Recently, a woman, a very distant relative, visited me. She came to our city on some business and stayed with me for the night. She is already elderly, and we used to communicate more often with one of her daughters. She and her husband built a house for themselves partly on their own. And that's what we talked about. She told me a lot of interesting things. That some things are seen a little differently after years of living. I think those who are thinking about building their own house will find it interesting to read.
Construction
They started building the house in 1993. She was 25 at the time, her husband was 29. They were young. They bought a plot of land on which stood an old wooden house measuring 35 square meters with stove heating and outdoor amenities. They got the money for it by selling a one-room apartment. They planned to use it as temporary housing while the main house was being built. At that time, they already had a two-year-old daughter. The husband had opened his own service station a little earlier. He restored damaged cars, sold spare parts. Things were going well. They decided to build a capital house. Back then, there was no Internet to choose a project. So they didn't really care about architecture. They decided that they needed a big house.
They dug a pit and poured a 10-by-10-meter foundation under the basement. A year later, they began erecting brick walls. They wanted the house to be two-story, and the second floor wasn't an attic. Business was booming, and in addition to the service station, a parts store was also opened. It took a year to erect the walls. They saved money while they were building. The husband worked very hard to get everything done. Sometimes he hired helpers, sometimes he worked himself. The box of the house under the roof was ready in 3 years. Then the interior decoration began. But things didn't go well with him. They weren't earning as much money as they wanted, and prices were rising. Everything was also complicated by the fact that they had to spend money on maintaining two houses. They made a normal sewage system and cosmetic repairs in the temporary house.
Eventually, 5 years after construction began, they realized they needed to move into the house and complete the cosmetic work. Ultimately, the house was completely finished 8 years after construction began.
Why were you disappointed in the house?
And here everything is simple. Almost 10 years of life were spent on it. While it was being built, they saved on everything. My husband broke his back several times. He constantly had to work hard to have enough money for everything. And this steals time from the children. It's like a day off, you have to go somewhere with them, take a walk, and you can't get up from the couch from fatigue. Now the children have grown up. The eldest daughter lives in another country with her family. The youngest is finishing her studies at a university. The husband earns, of course, but much less than before. And even the costs of heating are already a significant part of the budget. And so, as she said, we walk around the house with him and think: why did we build such mansions for ourselves? Heating is getting more and more expensive every year (they have coal heating). And retirement is very close. And since they worked for themselves all their lives, their pension will be minimal.
