Images of the house before the renovation, then after ...

Fairbrother vocally proclaims that our core company values resonate throughout everything we as a company do. This month, we are seeing a concrete example that the value we place on our community is very vividly and wholeheartedly shared by our workforce.

This story is a true example of how when we band together, our communities can achieve great things. It started when three friends, Sally, Jo & Mel, wanted to help out a friend who is suffering a devastating battle with cancer. The friend, Andrea, has already endured surgery and major chemotherapy for ovarian cancer several years ago, and now, together with her loving husband Gus and three children, Louis, Nicola and Harry, is battling through another round of chemotherapy for a resurgence of the cancer.

Andrea and her family live on a wonderful property in Cambridge, overlooking the stunning Barilla Bay. The house is actually the home in which Andrea lived many years ago with her grandmother, and still contains the wallpaper that Andrea helped her grandmother put up when she was but a small child. After her first battle with cancer, Andrea and Gus were fortunate enough to be able to buy the property and move back into the family home. Alas, as happens to many of us, time had taken its toll on the house, and with crumbling fences, ceilings and roofs, ancient plumbing and overgrown gardens it is in desperate need of renovating. With Andrea’s ill health, hopes of renovating the home had become virtually non-existent.

And here’s where the power of friends and communities steps in. Andrea’s three friends decided that a working bee supported by the Clifton Beach Surf Life Saving Club (where the girls are star rowers) could at least assist clean the place up a bit. However, they soon realised that they didn’t have the resources to complete the work needed. Mel spoke to the team at HOFM, where she was working at the time, and with their help the “Hobart Lends a Hand” dream was born.

With promotion from HOFM, the Hobart community has humbled us all with its generosity and spirit. Within weeks of the girls’ idea emerging, we are now in a position where over 50 Hobart businesses have pledged support via labour and / or supplies – and to such an extent that on Monday 10th March, Andrea and her family are moving out for one week, so that a massive ‘renovation team’ can come in and completely renovate her entire home and garden.

Fairbrother are proud to be a part of this team. At their own instigation, many of our Southern team have volunteered to take a day’s leave or an RDO to assist with the project. Over the course of the week, the Fairbrother crew will be donating effectively 23 days of labour, in addition to assistance providing tools and materials. Heading up the team for Fairbrother is Darren Thompson, who has coordinated an absolute army of trades and suppliers to allow Andrea’s dream renovation to become a reality. Utilising his project management skills, Darren and his team have mapped out a week that looks something like:

Monday 10th March – removalists come in and temporarily clear the house of possessions ready for the renovation extraordinaire team!

Tuesday 11th March – Demolition derby in action, as paths, fences and water tanks are cleared away

Wednesday 12th March – Time to tackle the house interior, thread bare carpets, hideous, ancient and decrepit bathroom and laundry fixtures, and the cracking, peeling wallpaper all bite the dust. Windows will be replaced, walls and ceilings freshly painted, and floor boards sanded back to restore original glory

Thursday 13th March – Today it will be off with gutters, and a start on in with the sparkling new kitchen and laundry. Outside will start to take shape with the addition of new fence post holes

Friday 14th March – A bevy of painters will tackle the house inside and out, with a new look roof set to stun along with the new paint and tiles inside. Outside, fence rails and pickets are sure to bring a tear to Andrea’s eyes

Saturday 15th March – the HOFM team join the boys on site as new gutters are installed, the new kitchen becomes a reality, and the landscaping team make Jamie Durie look like an amateur

Sunday 16th March – Final finishing touches and a thorough clean inside before the renovation team celebrate with an onsite BBQ

Monday 17th March – New carpet is laid just in time for …

Tuesday 18th March …. welcome back to Andrea and her family!

In addition to the Fairbrother crew, other businesses working with us in the ‘renovation extraordinaire team’ include (in no particular order):

HOFM
Coates Hire Portaloo
Hobart Portaloo
Laser Electrical
O'Brien Sand & Loam
Perry Concrete
Proform Tops & Joinery
Degree C
Peter Ricketts Fencing
Greenwood Pine
Instant Scaffolds
Reardon Demolition
J&C Plumbing
Steve Burns
Wholesale Products
Wetseal Tasmania
Carpet Company
Southern Floor Sanding
Canham Removalists
Tasbulk
Creative Property Solutions
Rossetto Tiles
Daniel Cotton
Dulux Paints Supplier
Woody's Paint's
Menzies Painting
Troy Ward
Perry Kennedy
Craig Harris
CSR plasterboard
Brock Plaster
Ced Williams
Caroma Plumbing Supplies
Bob Moore
Clipsal Aust + MM Electrical
Onesteel Metaland
Precision Plumbing
Rod Ingram Painting
Dion Wilson
Hanson Concrete
Decorama
Paul Martin Pest Control
Bust Your Clutter
Insulate Tasmania
Trashaway Bins
Tony Gentile Skip Bins
Kathy Wilson
Jenny Brickell
Harvey Norman Carpets
Hilary Jones
Sky Dive Tasmania
Brighton Alive
Wyndham Vacations
Paint Right
Banjos Bakery