Richmond Downs School is now a home. Photo / Adrian Roberts
Richmond Downs School is now a home. Photo / Adrian Roberts
Builder transforms classrooms into a home, complete with rugby field.
A woman's nine-year labour of love has transformed an old rural school into a sports fanatic's dream home.
The 1.2ha property, formerly the Richmond Downs School, 15km northwest of Matamata in Waikato has a rugby field, a 13m swimming pool, changing rooms and tennis court.
And for the right price it could be yours.
The school was closed in 2004 because of dwindling numbers but a couple of years later it caught the eye of the 46-year-old qualified builder, who did not want to be named. She fell in love with it.
"I saw it in [Matamata's] Location [magazine] and thought, 'I can't afford that'. I then spoke to the agent and he got me out there.
"I had a look and fell in love with the place. It was a mess with dead animals inside and had been vandalised but I decided I had to have it before I walked out the gate. I just felt the vibe with it."
The school buildings, "little kids" classroom and main schoolhouse, have now been turned into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.
Not wanting to live in a "reno", the woman took three months off work and commuted from her Tauranga home every day to make the house habitable.
"It wasn't fully functional immediately but the bulk of the grunt work was done. I had plumbing, I had a bathroom, I had a kitchen and I had a bedroom."
She did all the renovation work, apart from subcontracting, and roped in "whoever else was around" to help do heavy lifting.
What was the original school building and, until 2004, a library is now the master bedroom, the old classroom is the lounge, kitchen and dining area, and the original girls' and boys' toilets are now the main bathroom, shower and laundry.
She has also added on a new wing, which includes two bedrooms and a second bathroom. She left the original room signs on the doors to add a touch of nostalgia.
The school buildings, "little kids" classroom and main schoolhouse, have now been turned into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Photo / Adrian Roberts
"It was a school and there's no changing that. Parts of it still look like a school, so accentuate the positives, that's what I was trying to do."
Her agreement for sale and purchase was also less ordinary as the vendor was listed as "Her Majesty The Queen For Education Purposes".
Unfortunately she is "one goalpost short of a rugby field" after a tree fell in a storm not long after she bought the property, crushing one of the posts.
Bayleys Matamata real estate agent Neville Jacques said it would be perfect for anyone with a love of the outdoors or a keen developer.
"It would be perfect for a young family with youngish kids who are into sporty-type things, swimming and tennis and cricket and rugby, it's all there. You could have your own swimming sports."
The pair are coy on the asking price, but it will be auctioned in Hamilton on December 9.
Unfortunately she is "one goalpost short of a rugby field" after a tree fell in a storm not long after she bought the property, crushing one of the posts. Photo / Adrian Roberts
• Rugby field, including one rugby post • Swimming pool • Tennis court • Fort • Three-bedroom house • Two bathrooms • Sleepout • Two garages, wood shed and tool shed
