- The Block favourite Pete Walker has restored a 1946 house relocated to his Bulls section.
- He moved the 240sqm home 2km, then spent three years restoring its character features.
- The home is listed above its $700,000 RV as the family seeks a lifestyle block.
A lot has happened in Pete Walker’s life since he and brother Andy became fan favourites on The Block TV show 13 years ago.
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The builder from Bulls is now married with four young children – but he’s quick to add he still loves renovating houses.
He’s just completed his third do-up – the second with wife Kelsi.
He told OneRoof that after trying his hand at farming, shearing and fencing, he eventually decided to turn his passion for renovating into a career.
“I’d always dabbled in carpentry, and Dad was like, ‘You need to do your apprenticeship’, so I did.”
Pete and Andy set up Walker Building Company together in 2021 and specialise in residential renovations and some new builds.
But the renovation closest to Pete’s heart is the one he did in his spare time to cater for his growing family.
Pete and Kelsi had planned to build a new home on their 800sqm section in Bulls. But then they spotted an older character home sitting in a mover’s yard.
“I had often driven past and just saw the top half of the house sitting in the yard. I thought it was quite a nice-looking house. I’d never imagine I would do anything with it.”
The 1940s home was initially transported from Palmerston North to a mover’s yard in Bulls before the Walkers bought it and moved it 2km to their section on High Street. Photo / Supplied
Pete restored the home’s original features, including the native timber floorboards and ornate ceilings. Photo / Supplied
The 1946 home had been sitting in the yard for about five years after being shifted off a prime section overlooking the lagoon near Palmerston North to make way for two new homes.
“We had this section, and we were going to build a new house, and I just said to the boys one smoko that maybe I should just relocate the house down the yard there.”
The timing couldn’t have been better, he said, because the yard’s owner had just abandoned his own plans for the house and sold it to Pete.
Pete almost returned to Kiwi TV screens in an episode of Moving Houses, but the timing didn’t work out, and the house had already completed much of its relocation, limiting the story the show could tell.
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Pete only needed to shift the 240sqm house 2km from the mover’s yard to his section on High Street.
He then spent the next three years piecing it back together. The family was living next door, so Pete could pop over in his spare time to work on the renovation. He also roped Andy in to help.
“It was a lot of work,” he said.
Pete first tackled the cosmetic damage the house suffered during the move and then addressed the wiring and plumbing. Much of his time was spent restoring the rimu panelling, matai floorboards and ornate plaster ceilings.
He said the house had been a great family home for the couple’s children, who are aged 1, 3, 5 and 7 (two girls and two boys).
Pete with his brother Andy Walker during the finale of season two of The Block in 2013. Photo / Supplied
Pete, with wife Kelsi, spent three years piecing the house back together. Photo / Supplied
“Through the kitchen and living area, there’s almost a great big running track they can go round and round and round because the lounges are so big.”
People turned up to the house and – if they didn’t know the history – assumed the grand home had always been there, Pete said.
“They think it’s one of the original houses of the street. We tell them we relocated it and you see their jaws hit the floor. They can’t believe it.”
Pete said the family were selling up to buy a lifestyle block in the district.
Tremains agent Lucy Hale, who is marketing 4 High Street with colleague Heid Macaulay, said the Walkers had done a great job. “The house is super unique. You don’t see homes like this every day.”
Hale said the property would suit buyers who appreciated quality and character and wanted something different. “It’s a fantastic family home with its generous size and layout, but we think it will particularly appeal to people who love a home with a story to tell.”
Hale indicated that the price was above the RV of $700,000.
- 4 High Street, in Bulls, Rangitikei, is for sale, deadline closing October 14
