Kelowna News

Wednesday was a bittersweet day for Bob and Crystal Mandryk.

The Kelowna couple, their nine children and dozens of friends and neighbours watched as the 1,000 square foot family home on Guisachan Place was demolished.

The total demolition time was less than 10 minutes.

With the assistance of the Kelowna building community, the Mandryk's should be in a new 3,500 square foot home in time to celebrate Christmas.

There's a feeling of loss seeing your old home torn down," says Bob Mandryk. "But, having so much support here today from everybody gives us such a good feeling."

"Knowing there is a promise of a new home coming, it's a very exciting thing to be part of."

The Mandryk's have four children of their own and five adopted children, ranging in age from one year to 24 years.

Mandryk says at the beginning of the year, he and his wife realized they needed more room. They were forced to turn the family room into a bedroom.

He says the original plan was to build an addition to the home.

"We talked to Paul Benson of Borebank Ventures about getting an addition. He came and looked at seeing what he could do in the way of making an expansion. At the same time, he and his wife and Greg Harris had the idea that they wanted to do something for us in a special way."

Benson says he has wanted to do something for the family for quite some time.

"When they came to us, my wife and I knew this was a good opportunity to present the idea of possibly doing an 'Extreme Makeover,' and seeing if we could get something done at no cost to them," says Benson.

He says once it was decided to go ahead with the project, he gathered a number of contractors, tradespeople and suppliers and pitched the idea.

"We presented the whole idea over breakfast and explained the Mandryk's story. We had overwhelming response, and just about everybody jumped in with two feet and were totally willing to contribute both labour and materials to get this house done."

Unlike the TV show Extreme Makeover, this house won't be completed in seven days. It will take about three and a half months to complete, which Benson says is still an amazingly short period of time, especially considering Kelowna's building climate.

"It really is. Everybody is on board. They understand that we have a tight timeline. It's not real tight if you look at the TV show, because they do it in a week. In today's standards, a three or three-and-a-half month house is quite quick and we think we can do that."

Benson says about 45 suppliers and trades have come together on the project.

He says the City of Kelowna even stepped to the plate, providing a home for the family to stay in for the next three months.

"The city was wonderful in donating the building permit and also supplying the temporary accommodations at no cost for the whole four months we needed them to be out of their home."

Benson says the temporary home in Glenmore is slated for demolition in January of 2009 and the city had no plans to have the home occupied after August.

The site will be cleared and prepared over the next couple of days, with construction expected to begin Monday.

"I think I'll come back from time to time. This is my neighbourhood. It's kind of fun seeing the work. I'm used to working on our home by myself, but here someone else is doing the work and it's kind of fun to watch," says Mandryk."

He says it was a bonus to see all the people from the neighbourhood on hand for the demolition.

Benson says while the building community has come through in a big way, there is still a shortfall of about $50,000.

"We will require some funds. Interior Savings has stepped up by donating a trust fund and setting it up at no cost. Anyone that wishes to donate can go directly to any Interior Savings branch."

He says people can also follow the progress of the project at www.projectfamilyroom.org.

Bob Mandryk talks with Wayne Moore about Project Family Room

Link: Link to project family room website Link: Check out pictures from the demolition in our photo gallery