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!
