Buy an Old House for a New House? I Wood.

August 9, 2012

Emelie and I bought a piece of property over a year ago, with intentions of building a house on it. We have been saving and spending and saving and spending: ten steps forward and nine steps back. So, we've saved a little but not enough to build a whole house. We could afford about a third of a house right now. I would start with the bathroom, then add a bedroom and then, maybe, if there is still a little money left over, put at least enough of the roof on to shelter what we've made.

Sometimes it seems that my life is nothing more than a cycle of eating, pooping and sleeping. I've always wanted a refrigerator in the bathroom so I wouldn't have to get off the toilet to eat. And with a bed close by, I could just roll over, from the toilet, and fall into bed. It would sure save time and energy, and since we probably wouldn't put a wall between the two rooms right away, for lack of funds, my sicko idea would seem justified. I'm not even going to mention it to my wife, though. (But I don't mind mentioning it to the rest of the world.)

Today I bought a house. It's not anywhere close to our property, and there is nothing left of it but a floor, floor beams, some upright beams and 10 sections of trees used as poles for supporting the entire structure, holding it several feet off the ground. The house is probably around 100 years old. It's way up in the mountains. The road leading to it is rough. It's more like a treacherous path than a real road.

Our plan is to disassemble the house and truck the wood down to our property by the sea. It will take two days to do so - one trip each day. The wood from that old house is a type that is strong, durable, and too hard for termites to eat. It's the best there is here, but no longer available because it is now scarce. And it's illegal to sell or buy new wood or cut the trees. Buying the house was cheaper than buying the same amount of new mahogany or gemelina, the other two hardwoods used for building in this part of the Philippines.

So, part of our new house will be one hundred years old and the house will have a history before we even live in it.