Above 1200 Sq/FT Swiss Garage / Workshop / House Build

[Jim'bo]

I was surprised to see the seams of all of these tiles all lined up. Is there a provision under the tiles for any moisture that gets between the columns of tiles?

Unless I'm reading the above answer to your question wrong, it looks as if there's a bit of miscommunication. JDMjunky does indeed have a waterproof 'underroof' with free airflow, but that doesn't mean that the seams you see are actually all-the-way through the tile. Under the flat part, there's an overlapping section with ribbons that avoid water getting through the seam. The ribbons channel it to the tile below. See his pic of the tile here:

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Hmm, somehow i made a big post last saturday but i missed to submit it. so here i type it again for a little update. A lot happened over the past few days:

Our houses floors got completely insulated:

At the in-laws part the heating guys started to install the loops for the in-floor heating system:

On the outside they started to insulate the window-parts which will be below or close to ground level with fluid plastic (red) and green tar / bitumen mats (green) to protect plants from growing roots into the concrete and moisture from getting into it. still a lot of work ahead:

The roof guys installed a beam so that our covered outside space roof can be installed, once the wall insulation is done and the scaffolding is removed:

the electricians where busy installing first of the final LED Tubes (PoPack LED) in our basement / Garage / Workshop / Technical compartment area:

And the power outlets / Switches, etc for both 230V and 400V AC at my future Lift area (this means i can order my Lift soon )

I spent my saturday installing some filters and plumbing in our water tank so that the guys can connect the roof-water pipes to it when they are ready:

The rest of the weekend was spent checking out stones for landscaping at a second-hand stone dealer (they can get pricy if you want some nice cut blocks):

And then we went to check out some furniture, since the currently used stuff is a bit worn out in some cases and won't be moved into our new, nice house. This things sometimes have a delivery time of 3 months, so we better order it soon...

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Things are busy at the moment. the guys are working faster then we can plan ahead
Today and yesterday the heating guys were installing the in-floor heating loops in our house and should be done by tomorrow morning..

When done they will start to pour the cement sub-floor above the heating tubes by the end of this week.

The hole in the street got closed again (needed to connect our house to the Public water supply):

And we now have a powerfull LED Lighting system in the workshop / Garage area:

Starts to look like something down in the basement. It's super bright and i'm happy i chose so many lamps and LED.

And we got a call from the Photovoltaic supplier, they should be ready to install their stuff soon. By next week also the plaster-work on the inside should start and i guess the tower crane will be gone soon as well, since we don't need it anymore...

 

[twinturbo]

I just spent the last hour going through the whole thread. Very impressive. Now I am hooked and waiting for more updates. I also wanted to build something with a huge basement/garage.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

I just spent the last hour going through the whole thread. Very impressive. Now I am hooked and waiting for more updates. I also wanted to build something with a huge basement/garage.

Thanks mate So far i'm very happy with the underground basement / Garage design, but have to figure out how practical it is in daily life. More updates coming soon...

 

[Hostyle]

Damn! Things are moving along at great pace.

When is the hand-over planned for?

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Damn! Things are moving along at great pace.
When is the hand-over planned for?

Indeed - but i'm fine with that

The hand-over is planned for somewhere around mid June, so we may move in by the end of June or maybe a month later depending on how easy we want to take the hole move-in thing.

Aside from all the other stuff i have two whole cars in single pieces to move over without messing things up, so that is a bit of a task and needs some planning...

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Unbelievable. I would love to build a house like this in the states some day.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Unbelievable. I would love to build a house like this in the states some day.

That would be absolutely awesome

 

[Hostyle]

Indeed - but i'm fine with that

The hand-over is planned for somewhere around mid June, so we may move in by the end of June or maybe a month later depending on how easy we want to take the hole move-in thing.

Aside from all the other stuff i have two whole cars in single pieces to move over without messing things up, so that is a bit of a task and needs some planning...

Don't rush moving in!

When I last moved, I had allready sold my appartment and was living at my mum's house. Being anctious to get out of there (no matter how much it was appreciated, thanks mum!) we moved in as fast as possible. Later on, there were a lot of things that I would've liked to do before moving in. Much easier to deal with the mess.
I guess being a new build you won't have so many issues like that, but as you say, it takes planning.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Don't rush moving in!

When I last moved, I had allready sold my appartment and was living at my mum's house. Being anctious to get out of there (no matter how much it was appreciated, thanks mum!) we moved in as fast as possible. Later on, there were a lot of things that I would've liked to do before moving in. Much easier to deal with the mess.
I guess being a new build you won't have so many issues like that, but as you say, it takes planning.

Thats exactly my plan. And although i've never built a house before. people keep telling me that even with new houses the weeks after it's "done" workers will show up on site to give it some last touches, minor correction and add things that may have been forgotten on first hand. something is likely delayed etc.

But on the other hand you save one month of rent for the current house if you move in earlier.

I tend to push my wife to take it easy, but she wants of course to move in asap. i prefer to move step by step so we don't have a big rush. we'll see who wins this battle

 

[Hostyle]

I can echo that comment. When I got the keys to my new build appartment there was a small list of things to be rectified. The neighbouring houses, being bigger of course, had longer lists. In the weeks following everything would be fixed, but it took a while for new parts to come in, workmen to be available, etc.

 

[red]

Thats exactly my plan. And although i've never built a house before. people keep telling me that even with new houses the weeks after it's "done" workers will show up on site to give it some last touches, minor correction and add things that may have been forgotten on first hand. something is likely delayed etc.

But on the other hand you save one month of rent for the current house if you move in earlier.

I tend to push my wife to take it easy, but she wants of course to move in asap. i prefer to move step by step so we don't have a big rush. we'll see who wins this battle

SHE will.

One way or another . . .

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

SHE will. One way or another . . .

I got my garage and workshop so i guess i have to give her something as well

The flooring guys have been pouring the sub-floor layer above the heating system in both houses. This is the final floor layer before you put hardwood or tiles or anything else (Vinyl, etc..) on it. It is currently still to weak to walk on it so we couldn't go inside. Might check it out again tomorrow to see if we can have a look around inside for better pictures...

The roofing guys were continuing their work of insulating the garage roof with those waterproof tar mats.

The electricians started to install all those "boxes" for outside electricity, lamps etc. Those are needed because a similar thick layer of hard foam insulation boards well be installed and you need something to attach your lights or outputs to:

The local power supplier also came and installed the mains electrical cabinet (which is their job and not the electricians):

Well i guess over the next weeks the electricians and heating guys have to sort out all those wires and heating hoses

Since we have to plan the surrounding landscape soon, me and my wife decided to cut down the weeds and bushes around our house to see how the original landscaping is... Before:

And two hours later:

Next week the photovoltaic panels should go up and inside plaster-work should start so it has enough time to dry before paint...

 

[matt_i]

"They also prepared the hole for the inn-wall-IPC for our house automation"

I'm curious about what this is, is it like a PLC/ladder logic/programmable or more of a whole platform of automation that one company supplies?

It does look like the electricians have a bit of work to do sorting all of those wires out, hopefully they have good diagrams and labels

Fantastic build by the way!, I really like seeing the construction methods used, one would never see much scaffolding in the USA on any house with the exception of maybe bricklayers. But so much is wood framed and not brick/concrete.

 

[Finallygotit]

Every time I see these updates (they are great BTW) the word "layers" comes to mind. So many layers on the walls, the floors, the ceilings...etc. Those two homes will be as silent and sturdy as a bank vault.


Thanks for sharing!

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

"They also prepared the hole for the inn-wall-IPC for our house automation"

I'm curious about what this is, is it like a PLC/ladder logic/programmable or more of a whole platform of automation that one company supplies?

It does look like the electricians have a bit of work to do sorting all of those wires out, hopefully they have good diagrams and labels

Fantastic build by the way!, I really like seeing the construction methods used, one would never see much scaffolding in the USA on any house with the exception of maybe bricklayers. But so much is wood framed and not brick/concrete.

The IPC we use is mainly for displaying various parameters and make some settings, the real logic is in our electrical cabinet in the technical room.
It's a Brand called "Loxone" From Austria, but also sold in the US as i've seen.
It is partially compatible with KNX which is actually one of the big house automation standards in europe where all the big suppliers support this standard.
However loxone has a range of own products which are fairly easy to implement with their system. You also can buy additional modules like DALI, DMX, 2-wire, and many other bus-systems to attach your special gear. almost anything is possible.

I'm an electronic engineer in the automation business and i made a big comparison between the different systems and at the end Loxone was the one for me.

Every time I see these updates (they are great BTW) the word "layers" comes to mind. So many layers on the walls, the floors, the ceilings...etc. Those two homes will be as silent and sturdy as a bank vault.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks a lot sir, for the kind words.
I think i should have titled this thread "The layer cake"

It depends on the area but the floors are usually built like this (from top to bottom
- Hardwood / vinyl / Tiles, etc
- Sub-floor including the Heating tubes
- Moisture protection foil
- Temperature / Noise insulation
- Moisture protection foil (again)
- Concrete floor

If you have hardwood floors sometimes you add an addtional layer of noise insulation below the hardwood to remove those "hollow" sounds from stepping on it.

Outside Walls are usually built like this (from inside to outside)
- Paint
- Inside plaster
- Brick or concrete wall
- Outer solid foam insulation
- Outside plaster
- Paint

Inside walls are usually just plain brick or concrete covered in plaster / Paint or tiles...

 

[bb1m3]

Amazing stuff Nils, and moving at serious pace too!

Keep up the good work.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Amazing stuff Nils, and moving at serious pace too!
Keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot. Those workers really do a great job so far.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So went to check out the sub-flooring inside today as it was dry enough to walk on it. Now it needs to dry another 10 weeks before the hardwood / tiles can go on it. But there are enough other jobs to do so long...

Here you can nicely see the different layers of the floor:

 

[red]

So went to check out the sub-flooring inside today as it was dry enough to walk on it. No it needs to dry another 10 weeks before the hardwood / tiles can go on it. but enough other jobs to do so far...


Here you can nicely see the different layers of the floor:

Wow, that's a lot of mud.
No wonder you need 10weeks for it to dry out.

Do they run the heat while pouring and was the radiant heat tubing pressurized with compress air?
Was totally amazed when I found out that thinset manufacturers require temps over 50F. Always thought above freezing was fine with concrete based products.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Wow, that's a lot of mud.
No wonder you need 10weeks for it to dry out.

Do they run the heat while pouring and was the radiant heat tubing pressurized with compress air?
Was totally amazed when I found out that thinset manufacturers require temps over 50F. Always thought above freezing was fine with concrete based products.

Yeah subfloor cement thinset layer (with glassfibers for additional strentgh) is actually 15cm thick

The heating system is not connected yet. so no heat, water or pressurized air inside the hoses. You can actually walk on them without squeezing them. they're quite robust.

The heater will be connect by next week i think. if you heat it up to early the corners might bend up when drying to faast and cracks can appear.

Concrete based stuff can have a different chemical additives to pour it even up to -5°C but since the roof and windows are in now and spring is around the corner that shouldn't be a problem.

In 1-2 weeks we can put the heating on too. But it's not only the floors but also the walls that need a lot of time to dry when the plaster is on (should happen this week)

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

I've been super busy this week with work so i wasn't able to check out the site until today. Well after 4 days of work, the fireplace-guys got this fireplace installed:

It was well worth the wait in my opinion:

The plaster-guys started their work on a lot of areas. mainly corner-protection and base-plaster in some places. they still have another two weeks of work, at least

The missing triangle at the stairs finally got installed, So the electrician was able to prepare the in-wall stairs-lighting too.

As you can see the electricians where busy sorting out all those wires too

And we got a package full of nice Photovoltaic panels. Now just the weather has to be a bit better before the guys can go up on the roof and install them

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Update time! Finally the Photovoltaic panels got installed and wired to the technical compartment in the basement. The panels and metal connecting parts got deliverd slightly delayed from the supplier. but luckily it didn't affect the rest of the build so it wasn't a big deal. im happy it's done now and think it looks fantastic. The colour is matte black so it doesn't have that terrible glossy blue shine that older panels used to have.. it's now almost invisible with the black clay tiles around. perfect

The plaster guys brought out the big guns with this huge plaster mixer/tank/Pump:

They use it together with a hose to blast it at the walls for the base layer (there we have those layers again):

The carpenter also showed up to install some things that are needed for the plastering guys to make a nice finish, like the IPC frame seen here:

Or the main entrance door frame (seen here with a primer only and with a temporary door to keep the heat inside):

Oh and then we got the latest renderings from our kitchen builder. There will be some small differences that they were not able to visualize in the rendering, but that's basically what we agreed on. Colours will also differ slightly in real life. The counter top is from modern ceramic but looks authentic like concrete. We first wanted to do a real concrete counter-top but then realized it's either super expensive or not that super-durable when done cheaply. Aboslutely love the solution we found and it's brand new, only available since a few weeks. In fact we're some of the first to get this material. Made in spain btw.

This is an original picture for comparison:

 

[Finallygotit]

Holy moly, those guys aren't kidding are they?!?!

 

[readhead]

That silo system is pretty common on commercial sites. Considering how much work you have it makes sense for your job.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

That silo system is pretty common on commercial sites. Considering how much work you have it makes sense for your job.

Indeed it's not so uncommon here, but still i was a bit surprised they brought such a big silo. But when you think about it, they have to do two complete houses, etc.. so it makes sense

 

[Hostyle]

That kitchen rendering looks great! Do you have a built in extractor for your cooking area?

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

That kitchen rendering looks great! Do you have a built in extractor for your cooking area?

Thanks mate. Yeah we have planned to go with the Miele downdraft system and this is what we will get. We compared around 20 different downdraft systems and for us this was the best one in terms of usability, comfort, ease to clean, the looks and also the price of course

 

[Hostyle]

Nice system! For a kitchen island this is the cleanest way to integrate an extractor. Kitchen looks nice and clean. Good job!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

So ****.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So ****.

Thanks a lot, sir

Nice system! For a kitchen island this is the cleanest way to integrate an extractor. Kitchen looks nice and clean. Good job!

Yeah it's also the least smelly and least noisy option, if you ask me. I was a bit sceptical, thinking the warm steam wants to go up, but it works suprisingly well. we tested many different suppliers and all of them worked really good.

The only downside is if you go with the saltshaker or pepper-mill over the pan, the salt or pepper will be sucked away into the extractor before it reaches the pan

 

[Hostyle]

Lol! That's why I heard from some people aswell. In our kitchen remodel, we wanted a big oven with a six-burner stove. A built in extractor wasn't even an option for us. We had thought about going for a ceramic (sp?) stove instead of a gas burner, but those were at least double the price.
So we now have a SMEG 90cm furnace with a 90 cm wide SMEG vent hood. The hood is so powerfull, when it's running, the door to the living room/kitchen requires extra force to open

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Lol! That's why I heard from some people aswell. In our kitchen remodel, we wanted a big oven with a six-burner stove. A built in extractor wasn't even an option for us. We had thought about going for a ceramic (sp?) stove instead of a gas burner, but those were at least double the price.
So we now have a SMEG 90cm furnace with a 90 cm wide SMEG vent hood. The hood is so powerfull, when it's running, the door to the living room/kitchen requires extra force to open

lol, sure you bought an extractor hood and not a tornado generator or something?

 

[Hostyle]

Vortex generator de luxe!

I guess it's a combination of factors. We remodelled the kitchen, but we also replaced the front and rear windows, redid the ceiling and floor, walls, etc. So it's all much better isolated, I guess the extractor hood is now pulling out more air then there is coming in through gaps en seals.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Vortex generator de luxe!

I guess it's a combination of factors. We remodelled the kitchen, but we also replaced the front and rear windows, redid the ceiling and floor, walls, etc. So it's all much better isolated, I guess the extractor hood is now pulling out more air then there is coming in through gaps en seals.

It's a common issue here with new houses. they're isolated so well, that people have to open a window slightly to compensate the underpressure it generates. Also it is a problem for people with a fireplace. the extractor will pull air through the chimney into the house which can create some taste of smoke & ash in the house or worse, pull the smoke inside the house if there is a life fire while having the extractor on.

First world problems i guess

 

[Hostyle]

Yep, first world problem for sure.

We got rid of our fireplace. In the time we've been living here, we've used it only two times. I love a good fire, but the position of the fireplace was just awkward. If I ever get the chance to go for a new build, I will add a fireplace. But for now, the extra floor space is welcome!

 

[red]

It's a common issue here with new houses. they're isolated so well, that people have to open a window slightly to compensate the underpressure it generates. Also it is a problem for people with a fireplace. the extractor will pull air through the chimney into the house which can create some taste of smoke & ash in the house or worse, pull the smoke inside the house if there is a life fire while having the extractor on.

First world problems i guess

Surprised you don't have an air to air heat exchanger installed?

http://https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/energy/air-to-air-heat-exchangers-for-healthier-energy-efficient-homes

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Surprised you don't have an air to air heat exchanger installed?

We first thought about that, because it would have been nessecary to get the "minergie" Label (and get some financial support from the government). But honestly it would have cost us another 16 grand, and i know a lot of people who have a system like this installed. In theory it's brilliant, but in daily use it's not. Wife will still open the windows to get the smelly air out every morning, so the heat will go out too, etc. it's cool but for us it was not worth the extra money and effort. still like the idea behind it...

time for the weekly saturday update
After the PV Panels got installed, the roof guys were able to complete the roof tiles, etc. looks fabulous in my opinion:

The terrace has been covered in liquid tar / Bitumen, so soon they will add the tar mats to it to cover it completely:

The weather station (connected to our house automation) got installed at the chimney:

The heating guys were busy installing some neat plumbing:

And the biggest task: The base plaster layer has been (almost) finnished:

 

[pistolpete1313]

We first thought about that, because it would have been nessecary to get the "minergie" Label (and get some financial support from the government). But honestly it would have cost us another 16 grand, and i know a lot of people who have a system like this installed. In theory it's brilliant, but in daily use it's not. Wife will still open the windows to get the smelly air out every morning, so the heat will go out too, etc. it's cool but for us it was not worth the extra money and effort. still like the idea behind it...

time for the weekly saturday update
After the PV Panels got installed, the roof guys were able to complete the roof tiles, etc. looks fabulous in my opinion:

The terrace has been covered in liquid tar / Bitumen, so soon they will add the tar mats to it to cover it completely:

The weather station (connected to our house automation) got installed at the chimney:

The heating guys were busy installing some neat plumbing:

And the biggest task: The base plaster layer has been (almost) finnished:

What brand pv panels are those?


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