Here is a sample from the short story ‘House Sale’.

 

House Sale

Carl and Sally Black saw the property as a bargain and made the purchase. It was a two bedroomed house with two previous owners and was in a great condition. With good care it also be a great investment before moving on elsewhere.

After a few years living there Carl began thinking about some house improvements. It was a fairly large single storey house on a large area of land. There was enough space at the side of the house to allow for an extension. He took a piece of plain paper and drew the outline of the house and marked the internal layout of the house with all rooms and hallways. At the side of it he pencilled in an extending corridor which would lead to a new wing of the house. The wing would contain a bedroom the same size as the main bedroom. There would also be a smaller bedroom and another toilet area with a bathroom. Water could be plumbed into the bathroom and toilet from the water system. Waste from the toilet would be directed into the existing sewage system. With the correct planning permission it would be possible to do all this even at a reasonable cost.

Carl took the idea to a draughtsman who drew out the new plans. Once satisfactory to Carl and Sally they were submitted to the planning office for permission to build. Carl could not foresee any objections to the proposals. It was on their property, it could be done within a reasonable time and it would not disrupt services to other houses. The build itself once up would not obstruct the view of the neighbours or interrupt their lifestyle in any way. It would mean that there could now be an additional office for working in and a bedroom m for guests. The bathroom and toilet could also solely be used by guests when they visited. The discomfort in building the extension would be more than made up by the additional space to the house.

The couple also had the idea of putting up a steel work shed on a slab foundation in the back garden. Carl could use it for his mechanic hobbies. He could also store his tools there.  All the garden equipment, the lawnmower, hose, hedge trimmers, whipper snipper, could be kept in there instead of the garage.

As Carl was a builder by trade he could put a team together to get the whole build done for around $50,000.

The couple were delighted when the planning proposal was accepted and permission to build was given. They wanted to build straight away however there was a setback for a few weeks as it rained heavily making it impossible to lay down cement. Thankfully the rains stopped and what followed was sunny weather for the next several weeks meaning the building could go ahead.

Carl and Sally went door to door around the neighbours to give them advance notice of the build. They would try to keep the area as clean as possible, the trucks off the road when they could and the noise to a minimum. The working day did not start until 8am and never went past 5pm. During the build there were no complaints from the neighbours……………….

 

‘House Sale’ is one of the stories in ‘Mixed Bag: 10 Short Stories’ by Alan Barr which is available in eBook and paperback formats from Amazon.

alanrove@hotmail.com

Kind Regards

Alan