The father of three is also adding gardening guru to the long list of trades since his family moved into their Hope Island home last year.

Swearing by good, honest DIY and strongly believing in Bunnings and Gumtree, Spida along with wife Sheree and children, Caitlyn, 22, Summer, 16, and Boston, 10, have put their own stamp on the home.

“We got this house for a bargain, the only catch — it was an overgrown forest,” Spida says.

“The kids call me ‘Greg the gardener’ because I have been digging away every day since moving in and they think it’s hilarious,” he says.

After building a deck over a fish pond ‘‘Spida’’ is attempting to add a fire pit by the pool.

“I reckon I’ve ripped out nearly every tree on the property. We are always spending time outside, I guess that comes with marrying a Kiwi with a big family,” he says with a laugh.

Spending an average of 20 hours a week landscaping, ‘‘Spida’’ says the house has shown it has solid roots and good bones.

Inside the two-storey home, an old-fashioned floor plan of sunrooms and corridors pique interest. The flowing living space combines dining areas while the kitchen is nestled in a corridor with a servery window and counter over the lounge room.

“I hated it when we first walked in, I thought it was the most disgusting house,” Sheree says.

“It was dark, the walls were primary colours like red and blue and to top it all off there were these huge orange-coloured steel chandeliers in the formal rooms that branched off with tiny tasselled lamps.’’

Sheree has repainted the walls and created a neutral colour palette adding pops of green around the home with hanging plants.

“The kitchen which is usually the biggest room in a house is a narrow hallway to the rumpus room and study,” she says. “The agent said it was designed for wealthy people who ate out and didn’t use kitchens to cook.’’

But ‘‘Spida’’ reckons the kitchen is used a lot more than it was built for.

“I do all the cooking at home, the family loves my Mexican and fish dishes,” he says.