Filling in

Today the builders focused on finishing the waterproofing of the cellar walls, insulation, and filling in the trench surrounding the house.

Waterproof cover over Joern's garage

Insulation covered by waterproofing cover along cellar walls.

Filling in the hole around the cellar with gravel.  The gravel is for drainage.

German builder- on the phone.

Filling in the trench with gravel.

Friday

For a variety of different reasons, I decided not to go to the house yesterday.  Mostly because I decided to clean the kitchen and do some laundry, and I was just toasty and warm.  Plus, I had plans this morning, so I knew that I could always stop at the house on the way out today.
So, this morning, before I headed out to meet my friends Stacy and Mandy for brunch in Stuttgart, I stopped by the house.
Normally, the procedure of checking out the house begins with stopping at my in-laws' house to check out the overview, and then driving back down their driveway, and driving up to our house.  This morning, I figured since I was in a bit of a rush, I would just stop at our house.
The only difference I could notice was that there was even more stuff in our driveway.
And then, I noticed that the builders put bricks above the doorways in the entertainment room.  And honestly, I was a little disappointed.  I know that the builders don't really do too much on Fridays.  I wouldn't want their job for the world, its cold now, and they work the butts off.  But come on, this was the only difference I could see from Thursday to Friday:

Notice the red brick along the top of the doorway to the immediate left. (Thursday)

Now look at the top of the same doorway from yesterday.

So, this was it.  That and a beer bottle had been removed from in front of the brick cutting machine.  The beer bottle was a little weird anyway, builders aren't allowed to drink on the site.  Huh.  But okay. 

Anyway, I was moderately sad that more progress hadn't been made. Then, I looked through the light well, and saw a little white, could  it be insulation?





That little white peaking through the light well (that rectangular cutout in the wall?)  Is it insulation?

I figured I couldn't leave without checking out the back of the house.  So, up to the in-laws' house I drove, and it turns out that the complete back of the house had been insulated!





All that gray along the back is a covering over the insulation!

The back of Joern's garage is also insulated:

The builders also filled in a lot more gravel and the big orange pipes were made higher.  Those big orange pipes are part of the drainage system.



Well there you have it.  The builders worked pretty hard yesterday, even without their Thursday / Friday food.

What a cool way (or hopefully warmer way,) to wrap up the end of week 9 of building!

Tee Hee Hee and Today's Update

I was reading a post on the Decorating and Renovating message board on the Nest today.  The post was about avacado bath fixtures.  It made me laugh because I have a secret adoration of all home things that are avacado.  It must come from having grown up in a house with avacado appliances and sink in the kitchen.  I hate to admit it, because I must be one of 10 million people who feels this way about that fantastically ugly color.  I remember how much my mom hated it. Maybe my feelings about avacado come from deep desire to spite my mother. I don't really know.  Please don't ask me to explain why I love avacado, but would love, in on another planet, to incorporate avacado green into my home.  It just would make me feel good.
Since I am the "Time Queen" right now, I decided, for nostalgia's sake, to Google 1970s avacado house.  I found tons of pictures that made me miss home. One of my new favorite sites that I found, Ugly House Photos contains the most fabulous pictures of homes in all their 1970s hideous glory.
As I perused the photos on my new favorite site, I saw a bunch of pictures from European bathrooms.  And guess what I found?

Check out that fantastic, TANKLESS, avacado toilet!  It looks like the plumber was really right- my exposed tank toilet is truly something out of the 1920s, because clearly, 1970s European toilets were already tankless! 

In other exciting news, the house is moving right along!  Sadly, I am having trouble uploading the one picture from above, showing the now completed walls for the staircase.  Boo!

But, the walls that run up along the staricase are now complete.  I can show a picture from inside the house though- very cool!

And now, we know exactly where the electrical access panel will be located.

The cellar is also becoming compartmentalized.  I walked along the wall and turned to the left, thinking I was walking into Joern's garage.  Then I realized I was lost in my house- I was actually standing in the entertainment room!

The wall between the fitness room and the foyer is also progressing.

And, there is something on top of my garage.  Looks like insulation?  Maybe that will be laid out on top of the garage?  Joern will clarify this next week :)

And the last picture, especially for my Hong Kong readers:

It appears that the excavation for the multi-family homes is complete!

Wow, a lot happened today!

So much has gone on in the past two days.  My post from yesterday actually was Monday's picture. 
I stopped by the house yesterday at 11 am, at which time the builders were working on the load-bearing wall.  My original plan was to stop by the building site yesterday evening, but I was tired, my car seems to be having problems again, and it was pouring.  So, I  wasn't able to get to the house again until today to take pictures.  I was so surprised by what I found today!

Concrete has been poured on the roof of my garage. The electricians laid lots of cable yesterday. The entire exterior of the cellar has been covered with a special tar that serves to fill in any cracks that may occur in the cellar walls, preventing moisture from seeping into the cellar.  And, one of the load-bearing walls is complete!

A better view of the cellar exteiror.  Plus, the cable running over the roof of Joern's garage was also installed yesterday.

Cables for Joern's garage.





The completed load-bearing wall (bordering the staircase and the entertainment room,) and the next one is begun.

The entertainment room new wall!  The front of the wall, forming the border between the entertainment room and the foyer, has also been started.

Seriously, I cannot believe how much changed in such a short time!  I was certain that both load-bearing walls would be completed by the time Joern returned on Sunday, but I never would have guessed that so much would have been completed in one and a half days!  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!



The garages are now covered!

The ceiling pieces arrived yesterday for the garages.  They came in pre-fabricated sections, which were lowered via crane onto the top of the garages.  Reinforcing steel mesh has been placed on top, and concrete will be poured on top. 

The builders also started on one load bearing wall!  These walls are made out of a different type of brick than the rest of the house.  These bricks are less porous, so that they can take a lot more weight and because there is less need for insulation in these interior walls.  Joern picked up one brick, and said it was super heavy!  Its a good thing that these bricks are only used for two walls, poor guys!

I think I've found a solution!

In trying to make the best of my being unable to do a lot of activity, I scoured the net this morning in search of a solution to our Master Bath Finish Mixing Conundrum:

The Pottery Barn Sussex Sconce!

Surprisingly, the price is pretty good, and all of the accessories I scored at the PB outlet over the summer were also PB Sussex!  I need to order a second towel ring and a towel bar anyway, so I'll just add these beauties onto the order.  Then we're good to go!  I researched a lot about mixing finishes yesterday.  Turns out that in the States during the housing boom, finishes in bathrooms were frequently mixed as builders  rushed to finish homes and would  just throw "whatever" into bathrooms to meet deadlines.  Now that the housing boom is long past, designers and homeowners have come to appreciate an eclectic mix of finishes in bathrooms.   For us, it makes for a simple solution.  We'll have all the accessories and light fixtures in Oil Rubbed Bronze, and we'll have the fauctes, sprays, and the drawer pulls in either chrome or brushed nickel.  I will go to a bath showroom later with my ORB towel ring and a piece from the dark wood vanity to look at finishes for faucets.  But I have to say, I feel a strong sense of relief that we've gotten so far already.  The plumber will also feel a strong sense of relief that he doesn't have to search for a solution!  Hooray!

Progress

The builders were busy again.  Today, they put up the reinforcements for the garage ceiling slabs, which come Monday!  I am so excited to see what it looks like when our garages have ceilings!  WAHOO!!

Joern's garage

My garage

In other news, Joern went to meet with the plumber today at a bath showroom.  Joern and I had visited the showroom a few weeks ago, but our architect strongly suggested that we work with this company, as both he and the plumber work closely with this showroom.  Sadly, I just wasn't up to going, and in the end, it was probably the best as Joern was there about 3 hours.  But, thanks to Joern, who marched out the door today, with my ever-growing Inspiration Binder in hand.  What a fantastic guy to walk around with a 5 inch thick binder with flowers all over it, to go represent the both of us at the meeting with the plumber and the bathroom designer.

I guess it was easy to give the designer a good idea of my style through my Inspiration Binder.  Plus, I had chosen the fixtures I wanted anyway, so it wasn't too difficult.  I guess it was a little controversial that I wanted two toilets with "gasp" tanks mounted on the back, which almost never exists here anymore.  For me, there is no question in the children's bath that we'll have an exposed tank and floor mounted toilet- it just goes with the cottagey look of  the bathroom, the beadboard is definately the clincher.  Joern came home laughing about this discussion, when the plumber said, "Oh wow, those toilets are like ones from the 1920s."  So there you have it, we are sooooo old fashioned in America :)   But the designer agreed that because we have the large vanity that goes to the ground, he explained that the line of having the toilet go all the way to the ground would be the best look.  Score one for me!

Joern showed them the bathtub that we had picked out together last time we went to this showroom.  It is a corner tub, which I think is the best fit in our bathroom. 



We'll do a wall-hung toilet in the master bath, and a floor mounted one in both the children's bath and powder room.  In the cellar, its whatever is cheap!  Joern showed them the pedestal sink that I would like in the powder room as well.

What turned into a big problem without me were the faucets. The first problem was I wanted Oil Rubbed Bronze (ORB) fixtures in the master bath. I armed Joern with a ton of pictures and a towel ring. Turns out it doesn't exist in Germany. UGH! So, the plumber took the towel ring, and promised Joern he would look for something. Otherwise, our choices are pretty limited in finishes to chrome or satin nickel. Here are a few choices the bathroom designer picked out as possiblities:

Jado: Lighthouse Series

Kludi: Anlon series

Both are interesting, and okay. I am just not sure what on earth we will chose for our finish in the master bath if we don't find an ORB solution.

Joern also decided that he would like a rain shower head for the shower in the master bath, plus we'll have a hand-held shower head.  We'll have a hand-held shower head and faucet mounted on the wall for the bathtub.  In the kids' bath, we'll have a hand-held shower head that is controlled with a thermostat (good because you can set the thermostat.) 

Another piece of on its way to exciting news, Joern and the designer also found a possible kitchen sink candidate:

Dornbracht: Madison Flair

This is the first not totally modern kitchen faucet I've seen with a separate hand-held spray.  The only problem is that the sink probably doesn't have three holes for faucet and controls.  Maybe this is a sign though that there's hope?!

How do you decide?

Our house is a custom build and not a builder's design.  That being said, the perks of  a custom home are exactly that, the house is completely custom.  We choose everything!  We get to pick out whatever flooring we please, whichever windows we want, any doors, any roofing tiles, the world is ours. 
Yet, our plumber recently provided us an offer that inclued fixtures.  I know we should purchase our fixtures, well most of them through the plumber.  Although his prices may be a little higher than what we could get from an internet company, we get peace of mind that our fixtures will arrive in good shape, come with a warranty, and that the plumber's price will not increase for installation. We already have sinks for the master bath, children's bath and cellar, but otherwise, toilets, showers, the guest bath sink, all will come from the plumber.  The plumber offered us his version of "builder basic," Keramag's series, Renova Nr. 1. 
I know its a little ridiculous, but I had different views and ideas for my toilets.  Mr. B always brings up the fact that a toilet is a toilet, and well, you know how we use toilets, they're not furniture pieces.  On the one hand I see the practicality of this argument.  Maybe its because my dad is a plumber, or maybe its because I am attempting to recreate a New England colonial in my little house, but I'm not so happy with the practical approach.  
I really like Villeroy and Boch's Hommage collection, and Kohler's Portrait collection. 
The problem is that we're starting to reach the edge of our budget, something which makes me a little uncomfortable.  I think these are the decisions that are also difficult.  Should we go with the more expensive Villeroy and Boch fixtures, or stick with the more basic fixtures, accepting that we will change them out in the future.  Will we get around to changing them out, as dogs and children expand our lives, and our focus shifts away from our house as time passes? 
We are going to ask Mr. Haag for the prices of both the basic fixtures and the Villeroy and Boch Hommage fixtures.  But in the end, how do you decide?

Last week's pictures

As many of you know, last week was a really crappy week for both Joern and myself.  Let's just say our first try at baby-making was an abysmal failure, and I have been out of the hospital for 3 days now. 
I guess the builders sensed something was wrong, or maybe it was the fact that they got paid for another job and wanted to finish it up, but we were builderless Thursday, Friday, and Monday.
But Monday and Tuesday weren't so very bad.

The outside wall of Joern's garage is all set for pouring.



The forms around the exterior walls were removed.  Joern's looking out the window of the fitness room.



The two openings in the corner are for the intake and exhaust for the air pump.  The other opening is for a light well.

Tuesday October 5

On Tuesday, they poured the front walls for both our garages.


Wednesday

 The front wall of my garage is finished!

The front wall of Joern's garage is finished too!

In case you were interested, this is our next-door neighbor's air heat pump.  If you couldn't tell, its pretty big.  Our air heat pump will be even bigger, which is why we have to make our mechanical room larger.

Night falls on our building site

I went to my in-laws' house last night.  There is a new crane in our neighborhood, the mulitifamily home project is finally underway. 

I guess this is also a chance to brag about another purchase we recently made:  a Cannon EOS Rebel.  It is my first experience in the world of DLSR cameras, and I have to say, I am in love.  This photo was taken on night setting.  This is the first time I have been able to take a photo at night and have it come out.  With all my old cameras, even the night settings were not very useful, and I could only take pictures at night without flash, without moving, and a lot of luck.  This was my first night picture with the new camera, and well, it came out!  I know, not professional quality, but still exciting to me!

Recent home purchases

How on earth did I not post about this before?  Pottery Barn, one of my hands down favorite stores, sent me an email a few weeks ago, with a 10% off your order code.  I have NEVER received anything like this from PB, so I got to work looking for things that we need for our house.  We need lots of stuff, so it wasn't hard to find things.  It was hard to narrow things down, and hard to turn things away.  I don't really need to buy curtains yet, we don't have windows.  We have one set of sheets, but need a matching duvet cover, and we have one duvet cover that needs sheets.
But, in the end, here's what I got:

Image from PotteryBarn.com


I have been lusting after Pottery Barn's Daily System for quite some time now.  Recently, Joern and I have realized that we need a cork board, and some more calendars.   The Daily System would really meet our needs, but we currently have no room in our apartment for such a large and very useful wall.  When I noticed that Pottery Barn was running a current special offering 20% off the Daily System, I knew my days without this were surely numbered.  And when I got the email offering 10% off purchases, including sale items, I knew it was time to make the Daily System mine.  It will go in Joern's office, which by the way, I am trying to find a small place for myself in the office too.  I am so excited, and so happy to have made another super-cool purchase for our house!!












 

Dear Blogger

You stink!  I am trying so hard to post every day, with pictures, so that I don't fall too far behind.  I'm already a day behind because I lost the camera card with Friday's pictures.  Today, I can't upload pictures.
Thanks a lot!

On Friday, they removed the forms from the walls, so we have free-standing cellar walls.  Sorry, can't post pics.
Today seemed a little slow, but not sure if that could have been any different.  They completed the forms for the front wall of Joern's garage.  Tomorrow, it looks like they'll the front of Joern's garage, and then put the forms up for the front of my garage, and maybe for the foyer as well.  Again, sorry, no pics.  But it is so cool to see the changes happening to our house!

Joern also picked up a sample of the wood floor today.  He also arranged to get samples of the master bath tile and the tile in the powder room. FUN!  While Joern was in Reutlingen picking up samples, he stopped at a store that sells fireplaces.  It turns out that we might just be able to afford to install a nice fireplace during the building process and not in a few years.  This is especially useful, as we plan to use the fireplace to support the air heat pump for hot water.  Exciting!

The end of week 6!

Week 6 of our building exprience has now come to an end.  Despite many people believing that this process is quite slow, I am so surprised when I think back to the fact that five weeks ago the end of the day brought some scratches to the topsoil. 
Just a quick recap of the past 6 weeks:

End of the day, August 27th.  The digging has started.

End of the  day, September 3, excavation is complete!

End of the day, September 10.  Gravel put down and footings installed.

End of day, September 17.  Slab completed for garages and foyer, preparations for slab for house.

September 24.  Concrete slab being poured for house.

October 1, exterior cellar walls are free standing!

Joern also met with a representative from Deutsche Bank.  They are one of two banks we are considering to be our mortgage lender.  What is so attractive about this bank is their ability to guarantee the interest rate for 25 years, which in Germany, is a big deal, as most mortgages last 10 years, and then you need to either pay off the mortgage or refinance.
Here's what Joern explained to me:
- despite locking in for 25 years, we are also allowed to leave the mortgage in 10 years.  We can either pay off the mortgage in 10 years, refinance if the interest rate is better, or stay with this mortgage.
-we are allowed to pay an extra 5% annually on the mortgage without any penalty.
- because we are locking in for 25 years, we will be paying a higher interest rate, 4%, but the positive is that if the interest rate has gone up in 10 years, we're still paying a low 4%.
- this mortgage is a simple, classsic mortgage.  The other bank is offering us a two-part mortgage, one half would be classic mortgage, the other half would be a building-savings contract, so this one is a little more transparent.

Our walls

The builders worked hard on Wednesday putting up the forms for the cellar walls.  They spent the morning on Thursday, finishing up preparations for the forms.  At 1 pm on Thursday, the concrete truck arrived and they began pouring the remainder of the exterior cellar walls.

As of Thursday afternoon, all of the structural walls for the outside of the cellar are complete!