The Bunker
An abundance of space for the growing family.
The "Bunker" has been a labour of love for 35 years.
Purchased in 1989 after thoroughly examining Townsville's Flood Map, our choice of location has long since been vindicated. The property remained high & dry in the floods of 1998 & the so-called "Biblical" 2019.
It is not a flipped house, but a home rebuilt from the ground up, first commencing as a simple patio extension.
The rear of the house was completely removed. During reconstruction, the historical Ross River Meatworks were being demolished. Our builder negotiated the purchase of now commercially unavailable timbers from the site. Our construction plan was adjusted to accommodate 6m lengths of 220mm x 100mm hoop pine beams. These now sit proudly exposed on the patio. The beams punch through the walls & continue on into the living areas in a single length. All rafters are also exposed hoop pine.
New compressed fibre flooring sits upon spotted oak beams, hand sanded, hard as rock, & exposed in the sunken living area below deck. The downstairs area currently houses a top quality 3 quarter size billiard table (included in the sale). A fully tiled bathroom & laundry area sits in place.
Enormous effort has gone into drainage to accommodate the sunken quarters. The continuous 1200mm deep concrete foundation of the extension has been lagged with malthoid, a bitumen impregnated wrapping to direct any subsurface water into an absorption trench.
To remove any potential surface water, another absorption trench was channelled to the rear of the property. The trench is excavated 2m down to a subterranean silica sand bed. The trench is lagged with visqueen & filled with 5 tonne of river-rock. In 1998, when the area was hit with a record 780mm in 24hrs, this drain continually sucked the surface water down. Within minutes of the deluge ending, the lawn stood tall.
The patio flooring consists of P1 graded tiles, with a hand-crafted, orientated compass face in its' centre. The deck is screened with powder-coated framing & now brand new "paw-proof" mesh to deflect errant birds & footballs. The balustrade railing is a continuous 180mm wide oregon timber "bar". The massive gable arch accommodates hand-crafted triangular windows.
Silky-oak chamferboard, salvaged from the original rear wall, has been hand-crafted into the main bedroom's mirrored cupboards.
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