TimberTek donates tradies to rebuild pensioners flood wrecked home

TimberTek has donated over 15 tradies to help put Geoff and Betty Archer’s home back together after it was ruined from the February floods. Here is their heartwarming story.

Geoff and Betty Archer have lived on the banks of the Richmond River at Broadwater for over 58 years without a care in the world, until the big wet of late 2021 turned into a natural flood disaster.

Both in their eighties, stranded in their home, neither chose to leave or be evacuated.

“All NRMA wanted to give us was temporary accommodation,” Mrs Archer said, “In Lennox Head! I wasn’t going to Lennox Head.

“I needed to be closer to home and we stayed to try and save what we could.”

Like many pensioners and residents the Archers couldn’t afford the $21,000 price tag for flood insurance.

“We thought we’d get a percentage towards our household goods because we lost the lot but no, NRMA wouldn’t come across with anything.”

Daughter, Rebecca Archer said when the flood first happened she got a call from her friend Candy Wu in Sydney.

“Oh my God, that’s near your parent’s place, how are they?” Ms Wu asked.

“I couldn’t tell you mate because I’m only getting one text a day,” Ms Archer said, “I think they’re OK.”

“I got a ‘we are OK’ text from mum, as far as I know they’re OK,” Ms Archer said.

Inside the home of Broadwater pensioners Betty and Geoff Archer who lost everything in the February and March floods of 2022.

After the water receded the Archers, family and friends began the clean up.

Mrs Archer said they are doing better but ‘hit the wall’ last week when they reached the hundred day mark she, Geoff, and Rebecca had worked at the house, scrubbing, cleaning, pulling timber out, fixing windows and getting plumbing done.

“We had to have the whole house rewired electrically and we had a lot of people coming and going,” Mrs Archer said.

“We had to have the flooring pulled up and new flooring put down.”

The pensioner said the house was looking very bare and humble.

The Archers home where the couple, daughter and friends had stripped the flood damaged walls.

Getting by with a gas camping stove the family were about to give up.

“Then we had a miracle on Fletcher Street,” Mrs Archer said.

Candy Wu and partner Sam Constantinou replied to a post that Rebecca had placed on her social media about her parent’s house.

“After I had posted that they came back and said ‘Sam and I are coming. We’re going to fix this. We don’t know how, we don’t know what but we will be there’,” Ms Archer said.

“That was where it started.”

TimberTek tradies with Geoff and Betty Archer at their home in Broadwater. Picture: Christina Medeiros

Mr Constantinou rounded up a team of electricians, plumbers, painters, joiners and tilers to donate their time to fix the Archer’s home.

“Timbertek have decided to give back to the community and help rebuild their house free of charge,” Mr Constantinou said.

“All the crew have given up their time and wages.”

Mrs Archer said she couldn’t believe how much work the crew got done in the short amount of time they had.

“We knew he had a second hand kitchen and he said he’d bring some of his men and they’d put that in for us,” Mrs Archer said.

“We really thought he’d just do this room and we’d have a nice dry kitchen area and maybe the bathroom.”

The couple had been staying in a caravan at Evans Head and got to their Broadwater property at 7.00am to meet the team.

The Archers had procured tiles, a bathtub and some building materials thinking that they could do the work themselves over the next couple of years.

“This was somewhat quicker!” Mrs Archer said.

The Constantinou family packed up for a week long stay with the crew securing an Airbnb.

“Even his own mum came.

“It’s something straight from the heart,” she said.

“I think I spent the week crying because I didn’t know how to cope.”

Ms Archer said her parents are very proud and have been givers their entire lives.

“It was hard for them to accept the help at first,” she said.

Mrs Archer said they are givers, not takers, in the community.

“Suddenly we’re getting back probably 100 times more than we’ve ever given in our lives and we found that really hard,” she said.

“Geoff wanted to be involved but the rule was he was not to go into the house, he wasn’t to comment or do anything but just stand back and admire it.

“But then he got a bit teary too, (sobs) because we found it hard to accept [the help].

“We’re still really frail from the whole experience because we’ve been here nearly 60 years and we’ve never had an experience like that.”

The team of around 15 tradies worked fast and within four hours the home was ‘unrecognisable’.

The TimberTek team went to work fixing wall panelling, tiling, waterproofing, painting, plumbing and wiring.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Mrs Archer said.

“I’m still gobsmacked, can I say that?

“I just know that somebody will look after Sam and his family for the rest of their lives for the beautiful gift they gave us.”

“Geoff and I are in our eighties and we were just really struggling, we had hit a wall – we were just struggling to keep going.

“We couldn’t handle what we had in front of us but we thought we might over two years.

“And suddenly this transformation came.”

The couple allowed the TimberTek team carte blanche that Mrs Archer credits to their confidence to just ‘get in and get done’.

“Sam is very calm, and his workmen will give you a hug, and the painting man was superb,” Mrs Archer said.

“We simplified everything and don’t have a tenth of what we had.

“The bottom of our house was completely wiped out,” Mrs Archer said.

“But I’m still sitting with my mouth open, it’s unbelievable what they did for us.”

The Archers have no plans on moving.

“We love where we are and we’ve never had water in the house before so we just thought this is what we should do - stay and try and save what we could.”

When a hundred days rolled around the couple were having second thoughts.

“We had a very serious talk,” Mrs Archer said.

“Should we give up the house or try to sell it to a builder and just move out because we’re so old.

“And then Sam set the date.”

The Archers said this has turned their lives around.

“We’ll probably hang on for another five years now (laughs),” Mrs Archer said.

Mr Constantinou said his team is ‘buzzing’ from the feeling of transforming the lives of the Archer family.

“The energy on site was hard to describe as we all pitched in to make it happen,” he said.

“Geoff and Betty were overjoyed with the end result.

“It’s fair to say they will remember this act of kindness, and all those who contributed for many years to come.”

TimberTek are fundraising for materials, fuel, food, and accommodation for their team so they can help others in need.

“We hope to receive your support in helping us support someone in need. All money will go directly to the affected areas and additional funds raised will go to assist those in the Broadwater community and surrounding areas.,” Mr Constantinou said.