It was once the worst house on any street. An abandoned wreck in the thick of the bush. It was so overgrown with weeds, and in such a bad state, you’d think it was infested with snakes. But builders Phil Penney and Dina Helyen, of Superior Construction, are working hard to turn it into one of Auckland’s best homes.
The property on Seaview Road – a Remuera address noted for its expensive homes – hit the market as a deceased estate in December 2024. Within three weeks, it belonged to Phil and Dina.
The couple had fallen in love with the site, and by the time they got home after their first visit, they had already drawn up plans for a rebuild. “I’m all about the trees, I love trees,” Dina told OneRoof.
“We both walked in and loved it. Phil is a most capable builder; he’s got a brain that loves puzzles and challenges, so we knew we could do it.
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“I do not think you get much worse than this, but it felt so beautiful to us. It felt like Indiana Jones, like Jurassic Park. It was so overgrown and lovely and gorgeous.”
Phil Penney welcomes OneRoof inside the most challenging project he’s worked on. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Phil and Dina Helyen are creating a home worthy of the suburb. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Bayleys listing agent David Rainbow, who sold the property to the couple, had told OneRoof that in all his years of selling real estate in Remuera, he was unaware there was a house hidden down a long driveway off Seaview Road.
Even the executors of the estate hadn’t realised the house existed, as there were no records of the build.
Rainbow accompanied OneRoof on the tour of Phil and Dina’s rebuild and was impressed by what they had done.
The renovation work took some 98 pages of drawings by architect Tony Pilkington, of Sketch Architecture, and months of negotiations with Auckland Council to get consents.
The couple told OneRoof that it was by far the biggest project they had undertaken in their 20-year career.
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“It had been sitting derelict for so long it had had lots of visitors over the years: possums and wildlife and unwelcome visitors that were having parties and things,” Phil said. He hadn’t come across any snakes, though.
“The architect asked, what the hell had we done. With all our years of experience, he was shocked at this one.”
Original listing photos showed graffiti-covered walls and floors, and bush growing under the house. Some parts were too dangerous for the agents or buyers to even climb through, and Rainbow called it a “pigsty”.
The rebuild is anything but.
Enclosing the original carport and deck into the top floor of the house has made room for parents’ quarters, with a generous kitchen, pantry, living room and a master suite. The middle floor is for kids’ bedrooms, the bathrooms, the laundry, and a second living room that opens to a deck.
What the derelict looked like when Phil and Dina bought it in early 2025. Photo / Supplied
The original house was never lived in and was, according to the listing agent, a pigsty. Photo / Supplied
The ground floor is Dina’s favourite place, as it transforms into a wellness retreat with a gym, sauna, outdoor shower, and a deck cantilevered in the trees for yoga. The bush has been gently tamed to let in light, but the huge trees and palms remain.
Underpinning the pretty touches are tonnes of steel and concrete, new framing, cladding, roofing and insulation, plumbing, electrical and new heating. The couple added skylights to the top floor and a glass-wrapped stairwell.
“While it is the original footprint, it’s all really brand new,” Dina said.
Phil added: “It’s been a challenging site, but it’s been lovely with all the bird life and all the bush surrounding, it’s been really lovely to work here.”
Rainbow and his colleague Harry Cheng are delighted with the transformation and can’t wait to bring the house to market this spring. “It’s just mind-blowing. This place was a wreck. What they have done is just fantastic,” Rainbow said.
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