A husband and wife who blew up their investment property in Adelaide's north-east to claim insurance money, causing an explosion which shook the neighbourhood, have been sentenced to six years in jail.

Krzysztof and Sarah Kuchar were found guilty of arson at a District Court trial last year.

The court heard they devised the joint plan to burn down the Holden Hill rental property on October 23, 2011, after having problems with tenants.

They were ordered to serve a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years and Sarah Kuchar was granted home detention to care for their three young children.

The District Court heard that when Krzysztof Kuchar ignited the petrol he had poured throughout the property, the whole house unexpectedly exploded rather than just catching fire.

The blast from the explosion was so powerful, neighbouring properties sustained damaged through the sheer force of the explosion or from flying debris.

Judge Muscat found that even though Kuchar — a former high school physics teacher — did not anticipate for the outcome to be so catastrophic, the amount of petrol involved indicated he intended to cause significant damage to the house.

The judge said the explosion, which erupted in a large fire ball, was caused by an accumulation of petrol vapour in the home.

"As fire investigator who gave evidence at trial said, such an explosion was basically a one in a million occurrence," Judge Muscat said.

"The explosion completely destroyed the house and literally shook the neighbourhood."

Survival was 'nothing short of a miracle'

A prosecutor told the court a man who was at a party nearby heard the explosion in the early hours of the morning.

According to the prosecutor, the witness saw Krzysztof Kuchar crawling out of the rubble with leg bone sticking out of his skin.

"Mr Kuchar, it was nothing short of a miracle that you even survived the explosion," Judge Muscat said.

The man then helped Kuchar to his car which contained his wife and young children.

"They were there because they made a foolish decision to set fire to their investment property with a view of claiming an insurance policy," prosecutor Kosmas Lesses told the court in September.

"Mr Kuchar was the person who set fire to the property, or rather caused it to blow up, while his wife played the classic role of the getaway driver."

Sarah Kuchar walks from an Adelaide courtroom after being granted home detention. ( ABC News: Rebecca Opie )

Krzysztof Kuchar sustained a serious leg fracture but instead of attending the nearest hospital, the court heard the couple drove for eight hours to Wangaratta, more than 800 kilometres away in country Victoria.

They stopped along the way to cut the singed hair from Kuchar's head, and only sought medical assistance once they had reached Wangaratta, where Kuchar told the local hospital he had been injured in a motorbike accident.

Judge Muscat said during her evidence to the trial, Sarah Kuchar had told a "mountain of lies" in a desperate bid to "explain the unexplainable".

"The prosecution case against each of you was already compelling enough but the evidence which you gave Mrs Kuchar only strengthened the prosecution's case," he said.

Krzysztof Kuchar was arrested and extradited to South Australia 12 days later.

Couple 'unjustly' blames tenants and shows no remorse

During the trial, the court heard Krzysztof Kuchar had problems with rent collection and had previously made a statement to police about an assault against him by one of the tenants.

Sarah Kuchar told the court she waited in the car with her children while her husband went up to the house, and shortly afterwards there was a "massive fireball".

The court also heard the couple, who lived about an hour's drive from the Holden Hill house, had recently increased the insurance coverage on the property.

Judge Muscat said they were each remorseless for their crimes and intended to appeal their convictions.

"Despite having participated in a seven-day long trial neither of you appear to appreciate the overwhelming nature of the prosecution case against you," he said.

"Furthermore, the manner by which both you conducted your defence by unfairly and unjustly blaming your own criminal action on your former tenants and their friends reveals the lengths each of you were prepared to go in order to escape or avoid responsibility for what you did."

The court allowed Sarah Kuchar to serve her sentence on home detention as not to deprive the couple's three young children of both their parents.

"You put the care and love of your children at grave risk. I hope you do not let them down ever again," Judge Muscat said.