Ommmmmm!
My word, you need patience in this process.
Watch any house building programme and you’ll witness the first big mistake of self-building: setting a target date. You might as well catch and bottle clouds. Most of the stress these self-builders experience is “being in by Christmas/my birthday/dad’s funeral.” Why bother? It’s like herding cats: things move but never where you’d like them to.
We’re pretty chilled as a family and don’t easliy get wound up - well, the missus doesn’t. But when we do we’re there for each other with support and a bottle of Rioja, and a Freddo for the little one.
Lou has a mantra: “Everything happens for a reason.” That includes getting jobs, not getting jobs, meeting people, finding plots of land, etc. Other posh words could be: serendipity, synchronicity, karma and even luck!
So, we’re still facing huge sums for the groundworks (last “worst case scenario” £60-80k+). So what do we do, other than down an extra oak-aged red? We Think Different.
As a longer-than-I-care-to-remember Apple user (going back to the early 90s) that phrase has been the most significant one in my life. At a time when everyone was shifting to Windows I moved to Apple. As a musician and photographer it was better. Then when I was at the ‘peak’ of my career I jacked it in and started my own business - I’ve never looked back. I thought (thunk) different.
Now we face a similar crux with the build.
If the piling is costing so much because of the downward force of a traditional block and stone house could one built from cross-laminated panels be the answer? It would be up to 80% lighter than a traditional build, would be super-insulated and therefore more environmentally sound, would be quick to build and be cheaper given current prices for cement and stonework.
Yes, it will mean drawing up new plans, going back to the structural engineer/building control/groundworks teams, and cost more money in the short term but if we’re in this for the long haul then it will be worth it.
I think I’ll meditate on that one for a while.
Comments