‘SHE’LL be right’ doesn’t work for the WikiHouse home construction methodology.

“There has to be precision and attention to detail or it’s just not going to work,” said Peter Holden, owner of Australia’s first WikiHouse, who has built his home in King Parrot Parade, Nambucca.

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Peter opened up his home last Sunday, 3 July to neighbours who have been either intrigued or involved with the jig-saw puzzle construction evolving on their doorstep over the past twelve months.

How WikiHouse works is that your home is delivered in a container; in Peter’s case, fourteen tonnes of precision cut pieces digitally fabricated to millimetre precision, so they fit together perfectly to create a straight, accurate building.

“You then set about putting the pieces together,” Peter told News Of The Area.

“It just doesn’t fall into place; you have to align it and lock it into place and then screw it in to make sure.

“You’ve got to have an inclination for wood, its natural beauty, the durability of it, the strength, it’s such a great medium and it’s recyclable.

“I was attracted to the WikiHouse technology, the precision of the computer-cut timber panels because I like the idea of things fitting together.”

One of the WikiHouse ethics is friends building together and learning skills to take on for their own building projects, an advantage Peter encouraged.

“I had really loyal, dedicated guys helping with the build.

“I used local businesses through Nambucca, Macksville and Urunga and local tradies.

“We had a good camaraderie going on.”

But Peter’s project has not been all plain sailing.

“It has tested my patience at times,” he said.

“Initially we made rapid progress to get the shell up with tarps on the roof but the next stage took four months with more intricate carpentry, getting in the doors, fitted windows, plumbing, electrics and tiling.

“That then became challenging because not everyone was available – the tradies were all heavily booked, then Covid cases were hitting and people couldn’t do their job which had a knock-on effect of delaying the next stage, so it all got delayed.

“The Wiki advantage is that once you’ve put all the panels together and you’ve got a bunch of labour you can get it erected and filled in quick, but you have to able to work to really tight scheduling.

“The electrician comes in, plumber comes in, tiler comes in, all in a sequence.

“The challenges for us were Covid, tradie shortages and the weather events which drew the time out for me.”

Showing News Of The Area the plans and how the house was delivered, you get an idea of how the parts came and what needed to be figured out to get from A to B.

“Look at the structure of it, it all interlocks.

“This part was so enjoyable to me.

“I really like that you get to play a part in the design of your own home at a grassroots level, from the beginning looking at the plans to measuring it all out, it had to all be precise.

“It’s been a good experience, a rollercoaster of emotions where you’re really making progress one day and then another day you come back and everything’s wet because you didn’t pay attention to tying the tarp down.

“Then other days when you just get into a roll, a rhythm.”

Would Peter recommend building your own WikiHouse?

“Go for it but there’s a couple of key points,” he said.

“You need a nice block, a single-storey build, and have your tradies lined up and a team of friends who want to help.

“You can have something way quicker than I took.”

Peter is happy to talk to anyone interested in the WikiHouse method.

“There’s idiosyncrasies and stuff you need to know.

“It’s very self-satisfying – like a great big puzzle.

“Definitely worth it,” Peter signs off.

By Andrea FERRARI