My Mom kept telling me she wanted us to go back to the childhood home. The decision to go back was made on Dad's birthday after she passed away. It was bittersweet and it took me months to start on sunsetting the house. Emptying the house took two long years.
We took time to really plan what to do with the house. Tito Bert built the house to last, but at some point you really need to redo the electrical and plumbing system. We had the house reviewed by a structural engineer and several architects and engineers. The recommendation was the same for everyone. Demolish the house and build a new one.
We eventually decided to follow the professional recommendations and started to think about what we wanted in our forever home. The funny thing is our current home is similar to my childhood home. I started a wishlist to detail our goals.
Here are our goals for our future house:
- The house needs to be PWD friendly :)
Provide appropriate space for our needs and lifestyle.
Proper ventilation to keep heat out and be protected from bad air quality. Assume all rooms will have air conditioning and air filters. We are fine to have a loft for storage. All rooms have air purifiers.
Preserve Mom’s garden. Ensure structural integrity of garden and where house will be built. Be able to collect rainwater.
Proper drainage system and keep out flood water. Build house higher than current height from road.
Follow property line and ensure security*.
Solar energy and future proofed
Listing our goals helped communicate what we wanted out of the house. We gave this and our room wishlist to the architects we consulted. It took awhile before we chose one. I'm glad we followed our instincts and chose the one that closely aligned with our values and expectations.
Next week I'll write about how we finally chose our architect.
#BeKind #StaySafe
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