Iʼve been building homes for thirty years and two things never change; the small dramas that are part and parcel of the process of construction, and the joy experienced by clients at the finished product.

Building is a complex process. There are thousands of component parts— if you count every nail and every brick, every door frame and window sash, every tap and every tile—in a single home, and all these parts need to arrive on time and in the right order. But the timing and order, or even the item itself, may change during construction, for any one of a variety of reasons—perhaps a supply delay or because a client choice is late or changed. Then there is the range of skilled trades, who also need to be available on time and in the right order. And finally there is the weather.

I suppose it is theoretically possible to build a home without a single hiccup along the way. But I canʼt imagine what the cost might be. Trades would have to be paid to be on stand-by, not working on other jobs, ready for their just-in-time call-up to your site.

(“The plumberʼs got 90 minutes work left, move your plasterers into position.”) There would never be a wrong delivery, or a drop of untimely rain.

Life is not like that. Building is not like that. With the best people in the world (and we think we have some of the very best) there are still going to be hiccups; a late delivery here, a sticking window sash there. Maybe the wrong kitchen taps arrive because a late variation order went astray. These things happen, but they get dealt with. In the end you have a wonderful, one-off home that works for you, just like the couple that visited our display home recently and announced… “Weʼve been living in a Fasham home for eight years and there is not one thing that we would change”.

Did they have the odd problem during construction? I expect they did, but it is long forgotten, as they enjoy their beautiful home — with not one thing they would change — every day.