Foundations Laid

The builder wastes no time putting in the footings for the concrete slab.

Until now I've only seen the house in diagrams and 3D renders. The footings give me a much better idea of the size and layout. 

The footprint is larger than I expected. The builder says that the house will seem even larger once the walls, roof and plaster is finished. I was aiming for modest. I think I've missed that target.

Demolition Time

The past few months have been a frustrating bureaucratic exercise. Without going into too much detail, here are some warnings for anybody considering a knockdown-rebuild.

• Banks don't like architect designed homes; I think it's fear of the unknown.
• The local council's only purpose is to make your project difficult.

But after several months I finally have approved plans, certification ticked off, a builder onboard, construction diagrams, and the total price is still within budget.

So without further ado, here is the demolition of the old house.

This is a 20 tonne excavator. 

The demolition seemed to take about 15 minutes. But the excavator needed several hours to load all the rubble into a convoy of trucks.

It was an odd mixture of emotions watching the house come down. A little sadness to see my former home destroyed, but mostly uncertainty as to whether I'd made the right decision.

Too late to back out now!