A New Casa In 2017 - Construction Progress Week 7.

Well, we made it to week 7 a while back and already we had our first BIG issue.  FYI - This progress report is slightly dated.

 I had been watching the progress and getting pretty excited until I became very confused.  Having the floorpan in hand I asked our builder/architect for a meeting to explain.  I was confused as to why there was wall being built where the entrance to the bodega/garage was going to be.  After all, it was his idea to build this extra space to help elevate and support the structure.  A space we actually did not really want but came to understand was necessary.  We were always trying to build a smaller house but after thinking about it, we really liked the idea of being able to store our ever growing amount of crap and toys that one accumulates along the way of life.  The space would also allow for a small workspace for me and when we needed it a place to tuck the car away safely inside.  We finally absolutely loved the idea and embraced it.  Bodega, apartment and house.  Great!

Not so fast.  During this meeting our builder informed me that there had been an "error".  Not exactly something you want to hear as your new house is starting to take shape.  What was this "error" I asked.  He explained that the plan elevations were incorrect and that the goal for our living level finishing higher than the building next to us was not going to be possible.  The structure was going to be about 2.5 meters too short.  I was dumbfounded since I asked about this exact concern standing on the lot with him a couple months ago and he assured me we would get our light, airflow and view that we wanted.

So, back to my original question.  What was this wall?  Well, our builder explained that he took it upon himself to place the house on a shelf of sorts to lift the house up and result in making the house finish at the correct elevation.  In other words the house would begin 2.5 meters higher up and what I was looking at was a retaining wall and not the first level of our house.  "What"?  I asked astonished.  We contracted and signed an agreement for a particular set of plans that he drew and he changed them without so much as an email letting us know there was a "error"?  He totally changed the way the house will function and look.  Did he really changed the FINAL and agreed upon version of the plans without letting us know?  Did you really just do this?

Retaining wall for the extra height needed 

The answer was "yes".  So, the hope for a bodega was gone.  A workshop in some form was gone.  Easy in and out for bikes, boards and other items gone.  A place to store our car if needed gone.  What did we get instead?  We got a much taller house, more stairs and an entirely unnecessary above ground living level.  Do we argue that we needed the height?  No, but the plan we developed over several months should have accomplished this.  The bodega level that was once essentially hidden underground will now be the first living level and make the house an obnoxious 3 level apartment building sitting on top of a 2.5 meter platform.

What the hell were we going to do with what was the original apartment level?  We now had an extra living level that we had to come up with a solution for.  We didn't want to rent it since we really do not want people coming and going all the time.  We did not want to be a hotel.  Ashley came up with the suggestion that this level could become part of our living space.  More specifically an entry to the house and kids' rooms.  I was not so crazy about the idea since it put the kids away from our bedroom but the more I thought about the idea the more I liked it.  The idea could provide the kids with larger rooms and larger shared bathroom and we could get some storage along with it.  Another thing it would accomplish is that it would provide an opportunity for an interior staircase to use from the entry/kids room level to the main living level.  Interior stairs would allow the exterior stairs to end below the top level.  Lastly, it could provide the needed space for a dining area.  Something Ashley wanted in our original design but was eliminated when it became clear we did not have the room for it.

Garden to the right and what will be future driveway

Walls of first level going up.  This will now be the apartment level.

So what will all this look like now?  

The apartment level will stay the same.

The next level up, the kid's bedroom level, will look like this with an entry and interior staircase.  I have done some redesigning of the bathrooms since this plan but you can get the general idea.

The family level will now look like this with interior staircase in the courtyard accessing the rooftop and new dining room space.  The spiral stairs will end one level below this one.

So, that is where we are at for the moment.  Progress has continued quickly and I will have a more recent update on all things soon including maybe a few comments as to why we didn't fire our contractor immediately for changing things without discussing them with us.  Forward we go.