So anyway...

I'm sitting by the bath getting soaked by the littlest Laird of all whilst trying to start off this blog account of our home building escapade this year - I think that will pretty much sum up how this is all going to play out!

We've just paid the deposit to a Very Nice Building Company ( that shall remain nameless in case I get totally fed up with them down the track and want to write libellous things about them here). Now we are awaiting our preliminary drawings to be completed so we can set off the chain reaction hopefully leading to very pretty period reproduction family home by the last quarter of this year.

Re-wind to Melbourne Cup Day 2012 when a discussion about our unsuccessful house hunting over the previous few months led to the sudden thought that the one thing we had not done in our long running series of real estate adventures was build a house! It occurred to us there could be great value in demolishing something and building the home we had always been drawn to, rather than purchasing someone else's "quirks".

Within a week we had made an offer on a property that ticked all the boxes - over 800 sqm, closer to the girls school, and in an attractive neighbourhood full of period homes. The last few months we have spent drawing up floorplans, planning interiors, and liaising with the building company. Somewhere along the way we made a big decision - to owner-build! This is an approach encouraged by the building company, who supply homes to lock-up stage and then support owners to get the rest done. Important note: we really view ourselves as "project managers" rather than hands-on actual builders - we might be crazy but we haven't completely lost our minds!

The preliminary drawings should be ready very soon and we can finally apply for our building permit. Before we know it, it will all be up to us - the world of finding tradespeople, getting quotes, overseeing all the building works etc. Already we are learning far more than I know I ever intended to when it comes to construction but by the time we are done, we will have something to be very proud of - our "Homemade House".

PS this blog was supposed to be called "The year we ate mince" but as it was chicken stirfry on the menu tonight I felt it lacked a little authenticity.