We’ve had a preliminary quote, and the costs for renovating the barn/shed on the property (no windmill involved here) will break down as follows:

* Preparatory work and demolitions: € 2,000
* General construction work: € 30,000
* Adding a proper roof: € 24,000
* External carpentry: € 20,000
* Plumbing and heating: € 16,000
* Electrical works: € 8,000

This comes to a neat € 100,000, so we could probably shave off a euro here and there, but this will always be a high-budget project. I need to go over this in detail with the architect once the financial side is sorted out (we should get a green/red light from the banks by Tuesday). I’m not sure what “external carpentry” entails, for example. Doors and windows I can’t really see as being external. Perhaps some cockamamy request from Ilze to turn the shed into Heidi’s grandfathers hut, who knows?

As long as we’re doing a lot of things from scratch, I would also like to explore a more high-tech or innovative approach. I’m already looking into LEDs and fibre-optics for lighting, so why not extend this approach to plumbing and electricity? Like adding a stainless steel reservoir for water supply, so that we always have a stored supply and higher water pressure.

Ilze and I have also discussed the possibility of solar panels for generating an ancialliary/backup electricity supply. This is Belgium, so sunshine isn’t the most logical source for a steady supply, but by adding a battery of… erm… batteries, we could recharge them whenever there’s a spot of sunlight. However, I don’t think the budget will allow for luxuries like this. I’m also worried about the fragility of these things: when you have a two ton diesel engine in the next room, everything seems a bit fragile by comparison. But I expect to see more frequent and more severe storms in the area, and I don’t know whether the average solar panel will withstand high wind and/or severe hailstorms. More research to do, I guess.

Categories: Architecture
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