Surprise twist: Builder with $740k fine builds jawdropping new cubby

Keith Ricardson built these cubby houses for his kids, with the red circle on the one that drew a $740k council fine.

A Queensland builder who went viral over a double decker cubby house that drew a $740k council fine, is back in the spotlight undeterred, with a jawdropping fairytale replacement.

Undeterred and determined to beat the system for his children, Gold Coast dad of three Keith Richardson relocated to a new home in a different suburb and constructed an even more extraordinary Rapunzel tower cubby for his kids.

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Keith Richardson moved suburbs and built this cubby 2.0 for his three children after a neighbour complained about his earlier one.

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The cubby 2.0 is a self supported steel structure complete with flying fox zip line if you don’t feel like using the internal spiral staircase to exit.

This time, the Queensland-based managing director of Imagine Kit Homes told The Courier-Mail. no neighbour could complain because the magical multistorey playzone is tucked away with full privacy.

“It’s miles away from the boundary,” he said. “We don’t have little grumpy men living next door, we’ve got families, and they love it as well. So they get the enjoyment out of the new one. The kids come visiting.”

He said he built it so his children would be safe using a zip line in the backyard.

“We had a flying fox that went from one of the big palm trees across the yard, and the kids were having to climb up on this rickety old ladder. I said, okay I need to do something.”

It even has proper lighting in it.

Keith Richardson of Imagine Kit Homes has gone all out for his children to enjoy their backyard.

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“So this one is built to last 1,000 years. It’s all steel frames and trusses. It’s got its own structure underneath those trees. It’s not even touching the trees.”

“The only thing I haven’t put in is indoor plumbing,” he laughed.

His children are 10, 14 and 17 now. “It’s got a little spiral staircase in the middle. It’s super safe. It’s super strong. It has lights that come on at night.”

Mr Richardson said it costs about $4,000 to put a cubby house together like the one the council zeroed in on.

“You’ve got to remember a lot of the products I had lying around at work. I mean, I’m the managing director of the company, so the leftovers from jobs, I’m the first to claim them. There was additional expense of having to get the engineering, I paid $1,600 to get the certification.”

He loves what he does, and his children have appreciated it too, he said.

Keith Richardson built the first cubby house when his youngest child was a toddler.

The first cubby Keith Richardson built for his kids.

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“It’s a hobby and work. I’ve come from a house that’s up in the Sunshine Coast which for a kit home looks nothing like it. It’s a 650sq m house on the beach. We do 750sq m houses that are four levels with balconies, customised houses that are reselling for $6-7m. So, work’s a big step above what a cubby house is. The cubby house thing is a passion.”

He said the family taking on the cubby house in his old home could be certain it was built well.

“It has got some credibility behind it. The problem (with the previous cubby) was the council went and cleared all the trees which made it then stand out.”

Keith Richardson over-engineered the cubby houses he built for his children. Picture: Supplied.

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“My tenants who have been there for the last five years love it and they’ve got little kids. They were then going to spend $1,000 to get it painted out. I had to go back to them and say sorry I’m gonna have to remove because I just haven’t got the time and can’t be bothered fighting with the council.”

Mr Richardson has no regrets about building any of the cubby houses for his children, given the joy it gave them and him as well as their grandfather putting plans together and tweaking it to suit the kids.

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