Tile purchasing complete....YAHOOOOO

Well we are very pleased to announce that the final tiles have been chosen for the house. The en-suite for the master bedroom has been unsettling us for some time, and today we went ahead and made our choices. We have adopted some tiles from the moods collection...need I say more.

Today has been busy collecting items from Germany, and unloading them into the workshop. This task is by no means finished, and will continue over the next week or so.

Taking a breath to review what we need to complete the bathrooms:-

Sink furniture for the en-suite.

Tap for the en-suite

Two electrically heated towel rails

2 Mirrors

2 lighting units above the mirrors

Toilet paper holders and brushes

Pretty good I would say.

No work over the coming week, as it is holiday time here in Switzerland. The week after next will see the completion of the floor heating (yes the two radiators have gone) and the installation of the windows and back doors.

On the level

A major step forward today, with the pouring of the flooring over the under floor heating system. It looks great. The only place remaining incomplete is the hallway, which will be poured in a couple of weeks, once we have finally tackled the contentious issue of the hallway heating. Reggie has stuck to her guns, and insists that we do not have radiators in the house. I am very proud of her.

Today is Monday, and we cannot walk on the floors until Thursday. In the mean time, we are crunching budgets to see if we can add a bit of luxury to our bathroom.

Off to dinner now before the calculator comes out.

House plans...Take a look

We have been receiving feedback, but not much (hey come on...post some comments). One such feedback has been for a look at our house plans. Well..... here they are.

They have been edited a little, but are quite close.

Things are heating UP.

Well they aren't actually, but the work that is being carried out at the moment should keep us toasty warm during the future cold spells. The underfloor warm water system is being installed and the top scree coat should go in on Monday morning next week. It will take three days to go off, before we can walk on it.

We are still in discussion about tiles for the hallway, kitchen and bar area. We know that we need a light coloured tile, but are unsure how the effect will be, when we match them to the kitchen.

We have a huge morning of meetings next Thursday at which we will meet the tile layer, stairs builder, plasterer, door and frame installer, all at various times during the morning. This should be great as these are the guys who will be finishing the jobs that will make our project look like a house.

On the tiles

This morning we headed off bright and early to choose tiles for the bathrooms and floors. We had a set budget and were determined not to cross the threshold.

We started in Bauhaus in Germany, and were soon heavily in discussion about Raphael's bathroom. We want something bright, and fresh, and soon focussed on a blue tile with nice borders and added decor. Job done.

Our attention then turned to the guest bathroom. We have already purchased the sink and bathroom cabinet with is black. We have always planned to have a dark floor and light coloured walls. Reggie found a wonderful combination of tiles and borders, and we soon completed the deal.

For anyone who has to choose tiles, please do not think it was so simple. We took quite some time, and still need to decide on tiles for the hallway and kitchen, and our en-suite.

I am unsure as to what is tougher. The choosing of tiles or the boring project management books that I am wading through.

Cleaning before floor laying

Today is Sunday, and we have to buck the Swiss rule of not working on the day of rest.

We have been asked to clean the floors before the heated floor gets laid. We are happy to do this, as anything to ensure progress is important.

We are preparing for a tough meeting with the kitchen company tomorrow. We had a planning meeting, have not received a firm offer, but were informed that the kitchen is ordered which is strange.

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.