The Hinsbeck Herald

2006-07-14T22:55:00.000+02:00

Daddies little helpers!

2006-07-14T22:54:00.000+02:00

Eddie, George and their "Siegfried Line"

2006-07-14T22:53:00.000+02:00

Foliage and Bollerwagen

2006-07-14T22:52:00.000+02:00

Dry stone wall

Thirtysixth Edition - Almost End Game

2006-07-14T22:45:00.000+02:00

Now that the weather was better we persuaded our landscape gardener to make a start on the back garden. He was busy - so pencilled us in for three weeks hence. Eventually, after a few more weeks and badgering him on the phone he turned up.

Having lived in the house for 4 months we can see where we might have been a little naïve concerning building jobs, designing, planning and understanding how tradesmen work. They are here for a couple of days and then they don’t come back for the rest of the week because they are building, planting, painting etc somewhere else. And so you wait! The garden and the brick facing of the house, the pointing and sealing around doors and windows and various little jobs dragged on and on. Considering that the house was up in two days these last tasks seemed to have taken forever. However, the house is now completed and the garden is 80% finished. We had to have a time out finishing the garden. Our next door neighbours – whose house will be finished in August – remarked on the height of our plot and suggested that we weren’t keeping to the prescribed height! Oh dear, we thought and did some quick checking with plans, architect, building rules and came to a conclusion that as long as we secure our ground so that no water or soil runs into next doors plot, we are ok. Now, how do we secure our plot? Books came out, so did prospectuses, neighbours were probed and houses in the surrounding area inspected. The lay of the land is very up and down and Firma Clever combated that by building a dry stone wall and thus terracing the fall of the garden lengthways. As the ground also fall away sideways we have decided to keep it level and secure our border with a wall. Eddie would never be able to do this on his own though. Luckily we had Claire and George visiting with the twins around that time and no sooner was a plan hatched when Eddie and George set about building the ‘Siegfried line’. The weather was in the mid 30°s and the sun shone mercilessly from morning to night, but the two builders kept going. Well done lads!

So what else needs doing? The area along the wall needs planting. The garage is being used as a store room at the moment and it’s difficult to find things, but come August the garden house will be delivered and then we might even be able to walk through the garage instead of climbing over boxes and bikes and tools etc.

The house has had many visitors already – small and young ones, old and grey ones and the in-between ones. If you have not visited us yet, then it is high time you did. We have worked hard and are more than satisfied with all that we have achieved, but there are still many more things we will hopefully be able to add to our lovely house.

Thirtyfifth Edition - Party Time

2006-07-14T22:43:00.000+02:00

The front of the house was finished and the back garden was our next task. The weather, however, made progress difficult and as the ground was frozen rock hard, work in the garden came to a halt. We had, however, plenty to carry on with inside the house. Lamps were put up, furniture rearranged, the window seat put in and curtains hung. It all took shape after a while and when all the boxes were emptied and the crockery and cutlery stored away it was time to invite the neighbours for a housewarming. Easter Monday seemed a good day for it and so invitations were sent out and preparations for a finger buffet and drinks storages got underway. It is amazing how many little things we forgot when planning the house. Enough storage for drinks is one of them. Having no cellar, everything is now stored in the garage – that includes the old fridge for drinks. But because it’s tedious to go out into the garage for every bottle of beer and because the fridge in our new, highly modern kitchen is too small to hold anything but food, we needed to come up with an idea as to how to have enough drinks in the house for the party and keep them cool. Easter weather was great and the frost from weeks before had now turned into a mini heat wave – so cool beer and wine was a must. There was nothing else we could do but buy a drinks cooler to put in the laundry room. This worked out well and although small it holds enough drinks for a medium party. The invitation was from 7 – 10pm and everybody in the street (20 people) turned up. I should have realised, though, that the Germans will have their ‘Abendbrot’ before coming over and all the little hors d'oeuvres I made took some advertising. It was a great evening and although we had met most of the neighbours at the roofing ceremony it was just the right sort of evening to get to know them a little better.

2006-07-14T22:42:00.001+02:00

Front

2006-07-14T22:42:00.000+02:00

Not much room in here for both of us!

2006-07-14T22:41:00.000+02:00

Left hand side - soon to be lawn

2006-07-14T22:40:00.000+02:00

Grading in the back garden

Thirtyfourth Edition - Moving In

2006-07-14T22:17:00.000+02:00

Christmas came and went and work at the house continued. We had set ourselves a moving in date but first of all the area to the front of the house had to be addressed. What type of front garden do we want? Lots of annual colourful flowers and crazy paving is not our taste. So we went in search of someone who might help. Firma Clever presented a very interesting design and took us to various gardens which they had recently completed. We selected a formal and single-coloured front layout consisting of anthracite stone chippings, anthracite front steps, anthracite drives, green box bushes, a hazel bush, a green Japanese maple and some grasses. All the plants are still fairly small but will grow to just the right size to cover the small front garden. Firma Clever came and got on with the job and on February 23, we moved into Peter Berten Straße. As the new house has less storage space than P.N.A we had to dispose of lots of stuff. A house clearance sale at P.N.A was planned for the week after we had moved out and thought that should take care of that! We took one look at all the things we had left behind in P.N.A and got such a fright. We would never be able to get rid of all those things and would probably have to throw half of it away. The sale was to take place over a weekend while we were cleaning and tidying up the garden. It started quite well. A Russian lady came and spent all morning looking, buying and loading up her car. After that, customers became scarce and we panicked. However, there was still tomorrow. The next day started off slow and never got any better until 2 hours before we closed the house. The free paper deliverer and his family took the three large bookcases and various other items. We were so glad at having sold a few more things that we let them have anything else they wanted for nothing. The thought of having to put what was left on the tip made Sonja cry. We vouched never to hoard again!

The move to Hinsbeck went very smoothly and on the first evening in our new house, sitting amongst boxes, a kindly neighbour rung the bell and invited us over to his house for a drink. Great welcome!

2006-02-02T21:35:00.001+01:00

Family, less for James, at front door

2006-02-02T21:35:00.000+01:00

Now for the garage

2006-02-02T21:32:00.000+01:00

Finished article

2006-02-02T21:30:00.000+01:00

Just putting this down!!!

2006-02-02T21:29:00.000+01:00

Workroom arrives

Thirtythird Edition - Garage plus

2006-02-02T20:57:00.000+01:00

What a lot of too-ing and fro-ing we have had with the garage. Anyway, it eventually arrived on 19 Dec - one man, one lorry and two trailers. I was really impressed with the way he manouvered his lorry and used the cranes and hydraulics to position both garage and workroom to the inch into position. On the 20th and 21st Klinker was being applied to the garage and what was left to complete on the house. The evening of the 21st saw a change for the worse in the weather and work stopped. Since then it has been below freezing and too cold for Klinkering to continue. So, we are still left with window sills to be complete and for expansion joints to be applied. In the meantime we have spent time with the garden designer, refined the design, selected tiles for the patio and entrance way and stones for the drives. We have also been busy fitting lamps and bathroom and toilet fixtures as well as selecting blinds.
Sonja has become particularly good at assembling furniture and when helped by me has managed quite admirably to keep her cool.
Herr Hammern (carpenter) has been busy building office furniture, bookcases and the seat for the Erker. Office furniture and bookcases are fitted but the seat still requires a coat of paint. We await, with anticipation, the arrival of some decent weather so that outside work can continue.

2005-12-11T21:16:00.000+01:00

Kitchen end of Day 2 and finished product.

2005-12-11T21:15:00.000+01:00

Kitchen installation Day1. 'Two men went to mow....'

2005-12-11T21:13:00.000+01:00

The finished article - didn't he do well!

2005-12-11T21:12:00.000+01:00

Thomas Wolfs putting an edge on the fieplace

Thirtysecond Edition - Kitchen, Fireplace and more....

2005-12-11T20:33:00.000+01:00

Well, it's a month since we last posted anything and work inside has moved on apace. Laminate has been laid dining/living area, 'fitness centre' and the study area, tiles in the hall and carpets in the upstairs bedrooms. The kitchen has been fitted and the fireplace is finally finished. So we could actually move in - but don't get carried away we won't be moving until the New Year. It would be great to have it all done with, but I think the stress of the move plus prep for the Christmas festivities and visitors is too much to cope with. Happily Herr Pappers (decorator) and Herr Hamann (carpenter) have done a good job between them and produced on time. Herr Hamann still has to complete the bookcases, study area furniture and window seat but that won't be long now. We finally have the foundations laid for the garage and that should arrive next week sometime, possibly towards the end of the week.
We have also spent some more time trying to decide on the garden design. But until the garage is in neither of us is able to visualise the patio/garage combination. Next week or the one after that will tell. We have agreed, though, that we will endevour to have the front and driveways completed in Jan.

2005-11-11T20:38:00.000+01:00

Coming on nicely thank you. Note space for garage. Finished product later.

2005-11-11T20:35:00.000+01:00

Klinker progress day 1, note the 'Brotzeit' van and neighbours building in the background.

Thirtyfirst Edition - Klinker and More!

2005-11-11T20:14:00.000+01:00

As you know from the 28th Edition the Klinker we liked so much is no longer available but eventually we tracked down the supplier and he has come up with something very similar - produced in Holland and the bricks were being fired at that time, to be ready in two weeks. We put in an order.
Then we started the search for a Klinkerbauer. We found three and asked them for their quotes. We were lucky with the one we selected. Herr Lesser came, saw and delivered! His two chaps – Marcel and Reinhard are doing a great job. They arrived on the 25th October a very blustery and rainy day – not that that deterred them. They set about and made a start. The following days the weather brightened and the sun came out. They brought with them their ‘gipsy-looking’ builders van in which they sit to have their ‘Brotzeit’. So, we are happy with the Klinker and the Klinkerbauer.
On the 29th September Herr Hagelücken from the kitchen design centre came to measure up. He went away happy but it will take 9 weeks for the kitchen to be delivered – not so good.
Next step was that gas, electricity and water were connected complete with meters and that the heating was switched on to aid dry out of the screed. The electrical installation – such as lights,plugs and switches were installed and on the 17 October the painter started putting backing paper upstairs and continued downstairs. He has now completed most of the dining room, some of the kitchen and into the start of the living room. He had to stop for the Ofenbauer Herr Wolf to complete the Ofen before further work can be undertaken.
Between the 26th and 28th October tiling of bathrooms and toilets was completed. On the 28th and 29th October two garden designers visited to discuss work required and measured up.
The internal doors were fitted on 31st October and on 2nd of November the bath, the washbasins, showers and toilets were also fitted – and very nice they are too.
We eventually took over the house from Okal having finished all the building work on 3rd November.
Now all the cosmetics have to be done – but that is our responsibility. Herr Wolf will finish the Ofen on 16th and then the painter and carpenter are due in again. The Klinker is 90% finished and pointing has started. Herr Lesser has sent 3 more builder to get on with that.
I’m off to see them all now to measure up for accessories for the bathrooms!

2005-10-18T20:20:00.000+02:00

similar bookcase but without the doors

2005-10-18T20:01:00.000+02:00

study area

2005-10-18T20:00:00.000+02:00

and another window seat

Thirtieth Edition

2005-10-18T19:36:00.000+02:00

I searched the breadth and length of magazine entries to do with window seats, wardrobes, bookcases and the like. I found plenty to cut out and make my own little sample booklet. It now looks like a Home & Garden come Country Living come House & Home etc catalogue. You may think - hasn’t she got enough to do already? However, it helped with trying to show Herr Pappers (the decorator) & Herr Haman (the carpenter) what I had in mind. They liked it and were very enthusiastic – in fact , you know those sketches were two guys are so taken by something they stand together and talk and gesticulate their ideas while the person who posed the question looks from one to the other? Yes, you do know what I mean; anyhow, that’s what it was like when I presented my sample book. Herr Haman drew a rough plan and Herr Pappers suggested colour schemes – it was fun! If I get what I want, is another matter. I thought I let you see some of the pictures I cut out of those lovely magazines.

2005-10-18T19:34:00.000+02:00

window seat

Twentyninth Edition - The Interior

2005-10-04T20:56:00.000+02:00

Last week we spent over 2hrs in the house with the carpenter and the painter. They both listened and listened and listened to my many wants and wishes. Got their tape measures out and measured; produced their catalogues and suggested; folded their arms and looked bemused; raised their eyebrows and nodded their heads. It was exhausting! Will the flooring go with the kitchen units or the furniture? Will the colour of the wall clash with the floor? Shall we have wood flooring in the hall or stone? Which bedroom is to have the built-in-wardrobe? How are we going to arange the study area? The desk under the window or along the banister? Is the window seat going to have a back rest; is the bookcase going to be country style or very plain? I was getting tired and cold but the two gentlemen were very patient and listened, advised and suggested. At 19:00hrs they had a good idea of what I wanted, left their sample books and told us they will put a quote together. Come tomorrow I will know what I have to cross off the list! Come tomorrow I will be able to tell you more about the interior.

Twentyeighth Edition - The Klinker

2005-10-04T20:41:00.000+02:00

We're having a bit of a set back with the Klinker - no George and Claire it's nothing to do with bells! For all the others who also might be puzzled by the name here goes: A Klinkerbauer is a special bricklayer - Klinker is a facing brick that is laid all around the house and the person doing it is a bricklayer! The foundation has to be larger than the house so that there is enough room to lay the bricks all around it. I know you knew really. Well we're having a bit of a problem with the Klinker that we wanted. The house we saw and wrote about on the Blog had its Klinker specially made and it was a one off. This means we can't have it. It's a pity because we really liked it. Everywhere we go we look at the bricks and now are totally confused which style, which colour, which size we want. We have to come to a decision this week. It means another trip around the brick works, the houses that are being built and various builders yards.

2005-09-25T17:07:00.000+02:00

House without scaffolding, still needs cladding

Twentyseventh Edition - Rohbauabnahme (Handover of the shell)

2005-09-25T14:57:00.000+02:00

Handover of the shell was scheduled for Tuesday 20 Sep at 1500. I decided to go down early because I wanted to see Herr Böhmer of the Stadtwerke, responsible for rain and foulwater drainage. We have to obtain permission to become part of the local system and we had talked previously about how I was to apply. Not being sure about the issue I booked an appointment for the Tuesday and off I went. It paid dividends in that he regarded the visit as me making the application and we discussed the issue of having to have two manhole covers on the property. The problem is that Stadt Nettetal has two drainage systems, one for foul water and the other for rainwater. These need to have inspection holes in case there are any blockages and so the discussion ensued. Where, why and how big? It's amazing what one can learn, I had assumed that all manholes are the same, huge, ugly and an eyesore. Not true. They come in different sizes which I liken to dress sizes i.e. 16 down to an 8 and they are not such an eyesore after all. But what is more important Böhmer said that if I can have an insert on my rainwater downpipes which has an opening to allow the insertion of a high pressure hose, then I don't need the rainwater inspection cover. What a player! So we have been off this week looking for the insert with not much success so far. But I think that is down to my lack of technical German rather than the item not being available. Anyway 1500 arrived and I started the handover with Herr Mai, the Site Manager. There were only 3 outstandiing issues. There is a split in the attic door, so the door will be replaced, the cover for the chimney has not been delivered, so that is yet to come and be fitted and the chimney has been manufactured with the smoke escape hole on the wrong wall. Don't ask me how! Anyway it will be put right. So, the team went on their way and I was left to contemplate the silence and to marvel at the fact that 8 day's ago we had a bare plot and now we have the shell of our new house - incredible.
Thursdays saw me there again to see what the gas installers had been up to and ready to meet Herr Wolfs the Ofenbauer. He wanted to check measurements and just keep in touch. Later on a Klinkermauerer turned up to view the house so that he could provide a quote. Once again steep learning curve. The scaffolders have also been and removed their scaffolding, it really makes the house seem normal size now. It looked so big before!
Went up again on Saturday to check on progress. All the gas fittings are in and the underfloor heating pipes have been laid, so the place is ready to receive screed on Monday.

2005-09-18T22:21:00.000+02:00

More than likely to be our cladding

Twentysixth Edition - Work and Bills

2005-09-18T21:54:00.000+02:00

Roof tiling is now complete and the house is sealed. The utility providers have completed connection and we are just waiting for them to cap the gas and water inlets. Inside the house still looks as though it will never be finished, but 'Peo' is convinced that he will be ready to handover the finished carcase construction next Tuesday afternoon.
We spent most of the weekend shifting wood from the site, you wouldn't believe how much is left over from the transport packaging. I think this aspect will form a part of my post-building report to OKAL. Friday evening we spent looking for cladding providers and yesterday (Sat) we went looking. We had 3 firms to look at. In Bruggen we found one that will match any cladding we see and the chap went as far as to say "Show me a photo of that which you like and we'll provide, alternatively give me the address of a house which has cladding you like and we'll go out there, determine the type and provide". Not only that but they also have a list of recommended "cladders" and will give advice as to how to keep the cost down. At the moment they have our vote. We'll see. Today, Sunday, we went out on our bikes and had a good look around the area for any cladding that might suit. I think we have found the solution and it is shown above. We both like it, it's light and combines well with our anthracite roof tiles and white window frames. It also looks quite modern.
Bills are rushing in like waves at the sea-side. OKAL has cottoned on to the fact that the slab is finished and are looking for 15%, at the same time they are looking for a further 60% because on Tuesday carcase construction will be complete. Not much left to pay now! The problem is though, that we seem to be drip feeding Stadt Nettetal. Yesterday we received 2 bills from them. One because they had visited the site and carried out an inspection and the other for the use of a public parking area as a site for the crane during construction. Nothing is free these days!

Twentyfifth Edition D+3 - Weather interferes

2005-09-15T20:56:00.000+02:00

Arrived on site at 0750 this morning, of course the Kollone is there before me. Roof tiling is not yet complete, it had started rain yesterday evening so they knocked off early. Anyway they were right into it when I arrived. Two were on the roof and 3 were inside fitting the velux windows and such like. The Stadtwerke were also on site and connecting the utilities. At about 0810 the Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister arrived to check out the fitting of the chimney and cast his eye over the gas connections. He was happy and signed my application for a gas meter(not possible to obtain unless he has signed to say he is happy with the installation work so far). This evening I returned to find that the roof tiling still wasn't complete. But it only needs the joints between dormer windows and the roof to be finished off for completion. I was a little disappointed but to be fair it has rained all day and the Dachdeckers were both soaked when I arrived so it's not surprising that they finished early. But we are still on course to complete the Rohbauabnahme next week Tuesday. After which the gas and heating installation team will appear and install. Then the Schornsteinfegermeister has to come and check the istallation and functionallity of the system again.

2005-09-14T21:03:00.000+02:00

'Peo' complete with rainproof coat and hat attempting to finish off the front portion of the roof.

2005-09-14T21:00:00.000+02:00

Halfway through at the back

Twentfourth Edition - D+2 Roof tiling

2005-09-14T20:59:00.000+02:00

Visited the site the afternoon at about 1500 and our luck with the weather ran out, it had just started to rain. Anyway, work had started on both sides of the roof and they were just about half tiled. Work was still continuing though and I suspect that tiling would have been completed this evening.

2005-09-14T20:51:00.000+02:00

Eddie and Sonja with the Peo Mannschaft

2005-09-14T20:50:00.000+02:00

Eddie and Sonja with new neighbours; note Marie Louise, one of our present neighbours, in shadow

2005-09-14T20:48:00.000+02:00

Herr Peotroski, der Kollonenf�hrer toasting the building during his speech

2005-09-14T20:46:00.000+02:00

Sonja decorating tree in preparation for the topping our ceremony

Twentythird Edition - D+1 Topping out ceremony

2005-09-14T20:45:00.000+02:00

D+1 started off with us having a tree to top the house off with and a mountain of beer with which to christen it. We had invited our present and future neighbours to help us celebrate as well as those who had helped along the way. As the day progressed it became clear that the tree would never do and that there was a much better one in Henry's garden. So out came the loppers and down came an appropriate tree. By the way, at the same time the mountain of beer was reduced to a small hillock. We arrived on-site at about 1700 and almost immediately met up with a couple who were watching work in progress. They turned out to be the new owners of the last of the three plots on the site, so we invited them to take part in the ceremony. Then we went inside to clear space for a party. What a nightmare. The electricians were in and cables were everywhere, so was building debris. Anyway, Peo saw our dilemna and the place was "cleaned" up. The electricians continued working but finished at 1800. By this time all internal and external walls were installed and the roof was ready for tiling. The porch was on at the front and external wood cladding had been added. Just after 6 "Peo" asked if we had the glass ready. "What glass" said I. "The one I'm going to break on the roof as part of the ceremony" he said. "Sonja!" was my retort. "Please go to 4a (Stefans house) and ask if we can have a glass." Well, Stefan came through and we had a glass to break. Peo completed the ceremony with a "Richtspruch" which was punctuated with three Prosts. I haven't drunk so much in a long time! We then spent a happy couple of hours chatting with neighbours and friends before bidding the last of them goodnight at about 2030. Bad light stopped play! As an aside, on D Day I had met up with Frau Schmitz who owns the plot next to ours to discuss boundary issues and had invited her to come along as well and she turned up with a smartly wrapped bottle of bubbly complete with a photograph made into a card of the three plots before building started. What a really nice idea that was. All of the other guest also brought bottles and Stefan's little girl, Helen, arrived with the traditional gift of a loaf of bread and salt. Hopefully this spirit of togetherness with our neighbours will continue.

2005-09-12T21:51:00.000+02:00

we're on the top - first day done!

2005-09-12T21:43:00.000+02:00

facing into the kitchen and utility room

2005-09-12T21:40:00.000+02:00

Living room

2005-09-12T21:39:00.000+02:00

The balcony fits perfectly

2005-09-12T21:36:00.001+02:00

Third load

2005-09-12T21:36:00.000+02:00

Second Load

2005-09-12T21:34:00.001+02:00

the second wall

2005-09-12T21:34:00.000+02:00

A lonely wall but not for long - first one

2005-09-12T21:32:00.001+02:00

Chaos in a small cul-de-sac

2005-09-12T21:32:00.000+02:00

light and the men mean business - damp course complete and scaffolding going up

2005-09-12T21:31:00.000+02:00

It's 6am and the boys have arrived!

Twentysecond Edition - The day's arrived

2005-09-12T21:30:00.000+02:00

It's 6am and it's all happening in Hinsbeck. The Baukolonne has arrived, led by the Kolonnenführer Herr Peotroski (AKA Peo). He has turned up with a 5 man team, 2 are sick but will be replaced tomorrow. Going to be a long day for the "Faithful Five". The crane is also on site, so is the first load of house parts and neighbours are dashing about (some still in dressing gowns) moving their cars. Well, we did warn them. Still dark and drizzleling but work goes on thanks to the high power lamp on the crane. Beginning to feel a little like Bob the builder. First things first get the damp proof course down, then unload the builder's van, its got sooo many goodies in it, tools, nails, compressor, bits of plastic. It reminds me of a schoolboy's trouser pocket. I really can't remember that far back (perhaps we didn't have pockets, or trousers for that matter). Anyway, damp course was laid and unloading completed by about 07:00. Then it was time to unwrap the huge sheets of plastic covering the first load. That was completed and the first outside wall erected by 08:00, of course this had to be supported but as soon as the end wall was fitted to it the whole was able to support itself - fanatastic! And the rest of the day went on in the same manner. I know we are dealing with computer driven cutting machinary in the factory but as each piece slotted into the other I couldn't help but be amazed that it fitted. There was, on occasion, recourse to the sledgehammer but all in all well done OKAL.
The afternoon saw all walls on the ground floor fitted and then the ceiling was hoisted up. This came in 5 parts and was eventually bolted down. Next came the upstairs walls. When I left at 18:20 the bathroom was taking shape and the wall dividing the back 2 bedrooms was installed. Peo was quite clear that all unloaded parts from the third load would be installed before the team knocked off, so I left them to it. One more load to go, that should be completed by about 15:00 tomorrow and then it's tidy-up time ready for the topping out ceremony at 18:00.

2005-09-11T07:15:00.000+02:00

17 Aug 05 James and Helen can't find the way out

Twenty-first Edition - Confirmation of building shell erection start date

2005-09-11T07:14:00.000+02:00

Confirmation arrived and the date set to start building was the 12th Sept. This again prompted a flurry of activity. We needed to make sure utilities were connected, although as it later turned out they are not required until week 2. Site insurance was to be put in place. We contacted the building site manager for a site visit and to measure up the floor slab for acceptance. He was pleased with the slab and declared it well within tolerance. We talked about various issues among them the topping out ceremony, signs for the site, H&S issues, waste disposal and the need for containers. Jobs didn’t seem to end. During the site inspection it materialised that the area all around the floor slab – roughly 2 Meter needed to be levelled so that the scaffolding would be safe. "Who is doing that then?" Eddie asked. "You, Herr Bridges, well it’s your responsibility". Herrlich! All I have is two spades, Eddie thought. Sonja was angry! It was hot, very hot and no way was Eddie going to level the ground in this hot weather using just a spade. "You haven’t even got a wheelbarrow!" Sonja screamed. "I’ll borrow Henry’s next door." Henry offered to help – great guy! Eddie phoned Herr Oemmelen, the man who prepared the ground. Yes, he would do it. Great, peace again in the Bridges household.
Oh, yes must phone the kitchen man. He has a 6 week order lead time to comply with. Have to warn him! And warn the fireplace builder. Oh, and the painter and the carpenter.
Warn the prospective neighbours – write letters and invite them to the topping out ceremony.
In the meantime James and helen visited the site.
Buy beer and schnapps – cool bags! Need cool bags to keep the drinks cool. Did a bit more running around and I think we have everything now, if not its too late the shops are closed and the construction gang will be arriving on site at 0600 Monday. Actually, just need to make the rolls for the topping out ceremony on Tuesday at 1800. We could have it Monday but the site manager thought the crew may not be able to give it their full attention, having already worked a 12-hour day!
Roll on 0600 Monday, 12 September and 1800hrs Tuesday 13 September.

2005-09-11T06:45:00.000+02:00

9 Aug 05 Finished article

2005-09-11T06:42:00.000+02:00

Pouring concrete in trenches

2005-09-11T06:34:00.000+02:00

Utility providers on site

2005-09-11T06:33:00.000+02:00

Laying out

2005-09-11T06:32:00.001+02:00

8 Aug 05 Slab layers on site and ready to dig

2005-09-11T06:32:00.000+02:00

Plot end of play 30 Jul 05

2005-09-11T06:31:00.000+02:00

Plot 27 Jul 05

Twentieth Edition - Floor slab

2005-09-11T06:30:00.000+02:00

We were notified on 13 July that the floor slab would be laid on 8th and 9th August. Working backwards from that date meant that Erdarbeiten had to be completed by 1 August. This meant a large coordination task had to be completed. The surveyor’s had to survey and mark out the plot, then make sure the contractor was available and that the surveyors were on hand to confirm that the gravel layer levels were correct and ready for the concrete to be laid.
Digging and laying the gravel layer for the floor slab started on 28 July and was completed on 30 July. Then on 8th and 9th August the floor slab was laid and internal drainage pipes incorporated. We were required to supply a toilet cabin for the workers and had to make sure electricity and water was supplied. Eddie did a great job getting it all organised especially as we didn’t have too much time. While the slab was being laid the local utility providers turned up and connected their special connection pipe so that attachment of electricity, gas, water and telephone cables would not present a problem when we required them.

Nineteenth Edition - Garage

2005-09-10T23:20:00.000+02:00

Signed the contract with Firma Zapf (www.garagen-welt.de) for the garage. Type Classic 298 K 224 plus an Anbau, length 2.98 m.

Eightteenth Edition- The oven man

2005-09-10T23:17:00.000+02:00

Herr Wolfs phoned and wanted to discuss finalising the fireplace. He arrived nice and early – a very busy man - and we decided on the exact measurements, what stone to use for the seating around the fireplace, what surround to use- aluminium or cast iron and where to put the lights for the glass shelving on the side of the fireplace. All done and decided in a morning.

Seventeenth Edition - Fitting out the House - 11 July

2005-09-10T23:14:00.000+02:00

The great day dawned when we had to choose tiles, windows, doors, washbasins, showers and toilets etc and we set off early to drive the 60 km to where the outfitters, Mobau Wirtz & Classen (www.mobau-wirtz-classen.de), have their large store. We were greeted by our personal planner Herr Drechsel and the first thing we did was have some coffee. He produced the electrical plans and again we made some alterations. We decided on the type of heating and then headed off to the bathroom showroom. “These are the standard fittings – but of course you can choose what you like, we just add that to the final cost”. Aha. Standard is just what it says – we decided to pick different washbasins, a different bath, different shower units, different wall and floor tiles and different fixtures. Not easy because everything other than the standard had an additional cost. It took all morning to complete but around 13hrs we were back in Herr Drechsels office. “Great”, he said “Enjoy your lunch on the house. Meet you at 15hrs back here”. Lunch was great. Back at the ranch we had to pick the heavy stuff – doors, windows, shutters, roof tiles, and staircase. It went on and on. Eventually we were done. Herr Drechsel did the maths and although I really wanted that lovely staircase, I had to compromise and take the standard one!

Sixteenth Edition - Electrical plans

2005-09-10T23:09:00.000+02:00

Hello – we’re still building! There has just been so much happening that the day was not long enough for diary writing. We’ve been reprimanded by the children to get the keyboard out and start typing. So here goes.

In May we received the electrical plan to pore over and try to decide where we wanted sockets, TV outlets, lights and the like. Not a hard job – we sat at the dining room table and looked at the plan. How were we going to arrange the furniture? Where was the settee going and the bookcase – important because sockets for the TV, the sound system and all the table lamps had to be located. Were we going to have TV outlets in the bedroom? Were we going to have sockets outside? Do we want double or single socket? Do we want outside lights on the balcony? Anyway, we pencilled outlets in and erased them again. Eventually it was done and sent off.

Fifthteenth Edition - Garages galore

2005-05-12T20:48:00.000+02:00

Well, not really garages galore, but at least we are starting to receive quotes and brochures are being sent. Herr Alt's garage man made an appointment and came to visit on Thursday 12th. We had a long discussion about what we wanted and then settled for what local planning laws would allow! We wanted a 9m long garage, 3m wide (That's all the room we have left) with an extension of a 3m square room as a workshop. That would have given us, in effect, a 12m long building on the property boundary. But, guess what, planning laws only allow for a 9m long construction along the boundary. So it was back to the drawing board and we finally settled for a 6m long garage, 3m wide with a 3m extension as the workshop. We also want a tiled roof - can't have that either as with only a 3m wide garage it would look out of proportion - so it'll be a flat roof instead. Not ideal but compromising seems to be the order of the day at the moment. Anyway we await a quote and will be using that as our baseline. We already have had one quote and that firm has quoted for only 9m worth of garage without confirming that that was what we wanted! It seems they know better.
Can't wait for this phase of the operation to be over and for somebody to start digging. Presumably all these minor irritations will then be over. Who said "fat chance!"

Fourteenth Edition - Not much doing

2005-05-10T20:08:00.000+02:00

We have soooo much time. The garage man, who said he was going to come and see us on Wednesday 4th May, had found someone elses telephone number and went to see them instead! I'm glad I didn't save any supper for him. So, we are back to no garage. Well, maybe not. Herr Alt phoned on Thursday, 5th May to enquire if we had heard anything from the planning office. But of course we haven't - it's the German public holiday season and no one hurries around this time of year. Herr Alt told us that the little man in the planning office is well known to builders. He has four weeks to complete checking plans and he takes every second of those four weeks - not a second less. Herr Alt said that if we haven't heard from him by 14th May to let him know and he will gently shout down the telephone to wake up this little man in the planning office. I mentioned that the garage man also didn't like us, to which Herr Alt got out his 'I-know-just-the-right-person-for-you-book' and ensured me that this garage man will deliver! While nothing is happening on the building front, we use the time to check out flooring - parket, marmoleum, artoleum, lenoleum, cork, laminate, floor boards, tiles, I think I'll stop there; lighting - ceiling, floor, spotlights, soft, warm, halogen, lamps, hanging, standing, round, long - we have nothing else to do at the moment.

Thirteenth Edition- Nothing new (but payments)

2005-05-03T20:41:00.000+02:00

There is nothing happening. The planning office is obviously taking a spring vacation. The kitchen man sends us a list of items we agreed on on the 15 April but decided to change the price to his advantage! So that constitutes another telephone call. The garage man has eventually found our telephone number in his other suit and gave us a ring - he'll be here tomorrow at 19hrs. I wonder if he wants some supper! The oven man has sent us a drawing of the fireplace he is going to build - the same as in the prospectus but with measurements. The price - well lets say he doesn' t work for peanuts. There are three public holidays in May - I don't think we'll move far this month!

Twelfth Edition - Fireplace

2005-04-30T22:17:00.000+02:00

Nine o' clock this morning saw us at the Fireplace builder's workshop (German is so much more appropriate for this description, "Ofenbauer" says it all!). An hour later we emerged, not covered in soot, but fairly pleased with ourselves in that we had decided which type of fire place to have and on which wall it would be best situated. Not bad when you consider the kitchen took all of 6 hours. By the way, price is within budget as well!
The photo below shows our chosen masterpiece. As for situation, it will be along the wall to the right of the door into the sitting area, starting in the corner and extending along the wall for about 1.8m and with a depth of 80 cms. We can have it shorter and are still debating that issue. As far as colour goes, the photo shows a black seat, fire surround and top plate. We have decided however, to go for gray in those areas because we believe that will set the whole thing off better and anyway it gives a more subdued look.

2005-04-30T22:14:00.000+02:00

Proposed fireplace

Eleventh Edition - Kitchens and Garages

2005-04-22T23:15:00.000+02:00

Yes you are right Sarah we have been a bit lax over this edition but everything just seems to be catching up with us at the moment. Anyway here goes. We spent another afternoon with the kitchen man last Friday and eventually got everything sorted. I think it probably took so long because I could not visualise the units and layout as we were talking about them and so had to be taken around the showroom to find each of the items and then put it in a similar setting to the one we have chosen. But there we are it is now finished - just needs to be paid for! If you look at the accompanying plan drawing you will see that we have gone for a cooking area island solution with a ceiling mounted extractor hood to separate the kitchen from the remainder of the living and dining space. It looks good! The units come from the Star range with facings in vanilla set off by sides, worktop and back wall being in Cabana. You will need to go to www.nolte-kuechen.de to view.
I'm afraid the garage has not been such a success story. The owner of the next door plot has refused permission to allow us to have the height oversized garage we require in order to have a flat run-in from street level. So yesterday the architect was altering the plans to show that the level has been dropped and that a sloping run-in will be constructed. They have been re-submitted to the local Planning Authority today, at most it could take another 4 weeks for them to be passed. So it's back to waiting I'm afraid.

2005-04-22T22:48:00.000+02:00

Plan view of Kitchen

Tenth Edition - The kitchen man

2005-04-13T15:32:00.000+02:00

A long afternoon! Went to the kitchen design centre with a vague idea of what we wanted. It has to be a modern kitchen after all those years of making do with those dreadful army ones. A kitchen with a decent cooker and oven, plenty of cupboard and drawer space, ergonomic and light and just fun to be in. Herr Hagelücken (good old German name) had the plan we made at the exhibition and thus knew roughly what we had in mind. We talked about colour schemes, frontage of cupboards and work tops, handles, splashboards and the like. Looked at ovens, cookers and steamers, fridges, freezers and dishwasher, examined various sink types from stainless steel to ceramic, discussed extracter fans, storage space and island workstations; and all along the way Herr Hagelücken entered each wish and comment into his computer to create a virtual kitchen for us. Time ran out for the day. After four hrs we decided to meet again on Friday, 15th to look at the finer details - I might also change the colour scheme. At the moment we've chosen Cabana (a light coffee) for side panals and Vanilla for frontage - it might look better the other way round! See what Friday brings!

Ninth Edition - I don't understand planning regulations!

2005-04-12T19:06:00.000+02:00

Everything seemed to be going so well. I should have known it couldn't last! The plans have been rejected by the Planning Authority because the garage is higher than 3m above the floor level of the house.
The problem seems to arise because the level of the house is established from Mean Sea Level (MSL), then the height of the foundation and floor thickness are added to determine a reference point above MSL. Planning regulations require that outside walls are not to be more than 3m above the reference point. In our case the far right hand corner of the garage is 43cms too high becaue of the need to build up that part of the garage foundation to maintain a level run in. So, what to do. If the owner of the next door plot agrees to having this oversize object next to him then we can proceed. If not, then we shall have to dig down to obtain a level surface and therefore have a sloping run in to the garage. Anyway, the question has been put to next door and plans sent to him so that he can see the problem. That was last Friday,we still await an answer.

2005-04-10T22:20:00.000+02:00

First floor

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Front view

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Back view

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Ground floor

Eighth Edition - The plans arrive

2005-04-10T21:48:00.000+02:00

Never mind the kitchen, saunas and such like the plans arrived about two weeks ago. You do realise that we are playing catch up don't you?

Yes, the architect arrived on 30 March with the final version of the plans and planning permission papers. It took about an hour for us to review eveything and sign up. So, the plans were posted on 31st and finally on there way to the Planning Dept in Stadt Nettetal.
You can form an impression of what the finshed product will look like by viewing the scanned images above.

Sevens Edition - Homebuilder's Exhibition

2005-04-09T17:26:00.000+02:00

What luck - a home builder's exhibition in MG on March 19th. Off we went to check it out and learn about the many things that might come in handy.
While Eddie was mainly interested in photo voltaic transfer and rainwater harvesting (doesen't that just sound like him!) Sonja headed straight for the kitchens (where she belongs).
Hah - actually, she had the last laugh as the kitchen manufacturers were offering a 30% discount on a full kitchen, appliances and fitting service. We opted for a Nolte kitchen (www.nolte-kuechen.de) and are due to see the designer on Monday, 11. April - will let you know how it went.
A further plus point of the exhibition was that we found a ceramic wooodburning stove manufacturer - Kachelofen for those speaking German. (www.sommerhuber.com) Some of their modern style stoves caught our eye and unless we find a cast iron or stainless steel one that looks better, we will have one built into a corner of the living room. Apart from those two items we looked at saunas, whirlpools and jacuzzies - nice, but no.

Sixth Edition Edition - Architect continued

2005-04-08T20:21:00.000+02:00

There was a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing before Herr W remarked that the problem was to do with the large bay window we had chosen. Sonja sparked up at this point and softly (not) said but we didn't choose the large bay window! Luckily we were in the show house which had the small bay window, so we all trooped out to have a look and agreed that we did indeed order the small one. So Herr A put his hand up and said that he had made the mistake while briefing the architect. Herr W now relaxed and declared that the house would fit. Herr A had a serene smile on his face as if to say I told you so, Herr W breathed a sigh of relief, I stopped sweating and Sonja just sat there with a satisfied look on her face. All was now smooth sailing, until we spoke about closing the upstairs gallery to provide a study. According to Herr A this was certainly not on, no one had ever done it in one of these house types and so it was not possible. But once again we insisted and to give him his due Herr A got on to his boss immediately and spent 30 minutes convincing him what a good idea it was. Eventually we had agreement and the rest of the planning session passed off without further conflict.

Fifth Edition - The architect

2005-04-07T20:54:00.000+02:00

In between deciding to buy the Plot and signing the papers we spent many enjoyable hours with the architect! (not).
Before our initial meeting with the architect (Herr Westermeier) we spent a lot of time poring over the OKAL house plans and deciding how we wanted our house to look. The house salesman (Herr Alt) was privy to most of our thoughts and had pre-briefed the architect.
As background, the rules concerning building on our Plot state that we must not build within 3m of our boundary. Having spoken with Herr A, Herr W came to our meeting knowing that the house as we wanted it would not fit the Plot. This all revolved around the bay window we wanted on the left hand side of the house. Herr Ws first comment to us was that the house would not fit and we would have to change the layout. As you can imagine we were thoroughly p.....d off and Sonja even refused to talk about the subject telling Herr A that he had promised the house would fit as we wanted it and if it didn't then we were not in the business of buying and certainly not from them. As it transpired, the problem revolved around a 30 cm overspill on the bay window into the 3m zone..................Continues on next post.

Fourth Edition - OKAL and planning basics

2005-04-07T15:00:00.000+02:00

In our first edition we mentioned briefly the housebuilder we have chosen to manage the build for us. Here is some more info about OKAL. In comparison to the likes of Wimpey etc., OKAL is quite small. They built 3000 houses last year, but as is the case here in Germany, they only ever build on small or individual plots. There are several standard layouts and sizes of house you can choose from, once you have chosen the style and size you can sit with the architect and modify things based on your own requirements and the requirements of your plot.
When you buy land in Germany specified for residential building, it has already been designated by the planning department and local bye-laws enacted to determine building layout. You still have to submit your plans to the planners but it is more a formality as the architect checks building regulations for the specific area before making any modification. For example, in our house we had wanted double dormer windows on the 2nd floor, but when we sat with the architect to discuss this he informed us that there were planning restrictions on such windows in the Hinsbeck area.
We are providing a link to the OKAL website so you can see the styles of houses they build. www.okal.de. We are planning to build a "Sunny 95". We have however made some substantial modifications to the standard design. e.g. downstairs study will be an en-suite guest room, upstairs gallery will be closed to create a study, brick cladding outside, 3 single dormer windows upstairs, overall size 1m wider, integral fireplace and the addition of a double length garage. Over the course of the blog we will write about these changes in more detail, especially the housebuilder's reaction to some of our ideas.
More soon.

Third Edition - Where is Hinsbeck?

2005-04-07T14:23:00.000+02:00

So, you are all wondering "Where is Hinsbeck?" Take a look at the two maps below. The first map gives you a feel for where Hinsbeck is in relation to Mönchengladbach and other towns you may recognise e.g. Krefeld and Venlo. It shows you how close we will soon be to those crazy Dutchies!!
The second map is a streetmap of Hinsbeck. Look for the blue blob near the Golfplatz. This is where the house will eventually be. The street is called Peter Berten Straße - we just can't seem to escape the name "Peter" in our address!!

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Map of Hinsbeck and surrounding area.

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Map of Hinsbeck. Look for the blue blob to the right of the golf course. That is where the plot is.

Second Edition - Buying the plot

2005-04-06T20:59:00.000+02:00

On 21st March we went to meet with the solicitor and the seller to finalise the sale of the plot. The atmosphere was relaxed and we got on well with the seller - Herr Lappen, a horticulturist of international repute. Apparently he owns great tracts of land around here hence the local name for the area of "Lappland".
The process is quite different to the UK in that the solicitor meets with both parties at the same time and reads the contract ensuring that they both understand all of the clauses. This was fine for us and helped tremendously with the fine print (most of which we didn't understand!). But, during the process we did seem to drift off into several different and sometimes unconnected areas such as, tree planting in Scotland, the export of tree and plant diseases, living in Mönchengladbach and the setting up of wills in Germany.
Eventually we did sign a contract but I'm not certain whether I ordered some trees, had a will written or bought some land! Only time will tell.

2005-04-06T20:50:00.000+02:00

Survey map of the plot

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Facing west towards golf course

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South Facing

First Edition - We're building a house!

2005-04-04T20:25:00.000+02:00

We are building a house!
This blog is going to be our web-diary of the build and is here to keep you all up-to-date with our progress. It might even be a place for us to let off steam if things don't quite go as planned!!
Let me fill you in with some of the details.......
Having decided to stay here in Germany, we started looking for a housebuilder. After much searching we found the right man who works for a company called OKAL. Not being from around this area and not knowing much about buying land, our man searched on our behalf and found just the right plot for us.
Our plot of land is in a place called Hinsbeck and is 574 square metres. There are three further plots waiting to be sold next to ours and is on the edge of a relatively new development with no further opportunities to increase beyond the four plots including ours. There is a golf course almost behind the plot and about 1.5km away two large lakes stretch across a nature reserve with forests and rambling/cycling routes along a rediscovered canal from Napoleonic times. Have I got you interested? Read on in the Second Edition.