Moat filling nicely

Water collecting around the outside of the cellar

We have a bit of rain - nothing amazing but a fair amount.  This has helped to create a moat around the cellar.

Moat with pump outlet shown (pump is not running)

Moat along Riedsbach side of cellar

Health and safety measures in place.  What could go wrong?

The builders are not very concerned but may come around and turn on the pump later today.  They have burnt out two pumps already by leaving them running 24 x 7 when there was no water to pump out.

Cellar walls complete - winter break started

Cellar walls complete

During last week the remaining work on the walls in the cellar was completed.  The walls of the staircase and the other supporting columns still have their shuttering on, but the concrete has been poured.

Looking into the "table tennis room" through the (not existing yet) floor of the living room

We had a chance to have a close look at the foundation plate and the cellar walls now that the builders have started their three week holiday.  The concrete looks rather thick, but the picture below doesn't really show any scale.

Cellar walls sitting on the foundation plate

 The texture of the waterproof concrete is very smooth.  In fact we may be able to simply paint some of the walls in the cellar and save plastering them.  Maybe we could just varnish/polish them and enjoy looking at that lovely concrete.

View along the cellar wall parallel to Blütenweg.

If you have read this far, I wish you a very happy Christmas and an exciting New Year.  The building works are paused now until 14 January, when work should start by removing the shuttering, and getting going with the cellar roof.

Break in the weather - cellar work resumed

Break in the weather - cellar work resumed

It has warmed up enough to allow the builders to carry on working in the cellar.  As of Tuesday morning, they were building the internal walls in the cellar - at least those made of concrete blocks.

Block build interior cellar walls under construction

The re-enforced concrete walls in the middle of the cellar and around the stair well will come next I expect.  Maybe by the end of this week.  The cellar roof - ground floor floor (clear?) will not be started before 14 Jan 2013.

Light snow fall and cold weather

Light snow fall and cold weather stops work

The weather has turned colder meaning the builders have had to stop work for a while.

View into cellar from Ringstraße - interior gantry in foreground

They have covered the outside faces of the walls with some kind of sheeting - but not the interior faces.

Corner of cellar where heat pump will be - Blütenweg in background

Cellar walls finally poured

Cellar walls finally poured

The last parts of the exterior cellar walls were poured today.  I thought it was too cold (about +1 C) but the concrete itself was 13 C, and that is what they were interested in.

Wobbly bridge to let builder get to inner cellar gantry

Curved corner of the cellar near junction of Ringstraße and Blüten Weg

View along the top of the cellar wall along Blüten Weg (standing on the wobbly bridge)

The next step should be the removal of the shuttering next week.  The waterproof part of the house is now basically constructed.

We have the biggest private swimming pool in Roßdorf ready in time for winter.  Yippee.

Half a wall is better than none

Half cellar walls completed

In the picture you can see the half completed wall along the side of the Riedsbach

Half completed wall showing exterior shuttering for rest of cellar and reinforcing in place.  Yellow band is foe water-proofing the joint

I was a bit worried by the approach (a vertical join) and spoke with the construction manager and the architect.  Everything is okay.

As they pointed out, it is quite normal to have a similar join but horizontally between the ground plate and the walls, which are poured sequentially.  The vertical joins (there will be one on each side of the cellar), will be waterproof.  There is a special sealing band (in yellow) which goes between the sections, and is also used to seal the ground plate to the walls.

The rest of the exterior shuttering is (pretty much) complete, and they may be able to pour the rest of the cellar walls by the end of next week.  We just need the weather to warm up again for a few days.

Cellar windows inserted

Cellar windows inserted

The first couple of cellar windows have been put in the shuttering.

Exterior shuttering showing windows

There was a bit of water from the rain but nothing critical.  I gave the builders a bag of jammy donuts to cheer them up.

Front chap standing where heat pump should end up

I followed the builders track (a bit like an inverted construction ramp used on the pyramids) right down to the shuttering.  They were lowering the internal shuttering with the crane.

Internal shuttering being lowered in by crane

Tall shuttering partially installed

Shuttering for cellar

The first of the shuttering for the cellar walls was put up on Friday.

View from Ringstraße

View from Riedsbach

View from Blütenweg

The weather seems to be closing in for the winter.  Let's see how far the builders get before the pause.

Cellar floor poured and walls prepared

Cellar floor poured and walls prepared

By the end of Wednesday, the cellar floor had been poured and had set.  It was covered with plastic sheeting, held down by wooden battens.

Cellar floor setting under plastic

By the end of Friday, the shuttering is starting to take shape for the main walls in the cellar.

Initial shuttering for wall in place - ceiling struts bundled to right

We spent 3 hours going through the layout of the bathrooms and a first pass of the locations of lights switched, light fittings and sockets today. 

Steel matting ready for ground plate

Steel reinforcement in place ready for pouring of ground slab (Bodenplatte)



View from Ringstraße showing steelwork in place



Corner nearest Riedsbach and Ringstraße

I still haven't found out what the little bits of plastic scattered around under the steel mesh are for.  They are on top of the geo-textile matting and seem to have been scatter on purpose.  Mabe the site maanager can explain it to me.

Life exists down in the cellar

Foundations being laid

This morning (in daylight) the workmen could be seen working on the foundations.  Actually they seemed to be tapping the shuttering with a little hammer and frowning, but it was pretty cold.

View from Ringstrasse, 07:45

Earthworks just visible behind hut, to left of crane.

TARDIS, crane, fence.

Latest pictures from the building site

As the builders settle in the site is taking shape.

The TARDIS has turned up

Bottom of the crane (freshly polished)

Legs of the crane seen through the safety fence

It seems they have poured the first layer of concrete, but by the time I got there today it was too late/dark to see anything.

Digging complete

Digging complete

After about 4 days' digging (mainly in the rain) the excavations are complete.  The coarse gravel has been put in the bottom and leveled out.

View from Ringstraße along centre of house

View from corner of Blüten Weg and Ringstraße

 The Bauschild (building notice?) is hanging in a plastic sleeve on the gate, rather than on a 3 x 2 metre plaque as originally proposed.

 In order to try and prevent any big flooding problems, the engineers have installed a pump in the bottom of the hole which is working 24 x 7, making a sort of slurpy noo-noo noise.  It seems to be sucking mainly air.

Checking the pump

Start of earthworks for new house

View from Ringstrasse looking along the line of th Riedsbach

First pile of soil shifted to the side

First day of work fo rthe digger drivers ... last part of villa on the left

Somethings been happening under the pumpkin patch

A happy surprise from the allotment yesterday

After much moaning about their voracity, I have now dug up the last of the pumpkins.  They have yielded a huge crop and even a giant 50 kg prize winner at the EHS show (Helernus prize for the biggest specimen ... always highly sought after).  Nevertheless, they went bonkers over the summer holiday, swamping and obliterating my leek seedlings.

At least that was what I thought.  Yesterday, I found a row of strong looking leeks plants lurking under the pumpkin leaves.

They need a bit of thinning out and a bit of weeding and general TLC, but it was a nice thing to find.

Floor covering selections

We have chosen he floor covering for the new house.

On the ground floor there will be a natural lava/basalt floor in the entry area and an oak floor thoughout the rest (not in the bathroom, which will be tiled).

Left to right: lava/basalt from EG, oak from EG and carpet from OG

Oak floor from EG - no flash

Oak floor from EG - with flash

On the first floor there will be a short arched pile wool carpet (not in the bathrooms, of course).  After a bit of dithering we have gone for a warmish pale blue, but it was a close run thinh with the wasabi green.

Carpet from OG - no flash

Carpet from OG - with flash

 There will be underfloor heating throughout, just in case you wondered.

Ideas from the neighbours

Whilst visiiting nearby Schloss Schönbusch the other day, I picked up a couple of ideas for the layout of our new garden.

I think I need another word or two with the architect to see if we can squeeze something similar in by the terrace near the brook.

EHS Summer Show 2012 - Results

The EHS Late Summer Show was on 23rd - the weather held and the competition entries were extremely good.

The prizes were awarded as follows:

• Best root vegetable - Richard S
• Best other vegetable - Phil W
• Best fruit - Tom S
• Most attractive bunch of cut flowers - Richard S (although could easily have gone to the dahlias, if you ask me)
• Best junior - Myla H
• Best home made produce - Jochen G
• EHS special prize (red devil chilis from supplied seeds) - Simon E
• Helernus award for the biggest specimen - Simon E (giant pumpkin)
• Best in show - Stephen T (cake, but it was a close run thing)
  

Highlights of the show were the home made fruity brews and the knock-out home made chocolate truffles.  The judge was kind enough to also bring seeds for participants to take away in order to grow a butterfly atrracting bed of flowers for next year.

Our thanks to the organising committee (ha ha ha) and let's hope we have a good time again next year.

Fecundity and obliteration

After two weeks of rain swept south west England, it was not too bad to get back to a rainy Germany.  Whilst there we had a chance to look around the (rainy) gardens at Greenway (NT) in Devon, where I really like to the peach frame in the grrenhouse.

Peach frame at Greenway

But somehow the time away had seen just the mixture of rain and sun required to make my few little pumpkin plants go completely beserk.

Pumpkin invasion

Unfortunately, the pumpkin plants grew not only all across the vegetable plot, but also across the lawn, up the (3m high) hedge and into the neighbour's runner beans.  My baby leeks were crushed.  Some of the pea row got pulled down.  And my own runer bea plants got assimilated with the pumpkins into the hedge.  Aargh.  But the good thing is the pumpkins are great (Turk's Turban) and there are plenty of them (around 30 so far.  Anyone know any easy recipe for pumpkin wine?

Plant swap and subsequent planting

The EHS Plant Swap has been and gone and was pretty successful.  Our hosts were very welcoming and the rain held off. Sadly I didn't get quite what I was looking for (brussel sprouts, courgettes, ...) but I did pick up one or two nice things.  The vegetable patch looked great.

Back at the allotment I spent some time on Monday (apart from weeding) filling in the gaps where my peas had failed to germinate (Lancet ... Onward was fine) and putting some leek seed in.