Locked out

Here it is:  the precious house, but ... we are locked out!  That is (and don't be fooled by the panes of glass missing from the front windows that can easily be jumped through), we have technically reached lock up stage.  Alas, that was in about the middle of December 2010 and the tradesmen are only just resurfacing from their Christmas break now ... mid February 2011!

Window to the soul

When I popped by to check up on 'Bella Vastu' the Monday before last, the windows were going in & a safety fence had gone up.  Now, all of the windows are in except the bay window in the meditation/sun room - the window on the far right in the photo below.  Since then, nothing more has happened.  Apparently there is a line up for the fellows who are going to put the 'weatherboards' on.

So, in the meantime, I thought to give a few of our experiences during the building process...

To start with, when I first walked into a Maharishi Sthapatya Veda building many years ago, as well as a lovely softness, I noticed a pushing down or grounding feeling.  This feeling has been growing more & more through the building our own house - perhaps a bit like being grounded into every single cell of the physiology - very nice.

Secondly, we are both finding that we need more rest than usual.  Perhaps building a house that incorporates these vastu principles is a bit like having ones physiology rebuilt from the floor up.  I am also sleeping longer & more deeply than before we started the process - definitely a good thing for me!

And finally (for now), we are both noticing that it seems to be easier to get things done.  Things in the past that would have taken longer or been more complicated now seem to get done quicker & appear simpler.

And so here she is to date...

The Blues

As the guttering was going on, we received a semi-panicked call from the builder - the colour we had chosen for both the facia & the windows is no longer available and to avoid losing our place in the production queue, and hence avoid weeks of delay, we needed to decide on new colours before the end of the next day.  The builder made suggestions for these changes.  I remember my immediate thought was to just go with his suggestions, as I was working the next day & certainly did not have time to go 'colour shopping'!  Vic however wanted to have a look around to make sure, so I left it with him.  As it turns out, we ended up going full circle and deciding to go with what the builder initially suggested.  

This situation has reminded me again of one of the fundamental things we have noticed with the building of the house - learning about the fine balance between keeping an eye on the details and letting go of those same details & allowing them work themselves out.

And so the practical outcome of this weeks blog is that 'Bella Vastu' has the blues...

Framed

This time when we headed down to the 'house' to meet the builder, armed with a few ideas for making my studio a bit bigger, we found the roof frame had been added to the walls.  The skeleton of the house is essentially finished!

When we walked into my studio, now with the 'roof' on, the feel of the room had changed - we no longer felt that it was too small and so tossed our possible last minute emergency enlargement ideas to the side.

We met with the builder and went through a few details, including choosing colours for the roof, guttering, facia and windows.  We left with plans to meet on site again in another 4 weeks or so to check the next stage.

While we were down there, a name for the house sprang to mind:  'Bella Vastu'.

So, welcome to Bella Vastu...

House starting to take shape

We popped down to the block to have another 'feel' of the slab, as it had felt so wonderful last time - so soft & peaceful just to step up onto the slab & wander around.  

When we got there, we found that building of the frame had started, and the walls were established for each room.  And it feels wonderful!  Although it's a relatively small house - about 160m2 - we found that the open living areas & the big windows make it feel big.  We've never designed a house before, so we are quite astonished to be so happy with it - of course, we have had lots of help along the way!

Our only slight hesitation on complete happiness is my studio that feels a bit pokey.  So, we will discuss this with the Maharishi Vastu Consultant & see if he has any suggestions and then discuss these with the builder when we meet him in the next few days.

And by the way, we've decided that we can no longer call it 'the block' - it must now be 'the house'!

Shower slab

We were not able to contact the builder, so I went down to the block first thing in the morning to see what was happening, but the cement trucks were already there with the cement poured & setting!

Oh no - what to do?

All a bit stressful!

Phone calls to the Maharishi Vastu Consultant & the builder looking at possible solutions...

And, as it turns out, it seems that it is better that things have gone this way, as it would have been very difficult to actually build the bay windows starting at waist height.  It is apparently easier to build them from floor level, & this will also give us the opportunity to have a proper window seat in the meditation room.  

Through some creative thinking on behalf of the Maharishi Vastu Consultant, the measurements of the house can be adjusted & all will be well.

This whole situation reminds me again of, firstly, how Nature, the universe, or whatever you would like to call that Something greater than ourselves, often knows better than we do ourselves.  And secondly, this situation has reminded me again of how much energy can be wasted on worrying about things that are working themselves out for the best.

And so to celebrate that, here's Vic having a shower in the new house...

Boxed up

Last weekend, we popped by to have a look at the block & voila - the shape for the slab had been boxed up!  How exciting, but...

what are those bumps out the front of the house - the bay windows now look like they are starting at ground level rather than waist level as planned.  All attempts to contact the builder before the start of the week had failed.  And panic set in...

Plumbing & pipes up

It's all happening now.  Every time we pop by to have a look at what's happening, something else has appeared.  This time, it's the plumbing pipes...

Pegs in

It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the surveying pegs are in!  

This is a very important part of our particular house-building process, as we have decided to build what is termed a 'Fortune-Creating Home' that incorporates principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda.  This approach to building is said to align the inhabitants with the laws of Nature.  There is some very interesting research documenting health & well-being benefits of this approach to building.  

The pegging as it has been done has established the orientation of the house on the true north-south, east-west grid. Also, it has outlined not only the edges of the house but the vastu fence which will surround the house & complete it.  

But what we can't quite work out is why, at the front of the house, the bay windows which start at about waist height have been pegged rather than the front edge of the main part of the house...?

Clearing the Way

It's all finally starting to happen at long last - we ambled up to have a look at the block & voila ... diggers have been in to flatten out the land & prepare it for the construction to begin...

Blank slate

Here it is - our block - the blank slate onto which we are going to build our new house in the mighty town of Hastings in Victoria, Australia. We are very lucky to be the temporary custodians of this little piece of land in a developed area of the town.  It even has a park across the street which means the view to the east  can not be built out.  We hope you enjoy following the progress of our new house as it becomes established...