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!

THE BEGINNING!

It all began with a tv programme....GRAND DESIGNS (to be precise!). This was approximately 3 years ago and tomorrow our dreams are about to come reality!

As I write our 5 bay huf haus is on a wagon due for delivery in Lytham at 9am tomorrow morning and by Friday (weather depending) our house will be fully erected....I can't wait!

I've purchased new wellies for site, a "huf green jacket" (so I can look like I'm part of the team, sad I know but it keeps me happy) and a new panasonic lumix camera (which is not working....another story) All I need now is a good nights sleep so I can be on site at 8am to meet the team!

This is my 2nd attempt at blogging (the 1st did not work) so excuse me now whilst I go check my progress! Back soon!