So where are we? Somewhere up Shit Creek and arguing about who lost the paddle, basically. Our builder has, apparently, run out of funds, a sizable portion of which fleet-footed funds having been intended to finish this phase of our construction work.

So we have walls, which nearly reach the empty space where the roof should have been by now, and an impressive collection of rubble and bric-a-brac. We have a replacement builder lined up, but of course he would like to get paid as well.

The architect estimates the value of the outstanding construction work at around €30,000. Somehow, we have to find a way of transferring funds from builder 1 (who does not have them) to builder 2 (who would very much like to have them).

We have a meeting with builder 1 and the architect this coming Saturday, and we’ll see what can be sorted out. I don’t have high hopes, but presumably one of these options will be the outcome:

1. Builder 1 finds a way to repay us the full amount of the outstanding construction work.
2. Builder 1 and builder 2 agree upon payments directly between them in installments.
3. We instruct our lawyer to swoop in and try to squeeze the full amount from builder 1.
4. I bean builder 1 with the first handy bit of rubble I can lay my hands on, and hide the body in the windmill.

Of all the options, number 4 appears least likely to get us our money back, but should be the most satisfying of all by far.

Categories: Construction, Finances
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A bad storm on the night of 29 February caused some serious damage to the house. An original roof truss (due to be replaced) blew down, in the process knocking over a section of the front wall (not due to be replaced). Luckily the wall fell outwards, without damaging anything else.

This underscores an argument we had with the town planning people in Leuven when we applied for a building permit. The sensible thing to do would have been to knock down the existing walls and build from scratch. Not only would this have been less expensive, but it would have resolved the doubts everyone on our side had about the strength of the walls.

Let’s be clear about the walls: this wasn’t Hadrian’s Wall, or the Great Wall of China. These were walls built to keep “inside” from being “outside”, and possibly hold up the roof at the same time. These were functional walls, never intended to do more than they were built for. They weren’t built to keep out the damp, or the cold. They weren’t built to last a hundred years. They were simply built and added to over the last 80 years or so to encase an animal feed mill. So when someone intends turning this feed mill into a house, the walls shouldn’t have to be part of it.

To this day, I still don’t understand the rationale of the town planning people’s decision to make us retain the original structure. There’s no point. If the building was of potential historical interest or value (which it isn’t), we’re messing it up anyway, even if we don’t change the outside skeleton. If the building was even just slightly aesthetic or important to the local architectural landscape, I would understand. But it isn’t, and the local architectural landscape can only be diplomatically described as eclectic. Even if the building tied in to the windmill in any way, I would understand keeping a matching set, but the building was designed in a very functional way to mill animal feed. It has nothing to do with the windmill, and only served as a carbuncle on the landscape.

So today, due to the inscrutable wisdom of the town planning department in Leuven, we have walls that might or might not fall over in a storm. At least now we have one section of wall less to worry about, as we rebuild it using proper bricks and cement.

A large wooden hopper/sorter we hoped to have in our living room was also badly damaged, as the wind blew it hard enough to break both front legs. The original can be seen here on Flickr, and this is what it looked like after the storm:

More photographs, as always, on Flickr.

Categories: Construction, Photographs
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Some exposed wood in the windmill.

Categories: Photographs
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It’s taken some time, but actual construction has started. These are some photographs of the state of the site before the actual building work started.

Categories: Construction, Photographs
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Construction continues, in its way. Most of the demolition work has been completed, and a crane has deposited the lovely old Ruston & Hornsby diesel engine, a wooden feed sorter, several millstones and some assorted bits of industrial debris in the garden. This is where my pond / Ilze’s swimming pool will be, so until there is a clear winner we’ll pretend it’s a modern art exhibition.

Categories: Construction, Photographs
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There are a dirty great pile of old feed bags lying around in the windmill, most of which have now been classified “rubble”. I am allowed to hoard “collectibles”, but “rubble” is to be consigned to the appropriate bins provided by the building contractor. If I had my way, nearly every little screw and half brick will be reclassified as a collectible and consigned to my growing collection of junk, but Ilze is keeping a tight rein on the definitions.

Categories: General, Photographs
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Demolitions have just started, so there isn’t much to see yet. Apart from the obvious great big ruin which is supposed to be our house, but let’s just leave this elephant and never, ever speak of him again.

This should be a bedroom one day, with a lovely large skylight looking out on the green fields of Flanders:

This is my bedroom. Will be my bedroom. Unless the wall falls down, in which case my bedroom will be a nasty cardboard box under a nearby overpass:

Another view from what should one day be our bedroom window:

More photographs as always on my Flickr set.

Categories: Construction, Photographs
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Regional television station Robnet reports that Lubbeek and four surrounding villages have an unemployment rate of merely 3%. That, according to the Robnet news report, means that everyone able to work is, in fact, working. Figures just released by the Belgian Department of Economy (or FPS Economy, SMEs, Independent Professions and Energy, if you want to be verbose about it) also lists Lubbeek at number 6 on a list of Belgian towns with the highest average fiscal income per resident for the tax year 2004. The average income per resident was €17,964 per year, a decent increase on €16,681 for the tax year 2003. Lubbeek clearly has enormous potential for the future, with a stable and affluent populace to grow on.

Categories: Lubbeek
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Against all expectations, the first phase of construction is slated to start today. In a staggeringly short time, we (OK, Ilze) found a contractor and arranged for him to start on the demolitions work.

While I have a thousand Readers Digest-type How To Pick Your Contractor articles clamouring in my subconscious, Ilze merely saw someone at the supermarket wearing a t-shirt advertising a construction firm, accosted the gentleman there and then, and enquired whether he was in any connected to the company on the t-shirt. He was. Would he be interested in our construction project? He would. Might he be available to start in the immediate future? He might.

He had a look at the site, took a few days to draw up a cost estimate, and as I type this he and his crew are presumably doing something destructive a few feet away from the windmill.

Categories: Construction
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The lack of updates haven’t been for lack of things happening, just a lack of time to report back on them.

1. We now have planning permission

This is good. The terms under which we received the planning permission were strict, perhaps even draconian. We are not allowed to change the structure or façade of the main building, which means being very limited in where we can place windows. Our upstairs rooms will have few to no regular windows, and we’ll have to make do with skylights. Ilze hates this (and loves sunlight), while my aversion to sunlight and fresh air leaves me pretty neutral on the issue. I believe that light is something you take charge of and control, rather than the other way around.

If this house was somewhere on the coast of Spain I would maximise the size of all windows to make sure we have the best view possible, but in this case the grey of low cloud over Flemish countryside (which I love) isn’t the worst loss in the world. We’ll have a perfect view from the living room, so for the bedroom we’ll just have to make do with skylights, mirrors and artificial sources of brightness.

2. We are now shopping around for contractors

And when I say we are shopping around, I mean we should be shopping around. We have a lastenboek from our architect, which is like a shopping list on which a builder can base his (invariably too low) estimate. Locals have warned us that Belgian builders nearly always end up underestimating the cost by about 15%, so if you’re on a tight budget like we are costs can easily get out of hand.

3. Storm Damage

Our tree damaged in a storm in February still hangs by a thread. I still don’t own a non-electric chainsaw, so perhaps I should invest in one. Any man should own a clean handkerchief, a Swiss Army Knife, and a fuel-powered chainsaw. You should probably carry the first two on you, the chainsaw I’ll leave up to your own discretion.

We also still have a hole in the roof, from where some times blew off. Fixing this has proved harder than I thought, mostly through lack of trying. There’s a public holiday coming up, I really should give it a go. Unfortunately, the kind of days I have free time (like public holidays) are the days the hardware stores are closed. Just my luck…

Categories: General
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