Housewarming Party!
08/05/2010 by AdamOn July 24th we finally had the chance to thank our friends, family and helpers for their help and support over the past year, and of course to show off our house. With only a few cancellations, 35 people were here, and with 3 barbecues, Mellis punch and just enough beer, we partied for almost 10 hours. Thanks for all the best wishes, plants and presents!
Horror Internetzugang
04/22/2010 by MelanieIch habe heute Mal wieder mit der Telekom telefoniert. Da wir bei allen anderen Anbietern (1&1, Alice, Arcore, Vodafon, O2 etc.) keine Chance haben, da die Telekom sich weigert… versuchen wir es mit denen 
. Wir haben bereits seit Okt. 09 den Telekomanschluss im Haus, nur ca. 1m vom Grundstück an die Hauptleitung fehlt – angeblich. Und die Auskunft ist, dass unsere Adresse nicht aufgenommen wurde – häh? Teleomladen schickt mich zum Bauherren-Büro und die regen sich auf, dass sie nun die Arbeit haben. Das hätte der Laden auch aufnehmen können. Dann aber kommt er per Telefon auch nicht zurecht. Super. Ich bin mal gespannt, wie es weiter geht.
Gut dass es O2 Surfstick gibt 
. 25€ monatlich, Internetflat ohne Mindestlaufzeit.
http://www.o2online.de/nw/active/prepaid/prepaid-surfstick.html
We’ve been in for 10 weeks
02/14/2010 by AdamSo we have been in the house since late November, and so much has been going on that we neglected the blog. We’re happy with the house and we’ve unpacked everything except 2 or 3 boxes. There were a few minor issues that Gussek has taken care of (or still needs to), and the winter weather has meant that we haven’t been able to do anything outside, so here is a selection of images from the interior:
Saturday
11/29/2009 by AdamAnother early start, unfortunately with a problem. When we came downstairs this morning, we noticed 3 stripes on the ceiling on the kitchen, from the south wall towards the north. It seems that the drainage pipes for the upstairs bathroom arent quite watertight, and the water from our showering yesterday didnt make its way through the pipes. We tried to get hold of someone from Gussek, but as its the weekend we couldnt, so itll have to wait until Monday. Until then the upsatirs bathroom is out of bounds, as they will definitely have to check all of the pipes that are in the ceiling.
Digging again… this time filling in more of the trenches. We started on the north side, as Porta wanted to turn up at 9:30 with our new kitchen. Stefan turned up, and as we were drinking coffee, so did Porta.
Stefan and I continued with laminate in the upstairs hallway and had to stop because we needed some parts (which turned up around lunchtime. We went back outside again then and finished the north side and 3/4 of the east side. His wife (Katrin) turned up and we all went inside. Katrin helped cleaning the kitchen and putting plates, cutlery etc away, while Stefan and I finished the laminate upstairs.
Simone & Sebastian arrived at about 3, so the three men started on the skirting boards upstairs and the wardrobes (which we couldnt finish as we couldnt find all of the bits), Stefan put some fittings in the downstairs bathroom, Sebastian 2 lights up in the living area while the ladies continued with the kitchen.
Friday (we’re in!)
11/29/2009 by AdamYesterday night we slept for the first time in the house. Even though we didnt have any curtains in the bedroom (or any other room for that matter), we were both glad to fall into bed, especially as we’ve been sleeping on the sofa for the past 6 weeks.
Friday was as usual stressful. Stefan was there at 8 with Jens and Hans our drainage experts, and Basti turned up shortly afterwards. As Jens and Hans started laying the pipes at the most southern point on Stefans plot (and working towards our house), Basti, Stefan and myself went back to the trenches to make sure they were OK, as the rain the day before had caused some of the earth to fall back in. On top of that, we had to make sure the drainage pipes under the house were free, so that Jens and Hans could connect to them.
Around lunch time Basti went inside and started sawing the skirting boards to the correct size (upsatirs).
EWP was there the whole day too, so that the shaft at the bottom of Stefans plot (where our drainage goes) was connected to the public drainage system. They were finished at around 4.
When jens and Hans were finished, Stefan and I went behind them and started filling in the trenches. Even though it wasn’t a complex task, it took a lot of energy, and I quickly noticed that as an “office worker” Im not used to such work. At about 5 all the pipes were done, and with half a bathtub full of water, we tested that everythiong came out of the right place. We saw the water flow through our shaft, so everything was great there.
We had to use the opportunity, so before going to bed we showered in the new bathroom
Thursday
11/27/2009 by AdamThe big day! At 8 we went to get a truck, and then drove to Wutzetz. The truck was loaded by 11, at 12:30 we were at the house and an hour later everything was in. Basti and I went over to our temporary bungalow and packed everything up there too and brought it over.
In the meantime, Jochen started on the rainwater pipers, and after a quick trip top Bauhaus to get 3 30degree corners, this was finished too. Everyone grabbed a spade and an hour later the trench was gone.
In the evening, we prepared the hall way upstairs so that we can finish the laminate as soon as possible, as well as put the bed together, as we wanted to sleep in the house.
Many thanks to Jochen, Ruediger, Steven, Marcel, Katrin and Basti for your help today!
Wednesday
11/26/2009 by AdamStarted putting the rainwater pipes in for the west side of the house… gave up after a couple of hours and finished the laminate in the main bedroom.
Tuesday
11/25/2009 by AdamLaid some more laminate, upstairs is finished now except the hallway and our bedroom.
Then I went to Bauhaus with Stefan to order all of the piping we need (our sewage/drainage, Stefans water supply).
I finished laying the rainwater drainpipes on the east side of the house, and when Rene and his papa turned up with a new digger we finished all the trenches for the drainage)