As good as new

15 years in the Adelaide Hills

One of the best parts of turning 50 is the chance to revisit projects from years gone by.

We previously caught up with Andrew and Esther at their South Australian property back in 2021.

We recently returned to see how their Cedarspan cabin was holding up after 15 years in one of Australia’s harshest climates.

The answer was immediate.

It looks as good as new.

Back in 2011, this classic country cabin was known as “The Weekender”. Today, not much has changed. While it’s now part of the Cedarspan range as the 3040, the engineering – and the quality – remain the same. Even after 15 years, so does its appearance.

Perched hillside on their five-acre property with far-reaching views that extend to the Adelaide skyline on a clear day, it looks like it was built yesterday.

Built for family, by family

When Esther and Andrew built their Cedarspan, it was for family. A place for their daughter to live closely, but independently. Just 60 metres from the family front door, but tucked privately amongst the gum trees with her own entrance and her own life.

For a young adult flying the nest, and parents nervously watching them, it’s a welcome balance that works for everyone.

“It’s peace of mind to have a family member close,” Andrew said back in 2021 when telling us about his daughter’s newfound independence.

And family stepped in to help make this happen. Andrew and Esther’s sons, who were starting out as carpenters, built the cabin and completed the fit-out and finish.

“It was one of the first jobs they did,” Esther recalls, “They did the fit out, the flooring and everything.” Proud dad, Andrew, adds, “It went great, went well. You’ll see what a good job they did.”

And we certainly can see that.

While having two carpenters on hand certainly helped, the Cedarspan system is designed to be accessible.

“Even someone without carpentry skills can put it up because it’s modular,” Andrew explains.

It’s a straightforward, well-considered system – one that simplifies the building process without compromising on quality.

A family building, built by family. And as it turned out, built to last.

A difficult site handled with ease

Getting the Cedarspan to site has its own story.

The prebuilt panels travelled nearly 1,500 kilometres from Sydney to a rural South Australian property with tight access and a long, tree-lined driveway.

“It was quite the thing to get down the drive and along between all the gum trees,” Esther says.

Where this would have been a stumbling block for a traditional build, for Greenspan, this was a challenge that was easily overcome. The neatly packaged up panels were unloaded by a forklift, which weaved its way down the long gum-studded driveway to the site of the build, ready for installation.

“Delivery was terrific. It all went smoothly,” Andrew recalls.

Then there was the site itself; the terrain presenting its own challenge that would have sent the budget and timeline soaring if this had been a conventional build.

The elevated block slopes steeply. And while this offers incredible views, it also results in the kind of terrain that would typically require extensive groundworks to prepare the site for building.

Instead, the Cedarspan was a far simpler solution. Set on piers, the building gently rests on the hillside, without mess, disruption, or major excavation.

On a rural block where the land is part of the appeal, that matters.

At home in the hills

From the beginning, the goal was to create something that felt at home in the landscape.

“We wanted to choose something compatible with the natural surrounds,” Andrew explains, which was one of the reasons they were drawn to the Cedarspan design in the first place, with its classic country cabin appeal.

Western Red Cedar weatherboard – naturally resistant to decay, insects and fungi – was the obvious cladding choice, offering durability and strength with a natural beauty that settles seamlessly into its surroundings. It was later coated with Cedarshield – a protective finish that enhances the beauty of the timber – developing a warm, reddish tone that contrasts strikingly with the black trim of the doors and windows.

A full-length verandah runs along the front of the cabin; an elevated platform that overlooks the landscape below and offers views to the distant city skyline. It’s the quintessential finishing touch to the country cabin aesthetic and an essential feature for such a beautiful location.

It’s a building that turns heads.

“It’s something a lot of people admire when they come to our property,” Andrew tells us.

And that’s despite some stiff competition.

“It’s set amongst gum trees, overlooking paddocks, and there’s also a view of the city of Adelaide,” Andrew says. “It’s one of the ideal places you could live.”

Built for the bush

Locations like this come with other challenges though, too. Set in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, there were other specifications to build around.

A variety of bushfire-rated upgrades meant the cottage – even being built almost entirely from timber – would meet the requirements of the site from the outset.

Galvanised steel piers rather than timber. Fire retardant treatment. Ember screens. The details you can’t necessarily see, but the ones that matter on a day when the fire danger rating is extreme.

Then there are the details that you can see.

Andrew and Esther have created a warm and inviting home. A roomy lounge, dining space, and a full Shaker-style kitchen form the main open-plan living area, set beneath a high cathedral ceiling. Positioned separately below the loft, there’s a spacious but cosy bedroom with built-in wardrobes and, next door, a modern bathroom complete with laundry facilities. Everything that is needed to create a complete home is here.

The interior decor is simple and classic. Soft whites, warm timber flooring, black accents. It’s bright and airy, but warm and cosy – a timeless farmhouse cottage aesthetic.

“It’s classy. We took time to make it pleasant,” Esther and Andrew tell us.

And it shows.

A rental income

Eventually, Esther and Andrew’s daughter moved on… as daughters do. And another couple moved in.

For the eight years that followed, they rented out the little cottage and, by all accounts, loved every moment.

When that tenancy came to an end, Esther and Andrew took the opportunity to freshen things up. They applied another coat of Cedarshield to the exterior cladding, gave the interior a fresh coat of paint, and stood back to look at what fifteen years had done.

“Esther and I had a lot of fun freshening it up,” Andrew says.

What they found was a building in remarkable condition.

“It’s beautiful wood. That’s the first time I’ve repainted it since we built it,” Andrew confirms.

Fifteen years. One repaint inside and out. Still standing on those galvanised piers on a sloping, bushfire-prone block in the Adelaide Hills, looking for all the world like it was delivered last week.

“It’s come up like it’s new. You’d never know it wasn’t just built and put together. It’s really done well.”

For a location that experiences intense and unrelenting summers, contrasted by cold, wet and windy winters, this is really quite impressive. The seasonal extremes of the South Australian climate have been thrown at this little cabin year after year, and it still looks as good as new.

Built for life

The third chapter is now underway for the little cottage.

“We now have some new tenants in it who are loving it – they just can’t stop their family coming up every second day to help them settle in and enjoy the vibe,” Andrew and Esther tell us.

That’s because a Cedarspan is never a single-use investment. It’s a building that can adapt to whatever your needs are as your life changes. And it will keep doing so year after year, through conditions that would test any structure.

Many would be showing their age by now. This one doesn’t.

Fifteen years on, and Andrew wouldn’t change a thing.

“I highly recommend it because it’s compatible with the environment… with any terrain. It’s also a very flexible design,” says Andrew. “It’s beautiful. It will add value to your property.”

First, a home for their daughter. Now, an ongoing source of rental income.

And in all that time, just one recoat… yet still as good as new.

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Esther and Andrew’s Cedarspan is a 3040 measuring 7.2m x 5.4m with a 7.2m x 1.9m hardwood decked verandah along the front elevation.

It features Western Red Cedar weatherboard cladding, aluminium doors and windows in “Black”, and Colorbond® roofing in “Monument”.

All measurements are approximate.

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