I learnt how to build from my father, and now I have my own business. I have been doing very well, because farmers in this area have become rich through selling food to the army, and people living in the town. They often want to spend their money on a new house (villa), and I help them design and build it.

Once they have chosen a design, I order all the building materials we will need - wall stones, roof tiles, timber, mortar and plaster.
Then I get together a team of slaves to start the work. First we mark out the site, and then level it. The slaves dig the foundation trenches, filling them afterwards with flint and mortar. The walls are usually built of stone. Then the roof timbers are fixed in place, and the tiles laid on them.

Next, I employ skilled craftsmen to finish the villa. Plasterers and wall painters decorate the walls and ceilings, mosaicists make beautiful floors from tiny pieces of stone in the best rooms. Carpenters and ironworkers make and fit the doors and windows, and sometimes put glass in the windows. One or two rooms may have underfloor heating, which means that the floor has to be raised on small pillars to let the hot air flow under it. We also need to put in chimneys, which are hidden behind the plaster. You can see how this works at Bignor Roman Villa.

Lastly, we make sure that the wells and heating work properly, and perhaps gardeners move in to tidy up around the villa.
Then I send the new owner my bill!