An Auckland couple who paid just 50c for house plans more than 50 years ago are looking to get more than $1 million when they take their home to auction later this month.
Pam and Tony Thompson were in Canada in the early 1970s when they spotted a newspaper article about an eye-catching home designed by New York-based architect Samuel Paul.
The newspaper, the Windsor Star, had a photo of Paul’s blueprints and the couple sent off 50c to get a copy. “It was all legit,” Pam told OneRoof. “It’s what they did way back then.”
Tony said Paul’s design was something they thought they could recreate in New Zealand. It had a hipped gambrel mansard roof and Swedish-style shingles, which were common in Canada then.
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The blueprint wasn’t a completed architectural plan, but Pam was a draughtswoman and Tony a mechanical engineer, so they could complete Paul’s work to New Zealand standard. “We liked the blueprint, and we thought we’d adapt it to over here,” Tony told OneRoof.
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When they returned home, finding the land to build on proved a problem. The couple wanted to build in East Auckland, but it was just too expensive. Eventually, thanks to an advertisement in the New Zealand Herald, they found a plot of land at 245 Huia Road, in Titirangi, which they bought for $8000.
The bank made them sell off a chunk of the land before it would give them the funds to build the four-bedroom home.
Their 50c blueprint didn’t include any details regarding the interiors and finishings. “We had to make up our own details,” said Tony. “We had no idea what they intended to line the house with, in Canada. Probably gib board or something like that.”
The interiors were a blank canvas for owners Pam and Tony Thompson. Photo / Supplied
The blueprints the couple bought for 50c during a spell in Canada. Photo / Supplied
The couple chose Californian redwood for the weatherboards, pine for the frame, cedar shakes [shingles] for the roof, and heart rimu for the interior.
“We’d always taken an interest in building houses and kept an eye open for ideas,” Tony said. “My brother-in-law was a bricklayer, so he did the weeping mortar inside. He has a marvelous eye for levels and that kind of thing. He’d been trained in his craft in England and is a very skilled chap.”
Unusually for a 1970s Kiwi home, there are “fibre-glass Batts” between the exterior and interior timbers, keeping the house warm.
The couple are looking to downsize to a more manageable home, but it’s not the first time they have thought of selling. Back in 2010 they put the house on the market and got as far as holding open homes. But they didn’t have the heart to sell in the end and removed it from the market.
What’s different now is that 84-year-old Tony is tired of keeping the garden trim and in check. “I’m sick of roaring engines on mowers. I’m over it. It’s time to move somewhere else,” he said. “Preferably with no lawn.”
The couple used a variety of woods in the home and called upon the brick-laying services of a relative. Photo / Supplied
The house sits on 1.64ha of land, in the Waitakere Ranges. Photo / Supplied
Pam said she would miss everything about the home. “We both adore it,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful home for us. We won’t be able to replace it. No way. It’s going to be very tough leaving it.”
The property, which has a CV of $1.45m, is being marketed by Catherine Henderson and Lindsay Hooke, of Barfoot & Thompson. Henderson had the listing 14 years ago and stayed in contact with the couple. “We call past them reasonably frequently. They’ve become friends,” she told OneRoof.
She said the house was something special. “It’s just an oasis. One doesn’t stay in a house for 50 years unless it is very special. I think building it themselves, they’ve gone the extra mile. You do not see homes like that come on the market very often.”
- 245 Huia Road, in Titirangi, Auckland, goes to auction on November 20
