In September 1982, Brian and his wife, Anne, now passed, were living in Charlestown and looking to move and build a new house. He remembers driving past what is now his home and seeing an auction sign. The yard was so overgrown that they could hardly see the property. (He now knows the house is at least 100 years old and built for a mine manager.)

"I walked down, went out on the veranda and there were big holes, gaps and foliage so you couldn't see the water. I went down to the corner and had a look," he says.

"The land had been subdivided. I was only interested in buying the house but bought the land also."

He decided he could do something with it. The pair bought the property and started the rebuild. Brian knew it would be a daunting task, but he had the experience. He started a plastering business in 1965 and a small building development company in 1979.

"I had six carpenters for many weeks to make the home liveable," Brian says. "It was great timing as we had the biggest recession in 50 years."

The house has gone through a lot, including a new roof. The inside was finished much sooner than the outside.

They excavated under the house and, on the second day, gales and torrential rain arrived. They hit an underground stream, water from the back of the block flooded underneath the house and the bulldozer got bogged.

"We had to get heaps of steel pipe and concrete into the ground and weld the tops to the RSJs, which we had to put in to hold up the house," he says. "To fix the water problem we had to dig out the mud, bring in road base, dig it out and put ag pipes in."

Brian said that, after feeling stressed about the cost of the rebuild, he sought advice from a builder mate. He told Brian to do "what you can when you can" or he would never finish. That same builder, Wazza, is still doing jobs for him 40 years on.

"Everything is top class. We never scrimped on anything. If we couldn't get it, we waited," Brian says. "I have no idea of the total cost of the project. I think Annie and I have achieved what we believed we could do."

While the renovations were happening, Anne was in charge of interior decorating while also teaching tailoring at TAFE. She made their daughters' dresses and her framed cross-stitch works are displayed throughout the house.

It's now a six-bedroom, three-bathroom house with a double garage. Upstairs there are high doorways, ornamental plaster ceilings, original wide architraves and special skirting. Its high archways and corbels match ornate cornices and crystal chandeliers.

All the mouldings are original, but double-glazed windows were installed. Made for salty air, the windows won't rust.

"We wanted special carpet, waited for that and got it," Brian says.

"Then Annie said this house would look beautiful with stained floors."

While Anne was on a trip to America, Brian decided that he'd get the floor done to surprise her. It ended up being a big job as wood weevils were discovered so Blackbutt flooring was laid. Brian stained it on a Friday, Anne came home on a Saturday, but the smell was so strong they couldn't enter the house.

Anne and Brian have three children. Now their six grandchildren also have lovely memories of the home.

Granddaughter Demi remembers playing in his office as a child.

Brian thought he would have finished the house 20 years ago, but he's still doing things. He recently built a kitchen downstairs.

Ultimately, he's found it a hugely rewarding project.

"To use and old builder's phrase, we nailed it," he jokes.