lets build

renovate

The first challenge in Bulgaria came in 2004 in the Autumn, to get Villa Vienna up and running and learn about the local builders, materials and traditions.
There were undoubtedly going to be lessons learnt, firstly I needed a plan, which I had in mind to convert the old barn on the back of the house into a kitchen living space.
The roof needed re tiling so first job was to strip off all the tiles.At this point I knew one person in Bulgaria.
Soon I had a crew on board recruited through the meter reader who happened to speak Spanish,we re roofed the barn and put a concrete floor down.
With the help of a translator I ordered a kitchen, and found a glass workshop for the windows.
In the meantime we made the doorway into the main building which was not without a few moments of concern, the hole was getting bigger as the boulders had to be taken out were quite big.
The kitchen was installed late November at which point my visa ran out so headed back home, leaving a few jobs for the builders.

I chose the same three months the next year, September, October and November to return and carry on.The builders did a great job of the other downstairs room but were reluctant to finish the house as they were staying there.

On this visit building work was mixed with furnishing and getting the place ready for letting.

The final bits and pieces are always tricky in any type of building work, needs a dogged approach which luckily I posses having worked in construction all my life, but it never gets any easier.

lessons learnt

The project went well really, its sometimes very hard to find what you want in Bulgaria and had to compromise on several things one of which was the kitchen worktops.
The builders have all the same traits as all builders but by and large are honest although do like a discussion, anything or anybody turns up its lets all have a chat time which is OK if they are on a price, suppose it would be a bit irritating if on a day rate.

And of course the odd what am I doing in the middle of Bulgaria fixing a shed moment

rejuvenate

The second house began straight after the first for a number of reasons, I wanted to keep the builders on board and also get as much work done before the impending accession to the EU as I felt the prices of everything would rise quickly,including the properties I had invested in which due to the banking collapse hasnt been as spectacular as it once looked like it would be, nevertheless once stabilised and the EU money filtering in I think will be worthwhile.Once BG gets the hang of claiming all the subsidies and grants there will be a steady improvement I feel, already hugely noticeable in the road network improvements. 

reignite

On to 2006 and a different prospect of a modern house, not so much a renovation but re ignition of a project already underway but not finished. The inside was a labyrinth of rooms, I could only guess what they were intended for but the layout had to be redesigned altogether.

In many ways this was alot easier then renovating an old house but no less satisfying. I initially had the original builder on board who I wanted to keep but he decided he had enough and went back to Sofia.
Having a builder is a bit like a marriage the honeymoon period when the job is fresh and new then the middle bit and finally the not so exiting period.

I enrolled another team and formed my own team of me and a labourer which is very useful because its necessary to be on site daily and more productive than just supervising.They would do the external insulation,reroofing and the internal walls and ceilings. My section was the raised decking and the oak flooring downstairs, keeping the site tidy and requisitioning materials.






There are two strategies I always employ with a job, one is dont ever pay more than the work completed to date and negotiate a finishing bonus with the builder for each element.
Secondly do one activity at a time in any one area, this keeps the finances, materials and method in order.Thats not to say you cant have more than one activity,for instance have the builders on the roof and the plumber doing the first fix inside the house.

On this build I didnt even discuss the next activity with the builder to keep things packaged. Otherwise builders being builders go for the easiest bits of everything overlap all the finances and disappear.

I actually dont think it takes any longer to build in this way, and its certainly less stressful.



result

                                                                        












relentless

following on from the modern house was the present work in progress which I can see as my ultimate permanent residence, which I aim to incorporate a few alternative ideas such as solar power, a thermal store and a rocket mass heater.I aim to build a winter thermal pod annexed to the rear of the house.

This house has all the charm and original features which I like, but also a very practical distribution of spaces




The house was built at the turn of the century and has a good structure of timber and stone. I am insulating the house on the inside to keep the external facade intact.

If any of the properties interest you or you need some project management email at nickob55@hotmail.com