THE KITCHEN!!!

Ok I'm well behind on my blog but what with moving in and spending time enjoing the haus, can you blame me!! Also BT have alot to answer for...Huf can build haus in 6 days, it took bt weeks to get me connected!!









Anyway, here's my first set of internal pictures! The kitchen! We chose the kitchen from siematic...it's still German so it follows on with the theme! We chose for the kitchen to be vanilla and latte with a zodiac worksurface. Great gadgets include a built in a steamer, quooker tap (works like a kettle!) and a colour changing tap!! How cool!! You'll also notice on the piccies that the glazed doors on the island unit change colour! It's fab...D.I.S.C.O!!!!





I really do love my kitchen...although it was much harder to choose than I expected what with the white walls and black wood. To me though it's perfect which is a good job as kitchens are very personal taste! Now I have to brush up on my cooking skills!!!

THE BED DECK IS HERE!!! YIPEE!!!..

"Oh my god" That was my reaction when I saw my newly fitted bed deck last night!! It's huge!!

The Germans from Stil Art (part of huf) arrived yesterday morning to fit the bed deck (best described as a bed thats raised up towards the ceiling and accessed via a black wooden ladder) As normal they were on time (I have a bee in my bonet at the moment regarding SOME English workers and unkept promises) and as expected they did a fantastic job leaving the house as spotless as they found it!!

The bed deck is constructed out of timber and will easily take a king size mattress. Like the house itself it is finished in black, white and chrome. We opted for one of these for a couple of reasons....1. I'm often described as an overgrown child (and as a kid I wanted a cabin bed!) and 2. It means that I can use this room as a gym/wii fit room but still have a spare bed for guests as the floor space is left entirely free! Clever or what!! Well, I thought so.....anyway!!!

I love my beddeck and I plan to spend quite a bit of time hiding away here. From here I can nosey down the driveway....look out to the rear fields and watch the wildlife and nosey onto our landing area and casual seating area! It's a perfect viewing spot! I love it!!!

COUNTDOWN TO MOVING IN....

In 1 week and 1 day we officially move in and I really can't wait!!

As I write our kitchen is being fitted (and it looks really good, even if I say so myself!!) We have opted for a modern hi-gloss kitchen from the siematic SL range (this basically means it got no handles!) It's finished in Vanilla cream and Latte with a zodiac worksurface. The centre piece is a fab island unit which has the hob and steamer set into it. What I like most though are the colour changing lights set behind the frosted glass doors...there are the best! Even the tap (which has not arrived yet) changes colour!!

The woodburning stove arrived last week. It's from Huf, although officially it comes from Holland. I really like the stainless finish....it complements the bolts on the house very well. One thing that suprised me though was the size of it. It's huge....as in taller than me!!! I don't think I'll be going cold!

Our landscapers are also doing a great job....the site has now all been levelled and is ready for turfing. We are having a granite patio laid to the rear, this will match the pathway around the house. The carport has all been blockpaved and shortly the driveway will be finished. Fingers crossed it will be all done for moving day!!

IT'S ALL OURS!!....THE GOLD KEY WORKS!!

Last Wednesday the house legally and officially became ours! In the space of the 2 days the Germans fully installed the bathrooms and fittings, hung all the internal doors and put all the skirting on. Little snagging jobs were done (mainly decor touch up) and the house was cleaned from top to bottom! It looks amazing!

The night before handover we sneaked in (This was at 9pm, the germans were just leaving) and made a snagging list (don't forget if it was a typical UK builder you would need to do this!). We arrived early for handover with list in hand (we not awkard but these houses are expensive and it must be right). But guess what, well you've probably guessed...all the jobs were done. They had also snagged it and put it all right. All I could find was some tiny nail marks in the skirting and as expected straightaway they fixed those too! So it was on to the official handover!

Frank (he's the main plumbing and heating man) walked us around the house explaining all the heating controls, how the boiler works and demonstating useful things on operating the showers and baths. Then it was on to Rudiker who went through the finer matters including keys, working of blinds and how to look after the house! We were presented with a DIY touch up box and Huf tool set! The front door was unwrapped and the lock changed from the builders lock to ours and then was it time....

THE GOLDEN KEY WORKS!!

18 months ago (when we paid our first deposit for the house) we were presented with a golden key in velvet jewellery box. For the past week I have been wearing this key around my neck (quite sad I know but I was excited) awiting to see if it would really open the lock that had been allocated to me all that time ago. And as expected it worked!!! The golden key opened the door!! Now, after only 3 months, the house is all ours.......

IT'S ALL OURS!!!!!

Now it's countdown time to moving but first the kitchen, fireplace and bed deck need to be installed. I'll be back soon with next updates!!!

THE DRIVEWAY!!

We're now waiting for the final Huf team to arrive. However whilst we await our English teams are busy at work connecting our drains and the landscapers are busy putting in the driveway!

Again what a transformation (and it's still not finished!!) Since the house arrived we have been a pristine building site on the inside but like all uk building sites we have been pretty much a bomb site outside (and I don't do mud and mess!!!) Now we have a vast diffence!

Andrew and his driveway team have been busy all week. First they had to level out the area and then out of granite sets they created the curves of the drive and created zones where the turf will lay. Crusher stone has been laid and compacted and next week the first layer of tarmac will go down!

Inside the carport we have chosen to have grey granite sets and we will also have a granite pathway with white cobbles around the perimeter of the house. These will be laid early next week! I also plan to put the white cobbles in the chain circles. It's going to look superb!

So as I've said before next week is going to be a rather hetic one! However I really can't wait!!

The Carpets are down....5 days until handover!!

Now I'm really buzzing....the house is beginning to look huge (and I thought it looked big before!!) The carpets are all down, all the tilings is finished and the solid wooden floor is complete! If you didn't already realise I really love my house!!! Or should that be "haus"!!!

The carpet man arrived from Germany on Monday evening (these Huf people do everything). Is first words were Hello...where are the carpets???? Oops!! These super efficeient Germans had made a mistake!! They had forgot to the deliver carpets!! So we had a carpet fitter on a 3 day schedule with no carpet to fit!! Luckily the wooden floor were sat here waiting and he could get cracked on with that!! Anyway after a few frantic calls (from the carpet fitter) the carpets were driven over from Germany and Mr Carpet man could get back on schedule!

What amazed me though was 1...he finished on time (he did say though that time is money!!)...2....the long hours he worked (until it went dark, we past at 9pm and he was still there) and 3....that he did it all on his own!! The huf way of carpeting is also quite different to the uk way. All the carpets and the wooden floors are glued to the floor. This is so there is absolutely no movement with furniture. As the carpets are getting laid, a rather heavy metal roller is rolled over to ensure perfect smoothiness and no air bubbles! Very nifty indeed!!

So now all the carpets are down! Mr Carpet Man ( I don't know is name) has gone back to Germany and now we await the final team who will put the skirtings on and do all the finishing of jobs! Our kitchen arrives Wednesday afternoon so once the house has been officially handed over to us, they can start fiiting that. Thanks to the guys at siematic, the kitchen is arriving earlier than the informed delivery date so hopefully we will be moving in ahead of schedule!! Happy days for me!!!

WE ARE TILED!!

Once again apologies for being behind on my posting! The internet access where I am tempoarily living is a nightmare!

Anyway...the lastest update is.....we'll get our keys next week!! I am so exited (but aren't I always!!)

The house is now fully decorated and also tiled! The decorators only took 2 weeks to do the full house including plastering! They have a rather strange system where the plaster and paint all comes as one product which they literally paint on! Only the germans!! Only Huf!!!

So now the black is really black and the white is really white, it looks so crisp. The cutting in is perfect but they did mask everything! Preparation is always the key! The decorators then left us and a few days later 2 tilers from Boden Art (part of Huf) arrived. Again they took great attention to detail. They pegged the flooring out with sting lines, laid all the tiles out in place and made sure that any cutting needed was symetrical! Then all the tiles were properly put back in place! How perfect!

Our bathrooms are also tiled and the baths already in place (they are tiled in...see picture) I almost cried (happy cry) when I saw the master bathroom. My bath is huge. I love it...when it's finished it will have pillows at both ends....I see myself spending alot of time in it!!!

So today is Monday and come Wednesday 25th June we will get the house officially handed over to us. This week is going to be a very busy week for us. We have a full german team on site include electricians, joiners and plumbers. The bathrooms will be finished, the carpets gets laid and the wood burner installed. Externally the driveway team should also start today and also Briscows (the original groundwork team) are back on site to connect the drains! What are a hetic week it will be!!!

The Decorators are here...(and quite a bit more....)

Yeah!!!...We are back on schedule! Our decorators have arrived and over the course of the next 3 weeks they will re-paint every little bit of the house...fill in screw holes and skim the ceilings!

They arrived last week (Thursday) and have already finished the exterior! But again they are Germans so what do you expect!! I have to say it's looking fab. The black wood as a wonderful sheen to it. Like the rest of the time they taken great attention to detail. Everything is fully masked (they even have a strange dispenser for this!). When we called down last night they were working on the inside....one german decorator was walking around using the ladders as stilts! He did make me chuckle!

I also met the curtain lady yesterday. Any huf owner will tell you that curtains are a nighmare in these houses with the triangular shaped windows. I think we are opting panel blinds using a local supplier from our home town ( Lancaster ). I'll let you know how that works out!

We also met up with the driveway people. I really want the landscaping at the front of the house sorting before we move in. We've opted for a tarmac driveway that sweeps around and leads into the carport. Our plan is to have a lot of greenery and mature planting to the front with the entrance being flanked by lavender beds and a polished granite walkway. Fingers crossed it all comes together!

Anyway next job today is to meet up with Rudiker (site supervisor). I'll let you know in my next post how we get on!!

I'M BACK TO MY BLOGGING!!

First of all apologies to anyone who was wondering when my next post was coming! In the past 3 weeks we've moved house, been on holiday and had problems with United Utilities! I'd also lost my access to the internet but now I'm back on line and back blogging!

So where is the house upto??

Well not a great deal has changed since my last post. Huf came and put the floor screed down (this is basically a thick concrete layer that goes over the under floor heating) and then good old United Utilities let us down and held the whole job up! So for anyone having any house built take heed.....United Utilities are a nightmare...they have more departments than a department store and more in boxes then half the uk put together! When we FINALLY got our water connected they failed to turn us on! Did you know you also have to ask the question....please will you turn my water on! How ridiculous!!

Anyway....we now have water connected and because our neighbour has kindly let us use his electricity (United Utilities delay again) we have a working boiler so our floor can now begin to dry out throughly! Once we are dry the decorators can arrive and then we'll be back on track!

The last (and funy thing) to mention is the german boiler man! Once we had the water connected and on he drove over from Germany to switch us on. And guess what??? He forget our key! It's refreshing to know that the Germans are human after all........

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES.....168 LITTLE HOURS...

Here's me going all wax lyrical!

We've been to visit the house twice this week...Monday and last night (Don't forget we're also trying to move home in between!!) On Monday we took Ralph the plumber is birthday cake, he seemed rather pleased with it! I'm told Glucklich Geberstag is Happy Birthday in german ....i've learnt something new!

Anyway back to the house...Monday was interesting...again there were germans everywhere and whilst our haus looks superb it did also look like a building site!! A huf building site mind you!! Joiners were cutting wood, the sparky's had wires everywhere and the plumbers were beavering away in the plant room. It looked like chaos...organised chaos though!

Last night there was no one....the huf team's gone and the house is spotless, ready for the next team! So what's changed???

Well the house is wired, we have trip switches galore...the plant room is plumbed (see pictures), all the wooden pelmets are up and the underfloor heating as been laid. Check out the picture and note just how prescise and neat it has been laid! I can't believe they've done all this in such a short period time!

So now we have to wait for the English. Whilst our water connection has been made, we need the oil (for the boiler) connecting and for United Utilities to connect the Electricity. The oil is imperative because without this we can not fire up the boiler and test the underfloor heating so the project will come to halt. I am assured though this will be up and running by Monday. We are using a temporary electricity supply so we should be ok there! So the warning for anyone considering a huf haus is keep chasing your utility suppliers. The Germans can put a house up in 6 days. United Untilities have been on with connecting electricity since last September!

WE'VE GOT PLUG SOCKETS (And a whole lot more!!)

What I really love about visiting our Haus is that everytime we go down we can see a visible difference! Todays biggest change has probably been in the appearance of the floor, fiiting of internal glass and the fact that we have plug sockets and light switches (and a rather fancy devise that controls the electic blinds....very flash!!)







So firstly the flooring! The basic piping that feeds the underfloor heating is all in place. On top of this our team have laid polystyerene insulation (oh yes, I will be warm!). Because this is white, it makes the room look so much bigger...so now I'm even happier!! Is that possible!!

The next superb change is that all the internal glass pieces including top lights and balconies are all in place. It really looks fantastic and gives a true indication of just how light and airy the home really will be. I love the balcony on the galleried landing that looks over our 2nd sitting area...I think this will be one of my favourite area's of the house!



And finally the last big change is that we are almost wired up with plug sockets and switches in place. It sound daft but I also love the sockets! White fittings on white walls and black fittings on the black wood! Those Germans are sticklers for detail!! We also have tons of sockets which is good and points in almost all rooms for tv, sat and fm radio! I'm impressed! Alex (one of the electricians) is also going to put an additional light point in so I can hang a modern chandlier in the gallieried landing area!



So that is all with regards to the haus! Apparently it was Ralph the plumbers birthday on Thursday so he drove back to Germany to see his family and will be back on Monday. It's a long drive for a weekend (13 hours plus ferry time!). I'm going to get him a cake on Monday to help him celebrate!

4 HUF VANS...8 HUF MEN...AND A HOUSE FULL OF ACTIVITY!!!

Can these Germans get any more efficient?? Can they suprise me anymore??

Today has been a great day in our "huf " world! Ruddiker has been for his inspection and all is pretty much as it should be although he moved the height of a planned plug socket! Apparently it should be higher so they are all at the same height! Huf efficency!! YEAH!!! WE LOVE IT!!

We now have 8 men working in the house...electricians, joiners and of course Ralph the plumber! Their progress is unbelievable! There's been lots done including wiring, work on the internal balcony, fitting of internal glass panels and the installation of our boiler and water tank! I can now actually say the house looks like a building site inside...although admittedly a organised one!
What I like about these guys though is not only their efficency but their eagerness to help me. I asked for an extra plug socket in the plant room and guess what??? IT'S NOT A PROBLEM!! How refreshing!!

I've also had a good shufty around today...my bath has arrived (can't wait to see that fitted), I've found the wooden pelmets that goes over the wiring and come across lots of insulation panels...I know the picture isn't exciting but look at the thickness...I'll be nice and warm!!

We left site at 7.30pm tonight, as per usual the germans were still working and enjoy a well earned German Beer!! Good on yer lads!!

Ralph The Plumber!

So Ralph the plumber is with us...and as of last night (day 2 for him) he'd got tons done ...don't forget at the moment he's on his own!!

Whilst I'm not 100% as to what he's actualy doing, I can tell you vents have appeared, piping as been laid (the picture above is of the ensuite bathroom piping) and a rather interesting control system for the underfloor heating zones has appeared....see the picture! We've also got a large water tank (although we'll need that with the size of my bath!!) He's working rather hard!







I had to laugh though when I went down yeasterday...Ralph has brought with him all of his own lunch facilities...food, drink, coffee perculator and pizza oven! Yes, you've read that right...he's brought a PIZZA OVEN!!! How bizarre!! It's great!


Ralph was also telling us that there have been quite a few huf "tourists" coming for a look! I'll be honest, if it wasn't my house I'd probably be calling for a nosey too! The only thing that has stopped me going tonight is the fact that I have to start packing to move. All being well (weather permitting, it's snowing as I type!) I'll go look tomorrow instead!

THE PLUMBER IS EARLY!!

Today I went to site...one to check all was ok and two...just for nosey! There was me thinking I'd be all myself (John was working!) and to me suprise another German Green Huf Van was there!

We have a plumber named Ralph! He's here on his own until Monday getting some pipework sorted and vents into place! He doesn't speak much english, my german isn't great but we had a good chat! Apparently he is early ( a refreshing change for trades people, but don't forget he's german!) and he will work every day but Sunday from 7am -8pm! 13 hour days!

I'm made up!

My friend Carly also visited the house today! She also loves it and says I'm a rather lucky girl! Thank you for your kind comments Carly and the cheeky ones that I can't type here!

Another great plus was todays Gazzette article. It's fab...Craig has done a great job and I get 5 mins of fame (well in my head anyway) as he's included a picture with me on! I'll ask him to post it on the web so I can attach a link!

I've now got to start thinking about curtains and blinds for all that glass and odd shaped windows, some in hard to reach places! Anyone got any ideas ????

We're in the local paper!!

I have to let everyone know that we're in the local Blackpool Gazette tonight! It's a teaser editorial as tomorrow they plan to run a large spread on the progress of home! I have to say I do like it so Craig if you are reading this Thank You to you too!!

So now my mum in Huddersfield (& Sheila the neighbour) want a copy! I've promised Sara @ Huf Haus Owners Group a copy and I need a couple myself!! If the gazette sells out tomorrow it will be my fault!!

No piccies today, but tomorrow (it's my day off) I'm going to go and have another look at it!! I can't keep away!

BYE BYE GERMANS ....FOR NOW!!

Today as been the last day of our haus build! The tiles are all finished, the chimneys all in and the balconies have all been put up!!

I'm in love...the house is just something else...I want to move in now! The germans have also put the chain guttering on...the water literally sticks to it and falls into the concrete circle below! They have told us that if we find our site is too windy (thus the chains sway) we can order a traditional style gutter but in complete glass to encase it...only the Germans could think of this!!

I said in my last post that Mr Inspector man was due today...guess what the germans are human after all!! They boo booed...it's next week instead! It's good to know that they are not completly perfect...ha ha ha !!!

Anyway, today I have had to work a full day and by the time I got down to site they had finished...so BYE BYE GERMANS and THANK YOU!!!! You've down a fantasic job!!
They left site at 3pm. Can you believe this....they were going back to their travel lodge (nr b&q)..they would grab something to eat and then sleep until 2am! At 2am they then set off in their green huf van for Weybridge for 2 maintenances jobs (starting at 7am). They plan to finish these by 7pm and drive back home! If all goes to plan they get 2 days off plus wekenend and then it's onto the next job...home soil for them next though!

So thats it for now! Team 2 arrives on Monday...that comprises the under floor heating man, a sparky and a plumber...oh and Mr Inspector man!! I'll probably drive over just to look at it...but that's just me...quite sad really!!

DAY 6 ....TILING DAY!!

You've probably guessed by the header that today is tiling day! And boy, do they tile quickly! In the time we were there they had almost tiled 1/2 the roof in less than 2 hours!! Quick or what!!

Today has been a really good day for us! Not only is our new haus coming on really well but we've also exchanged contracts on the barn that we presently live in!! The plan is coming together! We will have to live in temp accomadation for a a couple of months but it's a small price to pay when we're going to end up in a dream house! We had a mini office party to celebrate with bucks fizz and cream cakes!! I'm so excited!!

Anyway, back to the Germans! In the end they did not go to the Trafford Centre! Instead (weather was good) they went to Blackpool to see the sea! Apparently they had a great time and a good day off!

So back to the haus! I've taken a few more pics today showing off the roof tiling and also some inside pics (looks like building site!!) What do you think?

The chap from the Gazzette also turned up again today. When he came last their was just a couple of panels up so he was rather suprised! Tomorrow is inspection day...fingers crossed!

IT'S SUNDAY...THE GERMANS ARE ON A DAY OFF!

As I said in my last post, I had to go for another look today! Wild Horses wouldn't keep me away!! So what has changed today?

Well for starts, there were no Germans and typically today the sun was shining!! Remember, they have gone shopping! The site looks so much bigger without all their vans! The big wagon has returned to Germany and quite suprising the crane has also gone! I'm presuming he's on his way back to Germany as he has craned all the tiles up onto the roof, but i'll guess I'll know for certain tomorrow! The carport is looking good!

We had a good wander around today although internally we could not get in (it was all locked up and my key was at home- oops!) We've been debating our drive way plans and if we should have a grey slate patio or decking!! Oh, the decisions we have to make!! We think we're going to have a large lawn area and then plenty of mature planting! We've found a great garden centre...check out Maple Farm Nursery..it's fab!!

Tomorrow the roof will get tiled, the carport finished and Tuesday is tidy up day and prep work for the next team! Oh and Mr Inspector man from Germany will fly in to check progress and ensure all is well!! How exciting!!

The other amusing thing is watching all the cars driving down Ballam Rd slowing down to stare...don't forget last Sunday there was no house, now 1 week on there's almost a full one!! As they say at the local mini dealership....STOP STARING AT ME!!!!

DAY 5 - IT'S SATURDAY!

It's Saturday and guess what...the Germans are working and the weather is awful (just for change!)

There's been guys working on our roof doing lots of baton type work in preperation of the tiling thats due on Monday. Todays biggest change though as been erection of the double carport...it's huge! It's been designed to have a generous sized store room to the rear (great for our rarely used bikes!) What I like most though is the huge overhang to the side....it makes a great 2nd sheltered sitting area...i can picture my garden chairs there now!

I've failed miserably in any attempt to get pictures today! To start with the weather is dreadful (it was warmer in the car) and secondly site was like a gigantic bog! Also, in my defence, the german crane, vans, loo etc are all in the way to get a decent picture!

Tomorrow is Sunday and those hard working Germans get a day off! Can you believe it!! They originally wanted to go the beach claiming they would make sandcastles! I know germany doesn't have a seaside but that is just ridicoulous! However given the bad weather they are going to the Trafford Centre!! It will be chaos on a Sunday! I don't envy them!

So even though there is no one on site tomorrow I will have to go for may daily peek! The foreman said if I REALLY wanted to I could take a sleeping bag and camp out overnight! (the other half said NO!!!) Hopefully the weather will have picked up and I can get some more photo's. After all these are our memories and I don't want to miss a thing xx

DAY 4 OF THE BUILD

Well here I am...back from site and ready to report on todays progress!

The weather today as been bloody horrible...very wet and very windy!! We arrived on site a tad later today (again due to work) and first look it seemed that not much progress had been made. Sorry Huf! Lots has been done ....the roof is now fully on (minus tiles), chimneys are all in place and lots of (rather important) sealing has been done! They've also carried out lots of insulation work (again rather important). The picture is of a chimney (just incase you wondered!!)

The wagon driver from day 1 is back (he returned to germany on tuesday) and this time he's brought the garage/ carport. Apparently this will go up tomorrow!

So once again, we've wandered around our new home (english builders would not allow this) working out where things are going to go and wondering how we can fill the ground floor space!! What a dilema!!

We've had our daily nero (ok sometimes with have 3 or 4 a day) and to be honest we can't wait until tomorrow!

DAY 3 OF THE BUILD!!!

Well those Germans don't hang around!! We arrived on site around 2.45pm today and again there was a visible difference from the day before! (see pic) You can now see the exact "shape" of the house and get a good idea of the size (it will bigger again with the roof on).

The roof trusses all in place and we have upstairs rooms that we can walk around! It was great seeing our master bedroom, complete with dressing room and a rather large en-suite!

Today my parents and Sheila (family friend) came to site so I took great pleasure in "showing-off" our home to be!! Again check out the picture!

So onto the afternoon...another wagon was on site with the roof panels and come 4pm it was on with craning these into place. Another mean feat....Of the 5-man team (plus crane driver), the young apprentice lad was preparing each panel for lifting...the crane drive swiftly "swung" it through the air (and did it fly!) and then 2 lads were on the roof awaiting it's landing!! Piece after piece, they were prepared, swung, placed and fixed into place in true german efficent style!!

Luckily today the weather has been good hence all the lovely blue skies on my piccies! So, what do you think???

You've probably noticed as well that the site is looking much tidier! Whilst all this german efficency as been going on we cannot forget Andy- our english groundswork man! He has today backfilled all the drains (no more jumping over trenches), he's levelled alot of the soil and tidied off the driveway! The germans of course make no mess as they tidy as they go, sending all wastage back to germany when the emptied wagon leaves!! WE LOVE IT!!!

So once again we hung around watching progress until 7pm (ish) and once again as we left the Germans were still working! Oh, almost forgot to mention....they had a brew break today!! They are human after all!!! And they took a full 15 minutes!!! WOW!

See you tomorrow!

DAY 2 OF THE BUILD!!

THE MORNING!

To be honest, we didn't arrive on site until 2pm today...after all we also have work to do so unfortuntately we missed the mornings progress...however here's the latest update!

Last night (11pm) another truck from Germany arrived on site carrying the concrete roof panels. He parked up and according to the neighbours, he slept in his truck until the German workforce arrived from their travl lodge at 7am! Apparently the english don't serve breakfast early enough so they had to miss it....OOOPS!!...7am and I'm still in bed!

So at 7am morning work began...the concrete panels were craned into place and come our arrival at 2pm we had a ceiling on the ground floor and a concrete first floor!! We arrived just in time to find our first floor front wall being craned into place!

2pm - The front first floor wall is made up of completly glass panels with 1 small white half panel (the bathroom needs to have some privacy) . Again like clockwork it fell into place with wall 2 following 20 minutes later!

2.50pm - A full glass wall is erected to the rear, this has the windows for our master bedroom, dressing room and tv lounge! I vow at this stage to keep the dressing room very tidy and invest asap in a blind...who wants their entire on wardrobe on show!!!

3pm- Andy our groundworks man needs a lift! The huge concrete rings need lifting into place for the chain rings to fall into. Can the Germans help by letting us use the crane?? No problem they say! We think it could take upto an hour to get the rings into place. Guess how long?? Less than 5 minutes...it was that quick I almost missed the picture! Even Andy is gobsmacked!! We're still in awe!!

UPTO 5.30pm - The remainder of the exterior wall panels fall into place...it's beginning to look like a house and it's looking a bit bigger than I expected!! (this is good of course!!) By 5.30pm the wagon is empty and it looks the germans are downing tools for the day. After all it is 5.30pm, the time most english workers finish! I go to find out what tomorrows plans are!
And guess what....they are having a brew (the first I have witnessed)...They laughed at my thoughts of them finishing for the day...the next wagon is due on site at 5.50pm with the internal walls for the first floor...silly me...they will work until night fall...they are efficient germans after all!! Luckily the weather has picked up from this morning, we have sunnish intervals!

5.49pm - Bang on schedule the next wagon arrives and it's load is huge! it's all unwrapped and within 20 minutes internal walls are being craned off. We spend the next 45 mins talking to the neighbours who are arriving home from work rather suprised by the difference from the moning!

19.00- As night is falling we decide to head home...the germans are still working strong, the crane is still in full operation...who knows what time they will finish tonight...I guess I'll find out tomorrow but so far it's been a 12 hour day for them!

DAY 1 OF THE BUILD!!

Today as been amazing...I am gob smacked and despite having watched the Grand Designs tv programme numerous times, I cannot believe how the German team works...without seeing for youself you can never fully comprehend it! My day as gone as follows....



8am - We arrive on site, the germans are due at 9am. Guess what...they're there and have been since 7.30am (so much for my early arrival and practised "wilkommen" plans!) They have driven overnight and are presently having a hot drink before starting work at 9am!! The "haus" is wrapped up on the back of a huge wagon and the crane is sat ready! I'm impressed!! We decided to go to Nero's for a Latte and to exchange my camera for one that works before work commences!








9.30am - I'm back on site (with working camera so I'll upload piccies soon!). The house is fully unwrapped, the damp proof membrane is down and the famous german "bit box" is all in place. The crane driver is ready....Adjacent to all this Andy our english groundworks man is digging out the drains! Ready steady go.....The germans also present me with my very own "Huf " hard hat (it matches my jacket---yeah!!!)



10am - The front of the house is craned into place (complete with all glass and solid panels and front door!!....It's in place fully by 10.04am!! Yes 10.04am....4 minutes!





10.06am - A side panel is craned into place....again in minutes it's fixed in!!







Between 10am -12 noon - The morning continues as above with various ground floor walls all literally being craned and fixed into place....the windows and doors are all in situ as are the ground floor external blinds (crazy I know) and electric wires ready for the light fittings to be connected!! Mr NHBC man appears to inspect...phew...so far so good!!




12 noon arrives and this brings the final ground floor wall....it's 5 bays long...it's all glass..and it's huge! It's also rather windy on site and this large (11.5 meters approx) wall as to be lifted by the crane and again swung into place!....Given it's size and the fact that it has to be lifted around the already built sections it's not going to be easy! The wind is blowing...it takes 5 men to guide it into place (a lengthy 15 minutes, this is lengthy for them!!) And like a jigsaw piece it falls perfectly into place! I'm so impressed! And I have a ground floor complete with rooms! All in 2 hours!!




12.30pm - Huge wagon departs with a wave, that's him done and on his way back to Germany! We ask what happens next as there are no more parts to fix...do they have to wait a while?? Oh no, not the germans, wagon no.2 is parked up down the road awaiting his call to come to the site when the other one leaves (there's not really space for 2 together!!) 20 minutes later and he appears...complete with family!!



We depart for lunch !!



13.30 - We're back and the germans are still working! I honestly don't know if they stopped for lunch...they definately did not have any morning breaks (we had a couple as did our groundswork man!), they just worked and worked and worked! Friends arrive to have a look at what is going on and we get to walk around our ground floor for the first time!! I even entered via the working front door!! Remember 9am this morning there was nothing but a base slab!!

14.30 - 19.00 - The afternoon was dedicated to ensuring the levels of the house were perfect in preperaration of the concrete roof arriving tomorrow. Following this the ceiling joists were craned & fixed into place & the balcony floors laid! Whilst not as exciting as the morning (i could see a huge visble difference in the morning), this work is hugely important...everything must be perfectly level. What amazed me this time was that these guys balanced on the edges of walls whilst guiding craned pieces into situ without any scaffolfding! Are they secretly trained tightrope walkers...Don't forget the weather..it's windy & wet!


19.00 - Daylight is fading and so am I!! We decided to depart for fish and chips...they are beginning to pack up for the night...it's been a 12 hour day for them having driven over from Germany and sleeping in the van! They must be knackered....it really does put british workers to shame!! Sorry...but it does!!!



See you tomorrow!