Finding an Engineer

Here's where life started to get fun. Or maybe frustrating.

But this was where we had to begin to get serious. I got on google. I started ringing every engineer firm I could find on google. All to no avail. Either they wouldn't call back, or they wouldn't even answer the phone at all. The few that did, were not really interested.

Some told me honestly that either our project was too small for them, or it w as the opposite - too big. We were sitting precariously on the cusp of residential and large scale industrial.

It was starting to become pointedly, an awkward place to be.

When we came up with this crazy plan, we definitely never thought that hiring people to make it real, would have been so hard. But after a few months, we had completely hit a wall.

There was no one else to call and I was honestly just wondering whether we should sell up and buy a lifestyle block in Levin. I kid you not. I actually began searching real estate listings for properties big enough to build a motocross track or with a pool so we could retire!

Yes I was going insane.

Anyway, I went to the person who I trust the most, my mum. Because she knows a lot of people.

It turns out she was able to help. A contact of hers, it turned out was a major shareholder of BECA and she and her husband asked him for help.

Within a week, we had received a call from a person at BECA who offered to come and meet with us. Pico Leung.

We were on cloud 9. Of course we were also in absolute disbelief but we were so very excited. It was like Christmas came early. And I could finally stop banging my head on a brick wall.

And to begin with, it seemed to go well.

We started out asking about the strengthening, what might be involved and getting a feel for cost. Mostly because we were scored they would be put off by too big a job. It didn't take long to realize this was bordering on too small a job for them, so we got braver and broached the idea of a bigger project incorporating a living space into the mix. It was a terrifying conversation but Pico and BECA welcomed the idea and encouraged us.

And so the idea started to really kick up a notch.

We asked Pico to help us find an architect, which he did. He brought a few companies to meet with us and we very much liked the attitude and excitement that Nigel and his team showed so we chose them.

We also had them go full steam ahead with expanding the strengthening project to build a strong enough base for the apartment on top.

It was becoming real!!! Real real!!!

For something that had been imaginary, to be becoming real was a very strange and exciting feeling. And at this point we had no numbers in mind. We had no idea how much this might cost us but we were prepared to go all in. We knew it would mean risking almost everything (if not actually everything) to do it, but we were okay with that.

We are in this for the long haul so this new adventure just makes sense.

And imagine having an actual house to live in? Wooohooooooo!