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Living on rent in Curitiba, Evandro Balmant saw the dream of owning a home become too expensive and decided to learn construction steps online, using ecological brick and occasional help to build a 200 m² townhouse in Paraná.
The case became public on September 28, 2018, in a report by Tribuna do Paraná. At the time, systems analyst Evandro Klimpel Balmant, then 33 years old, had already spent three years building the house and turned research and YouTube videos into a two-story 200 m² townhouse in Almirante Tamandaré, in the metropolitan region of Curitiba.
According to Tribuna do Paraná, the project began after he and his wife, Ane Caroline de Jesus Balmant, a marketing analyst, then 34 years old, received high estimates and decided to get hands-on. The result was a townhouse built practically by the couple themselves, with an approximate cost of R$ 150,000, about half the estimated value by professionals.
From renting in Curitiba to the family land
Before the construction, Evandro and Ane lived in a rented apartment in downtown Curitiba. According to Tribuna do Paraná, the property was noisy, and the couple was also paying for a real estate consortium that had not been awarded.
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The change of course came from a family situation. Ane’s father received part of a plot of land in an inheritance division and offered the couple the possibility to build on the site, in the district of Marmeleiro, in Almirante Tamandaré.
The initial idea was simple. They thought about making a small house for weekend getaways. But the project grew when the temporary alternative started to seem less advantageous.
The R$ 12,000 budget that changed the plan
The first financial shock appeared right at the beginning. As reported by Tribuna do Paraná, just the labor for the foundation was estimated at R$ 12,000, not including materials.
Evandro realized that even combining his and his wife’s thirteenth salaries, they couldn’t afford that stage. It was at this point that the construction stopped being just a contracted service and became a personal challenge.
Without any training in engineering, architecture, or civil construction, he began researching tutorials on YouTube. He also spoke with an aunt who is a building technician and a cousin who is an architect, seeking guidance before starting the foundation on his own.
When he realized that the first stage had worked, he decided to move forward.
Eco-friendly brick helped speed up the construction
One of the central elements of the construction was the choice of eco-friendly brick, purchased from a factory in the Caximba neighborhood in Curitiba. According to Tribuna do Paraná, the material was more expensive than the common clay brick, but it had important advantages for someone doing much of the work without a fixed team.
The brick fit together like building blocks and did not require full plastering, which reduced steps and difficulties in finishing. Evandro also highlighted thermal and acoustic insulation benefits, a relevant point for a house in the Curitiba region, known for lower temperatures in winter.
TecMundo and Mega Curioso also reported on the case, highlighting the role of online tutorials and the savings of about R$ 150,000 in labor costs.
He didn’t do it all alone
Despite the strength of the story, the case was not a project done without any support. The original report makes it clear that Evandro had help in essential stages.
For concrete, columns, and slabs, he had support from his father and hired a bricklayer. The reason was practical: the concrete could not be done in parts, nor left to dry to continue the next day.
The roof also involved his father’s participation, who had knowledge in this stage. According to Evandro, just the labor for the roof could cost another R$ 12,000. With this help, they managed to cover the house in 15 days during the vacation period.
In the finishing, he also hired a tiler to install the porcelain tiles. The decision was made to avoid visible errors in a stage that requires precision.
The construction took three years until moving in
The house was not completed all at once. According to the Tribuna do Paraná, the couple took three years to finally move into the property. At the time of the interview, they had already been living there for a year and a half, but the construction was still not completely finished.
The lower floor was already ready, with a kitchen, living and dining room, bathroom, two bedrooms, balcony, service area, and garage. The upper floor, where the couple’s suite would be, was still in cement.
The construction progressed as money came in. To finance the project, the couple pooled salaries, bonuses, vacations, loans, and refinancing.
From wooden house to 200 m² townhouse
Before reaching the townhouse, Evandro considered a pine kit costing around R$ 3,000 to build a weekend wooden house. The idea was discarded due to concerns about thermal and acoustic insulation, durability, fire risk, and asbestos tiles in case of hail.
This turnaround helps explain why the case attracted attention even outside Brazil. Oddity Central published an English version of the story, presenting Evandro as an IT professional who built a two-story house with the help of online tutorials.
But the most important point is not just the savings. The story shows how labor costs, access to information, and material choices can completely change the path of a family looking to move out of renting.
Evandro’s case does not make a complex construction simple, nor does it replace technical guidance when necessary. It shows something else: when a budget stalls a dream, knowledge, planning, and the right help in critical stages can change the size of the bill and also the size of the house.
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