A few months after the birth of their first child, Smaranda and Andrei decided to leave Bucharest, to leave behind the pollution and bustle of the city to raise Gruia closer to nature. They didn't make plans, they didn't impose deadlines, they let life flow, discover and get used to the area and the local people. They chose beautiful areas to live in and met people like them, who had left the big crowded areas in search of peace and nature. Now, five years later, they are in Sibiel; they have found a nice place and build a beautiful wooden house in the middle of an orchard.
"We left Bucharest, we wanted to live in a hill-mountain area"
The first stop after leaving Bucharest was in Săcele. It was perfect for the start because they were close to their parents and the house they found to rent was near the forest. But Gruia grew up quickly, he needed more, not just the walks and adventure in the forest. The time was approaching for him to go to kindergarten, and Smaranda and Andrei wanted a place for him to learn and grow without being removed from nature.
They asked about the options and found out about a certain kindergarten near Sibiel,Waldkinder, a place where children learn by playing in nature. And it was exactly what they wanted. Here they discovered a community formed around this kindergarten, with many young families with children, like themselves, who had left the big cities. They decided to rent an old beam house in the area and test life here, becoming locals. It happened in 2020. They quickly settled in and while Gruia was in kindergarten and growing up exploring the local woods, Smaranda and Andrei scoured the area looking for a place to call their own.
I don't know how you found the land, but you found it. "Well, my father told me: talk to the postmistress or the priest, he knows everyone".
"We didn't get to talk to the priest, but we talked to the postmistress and she showed us possible options." And two months after the move they found a nice place with an orchard and it was love at first sight. The trees were in fruit and it was quiet, being away from the main roads and even the busier part of the village. In addition, the place had utilities, electricity, a well and a cottage that could be used to organize the site of the future house.
They decided to buy the orchard and thought of building a wooden house on pillars. They wanted to do as little work on the land as possible, without destroying the garden and orchard with excavations for the foundation. The original plan didn't fit with the difference in land level, the clay soil and the architecture of the house, but even so most of the trees in the orchard remained standing.
"We wanted a house made of natural materials"
They chose the wooden structure wanting to build quickly. They wanted to move into their new house within a year, but it wasn't that easy. Initially it was the approvals and permits that took longer than they had anticipated. Then they made the plan thinking they would use hemp for construction and insulation, but the solution was beyond their budget. It was then that they decided to look for other solutions. That's how they came up with Naturalpaint. The interaction with the company's representatives was very helpful in finding the solutions they were looking for. They decided to use wood fibre to insulate the house, Gutex system giving them and alternative for OSB when closing the wooden structure of the walls and roof. The change of solution delayed things a bit, however, because the plan had to be redone and recalculated according to the new materials.
"Our request to the architect was to make us a house we could complete in a year"
The house was designed by a friend, an architect, according to their ideas. Andrei became a site manager and a trainee craftsman, and even bought a moisture meter to monitor the humidity of the wooden structure in winter. He's the handy, eager-to-do type and is happy to be able to work on the construction of their house himself. Even though the plans for the house looked like a game, with each wall made to be easily assembled, they couldn't work with prefabricated walls because of the terrain. The slope and narrow road made it impossible for heavy machinery to get in, so everything was worked on site with carpenters. In October 2021 the foundation was poured and in November, Andrei and two other carpenters erected the ground floor structure in three weeks.
He started building the house with friends, acquaintances and local craftsmen. Unfortunately, the lack of craftsmen led to breaks and downtime. Good craftsmen have jobs scheduled months in advance and you have to stand in line. That's how it ended up that the wall closing will be done in the spring of 2022, when the craftsmen recommended by Naturalpaint, who have been working for years with Gutex natural systems,could join them.
"The house is a self-managed project, we said to choose craftsmen according to their specialization and we do some of the work, that is, I do. I sit around, I see how they do it, I ask questions, I look on the net, I ask Mr. Voșloban. If you have all the money at once, you move very quickly with this kind of material."
They want a energy efficient housenot passive. Andrei is very knowledgeable, knows what he needs and wants not only natural materials but also modern and sustainable solutions. In addition to the wood fibre used in the structure of the walls and the interior and exterior insulation of the house, they chose good quality double glazed windows with six chambers in the frame and three layers of glass, fitted with sealing strips. They will heat the house with a heat pump, underfloor heating and will use solar panels for water heating. Next year, they also plan to install photovoltaic panels.
"We want to move here by the end of the year"
The house has a ground floor with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and technical room, and upstairs attic with kitchen, dining area, a bathroom and a large play area. They chose this division of spaces because upstairs there is more light and the ground floor will be shaded by the orchard.
Smaranda and Andrei are planning to move into their new house for Christmas. They know they can't stick to the plan of having the whole house ready in a year, but they will finish the attic by then. They will move upstairs and work on completing the ground floor in parallel.
We'll get back to them soon to see the status of the work, but until then we invite you to see the first part of their story in the video below.
Later edit. Part 2 - home after 7 months
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