back from snowboarding in Canada and is helping oil-stain the exterior ` and joining the debate. On the tools, I see. Yeah, helping Ash with some pleb work, like I have for decades. It was Ben's idea to start with that we should go down this road. Oh, so one of your kids is actually backing you here? Definitely, yeah. Well, as long as you're not bringing a whole bundle of new ideas. No, no, we'll get there. I don't wanna influence Ash too much, but I wanna encourage him to bring his ideas out. There's times when I'll definitely be staunch and I say to him` Like the fire inside ` personally, I think he needs a wood fire for the way a log cabin feels. But at the end of the day, it's still his decision. So you're not having a wood fire? Not inside. I think you'll regret it, personally. I think he'll put a fire in in five years. Could be right, yeah. It's a man's prerogative to change his mind, isn't it. It's not too late. True, true. But, you know, that said, it sounds like it's your daughter's prerogative to change your mind. Oh, she tries, yeah. She's got very fixed ideas at times. What has she changed? What has changed, primarily, is the what we're gonna stain the logs inside ` whether it's a light wash, whether it's more similar to the outside, as Ben has suggested. The thing that intrigues me, though, Ash ` this is a kind of house that has depth, a sense of shadow and darkness in it. And if you're gonna paint it light everywhere... Why would you do that? Agreed. That's a good question. Maybe the three of us will gang up on Nat. (LAUGHTER) But building this hefty and enduring home ain't cheap. Ash has now spent close to a million dollars on this house, 40% over his budget, and a big investment for a house in humble Horopito. Log homes had economic and humble origins, but this is an expensive house if you're not crafting it yourself because skilled craftsmanship is expensive. So if you're going to spend that much money, you most certainly want it to be right. But the question here is ` for who? This is Ash's home and his dream, so I hope the reality is everything he wants. Are you feeling the chill in your home? You could be eligible for a 50% subsidy towards the cost of insulation. Ah, much better. I agree with Ash that a log home needs to be in the right setting. And this snow-clad volcano is a perfect backdrop. It's now the thick of winter, and Ash has moved into his home just in time for the ski season with the family. He's created this place to bring them together. But ironically, their creative differences were looking like pulling them apart. I wonder who's won the design tug of war. (PEACEFUL MUSIC) Hello, Ash! Hi, Chris! Oh my goodness. Look at this! Welcome to Horopito. You've finally done it. Finally done it. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Wow! This is amazing. We've nailed it. It's taken you 35 years to do this. Over the moon. Yeah. Can't wait to share it with family and friends, obviously. These are great. So, what are they? They're pavers cut with a massive diamond saw out of lahar boulders by a local craftsman. What a fabulous walk in to get into your primitive hut. My primitive hut, yeah. Well, show me in. Come on in. Can't wait to have a look. Yeah, it's come up pretty well. Wait till you see the stairs. Here we go. Wow. Oh my goodness. You notice the smell immediately. Beautiful smell of untreated timber. Like you're in a fresh forest. Yes, indeed. But it's been freshly whitewashed. Blonded. Blonded? That wasn't in the plan originally. Nat won that one. Nat won that one, but we all agreed it was right. And then there's all this modern stuff everywhere. What's going on over here? This is where modern meets rustic, OK? Nat's touch seems everywhere. And I'm pleased to see she's convinced him of a natural product on the floor. So much has changed since last time I was here. This wonderful staircase ` it's so beautiful. It's the work of a craftsman, yeah. Mike spent three weeks on that. All those curved bits of the underside of the stairs have been cut with a chainsaw and then sanded. It's beautiful. It's a masterpiece. And you come through, and look at this! This is really, really spectacular. You've got this gem of craftsmanship. I think Gavin spent about 90 hours on it. 90 hours? Wow. Cos he's such a perfectionist. It catches your eye immediately, and the thing that I love about it is the warmth of the timber. (LAUGHS) Yeah, it is the warmth of the timer. The wagon wheel has the same golden hue I'd expected to see throughout the whole house. But instead, there's a patchwork of white beams, blonded logs and gold-stained panels. In a way, you could say there were many authors in here. Where I stood firm was preserving the ceiling, which has been poly-ed, as a contrast. But I think if you had those blonded, there would be too much blonding in this room, whereas I think the contrast is nice. The other thing for me, too ` in a place like this, I always love a good open fire. And you chose gas. Yeah, we decided to have the outdoor fire instead. That was my decision, rightly or wrongly. Come on up the stairs. These magnificent stairs. I've never before seen a traditional log home built from scratch, and I'm in awe of the craftsmanship and finesse it's taken to whittle these giant logs into the organic home that they've now become. Here's my bedroom, Chris. Oh my goodness. Boy! It's intimate, isn't it? It is, indeed. Lucky I'm not 6ft5. I can see that you've thought quite carefully about the view to the mountain from your bed. Yeah. So from mountain watching to, what, people watching? People watching, yes. Even got your own little balcony. Yeah. Can look down and admire this magnificent room, the lounge. What a beautiful space. One of the biggest questions for me, right from the outset, was a log house, it always seemed a bit Flintstone kind of, 'Oh dear', that it's such an anomaly, generally, in the New Zealand scene. Yet there's a real feeling that this place is bedded down, and I think it has everything to do with the way that it works in the land, the fact that you've brought on board local craftsmen using local materials that are also timeless and robust and rugged. But those things, of course, come at a cost. Yes. Is this confession time? Absolutely. I didn't have a budget. I had an idea on what it would cost, and it's cost significantly more than that. But once you go down the road, there's no going back, is there? You gotta complete. Originally you were thinking around about 600. Mm. Where are you now? With the land, it's a seven-figure budget, yeah. Give or take. But I want this to be in my family forever. This is really personal, you know. Family is everything. And with snow recently falling on Horopito, it's time for a family get-together. ASH: Here comes the cavalry! (LAUGHS) Hello. (SQUEALS) So, what do you think? Watching it go from bare bones to this actual home quite quickly, and now seeing with actually the people in it that we're gonna share it with, does make it feel a lot more homely. And there's some wicked, wicked attributes. It's a very beautiful space. It feels very homely already. It's been a battle. It's been a battle. I've seen the stress that this one put herself through just wanting it to be right for me. And then Ben and him and his mates would do a 15-hour session nonstop, where they just nailed stuff. VOICE CRACKS: So, um... we got it done. LAUGHS: We got it done. Wow. On that note, you really succeeded. Here's to Ash. Well done. (GLASSES CLINK) I think, too, here's to family. Yeah. Here's to family. The home that started as Ash's dream has evolved to embrace the ideas of other strong personalities. But Ash hasn't lost his vision, because what matters most is that this place brings his family together. And despite any doubts or differences, it's clear that it works. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Able 2017 Wow! (CHUCKLES) Which one do you like? Where are you gonna sleep? Do you wanna sleep in the top bunk? Isn't that cool! Is that my one? I think there's only four glasses. (LAUGHTER)