They overcame all obstacles and built the house of their dreams

Someone was telling me, after the article about the "bojdeuca" in Englandthat he was waiting for me to write about other houses in other countries. That's what I had intended, only in the meantime I came across a very beautiful house with a story to match, which made me decide to stay in the UK. The owners are Rob and Alithea Dowson. A couple of extraordinary tenacity who have built the house of their dreams over all the obstacles.

Rob and Alithea have always wanted to live in the country, but lack of funds has been an obstacle. They were living in Bristol when they discovered a 14-hectare site in the hills of Powys in mid-Wales, a place with no utilities, no prospect of building, but with a lovely view.

They camped on the site and in the first 3 years they cleared it and planted over 35,000 trees, mainly hazel. It was an investment from which they would later make a profit. After 3 years they moved into a mobile home on the land and spent the next 5 years waiting for approval to build. Eventually they got it, with building restrictions as far as local agriculture was concerned, but without, linked to the footprint of the house.

After spending so much time by a forest and living off the wood, they realized that what they wanted was a wooden house and chose oak. They didn't know much about timber construction, so Rob decided to take a week-long course with a leading authority in the field, where he learned about the principles of timber construction and how to use old woodworking tools.

With this basic knowledge, Alithea and Rob thought they needed a plan. They started studying trade magazines and visiting trade fairs for inspiration. They came to the conclusion that they were going to make a one-story house with lots of open space and a vaulted look upstairs. With the drawing done and the image of the house in mind, they hired a local architect to help them with the sketches.

As soon as they had the sketches they got to work. It took 3 months to make all the curved beams. Once assembled, the beams were also clad in softwood, creating a structure to insulate the house. Because another idea they had from the start was to build an energy efficient house.

The budget for building the house was 100,000 pounds. The actual construction took 2 years and at the end they realized they had saved money. The house cost 98,500 pounds.

In total, from the moment they bought the land until they moved into the house, 12 years have passed, during which Rob and Alithea have broken down every barrier, overcome all obstacles, proved that "can't" does not exist. An extraordinary example of will, hard work, dedication. And a wonderful home in the end.

(source: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/)