Couple turn decrepit farmhouse into dream home

It sat decrepit and decaying but the old property now has a new lease on life.

PICTURE PERFECT: Troy Nothdurft and Phillip Coleman's renovated farmhouse in Ropeley, where they plan to retire. Picture: Contributed

IT SAT decrepit and decaying but Troy Nothdurft and his partner Phillip Coleman had a vision for the old farmhouse in Ropeley they spotted online.

When the pair went to inspect the property they found it in poor condition, but they knew that beforehand and just hoped there weren't any snakes lurking around, or too much white-ant damage.

They took on the challenge, and bought the home in September 2011.

The farmhouse was first built in the late 1880s, along with the smoke house, barn and shed, which had collapsed before they purchased the property.

The original settlers were the Katt family, before the Olm family moved in, and then Arnie Schutz, a well-known name in the area, called the place home.

The farmhouse was worse for wear to say the least but the potential was there.

"For as long as I remember, we always wanted an old farmhouse that had not been bastardised,” Mr Nothdurft said.

"We initially thought we just wanted to renovate it enough to create a great weekender, knowing there was no plumbing and the original wiring was the old bakelite switches... so we set about looking for the builder that could see what we could see.”

Three builders from the region were interviewed until the pair came across Ben Kearney from Phoenix Carpentry and Building and "everything fell into place” as he helped them start to turn their grand plans into reality.

With the help of their families, they set about cleaning up the house and land which involved plenty of trips to the dump to move about 80tons of rubbish, work which was helped by the purchase of a Ford 4110 tractor.

"The farm slowly was becoming our dream,” Mr Nothdurft said.

The original kitchen had long passed its expiry date due to general wear and tear and fire and white-ant damage.

That part of the house was demolished to make way for a new space including kitchen, dining and lounge areas complete with an open fireplace.

The house was kept at its original height and a new roofline was created to combine the new with the old.

The original house consisted of verandas on three sides, a small bedroom at the end of each side veranda with small external windows and window hoods, a front door leading into a lounge area with a set of french doors leading onto the front veranda and a sash window to the other.

Ropeley farmhouse renovation

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A front bedroom to the right of the front door featured the same french doors and sash window along with shellacked ceilings which were refurbished in the renovation process.

There was also a cellar under the house, but it had to be demolished as the the walls were caving in on themselves.

"Other than new decking boards and railings on the verandas, the original house is intact,” Mr Nothdurft said.

"Bringing the house into the 20th century was also important with plumbing, rewiring, mobile reception and Wi-Fi along with up-to-date design functionality.

"Phillip and myself had renovated several old properties in the past which gave us the confidence to take on a project of this size.”

The couple set up camp in the original dairy, as it had a concrete floor as well as power, for the six months while the house was renovated.

The builder was on site from February 2012 until the end of April that year and the following 12 months were spent landscaping and resurrecting the out-buildings as well as converting the dairy into guest accommodation.

It took close to three years to control the rampant lantana around the property.

The pair lived in the house for three years but with a business venture set to take them away from the farm on a long-term basis, they made the call to move a cottage from Woolloongabba in Brisbane onto the land to serve as a caretaker's residence.

The cottage was built circa 1910.

"(It) also needed to be renovated,” Mr Nothdurft said.

"We wanted a cottage that would fit in with the original homestead once renovated, which we believe was successful.”

Another couple now lives in the cottage on a permanent basis and maintains the property for the owners, who mainly use it as a retreat for themselves and their families.

The caretakers share the land with a small herd of cattle that graze the property.

Mr Nothdurft and Mr Coleman don't live in Queensland at the moment but they plan to retire in the restored farmhouse in Ropeley when they can.

"We have created a beautiful family home steeped in history and created our own memories with family Christmases and other celebrations, along with locals from the Lockyer Valley wanting to use the property for weddings, school formals and family photos which has been a great compliment to our farm,” Mr Nothdurft said.

Mr Nothdurft shared photos of the renovated farm at the start of April to the Vintage Queensland Facebook page and had an overwhelming response to the renovations, receiving 1200 likes, 222 shares and more than 300 comments.