Sometimes it’s difficult to identify action and reaction, how one thing that you do, decision you make or thing that happens to you returns and impacts on you and your life later. It’s not like those domino tricks you used to see on Roy Castle’s Record Breakers where you saw the chain reaction. My current theory is this; a few years ago I was attacked by a patient. He did his absolute best to crack my skull open like a hard boiled egg using the base of a mug and his fist. Forty Six months later I bought this house. There’s clear cause and effect there. I was brain damaged. We bought a house that’s in a semi-derelict state so that we can spend a fortune fixing it up into a lovely house. Why didn’t we just buy one of those lovely finished houses and cut out the stressful bit in the middle? Taking on a house like this is like starting smoking in school; it initially seems fun but is a lifelong committment and can have long lasting health implications.
Things seemed to grind to a halt very quickly after we got the planning permission granted. Just before we got the notification Michael sent us the price structure for the next phase. In his original quote from months ago Stage 3 had ‘price to be agreed’ next to it. That seemed fine at the time. However, two of the other applicants in our original Architect Idol had given an indication of their prices at this stage. They were twenty five and forty percent of the figure Michael was now quoting us. This was a shock. He’d come up with this figure based on an estimation of the cost of the project which was now fifty percent more than it was the last time he estimated the cost. This was a bigger shock. I’m already working more than a seventy hour week and don’t want to commit myself to doing so for evermore to fund an ever growing project and his retirement. So, we hoped he had miscalculated somewhere. We sent him an email that politely said ‘WTF?’. He wrote back explaining the calculations but, as a goodwill gesture, took nearly a thousand pounds from his fee. It worried me how quickly and easily he did this. His estimation of the cost of the final project didn’t change though. On Sunday we drafted another email that queried this increase in the price but are yet to send it. The problem is that I have no idea if his prices are reasonable or not. It’s not like standing in the supermarket where you can compare the price and quality of product A and B and ownbrand C. He also wants us to make decisions now about the positioning of lights, sockets, materials for doors and windows and probably the colour of bathroom towels. During the week while I travelled the country, wrote reports and wished it would all go away Marianna was typically proactive and contacted a new architect and two builders.
Yesterday, Malcolm the architect visited. He was recommended by Becky, next door, months ago, but we lost the paper she wrote his name on and so he wasn’t part of the original Architect Idol. He was very like Sir Ian McKellan in looks and mannerisms and was very down to earth. He didn’t tour the house at all but did a through inspection of the plans. He was impressed by Michael’s design and the realisation of Marianna’s ideas and surprised that planning permission had been granted. Perhaps, with Michael, as well as his big office in the town centre, we’re paying for his connections. Or the huge fee is turned into pound notes in a brown envelope to go into a planning officer’s back pocket. A new worry that occurred to me is that very little of what helped us get the planning permission has been submitted to paper but is in Michael’s head. Malcolm's estimate of the final cost was back to where Michael had put it originally. Today Malcolm sent us his quote which was 40% of Michael’s fee. We’re not sure now if we should sack him or ask him if he can drop to this.
Today, at 9.15, Paul, a builder, visited. The name of his company was impressively printed on his truck, t-shirt and jacket. He toured the house with us, made notes and took it all very seriously. He was amazed by the house though and how much work would be involved while I was ashamed of the state of the house. We've now been here six months and haven't unpacked. We haven't reeally unpacked since we left Hull in August 2008. “It's a huge project. What were you thinking?” he asked me at one point. That’s not too encouraging is it? He said it was the second worst / biggest project he'd seen because so little of the existing building will be kept. I felt a little sad about this. I feel quite protective about the house and expect gasps of wonder and compliments. Everyone thinks their child is the best looking or most intelligent even though that couldn't possibly be true. He made it very clear that it would be impossible for us to live here during the building work and described how one team of men would be working on preparing for the extension while another gutted the existing house. Then, at eleven, Steve, the builder, called. He appeared slightly less professional and formal. He had Reebok printed on his shoes and Animal printed on his shirt which was a bit less impressive. He made little comment about all of it and followed us around the house somewhat passively. They both left with copies of the plans and will come up with prices to give us an idea whether Malcolm or Michael have been most accurate at estimating the costy of the building.
