An enterprising spirit and a thirst for adventure marked the starting point for a creative and successful career in the building industry for Reiny Loeliger.  Reiny is a member of the Wimmera Section, and a long-term Master Builders member, having joined the association over forty years ago in 1973.

In 1951, when he was 21, Reiny decided to leave his hometown of Basel, Switzerland and head to Australia, eventually settling at his uncle’s farm at Rupanyupl, east of Horsham.  Reiny had already begun a building apprenticeship before leaving Switzerland, and added to this early experience with work on the farm while teaching himself English.  Reiny met his future wife, Lorraine, at a local dance in Ararat; they married in 1958 and started their first building business together, R & LR Loeliger .

After 15 years of productive business in homebuilding, Reiny began to seek alternatives to the brick veneer construction that prevailed in the area, looking for a creative way to build that would be more sympathetic to the natural environment and provide an inspiring and cost-effective option for his clients.  The design of a water tank, an everyday and unremarkable item found on nearly every farm, struck Reiny as an ideal springboard for his idea.

In the mid 1980s, after a long period of experimentation, Reiny and Lorraine settled on a curved form that has since become the signature shape of RAL Homes.  The houses feature a simple but refined structural system whereby eight metal panels of matching dimension are bolted together to integrate the walls and roof into a single curved form over a plywood skeleton.

The simplicity of the system belies the extent of work that Reiny and Lorraine’s team have put in to refine it.  For example, Reiny had specialised metal trimming and shaping equipment brought over from Germany and then adapted it for working with timber, thereby helping to ensure the precision and strict tolerances required to assemble the component parts of each house. Once all components are ready, they are flat-packed for transport to their site, with an entire house usually fitting on a single truck.

The variety of locations where RAL homes are found testify to their versatility. In addition to rural Victoria, Reiny has sent flat-packs to the tropics of Cairns, the cool woodlands of Tasmania, the Margaret River in Western Australia, and two can even be found beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Reiny says the houses are good for cyclone- and fire-prone regions because their curved form offers few opportunities for high winds to get a purchase or for bushfire embers to settle.

Though the homes are generally owner-erected (using highly detailed manuals) or constructed with the assistance of registered builders, in 2000, RAL arranged for two homes to be pre-constructed and shipped to Alice Springs to provide urgent shelter for doctors in a remote indigenous community.

RAL Homes has been a family operation for many years, the business benefiting from the input of Reiny and Lorraine’s son Brett, whose contribution launched the business online in the late 90s.  The business has expanded from humble beginnings to an inspiring operation, incorporating an impressive factory, four on-site display units, designs that are adaptable to client needs and ever-increasing regulation requirements, and a strong online marketing presence.

To learn more about RAL Homes, you can find them at www.ralhomes.com.au or get in touch with Reiny on (03) 5352 2352.