Living a life on the river was ideal for Carl and Karen who moved up to Lower MacDonald from the Northern Beaches to enjoy the surroundings along the Hawkesbury River. Their home is situated directly overlooking the water with its own boat ramp and pontoon. Bushfires are certainly a threat when living so close to nature, but in March 2021 their home was threatened by another unexpected force of nature that caused devastating damage to Karen and Carl’s ground floor of their home.

Floods that hadn’t been as high since the 1970s hit the town of Lower MacDonald reaching 4 metres inside Karen and Carl’s home. The damage to their lower floor was saddening resulting in a large number of repairs needing to be implemented throughout the home.

“Shane was instrumental in helping us to get our home back to liveable again.”

Shane and other friends and family of Karen and Carl arrived at the property as soon as the water had receded and access was available by car. Shane removed all damaged and potentially hazardous fittings, including a downstairs kitchen, two bathrooms and all the damaged doors.

Karen tells us, “He salvaged our front door so we could at least lock the house safely and although it was eventually replaced by Dependabuild, we were able to lock the house up safely.”

His team of volunteers also helped the neighbours of Karen and Carl who were exhausted from days of moving furniture, boats, cars and other valuable belongings to higher ground.

After a long day of hard work, Karen and Carl's house was able to be cleaned out and throughout a couple of weeks, they were able to move back into their home.

Bathroom Renovation

Repairing the damage that the flood had inflicted was now paramount to Karen and Carl to ensure they were able to live in their home comfortably. Having experienced a flood, they decided the rebuild would be completed to ensure that should another flood or even fire hit the region again, they would be more prepared. They consulted with Shane from Dependabuild on products that were more resistant to flood or fire.

Shane suggested aluminium doors to prevent warping and to replace the pavers which were now completely buckled outside with a deck made from a hardwood Spotted Gum. He also recommended a reliable plumber, Tom from Plumb by Design, and painters for the necessary repairs.

Even though Lower MacDonald is only an hour and a half out of Sydney, the properties are not yet attached to the main water and individual tanks are stored underground to filter freshwater to each home. These tanks need to be accessible for cleaning and Shane was able to build a deck over the tank using engineers’ advice on the weight-bearing of the deck over the tank. The deck would also be more resilient and lighter than the original concrete pavers. With expertise, the dependabuild team cleverly designed a hatch that could act as an entry point should access to the tank be required.

Another feature of the deck was its shape. Carl needed to access the lawn with a lawnmower with ease and therefore wanted a space near the entrance of the surrounding fence and the deck. Shane helped Carl with his ideas to build steps that surrounded the deck leading to the access area which would remain flat. The look was completed with a professional finish using Intergrain Ultra Deck Timber Oil. This finish ensures a high degree of weather protection and abrasive effects of foot traffic.

The finished product is fantastic and Shane from Dependabuild was instrumental in helping Karen and Carl get back to enjoying the tranquillity of their riverfront oasis.