Getting laid....

The floor laying has started. And I mean started. This is the layer of flooring onto which the heated flooring system will lay. On top of that will be another floor material, and on top of that after the previous has been prepared, will come parquet or tiles.

It is very nice to see this stage happening.

Reggie and myself are now turning our attention to the kitchen. We have sat with a kitchen designer, and have received a raw offer. We will discuss this more tomorrow. Time is pressing, so we need to get this thing built now, before factories close for a summer break.

I drove my Discovery into the garage for the first time tonight. What a nice feeling that was.

It`s done....and some

At last the slab is poured. At 7.30 this morning two concrete trucks(one with a pump arm) delivered our concrete. Tomy, Cyrill and myself set to work. Tomy vibrating, Cyrill(son of Tomy) on laser leveling duty, and me pump wrestling. The slab was soon in place with Tomy refining the surface.

Whilst that was happening the carpenters removed the staircase in the top floor, which was a mistake, and had to be replaced. We have had very few errors, and no harm was done. The electricians are running the last of the house cables, and will run the internet cables this week.

The plumber is busy fitting toilet systems, and today we had to position the free standing bath to ensure correct location of drainage.

Raphael can now walk into his en-suite without having to drop down a large step. The new floor level has been constructed.

The visit to Ceramic World this afternoon turned out to be a 2 hour wasted journey as they were closed.. Oh well. Like we said, we have had few errors.

Meanwhile... All of this hot weather, and the opening of the chicken shed has led to a release of chicken sh*t odor. This task of cleaning must be tackled quickly. oh the joys.

Ready and Waiting.

Today I was not looking forward to three hours of head down, and bum up, but that is what the task required. I joked with Tomy that it was easier for him as he is not so tall, and he replied that it is even harder for me as my stomach gets in the way of bending over....point taken.

Well we have completed the preparation for the pouring which will occur on Monday morning. The tedious task of wiring the steel components together is now but a distant memory, and today we can rest.

The coming week should see lots of action at the house. Reggie and myself are still busy picking up items for the house. We now have the toilet for the master ensuite, and the bathroom cupboard and sink for the guest room.

Raising the roof

I know. I hear you. Yes this bl**dy garage roof is taking up too much blog space. Well hear is a quick update. Friday was the day that Simon Tomy and myself built the formwork for the new slab. We even managed to start wiring in the steel. I personally cannot believe how much steel we have going into this slab.

Today (Saturday) We need to finish wiring the steel together so that we are ready to pour first thing Monday morning. Hopefully three hours should complete the job.

Concrete, corners, kitchen and more - on the level

The first casting of concrete on the garage roof took place today. From 7.30 in the morning until 3.00 in the afternoon required all of the formwork to be put in place. This required lots of concrete drilling, cutting and clamping. At 3.00 the work of carrying the pre-mixed concrete a bucket at a time got underway. My broad shoulders took the strain, and Tomi was the willing recipient of the muck. 3 hours later with much energy expelled, the concrete was in place. (Oh yes and it was 30 degrees C, again today)

The kitchen designer swung by, and we discussed basic layout. We will visit him next week.

The boss of the plumbers was on site, with Andi, Reggie and myself to discuss the final location of toilets, sink units, cabinets, and shower fittings.

The underfloor heating guys are still fitting the main junction boxes. I hope the floor heats up faster than these guys move.

Andi and his beautiful assistant Sybille marked the final heights of floors.

In summary, another progressive day. We continue to be impressed with the architectural side of the project, and are pleased with the work completed.

On our side, we need to purchase a sink element, and some more lights.

Tomorrow will be a back breaking day. Tomi, Simon myself and possibly Uwe will be forming up the main garage roof for the final slab which will be poured on Monday morning.

Hammered at 30 degrees

Ok Ok. What a rubbish heading. Let me explain. Today the temperature was 30 degrees for most of the day, and that coupled to working on an exposed white concrete roof meant that we were in for a hot day. To make matters more interesting, this was the day that we would spend jack hammering the softer cement layer from the roof. This proved to be quite a physical task, and rehydration was the order of the day.

Tomi gave the instruction, and I just got on with it. The net result is that the roof is ready for stage 2 tomorrow, and we are on course to cast the new slab on Monday.

Other work was being undertaken at the house. We met the architect and electrician this morning, and the under floor heating guys got to work ( I was quite shocked at how slow these guys moved). Tomorrow I will have a word, or speak to their boss. The plumbers started as well, and these guys disappeared for some time, but returned with pipes to fit. I also noted the 2 hour lunch for the electricians (am I becoming Mr. Angry head?).

Off to bed now to rest my weary bones. I will dream of steel erecting and thats about all.

More wiring and more detail

This past few days has seen more progress, with the removal of the plaster from the wall of the stairs, and in the guest room. The exposed stone is attractive until you reach the landing, then old fired bricks are exposed.

The electricians are working hard, and are now running cables in the what seems like kms of blue conduit.

Raphael now has a nice sized hole in his bathroom, which will be filled by a double window, some time in early August.

The engineer will supply plans for the last of the remaining steel support on Tuesday of this week.

More progress was made on the roof of the garage, where I removed the majority of steel frames that once supported the grape vines.