Last Tuesday, a few days later than initially expected but before our Christmas deadline, our house slab was poured. A major milestone to cap off a hectic year.
We avoided being there for the pour, not wanting to get in the way of a fleet of cement trucks. The weather was pretty unbearable for most, being over 40 degrees C and humid with a little rain - but perfect for concrete going off.
On Thursday I had the chance to quickly pop up and take seven seconds of video, panning across the slab with the view of Wodonga and Albury and beyond in the background. And it gave the impression that maybe our new house will be...sizeable.
Yes, our new house is on the big side.
This was never our intention but our requirements meant that it evolved this way. In fact, our brief to our designer was that we'd rather not have a big house. But it is what it is.
I won't defend our choice of house size but will explain how it came to be. The main reason was that we need to accommodate a child with a disability and we weren't constrained by a typical suburban block to do this justice.
Looking at the video, I can see how our slab might look ridiculously big.
Ridiculous until you realised that this house has an extra wide hall, which essentially runs the length of the house, for a mostly-out-of-control walker driven by a 9 year with a wonky gait. Add in an oversized main bathroom to accommodate a wheelchair-style shower commode, and an oversized kitchen/family/meals space so that walker can negotiate it's way past the couch, dining table and chairs and kitchen bench without gouging chunks on its way past - well the metre-age adds up.
Granted, there is some gratuitous space added - a kids rumpus room (principally to free up navigation space in Jack's bedroom by moving books, toys and desk out), a bath in the ensuite (how much can I not wait for my own bath! Bliss!) and a guest bedroom with powder room for guests. We added a little study which will double as a small sewing space and a small lounge. No gym, no media room, no formal dining, no 'man cave'. The long ranch-style of the house adds to the perception of size, necessary to accommodate the sloping site.
The slab also includes the garage and 'al fresco' (ewh, I really don't like that term) or verandah off the meals space. I don't apologise for the garage size. We opted to give the double garage an extra metre of width due to the need to get Jack in and out of the car without constantly dinging the car door. It's a constant burden to be trying to transfer him with very little space to manoeuvre, a problem which has led to me often having a sore back. We are also realists that in future years we will likely end up with a modified car, so we're hoping investing in this bit of space now will save messing around in the future.
The slab also includes the garage and 'al fresco' (ewh, I really don't like that term) or verandah off the meals space. I don't apologise for the garage size. We opted to give the double garage an extra metre of width due to the need to get Jack in and out of the car without constantly dinging the car door. It's a constant burden to be trying to transfer him with very little space to manoeuvre, a problem which has led to me often having a sore back. We are also realists that in future years we will likely end up with a modified car, so we're hoping investing in this bit of space now will save messing around in the future.
One thing we were adamant about, given the length of the house, is that we wouldn't be split up as a family. We're non-believers in the current trend for a 'parents wing' and 'kids wing' at opposite ends of the house.
Plus, our guests will thank us for giving them their own space away from our morning chaos!
So, yeah, our house slab is big, for lots of reasons. We designed it to accommodate our needs, our circumstances, our lifestyle and the land. To each their own, and as our new house rises from the slab I'm sure we'll think of some new ways to describe it.
Like 'ours'.
