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

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Thanks I had forgotten about that outside privacy walll. Are they going to get the retaining wall above the garage entrance formed before the winter break?

The plan is to have everything concrete poured by today since they told me today was the last day. Let's see tomorrow how far they came. Also not sure if maybe one or two of the workers will be there to clean up a bit and complete a few here-and-there's next week despite the majority of the guys have some off-time...
At least they're on schedule so far

 

[Ronin22]

No worries, if we're talking about the average it's no problem.

Usually the deal with mortgages in switzerland is like this:
If the house incl. property is 100%
you have to bring at least 20% in own funds.
of these 10% have to be cash, and the rest can be retirement funds or personal savings fixed to some bank-investments (too complicated to go into details).

The monthly mortgage rate can not be over 33% of the houshold income at assumed mortgage interest of 5% (this is the risk they calculate).

then we have the mortgage rates, risk and so on.
Now usally split the 80% into various mortgages:
one is to pay back 33% from the 100% within 15 years (this is a must).
the other ones you can split into different fixed, variable or libor-type mortgages. since the rate is low currently we tend to make longer (10 years) fixed rates. but you can take part of the rest and gamble a bit and put it into variable or libor mortgages.

Nevertheless. Usually it's cheaper to own a house and pay mortgages than renting a nice place. The big difference is you need a lot of savings and a quite high income (if wife has no income when at home with a baby that's a problem for example) to be able to fulfill all the requests above.

It's switzerland after all, making rich people richer and everthing is super regulated and complicated. We're lucky we JUST managed to fulfill the needs with every penny we found. but once the house is finnished we can save a lot more compared to now.

House finished -> More saving -> More Car Parts & More Parts

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

House finished -> More saving -> More Car Parts & More Parts

that's the plan

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Got some good and some bad news:
The bad news is that they were not able to complete anything this week. The good thing is they will be here next week too to complete work and clean up the mess, so we expect all the concrete work to be finnished by next week:
The form work for the in-laws 90° stairs was completed:

the formwork for the two remaining small concrete walls in the in-laws house area is almost finnished:

Formwork for the landscaping wall is finished too:

And i was finally able to make a little test-assembly for the Rainwater Tank flow-through filter (red box) with the calm inflow (black part):

 

[Mudnut]

What an amazing build. Great to follow the progress.

I was wondering about the crane. Is there a crane driver on site every day? Does he / she have any other duties?

Did not see any concrete pumps being used. Was it all poured by a bucket from the crane?

Keep us posted. Great build.

Cheers,

Ken

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

What an amazing build. Great to follow the progress.

I was wondering about the crane. Is there a crane driver on site every day? Does he / she have any other duties?

Did not see any concrete pumps being used. Was it all poured by a bucket from the crane?

Keep us posted. Great build.

Cheers, Ken

Thanks Ken,

If they're busy, they have a skilled crane Operator with a remote control on site. He is very fast and accurate. If he doesn't have any crane-driving duties, he helps with other stuff.

All the concrete is loaded from the truck directly into the buckets without any additional pumps. Since the concrete factory ist just a few hundred meters away from the house, it's easy to have them there whenever we request so, and the on-site team has a lot of experience working with these guys.

Pumps are usually only used here when you have high buildings or bridges, etc. I assume it's very expensive to rent a pump here, but don't know the details...

 

[Finallygotit]

Could I get some links about these parts?

I would like to read up on them a bit more please.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Mudnut]

Thanks Ken,

If they're busy, they have a skilled crane Operator with a remote control on site. He is very fast and accurate. If he doesn't have any crane-driving duties, he helps with other stuff.

All the concrete is loaded from the truck directly into the buckets without any additional pumps. Since the concrete factory ist just a few hundred meters away from the house, it's easy to have them there whenever we request so, and the on-site team has a lot of experience working with these guys.

Pumps are usually only used here when you have high buildings or bridges, etc. I assume it's very expensive to rent a pump here, but don't know the details...

Thanks for the reply. It is probably the opposite here. Crane hire more expensive than the pump. Crane is far more useful though. Will watch with interest.

Ken

 

[sponaugle]

What a fantastic build! I thought I was using a lot of concrete for my new house (about 400 yards or so), but that is nothing compared to this. It is really interesting to see how things are done differently, especially with the concrete forms.

This looks to be a fantastic garage and set of homes! I'll be subscribed!

Jeff

---------------------
My new shop build:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7597738#post7597738

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

What a fantastic build! I thought I was using a lot of concrete for my new house (about 400 yards or so), but that is nothing compared to this. It is really interesting to see how things are done differently, especially with the concrete forms.
This looks to be a fantastic garage and set of homes! I'll be subscribed!
Jeff

Hey Jeff, Thanks for the kind words and following. Yeah it's always interesting to see how people do stuff on the other side of the world, isn't it? I love to follow those american builds just to see how it can be done else

Could I get some links about these parts?

I would like to read up on them a bit more please.
Thanks in advance.

Hey there. Yeah let's try to explain:
One of the main problems with roof-water collection is the dirt that comes with it. Big sediments like leaves etc will not pass the filter-sieve and be washed through a "waste output" Tube with excess water.
The small sediments that pass the filter sieve will settle at the bottom of the tank. To not mess it up with the fresh-water inflow, you just make a 180° bend so the incoming water goes upwards and doesn't interact with the sediments at the bottom.
The light sediments that swim on the water surface will be washed out with the overflow-siphon every-now and then when the tank is full. but to avoid a takeout of those swimming sediments you have the takeout hose hanging below the surface on a swimmer ball. This way you get the best possible water quality that won't mess up the pump, etc. Hope this drawing helps to explain:

 

[Finallygotit]

Interesting! Thank you very much for the explanation.

 

[red]

Could I get some links about these parts?

I would like to read up on them a bit more please.


Thanks in advance.

Thinking of installing a water collection system, here's a link to the part Nils used-


https://www.bauhaus.at/zubehoer-fuer-regenwassernutzung/aquiri-feinfilter-select/p/24482088

 

[sponaugle]

All the concrete is loaded from the truck directly into the buckets without any additional pumps. Since the concrete factory ist just a few hundred meters away from the house, it's easy to have them there whenever we request so, and the on-site team has a lot of experience working with these guys.
Pumps are usually only used here when you have high buildings or bridges, etc. I assume it's very expensive to rent a pump here, but don't know the details...

That is very interesting... It seems the opposite is true here in the states. The pump trucks are very common, and not that expensive, especially if you can work with a truck boom under 40m. It is great that you are so close to a concrete factory! In my house we are about 30 mins from the nearest place, and as a result we had to schedule about 8 trucks, so the trucks are in rotation and there is always one or two onsite and full ( so you don't run out during the pour).

Here in the Pacific Northwest most houses don't have basements at all, as the frost line is typically somewhere between 0 and 12 inches, so there isn't a need to dig into the ground as much.

You are going to have a great place for all that JDM goodness.

Jeff

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

That is very interesting... It seems the opposite is true here in the states. The pump trucks are very common, and not that expensive, especially if you can work with a truck boom under 40m. It is great that you are so close to a concrete factory! In my house we are about 30 mins from the nearest place, and as a result we had to schedule about 8 trucks, so the trucks are in rotation and there is always one or two onsite and full ( so you don't run out during the pour).

Here in the Pacific Northwest most houses don't have basements at all, as the frost line is typically somewhere between 0 and 12 inches, so there isn't a need to dig into the ground as much.

You are going to have a great place for all that JDM goodness.

Jeff

Ah that's interesting.
To be honest i think most people dig into the ground to save space.
And in the past we had this WW2-Leftover-law that you HAD to build a bomb-shelter so most people combined it with some basements or garage and now it's pretty common

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Thinking of installing a water collection system, here's a link to the part Nils used-


https://www.bauhaus.at/zubehoer-fuer-regenwassernutzung/aquiri-feinfilter-select/p/24482088

Exactly. it was the cheapest option.
The original brand which Bauhaus sells is Aquiri (germany):
http://aquiri.de/Regenwasserzisternen-SL4000.html

But the original manufacturer is RikuTec:
https://www.rikutec.de/produkt/aquaterne-122-regenwassersammeltank/
Same product, just sold udner different brands.

The filter-system is more than they recommand for garden-watering use, but i thought i spend some extra money and don't need to clean it.
Meanwhile Rikutec has more advanced Sinus-filter systems. The working principle is the same, but i think it has a better calculated background...
https://www.rikutec.de/download_type/zubehorliste/

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So we got our first snow for this year:

The fact that it's cold and some people are early on christmas vacation means the pace is quite slow. The guys are mostly finnishing a few remaining tasks and cleaning up the site. Nevertheless a few things happend this week:
The landscaping wall has been poured with concrete and they were just uncovering it from the mold when i was there:

The formwork for the concrete support beam was finnished and i expect them to pour the concrete this week:

And the stairs in the in-laws house part has been poured with concrete as well, so by the end of the week we will be able to walk it:

That's it. I'm curious to see how much they're able to complete before christmas break

 

[Hugo L.]

That thing is bomb-proof. In a neutral country, that’s what I call overkill. I love it.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

That thing is bomb-proof. In a neutral country, that’s what I call overkill. I love it.

I live in a place only a few minutes from the german border.
It was bombed by the allied forces during WWII when they thought they were flying over germany.

So even beeing a neutral country doesn't save you from beeing bombed.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Sooo, finally (but also sadly) concrete work is officially completed: The last remaining days before the christmas brake, the foreman was alone at the site and finnished up all the remaining tasks:
The stairs got uncovered from the mold:


And the small walls in the in-laws house part too:


The small support-brace-wall-thing above the garage entrance got poured and the mold removed:


And everything got cleaned up a bit:


That's it. Work will continue in mid january if the temperatures allow the masons to finalize all the brickwalls. The roofing with the Photovoltaic system is next. we'll see...

Now it's time to smoke some homemade bacon and cheese on nice Beechtree sawdust for christmas

 

[larry4406]

Ummmm bacon.....

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Despite the christmas holidays we had a little walk around and i thought i share some alternative angle view from the house with you:

But first we had to do the final test-assembly of our filter system and it fits just perfect:

And here some alternative angle shots

Can't wait for the work to continue

 

[theroyz71]

Any updates?

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Any updates?

We still have what is called "Constructors Holiday" currently, where all the guys have their vacation. However the plumber was on site this week and by monday all the guys should return to work.
Tomorrow i will check out the plumbers work and take (and maybe post) some pictures.
We have vary cold temperatures at the moment and a lot of snow so i expect a slow start (too cold for brickwork). Nevertheless i just talked to the Carpenter guys and they are preparing the roof beams and rafters etc over the next week on their milling machines so roof will be ready to put on as soon as the previous work is finnished. I have an appointment there on monday to select some colours so we'll see, maybe i can have a glimpse at how the beams are milled in the huge-*** roof-beams milling machine

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Officially the Constructors holiday lasted until today, so this means the work officially starts again on next monday, However the plumber already showed up last week to install the basic house connections in both house parts this week - which means i have finally something to update you about again:
Main connections in our "technical room", including an "input filter" and a prepared piece of piping where the "clock" / "water counter" will go:

And in the In-laws area:

Our area is mostly based on Limestone, thats why we have prepared connections for a Mineral-removing system (Based on Ionic-exchange with Salt) so our coffee-machine and everything will stay free of calcium and last longer. It also makes the water feeling softer (you can feel a huge difference) and you need less fabric softener and washing detergent when cleaning stuff. No More white calcium stains everywhere
The system will go at the two red connections..

The Sink connection in the in-laws garage space:

One of the in-wall toilet cisterns

Some of the main sewage tubes (insulated, because it's in the outside wall)

Oh and a friend of ours offered us a beautiful modern Oaktree-Hardwood table for free, so i absolutely had to take it

I expect the work to pick up again slowly next week because of short days, cold temperatures and lots of snow everywhere. The advantage is, you can draw the missing walls into the snow at the moment

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So yesterday work officially started again at our house. But since it's cold, dark, wet and snowy at the moment i didn't really expect much more than a bit of a cleanup and some small detailing. Boy was i wrong...
My mother in law sent me the following picture in the evening. Wait - are there two new walls?

We had to check out. Unfortunately it was dark already, but yeah - we have not only two, but two and some semi-finnished brickwalls up. That Brickmason really kills it every time. He's super fast and accurate:

The other guys started to remove the formwork for the upper slab at our ground-level, but there wasn't really much to see. i expect the whole ground level to be "free" by the end of the week:

Oh and the Roof-carpenters have already started to mill, cut and prepare the beams and everything for the roof and Canopy on our back, so we had to go and select some colours and stuff:

If pace continues like this, i expect them to be able to follow our goal to start putting up the roofs in two weeks.

 

[red]

"If pace continues like this, i expect them to be able to follow our goal to start putting up the roofs in two weeks."

Wow, goes to show how important vacation is.
They come back all charged up and ready to produce and under crappy conditions no less.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Wow, goes to show how important vacation is.
They come back all charged up and ready to produce and under crappy conditions no less.

Indeed, i'm really always impressed by the brickmasons working speed and accuracy. This is what they made yesterday:

Hopefully i will be able to check out the site and progress today in the evening again

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Alright, time for another update with lots of Bricks

Our top level has been completely done with all the brickwork:

And the majority of the walls at the in-laws house parts have been done too. some small walls are still missing, then the wall-work is completed on all areas:

Formwork has been removed in some remaining areas like the in-laws stairs:

and in our ground level. Finally we see how the rooms appear

Some Animal (probably a marten, who stole it) left a chicken egg (many chicken-farmers in this village) and left it in one corner of our house. Not sure what it means, but i hope it brings luck or something

The parts for the chimney have been delivered too:

And i got some Parts (Mikuni triple carbs) for my Z-project too to keep the car side of things alive

Next week should be really cold and icy so not sure how the work progress, but in two weeks, The roof work should start and in 4 weeks windows will be delivered... Let's see

 

[Ronin22]

Nice progress! Houses are taking shape!
Nice carbies too!

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Nice progress! Houses are taking shape!
Nice carbies too!

Thanks mate

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Despite the bad and cold weather the brickmasons keep working at a fast pace and if nothing goes wrong they'e finnished by today evening. this was this afternoon (only few small inside walls are missing at that point).

In the current state you can see the structure of the two separated houses with the combined underground garage quite well, so i thought i share another picture

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

OK, the walls are now completely finnished in our and the in-laws house.
No more concrete or bricks

The roof is slightly delayed because of skiing-vacation. so we won't have a roof before february... This gives the workers time to work an all the details, clean up and remove some excess stuff. I also expect the electrician and plumber to get some work done.

Today the chimney was put up:

Some hard foam insulation was deliveredy:

And the electrician started with some of the wiring in the garage:

Also we're in the process of choosing a garage door. It seem's like were going with a swiss-made Worlag Sectional door (example picture):

And on saturday i will go and have a look at some workshop lifts. Currently my favorite is this one. It's a simpler one. and quite a good price. but made by a famous italian brand and made in europe. Also it's mechanic (spindle drive) rather than the cheaper hydraulic systems made in china. Also it's quite small and perfect for my small workshop area. Small and simple but high quality.

 

[Ronin22]

Wow! Must be satisfying to know all the brick and concrete work are all done.
I like that kind of garage door but it's difficult to know how good it's gonna look, because it depends on what colour the house is gonna be.

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Wow! Must be satisfying to know all the brick and concrete work are all done.
I like that kind of garage door but it's difficult to know how good it's gonna look, because it depends on what colour the house is gonna be.

Yeah it is. finally the "detail" work begins

The garage door will have a different color than in the sample picture.
I let the in-laws choose the color of the door, since it's installed in their part of the house and has to match their colour scheme. From what i understand they will go with some aluminum silver type of colour - i'm fine with that.

Our architect often works with this brand so we had plenty of similar real-life garage doors to look at. And he uses it on his own house since several years, so i guess that's a good sign. It also has some extra foam-insulation between the layers so the garage should stay pretty cozy in the winter, even without heating (mind most part of it is buried underground)

 

[Bogdan M.]

The lift is made by Ravaglioli?

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

The lift is made by Ravaglioli?

The lift is made by Ravaglioli, yes, but it's their "cheaper" subbrand Sirio,
Still made in europe, compared to all the chinese stuff floating around.
See here:
https://www.sirioequipment.com/en/category/products/lifts/

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Wow!! Awesome progress!!!

 

[Bogdan M.]

The lift is made by Ravaglioli, yes, but it's their "cheaper" subbrand Sirio,
Still made in europe, compared to all the chinese stuff floating around.
See here:
https://www.sirioequipment.com/en/category/products/lifts/

Cool!
I have a Ravaglioli lift and it's the best tool I own.
Good choice!

 

[rixtrix1]

Build continues to amaze. Hoping your weather stays on the mild side so the homes can get " dried in".

 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Wow!! Awesome progress!!!

Thanks mate, yeah i'm quite happy

Cool!
I have a Ravaglioli lift and it's the best tool I own.
Good choice!

Good to know. this strenthens me in my choice

Build continues to amaze. Hoping your weather stays on the mild side so the homes can get " dried in".

Thanks. Yeah here too. it's quite dry at the moment, but very cold so everything freezes. they have planned to set up a temporary heating system once the roof and windows are in to dry everything before the base floors will be poured, etc. but we'll see if it's nessecary or not. would save us another two grand...