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

Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.

Hostyle

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May 8, 2014
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272
Location
Geldrop (NL)
I'm having some bathroom envy... Ours is next on the list to upgrade but I'm working on increasing the budget first (still recovering from our downstairs make-over).

House gets better by the minute! Keep it up!
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
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447
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Switzerland
I'm having some bathroom envy... Ours is next on the list to upgrade but I'm working on increasing the budget first (still recovering from our downstairs make-over).

House gets better by the minute! Keep it up!

Haha wait until the bathroom is finished.
We have some cool stuff coming up here over the next weeks.

A healthy budget is key to a nice bathroom. You can do a good bathroom on a budget as well but not in the quality we wanted.
We overdrew our bathroom budget by almost 100% i think. And we didn't even buy the most expensive stuff out there. But then we realized that we most probably only build once in a lifetime, so we would regret it the rest of our lifes, if we didn't do it properly...
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
Aside from the tilers and everyone who continued with their work (pictures will come when finnished) we finally got our heating system installed, but not completed, nor connected yet:
P1240284-Kopie.jpg


The kitchen guys continued with their work:
P1240304-Kopie.jpg


and the plaster guys started with the base plaster layer on two ouf the outside walls:
P1240307-Kopie.jpg


Tomorrow we have a meeting with the carpenter to discuss some details for next week and on friday we have a meeting with the paint-guys to discuss some colours and also the epoxy paint for the garage and workshop floor :)
 

Finallygotit

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Jul 6, 2013
Messages
4,088
Location
Tucson, AZ
Question


Since the interior walls are plaster with concrete and block beneath (I hope I got that right), how do you go about hanging things such as pictures on the walls?


:beer:
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
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447
Location
Switzerland
Question

Since the interior walls are plaster with concrete and block beneath (I hope I got that right), how do you go about hanging things such as pictures on the walls?

:beer:

some are concrete, some are clay bricks, all of them have a covering plaster layer in front to make it look smooth.

Well for heavy things you use concrete or brick dowels, for light things like a little picture, you just use a strong steel nail which you can hammer directly through the plaster into the bricks or concrete. works well ;)
 

rixtrix1

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Aug 25, 2013
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3,010
Location
Chandler, AZ (from west NE)
Haha wait until the bathroom is finished.
We have some cool stuff coming up here over the next weeks.

A healthy budget is key to a nice bathroom. You can do a good bathroom on a budget as well but not in the quality we wanted.
We overdrew our bathroom budget by almost 100% i think. And we didn't even buy the most expensive stuff out there. But then we realized that we most probably only build once in a lifetime, so we would regret it the rest of our lifes, if we didn't do it properly...

So true! We're about 75% into our bathroom remodel and about double what I thought, but I let the wife do all the choosing ( while I work on my 1966 Malibu track car)! Mostly my labor is left doing the finish work and vanity install and I work pretty cheap at home, lol.
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
So true! We're about 75% into our bathroom remodel and about double what I thought, but I let the wife do all the choosing ( while I work on my 1966 Malibu track car)! Mostly my labor is left doing the finish work and vanity install and I work pretty cheap at home, lol.

Haha yeah, that's the way to go :bounce:
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
Just a little update from yesterday, before i will have a more in-depht look and get some work done by myself tomorrow.
The plaster guys completed the base plaster layer on the outside on our house.
Next will be the coloured cosmetic structure plaster layer and then an additional paint layer.
P1240313-Copy.jpg

The kitchen guys, tilers, heating guys, etc continued with their work and we met the guy from the stone-company on-site taking measurements to cut the huge ceramic table top for the kitchen isles, etc..
P1240316-Copy.jpg

Our hardwood floor planks arrived. unfortunately the shipment was damaged, so we'll see how this ends up. Some additional emails and phone-calls to do :mad:
P1240335-Copy.jpg

I especially want to point out the finished ceiling-planks in the in-laws house, which is just a plain work of art, if you ask me. Such a nice work and well executed. they spent quite some time on it to get all the angles and corners right. but it was well worth the extra-effort...
P1240354-Copy.jpg
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
Real nice wood work, I like the detail and the layout, will your house get the same?

Ours is already done. If you go back a few pages in this thread you can see it. We had the same guys and the same type of planks, just had them painted in semi-clear white varnish. you can still see the wooden structure, but they're much brighter and have a more modern look if you ask me.
P1230761-Kopie.jpg


Also our roof structure was a bit simpler, so no need for those labour-intense (allthough beautiful) details with all those corners and angles..
 

BORING HOP YARD

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Jan 13, 2007
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1,104
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Boring Oregon
I like the semi-clear white varnish as well, I bet it makes the room brighter and you don't get the feeling of the ceiling pushing down on you. Thanks
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Messages
447
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Switzerland
it's time for another update, isn't it? :)

The Plaster guys finally completed the outside base-plaster on both houses, which makes a huge difference...
P1240437-Kopie.jpg


The fence around the construction site got removed too, so the sight at the house is a different one and makes a big impact too...
P1240406-Kopie.jpg


And finally some garage related stuff: The plaster guys finally made the walls in the workshop and storage compartment nice. Now some paint and epoxy protection on the floor and the workshop is ready to get set up...
P1240446-Kopie.jpg


P1240448-Kopie.jpg


The heater guys are almost finished:
P1240454-Kopie.jpg


And i have to say i love this guy. his working space is so clean and all the tools are organize neatly. This makes the OCD inside me happy, and somehow it gives you the feeling that his work is accurate and nicely organized as well (which it is) :)
P1240452-Kopie.jpg


Then our railing for the stairs arrived and i love it too :) It's a Laser-cut 3cm MDF Panel, which is something quite new compared to the old wood / metal railings. but it's getting more and more popular and it gives you so many opportunities, because you can basically have any pattern lasercut into it. i think their catalogue now has more than 250 patterns to choose from :p
WhatsApp-Image-2019-05-21-at-16.17.10-Kopie.jpeg


And aside from a lot of small things here and there beeing done and completed, i couldn't resist buying a few things wihch were on sale for the workshop: An autoleveling laser crosshairs tool and some magnetic trays which will come handy on my new lift...
P1240435-Kopie.jpg
 
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Hostyle

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May 8, 2014
Messages
272
Location
Geldrop (NL)
Lidl tools for the win!

Must keep my eyes peeled for that laser level. I can't justify the prices of the big brand names for the amount of times I might use one. But a Parkside one... Thanks for the (unintended) tip!
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
Lidl tools for the win!

Must keep my eyes peeled for that laser level. I can't justify the prices of the big brand names for the amount of times I might use one. But a Parkside one... Thanks for the (unintended) tip!

I'm not usually the one to buy cheap-branded tools, because they tend to break fast, but then when it's a tool which you only use once in five years i'm fine with that. when i saw the sales-ad i had to buy it immediately.
it was 30 bucks i think and the magnetic trays 3.- bucks ;)
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
So, slowly all components for my own additional electric installation are starting to arrive in the mailbox:
P1240026-Kopie.jpg


P1240468-Kopie.jpg


And also some stuff for the fully automated watering project :)
P1240467-Kopie.jpg


Now even found a group of guys that make modules to modify your lawn mower robot, so you can control it from the smart-home automation system and retreive data from it. I think i need this *lol*
image.jpg


The plaster guys sanded down the ceiling, so it can be painted soon:
P1240496-Kopie.jpg


And the railings for the stairs got installed:
P1240485-Kopie.jpg


P1240486-Kopie.jpg


I hope tomorrow the tabletop for the kitchen will arrive. but we'll see...
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
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447
Location
Switzerland
Aaah, the kitchen ceramic table top arrived and got installed. love it :)
P1240518-Kopie.jpg


The colour is much darker in real life. Also love the flush mounted induction stove:
P1240517-Kopie.jpg


In the garage area they started with the insulation as well:
P1240504-Kopie.jpg


Progress is slow next week i guess, but when done we will have a few big steps done as well so paint and flooring can start... we'll see..
 

Hostyle

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Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
272
Location
Geldrop (NL)
I'm not usually the one to buy cheap-branded tools, because they tend to break fast, but then when it's a tool which you only use once in five years i'm fine with that. when i saw the sales-ad i had to buy it immediately.
it was 30 bucks i think and the magnetic trays 3.- bucks ;)

Same here! I checked my local Lidl last weekend, but sadly no laser level. Just a whole lot of other junk :lol_hitti
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
Same here! I checked my local Lidl last weekend, but sadly no laser level. Just a whole lot of other junk :lol_hitti

Well that was until yesterday i realized our tiler uses the exact same Lidl laser level for his work.
And Fun fact: A company that makes a Glass wall for the house called me to tell me that he'd never seen such an accurate work of a tiler and the he was really impressed with how level his work was :lol_hitti
 
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Hostyle

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May 8, 2014
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Geldrop (NL)
LOL! My neighbour had his van broken into and tools stolen. He needed tools quicker than the insurance could pay out so he bought a load of Lidl tools. Some of it has died a quick death, but he still uses some of it 3 years later.

It could be a game of hit and miss. Certainly at this price point it's always worth a try.
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
It has been a few days since my last update. Life is pretty busy at the moment with so many things needing completion before we can move in. it seems like after months of waiting, everything now happens at once.
Some wooden details got done, like the hand railings and also window sills, etc:
P1240582-Kopie.jpg


Including sliding doors:
P1240584-Kopie-e1559305239731.jpg


P1240608-Kopie.jpg


The tiler completed his work:
P1240583-Kopie.jpg


And the plaster guys were super busy to complete the decorative plaster layer in the complete upper level.
P1240596-Kopie.jpg


Me and wifey spent some hours on-site as well and cleaned out the whole place and painted the wall in the workshop:
P1240614-Kopie.jpg


Also decided to paint the ceiling in the workshop / Garage area by ourselves since the landscaping got a bit more expensive than expected and to save some money. I love painting things, but this is a terrible job. With approx 6 hours of work we only made probably 40% of the whole ceiling. The structure will **** in any paint you apply to it. It still doesn't look beautiful either but it looks much better than before and it will do the job for now. to many other important things to handle at the moment.
P1240626-Kopie.jpg


This evening the ground level should be completed plaster-wise too and i will start to upgrade the electrical cabinet with a few extra features and addiotional wiring. Tomorrow we will spend another day on-site continuing to paint the ceiling (don't think we will be able to complete it!). A lot of other things coming over the next two weeks so it's exciting and hectic times at the same :)
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Messages
447
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Switzerland
The plaster-guys came to work on saturday to make it in time and did approx 50% of the ground level cosmetic layer (Abrasion plaster). It's still wet (and therefore "cloudy" in the Photo:
P1240663-Kopie.jpg


Wifey and i continued to work on the garage ceiling and did the whole lift area (still need to do the workshop area):
P1240656-Kopie.jpg


It won't win any beauty-prices but still looks much better and brighter than it did before:
P1240657-Kopie.jpg


And i spent myself a few hours yesterday and today doing some additional wiring and upgrading the cabinet with a few extra power supplies, relays, PoE Injectors, Ethernet-Switches. etc.. mainly for the automation system, garden watering and the main IPC panel... still not done yet...
P1240668-Kopie.jpg
 

rixtrix1

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Aug 25, 2013
Messages
3,010
Location
Chandler, AZ (from west NE)
It's a good thing you know what's going on inside that power panel, That's crazy, in a good way. Hope your wife didn't get a sore back painting so HIGH over her head. Huge difference in appearance and lighting! My 5' wife couldn't help with that ceiling at all, lol.
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
It's a good thing you know what's going on inside that power panel, That's crazy, in a good way.
Honestly i don't understand all of it, since it isn't my own design, i just added my own stuff to the cabinet. Will figure out how it works once i get the base-program from the electrician, where i can see which inputs and outputs are used for what. Some things are quite obvious, some are not :headscrat
 

smschriefer

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May 28, 2009
Messages
842
Location
Yorktown, VA
Have you thought about buying a paint sprayer for the ceiling? I'd think you'd get much better coverage and finish more quickly.
 

Captain

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Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
64
Location
Adelaide Australia
I have been following your build from the beginning and have thoroughly enjoyed all of your updates.
Really like the attention to detail on so many different areas, a credit to you for keeping on top of things.

Regarding the garage ceiling painting; maybe find a cheap electric spraygun that has a flexible spray extension, would make the job a lot easier and also provide good coverage.

images
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
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Switzerland
Yeah thought about the spray gun too, but i think it's still very difficult because the surface is very "3D" so you would need to spray from various angles to get a nice coverage. I'm fine with how it ended up for the moment. Have too many other things with higher priority at the moment, so will leave it like it is for now. Need some projects for the future, right? :)
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
Not too much to show you atm, but there's a lot going on, allthough not much to see...
The plaster guys completed the inside:
P1240773.jpg


And did the outside including paint too. The two different colours separate the two houses a bit more, which i like.
P1240816-Kopie.jpg


And now the two painter ladies are hard at work to get some colour (and a lot of white) into the house. The upper level is almost done. after the public holiday they will continue with the ground level...
P1240756.jpg
 
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62stepside

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Aug 5, 2015
Messages
73
Awesome panel, I'm going to school for PLC's and stuff like that now. Awesome build!
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Messages
447
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Switzerland
Awesome panel, I'm going to school for PLC's and stuff like that now. Awesome build!

Thanks a lot. PLC's are my daily business, so thats why i decided to go that route :) Wait until the panel is finnished. still quite a few bits to come. Especially in the ethernet department. I just figured out today how i can include the lawn mower robot, Vacuum cleaner robot, Heater, al the home appliances (washing mashine, tumbler, dishwasher, etc..) and even the cat flap into the home automation. This jus means i'll need a few extra wires *lol*
 

Ronin22

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Oct 2, 2018
Messages
478
Location
BA
Thanks a lot. PLC's are my daily business, so thats why i decided to go that route :) Wait until the panel is finnished. still quite a few bits to come. Especially in the ethernet department. I just figured out today how i can include the lawn mower robot, Vacuum cleaner robot, Heater, al the home appliances (washing mashine, tumbler, dishwasher, etc..) and even the cat flap into the home automation. This jus means i'll need a few extra wires *lol*

:shocking:

Do you have the lawn mower robot, vacuum cleaner robot, and the rest of the appliances? Or do you still have to buy them? I'd love to see some pics, and learn more.

Home automation is light years away from us here in our country, compared to others. It's not that common at all, and I've been quite fascinated by everything related since forever, lol. It will be a few years before fully automating a house is not 100% cost prohibitive here :(
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Messages
447
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Switzerland
:shocking:

Do you have the lawn mower robot, vacuum cleaner robot, and the rest of the appliances? Or do you still have to buy them? I'd love to see some pics, and learn more.

Home automation is light years away from us here in our country, compared to others. It's not that common at all, and I've been quite fascinated by everything related since forever, lol. It will be a few years before fully automating a house is not 100% cost prohibitive here :(

It's still quite upcoming here too, mostly some nerds (like me) starting to do it. but with the loxone system it's quite simple. the community has managed to integrate most of the things. by hacking the protocols that most of the appliences have available these days and integrate them directly into the Loxone system is very simple.

Roomba Irobot vacuum cleaner - there's a roowifi module available
Gardena / Husqvarna lawn mower - there's a Roboconect module available
Miele houshold appliances - by hacking the miele@home API system
Sureflap Connect cat door - by hacking the Sureflap API system (some data available on github)
Heater - by Hacking the Luxtronic API system
Liebherr fridge - By hacking the Liebherr smartconnect box API system.
Gardena garden watering valves- by just controlling the valves directly through relay output on the PLC relay module.

All the other things (lighting, temperature controlling, heating, cooling, motion sensing, weather station, alarm, entrance, surveillance, etc..) is already available as fully integrated Hardware by Loxone itself. the company that makes the PLC for house automation.

Some things are very well documented, some things i need to figure out by myself. not sure if i'm able to integrate everything as smart as i want too but i think most of it should somehow be possible.

Most appliances these days have some kind of add-on wifi PCB where you can check the status by a specific app (for example miele app for miele devices). If you manage to hack the Wifi-communication between the App (hub) and the device, you simply can include it in the smart home automation to read out parameters (like fridge temperature) and send commands (like start vacuum cleaning now). If you're able to recceive and send data (aka communicate with the device) you can integrate it in the automation program.
For example the lawn mower starts automatically when it's not raining, when the terrace door is not open, it hasn't run for at least three days, it's not in winter mode (aka snow) and the house is not set to "party mode" (aka guests with probably kids and animals on site) etc.. so many possibilities. and lot of useless but fun nerdery as well - i admit. I don't think there's ever the need to control the fridge temperature by your mobile phone app, but yeah - it's cool nevertheless :lol_hitti
 

Ronin22

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Oct 2, 2018
Messages
478
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BA
Thank you so much!!
You've given me a lot to research and read. My toilette reading material just became a little bit nerdier :bounce:

For example the lawn mower starts automatically when it's not raining, when the terrace door is not open, it hasn't run for at least three days, it's not in winter mode (aka snow) and the house is not set to "party mode" (aka guests with probably kids and animals on site) etc.. so many possibilities. and lot of useless but fun nerdery as well - i admit. I don't think there's ever the need to control the fridge temperature by your mobile phone app, but yeah - it's cool nevertheless :lol_hitti

Wow. This was just a bit too "I, Robot" for me, and I love technology :lol_hitti
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
We spent the whit-weekend getting some minor things done by ourselves:
I built and finalized an access pipe to the ventilation hole and one to the water drainage line, which will be covered in soil soon:
P1240824-Kopie.jpg


And painted the workshop wall and ceiling. Before:
P1240836-Kopie.jpg


After (Still some wet spots and therefore cloudy)
P1240837-Kopie.jpg
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
Fast progress this week. The Plumber installed the gutter drain pipes:
P1240855-Kopie.jpg


The electrician installed the plugs for the Blinds / Shutters:
P1240851-Kopie.jpg


and the (high) power outlets in the Workshop area:
P1240845-Kopie.jpg


The kitchen sink arrived too. The first one got damaged during the transport, so they had to order a new one. Luckily it arrived one month earlier then expected :)
P1240847-Kopie.jpg


Expect a lot of updates over the next few days. It appears that everybody is busy finnishing up their stuff :). I will keep you updated of course...
 

Motoman1100

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Oct 2, 2014
Messages
443
Location
GA
Great progress so far JDM, thanks for the updates. Your place is really fun to watch come together!
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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447
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Switzerland
Thanks guys :)
We have planned to start moving in about 3 weeks (end of June), but i expect we'll start to live there somewhere between middle and end of July.
We decided to take it easy and have one month overlapping with the new home ready and the old one still available.
 
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JDMjunkies.ch

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Dec 27, 2016
Messages
447
Location
Switzerland
Today a big visual update happened. the scaffolding got removed:
P1240866-Kopie.jpg


And a new one set up for the terrace cover build:
P1240867-Kopie.jpg


Thanks to this, the shed finally could be covered with the remaining clay tiles:
P1240870-Kopie.jpg


And among a few other things, i installed a mount for the Ultrasonic water-level sensor in the rainwater tank. Not the most beautiful thing, but it will do the job :)
P1240885-Kopie.jpg
 
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