- Imagine finding the house of your dreams in the place you always wanted to live for a budget that doesn't break the bank. Is that impossible? What if you could truck the house you want to the section of your choice and maybe save money along the way? - That's my lounge. - Aaah! - I love it. (TRUCK HORN BEEPS) - Have you got your arse on the seat? We're rolling. - It's a journey that can be fraught with anxiety,... (TYRES SQUEAL) What was that? ...pressure,... There's only inches in it, Leonie. - Oh my gosh. - ...and stress. - RT: Yeah, I got some very unhappy people up here. (ENGINE REVS) - Ooh! - From grand old villas to brand-new buildings,... It's on the move. There's no turning back. ...these homes are picked up,... (DRILL WHIRRS) ...sliced up... (SAW WHIRRS) and trucked down some of New Zealand's most challenging roads. We're even taking them across the water. (SNAP!) This is New Zealand's oldest recycling industry. From impassable roads to impossible deadlines. Is all the trucking, trauma and tension really worth it? This time on Moving Houses ` - Start heading around to your right. - a couple devastated by Christchurch's Port Hills Fire have high hopes for a fresh start. Not too many places like this around in the world. - I try not to get too excited, but I am starting to now. - But it won't be an easy road to get there. - This is going to be a wee bit tight. - Whoa! - RT: Now right. - This is the stuff of (CHUCKLES) big boy's dreams. Will their dreams turn to dust? - Uh-oh. - Whoo! - (BLEEP). So come along for the ride. This is... How would you feel if you'd spent eight years living in a windowless box waiting to build the house of your dreams, only to discover that the house of your dreams had been right under your nose the whole time? High in the Port Hills on the outskirts of Christchurch is Ray and Nicky's farm, where they breed black Angus cattle. - Come on, girl. We feel quite blessed to have a farm here. It's just enjoyable for Nicky and I. - I love the farm and the view. Eight minutes from the centre of Christchurch. So, (CHUCKLES) yeah, there's not many farms that can be like that. - It was Ray and Nicky's shared love of animals that bought them together. - We met riding horses. - Nicky came on a trek that we organised. It sort of extended beyond that. But, you know, now that I'm a wee bit disabled, I'm not riding any more, so we've still got the horses. - Nicky and Ray have been trying to build their house at the top of their Port Hills farm for eight years, but endless planning consent delays and escalating building costs means they've been living in a windowless shed. - Seemed like a good idea at the time to move in to the wool shed. I'm now not as agile as what I used to be, so it's getting a wee bit hard. - I miss not having windows. It's pretty hard in the morning. When you get up, you can't look out the window and see what the weather's doing. Finally, you walk out, and you see, 'Oh, hold on, I'm not dressed for that.' So, yeah, that's getting harder. We need to be in the house. - Ray and Nicky thought their dream home would never happen. Then a happy accident bought them to this relocated house sales yard. And here, among the many houses for sale, they found a home that could be the answer to their prayers. And this is the house! It is, yes. Absolutely. - Right. This house has been here for a while, hasn't it? - It has. I think it's been sitting here from nine to 10 years now. - Tell me how you discovered this place. - We were picking up horse food from the feedlot at the front. - Right. - And the gate was open on a Saturday morning, so we sort of thought we'd just come and have a wee look. We spent the next two hours going over it and under it. It was what we were looking for ` farm-style house. - The other thing is, when we went round it, it's got a nice feel. It's a house with a nice feel, and I like houses like that. - Ray and Nicky's new home was rescued undamaged from Christchurch's earthquake-hit red zone. At 250m2, it's big, but after several years by the highway, it's looking unloved and needs a whole lot of work. For Ray and Nicky, finding this house just as the idea of building one got too hard must be such a relief. And it's got everything they need, except one thing. I hate to bring up the obvious, but where's your floor? - (LAUGHS) - (CHUCKLES) No floor, yeah. - No floor. - The floor will be there when the house arrives. - This is a new experience for me, coming to a home set up like this, but I guess, what, it came of a concrete base and a little hard to move all of that. - It is. - Yeah. Ray and Nicky's house is structurally solid. The bracing is there to hold the walls together, but it makes getting around a total clamber. On one side of the house is the master bedroom with an en suite, with two other bedrooms, a study and another bathroom for their extended family to spread out. The living area is an open kitchen and dining room which will open out on to the lounge when the bracing's removed. You know, it does strange things to you concept of space when you're in a home that not only has no floor, but is raised up about a metre. I mean, it's going to feel completely different when it's out on its foundation, and all of this is out of the way. But how well will the fragile plaster walls stand up to being moved? And does Ray and Nicky's decision make economic sense? Can I ask what the cost of this is? - On-site finished, 500, 550, is our budget. - Wow. - Completely finished. - Which is dramatically different to what they'd been quoted for a new build. - It was 1.2 to 1.4 to build it. - That's around, what, like, $800,000 saving. - It is, yeah. I can't ignore that. - (LAUGHS) I don't think anyone can ignore that. (LAUGHS) So where is it going? - So it's going on our farm, looking out over Christchurch and the mountains. We can` It's a pretty good site. It's... Yeah, it's amazing. - And that's an understatement. The site, nearly at the top of Ray and Nicky's Port Hill farm, will be right in amongst their cattle, and it's nothing short of spectacular. And on and on it goes. - Absolutely. - God, this must be stunning in winter with snow all along those mountains. - It is, yeah. We quite often come up here and just sit in the evening, have a beer ` cold beer ` and just admire it. - Yeah. I can see some work's already taken place, but talk me through, Nicky, where the house is going to go. - So the garage is over here. - OK. - Drive in through there, and the garage is here. - Yup. - Then we've got the living room and the lounge. That peg there is the very corner of the lounge, and then kitchen's right here. And then the master bedroom ` that's the far corner of the master bedroom. - The object was so we could see all the front of the farm and the back as well. - It's extremely hot and dry up here today and can get even hotter and drier. In 2017, the farm was hit by the destructive Port Hills Fire, which delayed Ray and Nicky's build and left them with hard-earned lessons about living in this exposed environment. Tell me about the fire, Nicky. What was that like? - Yeah, that was very, very scary. We were 70% burnt on this place. We lost about 15 K's of fencing. We lost all our winter feed for that year. It was pretty bad. It went right round us and basically nearly all over us. - But, Ray, you've learnt a lot of lessons through that, haven't you? - Oh, heck yeah, yup. We did, even so much so, you know, to get our own fire engine so we could be on the spot when it starts. - So you've got your fire engine now as a result? - We have, yup. - Is that because you just secretly wanted to own a fire engine, Ray? - I probably did, actually, Clarke. - (CHUCKLES) - It's red, and it squirts water, so what more can I ask for? - Well, I mean, I'm jealous of this site as it is, but knowing that the site exists with a fire engine, it's just the icing on the cake, really. - We're also going to set up big sprinklers right round the house so that we'll have about 30,000 litres. If there's a fire, we turn them on and the whole house just gets completely covered in water. - You know, this is such an incredible location. There's no such thing as a bad view anywhere on this farm. And yet, just 15 minutes from the city, you're on farmland, and you got rocky outcrops, and it comes with its own fire engine. There's just one problem. The driveway isn't wide enough for house-mover Grant Willis to get his truck up. In between rock and a sheer drop, they've got no way to widen it. If they really do want to move out of their windowless barn, they're going to have to come up with a solution. * (COUNTRY MUSIC) - So, I'm here on Ray and Nicky's driveway, and as you can see, it is not particularly wide, but the real issue is this bank. Now, I've had enough experience with these big trucks to know that Grant's truck is going to struggle up this driveway, but with a house at 10m wide on the back, well, that's definitely not going to work. So what to do? Thankfully, they've got a wonderful relationship with their neighbours who have granted them this access to bring it through here. Ray and Nicky's house will be cut in half and moved in two chunks. The first stage of the move is at night, from King's yard to the base of the Port Hills. The second, more complicated stage brings the house up across public land, the neighbour's place and then back on to Ray and Nicky's property. It's the connection between those paths that Ray's bulldozing today. (ENGINE RUMBLES) Complicating matters, it's 40 degrees up here with strong winds, so the risk of a stray spark starting a fire is a serious possibility. But, thankfully, we've got Nicky in the fire engine on standby up the back, Ray putting his skills to good use. Talk about a great partnership. Watching Ray's progress closely is the man who rescued Nicky and Ray's house after the Christchurch earthquake ` second-generation house-mover Grant Willis. - Before the earthquake, we used to travel backwards and forwards from Invercargill, which was our home base then. After the earthquake, there's just so much work, and I've stayed here ever since. Purchased a lot of houses that were just completely undamaged. Some hadn't even been lived in. We're probably the biggest recycling industry in the world. Not everything can go to landfill, not everybody can afford a new house, and not everybody wants a new house. - Today, Grant is checking out Ray's track. The move is still six weeks away, but after waiting for nine years, Ray wants to get rid of any possible pinch points. - Just seeing whether I've got it right. - I think if you gave Ray half an excuse to get back in that bulldozer, he'd be quite happy. - Absolutely. - There's gonna be, like, a highway, do you reckon? - So what sort of obstacles are you looking for? - The bank and how much we've got to turn round the corner. We can lift the building up over the bank there, but we just can't get too close on the right. - The first part of the move to the bottom of the Hills is at night, but the Port Hills themselves need to be tackled in daylight. - What we'll do is we'll get down to a park near the bottom of the hill, and we'll just put the six-wheel drive truck on, and that can take both pieces up here. - Ah, right. - One of those jobs you don't wanna do in the dark. - Yeah. Bringing Ray and Nicky's plaster-clad house up these steep and winding access tracks feels like a huge risk. But seeing that view again drives home why everyone is working so hard to make this happen. Looks good, do you think it, Grant? - Yeah, it does. - Yeah. - Some tracks we get on, they say it's all prepared, and you get there, and what a bloody goat track. - Yeah, right. - And there's scrub and bush still out the side. - Yup. - Yeah, nah, I think Ray's done a good job here. - Over the next few weeks, consents are sorted for the site and to truck Ray and Nicky's house on public roads. The Ducks are all lined up, and with just one day to go, the house removal crew charge in to prepare Ray and Nicky's farmhouse for the big move. The house is being shifted in two parts but was cut in half when it was moved here to the yard, so that's one less job. Grant's main concern is low-hanging power lines, so his team gets straight into dropping the roof, which of course opens the house to the elements. - You don't wanna get your ceilings wet, cos the jib doesn't handle the weather very well, so that's the last thing you want to have happen. - With the taller sections down, the race is on to waterproof the exposed ceilings. - Just get some tarpaulins and get them nice and tight and batten them down so the wind doesn't have them flapping, tearing off. Wrap her up nice and tight. - The next day dawns bright and clear, and with the move tonight, the guys rip into jacking Ray and Nicky's house up, ready for the trucks to roll in. It's a precise operation. The plasterboard cladding could crack and split if the jacks aren't lifted at exactly the same time and the house isn't kept level. Luckily, Grant's invented a bit of kit perfect for this kind of operation. Now, I've seen a few houses lifted, but nothing that's used a set-up like this. - Everything lifts in sync. So it doesn't matter what weight is on each jack, they all go up exactly the same. There's no cracking. It is good. - Yeah. This home-grown invention will ensure that Ray and Nicky's farmhouse gets on the trailer without fear of damage. It'll be a weight off their minds, for sure. - Keep it coming. Keep it coming. - The goal now is to get both halves of the house on to the trucks before nightfall. - Wait. - I'm glad Nicky and Ray aren't here as the trucks take the 5-ton weight of their house and Grant slowly tilts it into two separate pieces. It's astonishing seeing such a massive structure shifted around like a garden shed. - Start heading round to your right. - Because the load is so big, local authorities dictate a start time of 10.30pm, when the streets are empty. I just can't see how it's going to fit down the road. We're only going as far as the bottom of the Port Hills, where we'll park up and wait for daylight. It's only 20km, but this is a massive load. 10pm ` the yard comes to life as we get the earthquake-orphaned farmhouse ready for the move. Having a house hoisted on the back of a truck always, to me, has a sort of Mad Max element to it. But here we are at the start of the night. It must be something about going into the night, I think. (SIGHS) We've got quite a few hours ahead. We have 23m of load behind us and quite a few power lines to get under. Ray and Nicky have come to the yard to see us off. This is the point of no return. Can't go back now, Ray. - No, definitely not. - Yeah. - It is scary and a little exciting at the same time. - Yup, nervous. - Yeah. - I've got butterflies in my stomach. - Oh, I mean, naturally. You need it to hold together until it gets to site. - Yup. - I'm riding with Grant tonight, and before we go, he gives me some quick health and safety advice about falling power lines. - If anything comes down,... - Ah, yeah. - ...yup, stay in the truck. And if they want you to get out, you hop, because power pulsates. - OK. - So you actually hop away from it. I've never done it before. I run like (BLEEP). (LAUGHS) But they tell us to hop. - As the most experienced driver, Grant's towing the longest piece of Ray and Nicky's house first, the half with the garage, living room and kitchen. The bedrooms and bathrooms follow on the truck behind. - Get me my pliers. - RT: Yup, no worries. - Grant's crew rush ahead to clear the way, carefully lowering things I had no idea it could be lowered. (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) - All right, we're away. - Manoeuvring two portions of 250m2 of house means road markings don't have much meaning. With pilot vehicles keeping the public safe, we're often on the wrong side of the road. It's no wonder we drive at night. (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) (SUBDUED MUSIC) - RT: OK, mate, you're all clear. That line, you've got a metre out to your right. - So far, so good for Nicky and Ray's farmhouse. We've been going 45 minutes, and I haven't heard anything creak, groan or shatter. But it's early days. - Metre, out right. - The sheer size of our load even has petrol tankers giving us a wide berth. - 3m on the truck, mate. - We avoid a tangle with the tanker,... - That centre arrow, do I need to lift for that, mate? - ...but not the power lines. The danger here is not just to the truckers, but cutting power to nearby homes. If there was one thing you can change about the roads that you drive on regularly, what would it be? - Traffic islands. - Traffic islands? - They just put them in some crazy places. They put them underneath power wires, opposite trees. - But our biggest obstacle is the next intersection with overhead traffic lights. - Oooh! - How much room here, Grant? - Right, 100 under it. Drop, mate. Drop your back a wee bit. - You can just hear all the communication going on in the radio. - Mate, creep forward a bit. - Letting the driver know how much gap we've got on each side. - Looking good, mate. - The trailer tilts to an almost impossible angle. - That looks good. - And both parts of the house make it through. - There on that overhead. - At 1.30am, we park at the base of the Port Hills. - That wasn't too bad, was it? - I'm relieved, but knowing we have to get Ray and Nicky's precious farmhouse up into the Hills tomorrow, I'm hoping overnight rain doesn't turn all that dust into a mudslide. * - It's dawn on D-Day, and Ray and Nicky's house lies waiting to make the final and most difficult part of its move to the summit of the Port Hills. Today, it'll be hauled through a narrow and winding suburban street, then pulled over a bumpy dirt track with a steep climb to the top. There's no room for error, with banks on one side and sheer drops on the other. In our favour, the forecast rain never arrived. And that's important because if there's any greasy, muddy-type conditions up there, then these trucks will struggle for traction. Grant has sent spotters ahead to help clear the way. - We've just got 11m wide load heading out here, so if you don't mind just pulling down that wee lane. - Then it's game on. Jumped in the pilot vehicle with Grant so that he can guide the trucks... (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) as they go on to the steep and windy track. The bedroom side of Ray and Nicky's house will be making the climb first this morning. Once that's safely on top, we'll be coming back down to tackle the living room half. And with Grant looking out for the house, he's bought in super experienced driver friend Skinny to man the truck. - This is going to be a wee bit tight. (RUSTLING) - Whoa! Hold it there, mate. There's a quite heavy branch in here, bud. We only make it a couple of hundred metres up the road before our first stop. The plasterboard cladding is less forgiving than classic Kiwi weatherboard. A hit with a big branch could punch a hole in it and give Grant an insurance headache. So they knew it was going to be tight, but obviously this tree's just a bit much. - Take her up over the top, Chase. - Grant tries to do as little pruning as he can, but we've already got traffic backed up behind us. - Take your left up first. OK, mate, that's it. - Keep an eye out for that, mate. - It's on the guttering. Mate, looking even there, bud. You're through, mate. (LOW, TENSE MUSIC) - So walking behind it, you get a real sense of the scale of what's being attempted here. So this is a real guessing game as to whether it's, in fact, gonna fit. It's a constant juggling act ` trying to miss obstacles at ground level by lifting the house,... - 600 on the letter boxes, mate. - ...only to come up against power and phone lines. - A metre on the lines up top. - Manoeuvring the truck to avoid them risks tangling with the trees. - Moving through the trees. (CLANG!) - Keep driving. You're OK. The guttering. - Looking good, mate. - Heavy into this tree here, mate. - Come to the left. - Sweet, stop there, mate. (TOOL WHIRRS) - Any branch with potential to damage Ray and Nicky's home is swiftly dealt to. But most of the trees just brush by. I'm actually really pleased that Ray and Nicky aren't here to see this this morning. They were really nervous last night as it came through sort of more urban Christchurch, but here, (YELPS) where the roads have gotten a little bit narrower and the trees are coming out, things are very, very tight. It's so tight, one of the skids, or eyebrows, snap. These wooden strips are up there so power and phone lines just skid across the house. - Can we get somebody with a push-up stick that might just go push that wire up and just keep cruising? - Righto, mate. Forward you come. - Good on the mailbox. - Good, mate. - I'm not sure if you can see that, but that phone line is like a banjo string across the top of the house. It's just gone over the eyebrow, so... Down the other side. The margins that these guys are working with is just... It was quite incredible to see up close, really ` something this size, and you're dealing with gaps like this or even less. These guys are professionals, but to my untrained ears, every snap the branches make as they hit the house has me worried the cladding is going to crack and break. - Stop there, mate. Going into a heavy branch. Ray and Nicky's home has been on the move for 45 minutes. With traffic banking up, Kings are fielding calls from irate drivers. - If you just wanna let Grant know, Debbie is nonstop on the phone. Apparently, a lot people are complaining that they can't get past the load. - Yeah, I got two very unhappy people up here. But there's nothing they can do until the road widens and we can pull the house over. But I'm guessing the short, sharp shock of one moving truck is far easier on the neighbours than months of tradies' trucks rumbling up and down for a new build. (RUSTLING) All right, we're starting to pick up the pace a little bit. The shrubbery in the trees have parted. It means that we can get to our destination a little bit quicker. - Keep it going. (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) - Clear everybody from both directions, mate. - Agreed. - Thank you. All good to go now, mate. - Just like that, we cleared it. (COUNTRY MUSIC) And Ray's daughters have arrived at just the right time to see us powering up the hill. (COUNTRY ROCK MUSIC) It'll never not be impressive. To be able to take a home and jack it that high off the ground, lift it over cars, crunch it back down, duck it under phone lines, it's an incredible feat of engineering, really. Ray and Nicky's bedrooms are halfway home, but the toughest bit is yet to come ` the haul up the dusty dirt road to their hilltop site. (LOW, TENSE MUSIC) Under the weight of the house and truck, the dry ground turns to dust, and the tyres aren't getting any traction. Ray swings into action with his dozer, riding ahead, ready to pull us through if the truck starts to falter. (SCREECHING) (TENSE MUSIC) It's touch and go, but the six-wheel-drive truck is getting the job done, which gives me a chance to kick back and take in the view. As we reach the halfway point, I can't get over what a wild sight it is, seeing these machines in convoy. Now this is the stuff of big boys' dreams ` a bulldozer, a huge six-wheeled truck and a massive house in the Port Hills! (BLUES ROCK MUSIC) Of course, the moment I relax, the dirt turns powder-soft once again. We come to a complete stop. It's where the hill's probably the steepest, but dust is an issue, and getting traction here looks like it might be a problem. The front wheels are skidding. - Wait, mate. - Now the trailer's sliding sideways with a fence in the way. - Pick that front axle up and give you a bit of traction. - Grant has to lift the front wheels to get clear of the fence and try to use the rear wheels to twist the house sideways. - Yeah, go straight, mate. Heaps left. Hold it, mate. I can't get the wheels round quick enough. - (BLEEP)! - Right, Grant can't get the wheels around fast enough to clear the fence. With the summit in sight, we're stuck. * (ROCK MUSIC) - After battling their way up the Port Hills track,... - Front wheels are skidding. - ...Grant and his team are trying to get the bedroom half of Nicky and Ray's house up to their site. - Hold it, mate. I can't get the wheels round quick enough. - (BLEEP)! - The second attempt gets them through. That's the job half done. - Right, some blocks for landing legs, and we'll come down here. - Part one's arrived. - I know. Isn't it great? - We've got the skinny part here. Now the fat part has to come. - I know. - And speaking of skinny, I'm jumping in the cab with him to bring the living side of the house up. So they call you Skinny. - (CHUCKLES) Yeah, cos I'm not. - The lounge and kitchen half of Nicky and Ray's house is taller and longer, so we have to lean right over to get around corners. (ROCK MUSIC) It looks like it's almost scraping the ground. And with the focus down below, we almost missed what's happening up top. - Wait, wait! - So what's happened here? - Oh, just a phone wire. - And that's just because we've got that steep pitch to consider this time round? - Yeah, and cos this building's longer. - Yeah. - You haven't got the turning circle. - I see right, yup. - Bring it back down, mate. Just real tight on that wire. (ROCK MUSIC) OK, mate, you're right above it. OK, mate. Cleared the wire. At this point, drop the pole. - Might just straighten up a little bit. - Further up the road, that haircut the trees got for the first load is no help at all. - Good, mate. Keep going through it, mate. - The plaster cladding on the lounge half is holding up as well as the bedroom side did. But with traffic backing up again, it's the parked cars that are holding us up. Watching a house go over a car never gets boring. And as we reach the base of the Port Hills, I get to see it again. - Right, right, a bit left, mate. - When we reach the track to Ray and Nicky's site, they look over the moon. - Pretty cool. - Bring a house up, not there one day, and then it's there the next, it's great. - It's so cool! Look at this. That's my lounge. - Aaah! Love it. - And there's the dining room, and the kitchen's in there, double garage. Yeah. - I was like, wow. - But Nicky might need to put away the champagne, cos we're not there yet. It's a nervous climb with Ray and Nicky's precious farmhouse strapped to the back. Listening to the house groaning and creaking as we climb this uneven track, I'm reminded how utterly crazy this whole operation is. But here we are, doing it. And then we hit the soft soil at the gate. And we're stuck once again. This half is longer and heavier. It's time to call in the cavalry. It's the moment Ray's been waiting for. (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) You can see the instant impact that's had. It's pulling us straight up and through, where we had no traction before. And he gets to haul his own house the final stretch home. What a remarkable journey for this house. Victim of the Christchurch earthquakes, possibly almost demolished. Taken away, sat in a paddock, and now to be bought back to life here. - I reckon straight back. We'll get it out. We'll put this piece down there. - So there's absolutely no mucking around when we get up here. We're backing the house straight down on to the concrete pad. This is where you hope that all your measurements add up and that the engineers have done their job ` that it can not only take the weight of the house, but that it all fits. - Go back. Hold it there. - The base has already had a large chunk of concrete chipped away. Somehow, Ray had spotted that it wasn't square. Did they have to shave a little bit off the front of the pad to get it to fit? - Yeah, about 30 mils. - Do you have an eye for it? I mean, a lot of people would just take the construction people's word for it. - I have a bit of a knack for parallel lines, making sure everything lines up in the square. And when I was out working on the digger, I thought it was out for some reason, so we came back and did our own measurements and found out it was. - But there's another hurdle. The angle of the bank means they can't get the trailer out. - I reckon we might scratch a bit more of that hill out. We're gonna have to be bloody high to get the trailer out. - Yup, see you soon. - And as we start running out of day, it's Ray to the rescue yet again, while Grant brings the other half of the house into line. - It's easier to place that one down and then bring this one into it. - So sitting here with the house on the pad, how are you feeling? - Yeah, really good. - I tell you what, once it's all in place and Nicky can envisage where her bed and some running water and a hot shower is,... - (CHUCKLES) - ...it's going to be all go. - Still going on about her windows. (BOTH CHUCKLE) - Well, I can see the windows, and I can see the view that they're going to have. Yeah. - And I can just see you guys having a cold beer or a cup of tea,... - Absolutely. - ...taking it in. You know, it really has been a heck of a journey for Ray and Nicky, but to arrive quite suddenly at this point is... it's something. Having their home, sitting here, floating a metre above its final resting place, and when it goes down tomorrow, I have no doubt that it'll feel like it's been here forever. The next morning, Grant and his team are on-site early to finish the job. They're hoping Ray was right and the house will fit the reshaped concrete pad like a glove. (CLANK!) Morning, Mike. How are you going? - Bloody good. Yourself? - Good. Hey, can I ask an obvious question? - Yep. - So the house looks to be in place, but not quite. - Not quite. - So how do you do that last-minute sort of getting it to sit? Cos it's such an accurate process, getting it down on that concrete pad with the overlap. - Every house is a wee bit different. This one, obviously we can't push on the outside wall. Being a plasterboard house, it'll just squish together. I'm just taking these chain hoists off. - Yup. - Chained to the bracing of the building that we're going to move and just simply pull it across. (TOOLS WHIRR) - This style of housing has an overlap that sits down over the outside edge to create that sort of waterproof effect. And if you had that wrong, if you're out even by, you know that much, it's obviously going to come down on it, and it's not going to work. (TENSE MUSIC) As Grant lowers Ray and Nicky's house, the guys crank it across. It's all done by eye and experience. Fingers crossed. Nicky arrives just as the first section is lowered on to the base. - Done. Well, the first piece, anyway. - Oh, it's amazing. It's just... I'm blown away by it, to be honest. It's just unbelievable, especially to have it so fast. You know, like, when you watch a house be built, you know, you go, 'Oh, they've done this today, and they've done that.' But to have it, like, one minute is foundation, next minute, there's a house, it's great. So great. - Time for the second half. (ROCK MUSIC) - She's going down. - After eight years, we're going for a touchdown, and Ray is ecstatic. It's a perfect fit. - All lined up perfect. - Ray has wait for the bracing to come off, but I grab Nicky for a clamber through their new home. I mean, this is the first time you've walked in this place with a floor, even. - Yeah. Oh, there's a cupboard there. (CHUCKLES) There's a bit of climbing. - And so where are we stepping into? - We're stepping into the master bedroom! My room, mine and Ray's. - And this is kind of your first time in here down at a human level. - Yep. Oh my God! - Go and have a look out your window. - Ah! (GENTLE MUSIC) What a great view. - You can stand up here when it's just a few cows, and you're standing on a bit of grass. But when you're looking through a window... - Yeah. - You imagine your bed here. It feels like a home. - It does. It's so amazing. Wow. - (CHUCKLES) Does it make the eight years in a barn worthwhile? - Yeah, absolutely. - Right. - Yeah. - Good. - Yeah. Wow. (CHUCKLES) - (CHUCKLES) I mean, given the fact that even... You know, you've been coming here since 2012 and wanting a home on this spot, how's it feel now it's here? - It feels a bit unreal. It does feel a bit unreal. It's almost like we're going to wake up, and, I dunno, it hasn't happened yet, but it's fantastic. I'm just like, so happy, so excited. And just, yeah. - Well, look, you know, I know it's early days, but congratulations. - Thank you very much. (BOTH CHUCKLE) - This feel great. And, you know, that anticipation of watching it wobble up just down there,... - Yeah. - ...and now here we go. - It's interesting. When I was driving up here before, it almost looked like a bit of a castle sitting on top of the hill. - Well, it is your castle. - It's our castle. - - High on the farm, their new castle already looks a million miles from the abandoned house we hooked on to the back of a truck just two days ago. Nothing was damaged during the move, but it blows a gale up here, and I just hope Nicky and Ray can settle in before the cold southern winter hits. - She's in pretty good nick ` only done 110,000 K's; WOF and rego, you know, full service history. Try and get in. - What is this? - This is a one-star safety-rated car. (GRUNTS) - I don't understand. What's going on? - People don't often think about how a car will crash ` you know, how it will protect you. That's what a star safety rating tells you. Just can't imagine. Like, if` if we crashed in a car like this, there's no way we would survive. * - You know, after years of trying to build a home at the top of this spectacular Port Hills farm, of having to live in a barn with no windows, Ray and Nicky finally found a relocatable home that has met all their needs. In that time, Ray's health has deteriorated, but the good news is that they are now up in their home. And I genuinely can't wait to go and see them. Coming up the drive six months after the move, I can't quite believe how he managed to hold such a massive house so high up into the hills. But seeing it sitting like a castle on the crest of the hill, it looks worth every ounce of the effort we took to get it here. Ray and Nicky have fixed the exterior, erasing any evidence of the time the house spent on the yard, and added stone features that make the house look like it's always been part of the landscape. There's new fencing to keep the black Angus cattle in check, and most importantly, a deck to take advantage of these stunning views. I have been looking forward to coming up here since the last day when we left. How's it been? - It's been great ` like living in the hotel. - So was the nine years in a barn worth it? - Absolutely, absolutely. - Yup, no pain, no gain. - We appreciate everything about this place now. The sunsets from here are incredible. (CHUCKLES) You don't need to watch TV; you could just sit and watch the weather. - Has it lined up with where your budgets were? - But I think we'll still come home within our budget. - We didn't skimp on anything. - I'm dying to poke my nose inside and see exactly how it's all come together. - It's come up really well. Yeah, it's got a good feel about. - 'Walking in the front door, the change is remarkable. 'When I first saw this house in the King Removals Yard with no floor, it felt more barn than house. 'Nicky and Ray have turned it into a modern family farmhouse 'that encapsulates all the things they love.' - Just feels so, sort of, cosy and homely. - 'In the lounge, the stones surrounding the fireplace brings the great outdoors inside. 'It's a far cry from the empty shell of a house I first saw six months ago. 'It all looks so inviting. I just want to sit down and soak it up.' - We had looked at the house with our furniture as to then what we would do ` and the colours and things like that to go with our furniture. We haven't really bought anything apart from a flash TV. - Right. (CHUCKLES) - 'With windows on three sides, this room is the antithesis of the old windowless shed.' - And Nicky, I have to ask, there's not too many windows in here? - Nope. - (CHUCKLES) - There's never gonna be too many windows. - 'I think the kitchen has had the biggest makeover ` a generous space with plenty of room to move.' - We didn't really like much the old kitchen, and the colours were all wrong, so Nicky sort of took over and worked out what we wanted. But we always wanted a farm-style kitchen, so that's what we did. - And it had this weird` Well, it wasn't weird, but it` - You can call it 'weird'. - OK, it was weird. - (CHUCKLES) - It had, kind of, an island that you had to walk around. There was no way of getting in here. So, we moved it more out into the room quite a bit more than it was. - Yeah, right. - 'The whole open plan living area is so welcoming. 'I can't wait to see what's happened to the rest of the house. 'The bathroom to the right of the lounge has had a complete facelift.' - The spa bath had to go, but we did have trouble getting it out. - What did you do? - Took the wall out and took it out the front door. - Just out that way? - Yup. - 'The stonework and a skylight connect the house to Ray and Nicky's love of the outdoors. - Skylight's are great. - Can you see the stars out there at night? - Yup. - Perfect. - 'The spare bedrooms are all set up for family and friends to stay the night, 'now that Ray and Nicky finally have room to entertain.' - You almost don't need curtains. - Yeah, well, if I slept in it, I wouldn't have the curtains pulled for sure. - No. (CHUCKLES) - 'At the end of the corridor is Ray and Nicky's bedroom, 'and last time I visited, this was the room Nicky was most excited about, and it's easy to see why.' - I mean, the views just get better and better. - Yeah. We love this. - It's incredible the way that` Put some paint in place... - Yeah. - ...and it becomes complete again. - Yeah. - 'No wonder Nicky likens living here to staying in a flash hotel, but it's the feeling of calm that's got me. - It's just so peaceful, isn't it? - Yup. - Yeah, which, I mean, is perfect. Yeah. - After all, you guys have been through to end up here and just sort of breathe out... - Yup. - ...and have those lovely moments. I bet the only thing better than this is a cold beer on the deck. - Yup. - 'Ray and Nicky have invited friends and whanau over to celebrate the completion of their home, 'and I'm happy to see Grant and Skinny here.' - Yeah, it must be quite satisfying knowing that you guys played such a major part of it. - It is actually, yeah. It's really good to come back and see the end result, see that they're happy. - Good people to, eh? Well-deserved. - Yeah. And this house, it's just perfect for the site. Every bedroom, just facing the right way. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, it's great. - 'Ray and Nicky's dream started with a farm high in the hills. 'They bought an earthquake-orphaned house and trucked it all the way up here to create their forever home.' - It's been quite inspiring to see that you had the vision to make this place into what it is, and now to be in here, and it just like a home. - Yup. - Mm. - And that's what we wanted. - Yeah. - Yeah. - A farm home... is what this farm needed. It didn't have a home. - Yeah. - Now it does. - Oh, I'll tell you what it is missing, though. Just wait there. Just maybe a little something for your office. - Oh, wow. That's amazing. - (CHUCKLES) - Wow. - (CHUCKLES) Did you paint that, Clark? - Of course, I did, yeah (!) I took a little art class and put this all together (!) But no, we just thought, Ray, with the` - That's so cool. - It was so iconic with you on your bulldozer. - Yup, thank you very much. - You don't really need paintings on the wall with a location like this and that ever-changing vista out your windows.