A 600 m² plot on a slope in Chakvi and a 180 m² house on two levels for year-round living. The owner came at the start and at the handover; everything in between was settled by messages.
Where we started
Before the estimate we ran the geology and a survey of the terrain. That showed the thing that mattered: the ground holds, but the runoff from the plots above crosses the building footprint. The retaining wall with drainage outlets went into the budget straight away, rather than two seasons later when the yard starts sliding. The neighbour on the same slope skipped it and has already rebuilt his yard twice.
What we did
- Obtained the building permit ourselves, with no involvement from the owner.
- A monolithic frame with seismic reinforcement and floor slabs calculated for the terrace load.
- A 22-metre retaining wall with drainage and organised surface water management across the plot.
- The warm envelope: blockwork, insulation, a roof with a ventilation gap, panoramic glazing facing the sea.
- Engineering built for self-sufficiency: a borehole, a septic system, a water heater with headroom, underfloor heating runs.
Timing and money
Nine months from the excavation to the keys, with winter spent working inside the warm envelope. The budget was 145,000 $ without furniture, and the variance against the estimate was 3%: we added drainage behind the house when water appeared after heavy rain.
How it turned out
The house is in its second season. After the spring rains the yard is dry, there are no cracks in the retaining wall, and neither the joints nor the roof have produced any complaints.
Services in this case: construction, site supervision, renovation.