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?!