It was meant to be a “forever home”, custom-built for Russell Dreger’s special needs.
“It’s not ‘forever’ because I really don’t know much longer we can be here,” his wife Christine Dreger told 7NEWS.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queensland couple fears their ‘sinking’ home will soon be unliveable.
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The couple bought the block in Hervey Bay in Queensland in 2008 and built a single-level home with a focus on accessibility for Russell, who uses a wheelchair after a motorbike accident.
But since they moved in, it appears the ground underneath them has shifted.
There are cracks in the walls, holes in the yard, tiles are “popping” and the entire house has begun to sink on one side.
“Lots of the yard’s been taken away because of it,” Christine said.
“There are sinkholes everywhere and lots of snakes because there are lots of holes under there for snakes to live.
“(There are) lots of issues with not being able to use the yard anywhere. You can’t use the pathways because they’re all sinking and pulling away from the house.”
Christine believes the house has sunk about 100mm on one side.
The problems began soon after the couple moved in, when “little divots started appearing along the side of the house”, Christine said.
She kept “filling them and filling them” but to no avail — the holes would come back.
The home’s builder died in 2010 and the following year the couple complained to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.
“They came out, they looked at everything and they said that they felt it was all ‘cosmetic’,” Christine said.
“What do you do? They’re the experts.”
In 2017, the situation worsened when “large sinkholes began appearing” following a “massive downpour of rain”, she said.
The issues have affected the home’s liveability for Russell because the outdoor paths are no longer level with the house, making them inaccessible for his wheelchair.
“It was built so he could move around independently, but as you can see everything’s dropped and there’s nowhere that he can actually go except in the house,” Christine said.
“Maybe there’s some very smart person out there who knows exactly what I need to do to repair it, or comes back and says this house can’t be repaired, it needs to be demolished and rebuilt.
“I just want to know how to rectify it and how to move on.”
7NEWS contacted the QBCC for comment but has not received a response.