As we come to the end of the year in which building has actually started, seemed like a good time to reflect on the process. Most of this comes down to interaction and communications with the builder and the architect, along with a few skirmishes with public authorities.
As for the latter, we were the ones who kept pressing to get the electricity pole moved – it was right in the midst of what will be the house – and got it done months earlier than it would have been. Note the stones at the base, hopefully not to stop it falling over. And the guarding cat!
And getting the water connected, and now an electricity connection – same process, they need to do it, but we need to pester and chase to get it done.
The maxim of our builder is “don’t worry”, the essence being, as our architect describes it, that he can put right most of the mistakes he will make. This contrasts with our approach to avoid making them in the first place! But it does mean waking up at night worrying about details.
Some examples – the plans have been updated many times during the design process but there is no version control. So the builder is constantly working from the wrong plans, or losing them altogether! We are still not sure he read the detailed 50 page agreement that we drew up and he has signed! It took some while for them to take on board that the toilets had been moved, and so the location of the soil pipes (crucial before the ground floor concrete is poured) have been moved.
They never make any plans it seems – when we ask about forward dates, they always review the steps as if they’d never considered them before! Planning is not in their vocabulary or their understanding! Despite steady time creep they still maintain that the completion date will not change. Not the idea that it might be useful for us to know the 100 things we will need to select and source in advance of them needing them “next week”.
For Greeks, everything has to be made verbally when we are together. They rarely give us answers in emails or messages, even when it’s a simple “yes” or “no”! They like to have meetings, but even more rarely do any of their agreed action items! They are amazed that Yasmin writes down so much during the meeting! The action lists become longer and longer as we are constantly chasing them for things they haven’t done.
And the mobile phone, not only is it one of the main causes for the many many road accidents in Greece (the most of any EU country). Every meeting with the architect will be punctuated by several phone calls, to which her response may be lengthy, and serves to break up whatever train of discussion we had got into, and render fairly chaotic trying to work thru an agenda.
What the Greeks did before mobile phones we’ll never understand. Maybe that’s why there are so many concrete frames and unfinished buildings dotted around, as they couldn’t get confirmation that the position or structure was right and just built it anyway!
We are trying to think of how things might be in the future, hence our plans to generate mainly our own solar electricity, for when there are shortages, the infrastructure breaks down, it gets too expensive. And to store rainwater collected over the winter months. There are already water shortages in many parts of the Apokoronas, the rain/snowfall in the mountains is decreasing, the infrastructure to collect and transport it is inadequate, old, poorly maintained and peppered with leaks. But these efforts are met with bemusement, resistance and obstacle placing!
Everyone says how we must be excited by building our own house, whilst we find that we are often quite tired and exhausted thinking of all the details. Oscillation between despair, stress and trying to see the humorous side of it, at the same time coping with it.
Maybe its also age related – we are now in our 60s – 70s, and the last time we did this was 15 years ago! And the start of our adventure in Crete and the realisation of our dreams when nothing seemed to be impossible and we could rise to whatever was required. But Folia Agapis is to be our forever home, we have learnt from our experience and our mistakes, and we are determined that it will give us a wonderful home to live in.