On The Move

While Fridays are normally one of the busier days of the week for completions, when Friday the 13th occurs, sales/completions drop by an average of 43%.

Sainted Medals

In catholic countries, builders would often bury a pendent of St Joseph or St Benedict in the foundations. The patron saints of carpenters, Joseph is believed to ensure a strong construction, while St Benedict medals were there to ward off evil spirits.

Buried Wealth

In other cultures coins were sometimes buried in the foundations or placed under the doorstep to encourage wealth into the home.

Stair-raising Superstition

Housebuilders in the Philippines are very careful with the number of stairs, which are counted in threes “Oro, plata, mata” meaning, gold, silver and death. The superstition states, the topmost step must not end in mata (death). It’s also unlucky for there to be 13 stairs.

Thank You

‘Topping out’ ceremonies began in Scandinavia where builders would celebrate reaching the top and finishing point of a house by hanging a bough to thank the forest and tree dwelling spirits for allowing the use of the wood. The tradition is still observed by different trades such as masons, brickies and carpenters, even on buildings like skyscrapers.

Chinese Numbers

In China, 8 is a lucky number and homes with 8 in the number (8, 18, 28, etc) tend to fetch a higher price. Buyers/sellers will often include 8 in transactions. 4, 17, 19 and 53 are all considered unlucky, not great news if you were born on the 17/04/1953.

Long & Winding Road

Chinese homes often had winding garden paths and curved roofs to confuse spirits who presumably can only travel in straight lines.

That’s The Spirit

In parts of Southern Asia, ‘spirit houses’ would be built close to homes to give dead spirits somewhere to live away from the main house (“Mum! Great-great-greatgreat-grandma’s walking around the garden again!”).

Exit This Way

Back in the Philippines, spirits were thought to hide in low, dark places, so special escape routes were built into basements to allow ghosts leave.

Find more fascinating home facts at www. Armishaws.com/blog

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