I haven't posted here in for the last little while because I am feeling a little discouraged. This is for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a couple of the people I've talked to seem to think that by budget for the project is at least 100% too small and I should be expecting to pay at least twice what I'm budgeting. Obviously this is a major concern for me because while I really want to have a fencing hall, I do not want to go into debt to do it. There is no way that I can recoupe my costs in an effective way to make going into debt for this a good plan.
That being said, I do think that there are a number of potential income sources, including the local fencing groups and also, the local SCA dance group.
Another concern has been figuring out how to do the roof so that there is actually room to swing a sword. I've managed to find lots of information on roofs but I can't find any information on structural engineering to tell me if, for example, I need to cross bracing you would get from normal rafters for a Gambrel roof. The alternative is a scissor truss and a cathedral ceiling, but that still losses me about two feet in ceiling height and makes a loft impossible.
I'm also considering a post and beam style construction, but I don't know how that would change my costs given the structural requirements of the beam and the expense thereof. None of the building supply places seem to have their building material prices on line so figuring out how much things are going to cost me is not something I can do from my desk.
Yet another possibility is a flat roof, but I suspect that that would require some central support. Which limits the open space I want inside.
Then there is the foundation. Some of the reading I've been doing is telling me that a slab foundation just won't be stable enough and I should consider other, more complicated forms of foundation. I don't know enough to know if this is a good idea or not.
Thankfully I have a wide selection of friends who are willing to help out. What I really need is to sit down with someone who knows what they are doing and see if what I have planned makes sense or if I'm insane to try and do it with the budget I have.
I could always just go with the slab and an ugly steel shell, but while that would solve some of the problem, it would not be an attractive addition to the character of the neighborhood nor would add anything to the value of our property.
I wish I was dating someone who has built homes for a living like a couple of friends of mine.
