Pouring concrete

Yay! The first clear signs of construction. The first layer of the floor has been poured. Foam concrete pours like thin whipped cream and the house looks like a roller rink.

Progress, but again a few days of waiting. Temperatures are not ideal for letting it dry fast.

Rain, rain, rain Noah predicts

It has been raining quite a lot lately. The plot is muddy. Part of it is maybe due to the gutter’s drain actually going nowhere anymore (I think). So, There is a water butt now collecting it.

Furthermore I started working on draining pools and puddles. Need to clear a few ditches too. Has been too long overdue I guess. Should have thought of that before maybe…

Rather empty

Almost set to pore the new floor. OK, the first part of the floor. The current level is about 30-40cm below the previous one, exposing some of the utilities’ pipes and cables.

The first part of the floor will be about 5cm concrete. With that in place the wooden skeleton walls will be build so we can already start doing the panelling. Next will be the isolation layer and the cables and plumbing (20cm) which will be topped of with the floor heating and a layer of concrete (10cm).

Currently the trusses stand firm and tall but to me it looks a bit fragile…

Call in the troops

This is about the last chapter of the demolition. Reinforced concrete, over 30cm deep foundation and parts of the cowshed (Dutch ‘grupstal‘) of which the menure drain (for lack of a better English word) had been filled with rubble from times long past.

The pneumatic demolition hammer and the mini digger did it in a day or three. including digging to the level needed for the new floor.

High and dry

Could not be stored or reasonably moved. A 3.5 meter high cabinet from Leiden Uni where mum and dad worked. Now stowed in the overhead storage for about a year or so…

Everyone makes mistakes

tracktor stuck in a ditch

Yes, the ‘road’ is a little too narrow for reversing this set behind the house. They noticed. Fortunately they have the equipment to handle such follies 🙂

This was some time ago but in a sense timeless 😉

Lights, camera, ACTION

The stage is set for doing a little construction (it is nearly starting).

The lighting is just right. Three 50 Watt LED’s delivering a total of 16500 lumen at 4000 Kelvin. Should do the trick I guess…

Floor plans

Because everything needs a good foundation.

First there will be approx 5cm of foam concrete to work on. On top of that most pipes and cables will be laid. Then there’s 20cm of isolation on top of which the floor heating and 10cm of concrete for the actual floor will be poured.

The pipes cannot be near the floor heating because of potential problems with legionella bacteria etc. Good to know 🙂