Vilmantas Lukauskas bought a riverside plot before telling his wife

Vilmantas Lukauskas bought a plot by a river without consulting his wife, then built a home there himself. He said he feared she would talk him out of it, LRT reported in a feature by Edvardas Kubilius for LRT Radio’s programme “Už Vilniaus”.

Lukauskas, 47, is a builder from Viekšniai who says he is always coming up with ideas and enjoys putting them into practice. He has built a house from start to finish and makes furniture and crosses from wood. He also uses salvaged building materials to create interiors for his home.

His house features old bricks, oak doors and boards rescued from demolished buildings. He collects the materials at construction jobs, where he takes down old stoves, chimneys and houses. He later restores the timber and incorporates it into his own projects.

“I don’t consider myself some kind of craftsman. An idea just pops into my head and I get to work,” he said. He does not look online for inspiration, saying ideas come as he works. Sometimes he stays in his workshop until 11 p.m., even when his wife calls at nine to ask when he will be home.

Lukauskas and his wife are now settling into a smaller cottage because two of their three children have moved out and their large house became too much for the family. He built the new home himself, from the plans through to the final work.

He bought the riverside plot on impulse. That same evening, he found the owner and asked whether the land was for sale. After hearing that it was, he agreed to buy it and only then told his wife.

“I was afraid she’d say, ‘No, why do we need that?’ and put me off,” he said. “This way, she could grumble as much as she liked; it was already done.”

It was not the couple’s first spontaneous property purchase. They also bought their current homestead after spotting it while walking past, when his wife was expecting their first child. About a week later, they contacted the owner and bought it.

Lukauskas describes himself as a “wood person” and builds timber-frame houses. He believes a wooden house can last a lifetime if it is built properly. He likes the sense that wood “breathes” and says he thinks people may worry that timber homes will collapse or decay.

His work includes building timber-frame houses, replacing roofs and installing terraces and gazebos. He also takes on jobs for forestry enterprises and a regional park, and sometimes helps restore cultural heritage properties.

He avoids larger contracts because he finds it difficult to get reliable workers. He says clients expect the work to be completed as agreed, and he is responsible for the result. For that reason, he prefers smaller projects that he can manage with one helper.