tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368307802024-03-22T03:27:22.028+01:00Huf Haus project blogThe ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland - and then living in it.Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-82038791032121321482012-10-30T21:27:00.001+01:002012-11-12T08:36:02.918+01:00Building land = Hen's teeth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicE6ruLMcvJdr17nUHrczB-gH3tcjsdpthk_JeEFwWgAQXmPsPVO3f_iU8V3TlGsWKddrNOYauYhq6PP7m2n4dUesON9TTxvkGQpZy07AdM6JSsbnb942fJVHvhoFhdLV0PeVCRw/s1600/H_ART4_Erl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="167" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicE6ruLMcvJdr17nUHrczB-gH3tcjsdpthk_JeEFwWgAQXmPsPVO3f_iU8V3TlGsWKddrNOYauYhq6PP7m2n4dUesON9TTxvkGQpZy07AdM6JSsbnb942fJVHvhoFhdLV0PeVCRw/s400/H_ART4_Erl.jpg" /></a></div>
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I started bashing out a rushed reply to the following comment, and then realised that the reply might build up to be as long as a proper post. So why not? Why not a proper post as a response? So here it is...<br>
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<i><blockquote>almita said...<br><br>Hi! I live in Zurich and we are considering a Huf House project...So far we are looking to nuy a house and demolish, as you know there are no bauland, and the ones that exist are unaffordable. So far, I have found aorund the Zurich proximity at avge 1.5 mill Chf...sigh....<br>
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My question is about planning permission, I am looking for a house around 200 sq mts, or similar to yours, I like the flat roof model, did you have any challenges to get permission?<br>
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On another note, I see you mention an architect, do you need to hire one mandatory?
We are hoping to benefit from the strong chf vs euro, after a few years, do you recommen the approach vs a traditional build after you had some time to live on it?
thank you for your tips any wordof advise welcome!</blockquote></i><br>
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The easiest place to begin is with the real estate situation here in Switzerland.<br>
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Strangely, Swiss mortgage interest rates are at their lowest since records began, the housing market forgot to plummet along with the rest of the world, the economy is more or less intact... and so, wonder of wonders, Switzerland seems to be the last bastion of rock-solid house prices, and, therefore, rock-solid land prices.<br>
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Or the land prices would be rock-solid if the damn things didn't keep going up up up.<br>
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Going up? We can understand the prices remaining stable, but <i>going up?</i><br>
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So what's going on?<br>
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Well, a combination of factors: the obvious one is that most of the flat bits of land around this part of Europe were thoughtfully claimed by France, Germany and Italy, using little more that swords, ploughs and crosses, leaving the steep and rocky bits for the Swiss to scratch out a living. Ergo, any remaining flat land in Switzerland invariably has a tractor upon it, and very strict laws against conversion into residential use. Next, the Swiss understandably want to live within a few kilometres of wherever they work. This is a life/work balance thing that <i>they've got right</i> and therefore that <i>everyone else has got wrong.</i><br>
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Ergo, too little available building land for geopolitical reasons, and certainly too little around the few cities that anyone with the wherewithal to spend tonnes of money building a Huf Haus could conceivably work in.<br>
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So land prices go up up up, because the bulk of it's been built on yonks yonks yonks ago. And there's not much more to come, unless the Swiss decide to annex Belgium.<br>
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Kind of sets the questions above into context, methinks.<br>
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So, to make my first point: yes, finding land that happens to have a wreck, 60's bungalow, or otherwise undesirable object, upon it, is a worthy strategy. Certainly a more successful strategy than searching the classified for that hen's tooth of a grassy building plot. That doesn't exist, so don't even look. And that's the thing about Swiss real estate that Auslander's (you lot) don't know; undesirable houses are worth... pretty much the value of the land it sits upon, and nowt more.<br>
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The Swiss rarely renovate. Maybe they don't have to, cos their well-designed, well-built and well-maintained houses don't actually get round to falling to bits. But very occasionally a wreck or dump does become available when some aged miser finally pops his clogs, and the inheriting family are clueless what to do with it. Selling's a lot easier than cleaning it. Or painting it. Or replacing kitchen and bathroom.<br>
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So worth keeping an eye out for.<br>
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Planning permission strategy? Well, Switzerland's pretty much like the rest of Europe. There are Gemeindes (local authorities) that like the idea of something like a Huf Haus, and then there're the many, many Gemeinde's wot don't. The ones that do like the idea tend to be more urban, closer to the lake, in lower tax areas (let there be no obstacle to relieving the rich from the burdens of taxation); the ones that don't tend to protect their cheerful Swiss villages by ensuring that any new house conforms to the steep, red roof uniformity that makes them so quaint in the first place.<br>
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Actually, fair dos on that point.<br>
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And specifically to answer the question, anywhere like Meilen, Richterswil, Kusnacht and Erlenbach would do nicely, if seeking to build a <i>flat-roofed</i> Huf Haus. At twice the land prices of anywhere else, cos they're low taxation areas, purposely set low to attract the rich, 'cos the (low) taxable income of a handful of rich is mightier that the (high) taxable income of the great unwashed.<br>
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Anywhere more rural-like where yer perfect Huf Haus would have the perfect view to match would likely be guarded by a Gemeinde planning department (in practice one bloke) who will fight you tooth and nail, unless he's one of the very few enlightened. And when you best the planning department (him) using the full legal powers that you're entitled to (entitled to pay handsomely for, that is) you'll have found that two years have passed, and maybe, just maybe, you've gone off the whole idea. Sod it.<br>
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Which is exactly what happened to the previous owners of the land upon which <i>our</i> Huf Haus sits upon. They battled for two years, got pissed off with the endless stream of obstacles (to be fair, they wanted a few additions that would be hard for any authority to swallow) and even though they won most of their hard fought battles, and got that planning permission (<i>sans</i> unpalatables) the magic had gone. So they flogged the land <i>with planning permission for a Huf Haus</i> to Claudia and I, and then waved goodbye to this particular Gemeinde forever.<br>
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The little beaurocrat will out in the end. He's now working in the (bigger) Gemeinde next door leading a planning department of three, with governance over his successor at our Gemeinde. The power, the power. The Webers (for it was they) moved to Bern, and chased other dreams.<br>
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Still, not a bad plot of land for Claudia and I to find on our second weekend's drive round the Zürich area searching for hen's teeth. And with a fresh Baubewilligung (permission) for a 3-axis Huf Haus of the same shape and size as we wanted. We changed almost nothing. Saved us a year or two of wrangling. Sigh. You may call us what we are. Lucky, lucky sods.<br>
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So what's my advice to the world, assuming not everyone is quite as jammy as we were?<br>
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Build in an expensive (low tax in the case of Switzerland) area and find that CHF 3 million for the land. They'll let yer build an Eiffel Tower out of lollipop sticks and donkey spit if it'll mean your income'll contribute to the tax pool of the area.<br>
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Can't afford that? Then look further out, and conform conform conform. Conform as much as the Huf Haus system will allow, anyway.<br>
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If the local (Gemeinde) planning regulations stipulate a certain size, roof profile, distance from road or boundary, building colour, or whatever, then submit a plan wot says exactly that. Nay! Make it even more conservative, and slice 50cm off every dimension, include a wall or hedge to protect the neighbours from the "horror" of looking at a Huf Haus... actually, to protect your view from <i>their</i> derivative blot, but the Gemeinde doesn't have to know that. If they demand red roof tiles "to fit in with the character of the village" then get used to the idea. If they insist on a pitched roof "because of the threat of snow overwhelming the structure of the house" then give up on the flat roof idea.<br>
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Or build elsewhere.<br>
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Or build something else.<br>
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Or don't build.<br>
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Stop! All too negative! Look, your Huf Haus system can be physically tailored to fit into almost <i>any</i> set of planning rules. Few, if any, regulations stipulate a <i>maximum</i> window surfacing, or the colours of the walls or beams. Yer pitched roof comes <i>with</i> roof tiles, which is as conservative as it gets, so they can't bitch about much more than the colour. The structure (post and beam, pitched roof) itself is as traditional as it gets in Europe, short of a mossy cave.<br>
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But how to add those features to make it special?<br>
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Well, the inside's a blank canvas for a start. But this post's inherently about the outside, so inside's for another day.<br>
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There're various things you can do <i>outside</i> that can equally conform to the planning regulations, if you're guided properly. Which is how I answer the second question. Yes, you need an architect. But not just anyone out of the Yellow Pages. In Almita's case, that architect's basically Mr Huf Haus Switzerland (not the case when he built our house, merely the recommended architect, but the meek inherited the franchise) and I can recommend him wholeheartedly. No one has better experience as to what fits into local regulations, Huf Haus-wise, than he (actually, He of the Bowtie, none other), and no one knows better how to deal with the factory, arrange for blokes with diggers to make keller-shaped holes, yadda yadda yadda.<br>
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And that'll be the case anywhere else in Europe. Talk to the Huf Haus people, and let them recommend the architect. Skip the suspicion that it's some kind of job for the boys. Because it <i>is</i> a job for the boys. Tried, tested and proven boys.<br>
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And would I still recommend building a Huf Haus rather than a traditional build?<br>
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Well, watch Grand Designs and see for yourself. Everyone else is grateful for the project part to be over, for the planning arguments to be at an end, for a stop to the disappointments with building contractors, with the spiralling costs, hurrying Mr McCloud past this or that unfinished room years after they moved in. Sod that. Claudia and I still think back to the project part of our build as one of the best experiences of our lives, and for the <i>good</i> reasons, rather than for those <i>character-building</i> reasons that other people have to cling onto.<br>
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Not meaning to disrespect the traditional build mob, or their choices, you should understand. They've earned plenty of my respect as I watched them (on the telly) overcoming all sorts of adversity that I couldn't be bothered with.<br>
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Please, Dear Huf Haus Hopeful, do cast your eye across the above words a few times more, and try not to let your dream get twisted from the outset by an unnecessary (losing) battle with the authorities. Why make it hard for yourself? Conform enough to meet the regulations, using the sage advice given by experienced professionals, and even if you do have to make some compromises, I can promise you one thing, and these are the <i>exact</i> parting words of the embittered Frau Weber who sold us the land:<br>
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<blockquote>It'll easily be the nicest house in the village.</blockquote>
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And by christ, she was right. It is, and then some.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-21118798991176858492012-10-09T17:16:00.001+02:002012-10-10T08:17:48.369+02:00The wonderful world of Ligne Roset furnitureHello World!<br>
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Firstly, an apology as I've been meaning to write up Ligne Roset (a contemporary Italian-French furniture company) for donkey's years. Ah well, better late than never. Hopefully no one's going to read this, fall into a rage, and then smash up the furniture they've bought in the meantime.<br>
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Let's face it, yer Huf Haus has such amazing natural light and cat-swinging space, that it's an ideal gallery in which to show off decent furniture. Looking at the many eye-candy pictures of Huf Haus interiors that we find on the Web and in the magazines, it seems that Claudia and I are <i>not alone</i> when it comes to our taste for mixing our furniture styles up. To our eyes (your tastes can and will differ) nowt looks better than a mélange of contemporary, classical and even ethnic furniture, side by side, because <i>somehow</i> the clash of styles allows each piece to stand on its own two feet.<br>
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Or four feet.<br>
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Whatever.<br>
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For my sins, back at the turn of the millenium, I spent a year or two living in the fair city of Luxembourg. A surprisingly nice place, but of course somewhat limited in the excitement stakes. Nevertheless, there were enough colleagues and friends around at the time to generate enough fun, high-jinx and mayhem for me to recall my Lux stint as one of life's high-points.<br>
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I arrived there (as oft happens to we ex-pats) for "just a few weeks" and then quickly figured out that I'd be there "much longer", and therefore would be "needing an apartment". And that apartment would "need furnishing"...<br>
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(Let's fast forward...zzzzzzzzzzzip)<br>
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...so of course my newly acquired apartment would need some decent furniture. It just so happened that there was one of the few Habitats outside of the UK right there on the door step, so my credit card got a bit of a pounding. But then I wanted a few items that would be... just a bit nicer... than what Shabby-tat had to offer.<br>
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Sooooooo, in some fancy furniture shop close to Grand Rue (sort of Lux's version of Bond Street) I spotted an amazing glass coffee table, hyper-ventilated at the price, bought it anyway, and took the catalogue home to scratch and sniff at the other wonders therein... and so started my love affair with all things Ligne Roset.<br>
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So why, amongst the oodles of contemporary posh furniture manufacturers do I offer you Ligne Roset?<br>
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Well, 'cos over the years I've noticed that lesser brands shameless copy Ligne Roset classics using cheaper materials, physically scaled down to fit the shoe-box sized rooms of yer typical house, and stamp 'em out in China (or wherever) by the thousands and charge... well, to be honest the rip-offs <i>are</i> cheaper, but not exactly a tenth of the price of the originals. Typically a half or a third of the price for smaller versions badly made out of far less durable materials. So yes, I'd heartily recommend that when you have a chance to pop into a Ligne Roset store that you have that walk round, grab this year's catalogue (some people avidly collect the catalogues like stamps, I kid you not) and see if they're for you and yours.<br>
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So what follows is a short roll call of what's caught my eye over the years, some of which Claudia and I are living with now, some of which we'll buy when we get round to it... and some of which'll have to remain on the lust list because there's no logical place to put it.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGA9KMZiIEMWEacIDIEMSgxwkAc6bid6TS4HqGR-6Y2bV5kPVCAR7LJjkNTeL5xHFORki128XniQk97PSLJ8zOYkhxfjFyGid8LOgQYqFiGzKUOIvp7NS8NT8xWbAHx8x1zQCtYg/s1600/smala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="274" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGA9KMZiIEMWEacIDIEMSgxwkAc6bid6TS4HqGR-6Y2bV5kPVCAR7LJjkNTeL5xHFORki128XniQk97PSLJ8zOYkhxfjFyGid8LOgQYqFiGzKUOIvp7NS8NT8xWbAHx8x1zQCtYg/s400/smala.jpg" /></a><br><b>Smala sofas</b></div>
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So let's start off with the Smala sofa, a pair of which Claudia and I nearly bought just before Rafael was born. Costs are about three and a half grand for the big three-seater and two and a half for its two-seater little brother.<br>
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And that's a hocker you see in the corner of the photo. The sides and backs of the sofas have clever mechanisms so that they can be incrementally raised and lowered either for comic effect, or, more realistically, so that they can be fully flattened out into sofa beds. Achingly cool, and available in a zillion colours, fabrics and also leather for the fetishists. Reason we didn't buy? Someone with some experience of parenthood (Rafael would be our first child) pointed out the potential for baby-sick, chocolate and melted biscuits to somewhat spoil the look and finish of said sofas. So we bought a cheaper <i>throwaway</i> corner sofa until the detritus associated with our kids has safely dried up.<br>
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We can wait. But until then... drooooooooooool.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcCyxETUtciRWP-iHXsYdfWekVcszhkcVWLCW-tBtn_8ByBO-cY7iKvbey8vYglNb3sqXEjaBgASqsdF-aOqoHHCfsybHwaTGD1I0qHXtih5_cTcuAlJyPS7o4qzejWSSxhxvDg/s1600/togo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="246" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcCyxETUtciRWP-iHXsYdfWekVcszhkcVWLCW-tBtn_8ByBO-cY7iKvbey8vYglNb3sqXEjaBgASqsdF-aOqoHHCfsybHwaTGD1I0qHXtih5_cTcuAlJyPS7o4qzejWSSxhxvDg/s400/togo.jpg" /></a><br><b>Togo sofa combos</b></div>
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Ok, so this is what happens when yer act against your instincts and use the left-side of yer brain (the brainy side) to rationalise a delay; the right-side of your brain (the fickle side) changes its mind. Or does it? Too fickle to tell...<br>
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So I present you the Togo sofa system, available either as corner unit combinations, or as separate sofas, etc etc etc. Costs are about three and a half grand for a three-piece corner combo. And of course it's available in more colours than Joseph's coat. Why's it caught my eye? Well apart from <i>looking</i> like the comfy-est sofa available anywhere. Period. I turns out that it <i>is</i> the comfy-est sofa. Ever. Period. So there.<br>
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Your cat will love you forever. And then some.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgGIxpTLNK9SiQLAEJ_j18HbrfUgqPXouBhDdwqALta8Dnrwas3n6lUOPmCq7N4nDn1csH4iPmYi-H7upoKExFpitAHaaVypgHVUMtkn6e6rPHbarcx2FPTbL94t6aRW-cgU99Q/s1600/good_morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="326" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgGIxpTLNK9SiQLAEJ_j18HbrfUgqPXouBhDdwqALta8Dnrwas3n6lUOPmCq7N4nDn1csH4iPmYi-H7upoKExFpitAHaaVypgHVUMtkn6e6rPHbarcx2FPTbL94t6aRW-cgU99Q/s400/good_morning.jpg" /></a><br><b>Good Morning side table</b></div>
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Ok, so for just under four hundred quid, we have the Good Morning side table. Sounds like a chinese cigarette brand. Bonkers name, but thankfully it's not written anywhere so yer visitors don't have to know.<br>
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This is one of two side tables that Frau Capucho and I have in consideration at the moment.<br>
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While it <i>seems</i> to defy the laws of gravity, it's clearly not quite toddler-proof. However, our youngest Alexandro (we have three boys) is now nearly four, and seems to have passed the "lets give that table a nudge to see if it (and the <i>big</i> vase of flowers on top) will come crashing down strewing flowers and associated green water all over the lounge" phase...<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDle8sCl6P3AV6TDMZOz7Y0kMCOU-ej2ykvBdIIjF2BiG95kSnuD-Rb2koMyP8FV1PJPxFU4gtq2N0-YzMYdlIXfV2qwx-inSdN428CRquAeoo6HqB1YGIDY6LLUidhP90viS3Mg/s1600/thot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="277" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDle8sCl6P3AV6TDMZOz7Y0kMCOU-ej2ykvBdIIjF2BiG95kSnuD-Rb2koMyP8FV1PJPxFU4gtq2N0-YzMYdlIXfV2qwx-inSdN428CRquAeoo6HqB1YGIDY6LLUidhP90viS3Mg/s400/thot.jpg" /></a><br><b>Thot side table</b></div>
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...or perhaps we go with the Thot instead. Say wot? Yep, another comedy name in the vein of "Thor? THOR? I'm tho thor I can hardly pith!"<br>
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Nevertheless, a smoothly modern design available at a Ligne Roset store near you (or someone you've read about in the papers) for give or take four hundred quid.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlj_M3cdPFcTkqp5QN8wsV_IYQJKE0majPNJJySLOcLUWpLicfstaP3pyrzRIUUu5AW-ZdlKYmF3djTgAhSOzEdephbzlSQRpafnwaSicGmp4mc8eFhXgVcyIcXZC6RZbEolebg/s1600/everywhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="280" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlj_M3cdPFcTkqp5QN8wsV_IYQJKE0majPNJJySLOcLUWpLicfstaP3pyrzRIUUu5AW-ZdlKYmF3djTgAhSOzEdephbzlSQRpafnwaSicGmp4mc8eFhXgVcyIcXZC6RZbEolebg/s400/everywhere.jpg" /></a><br><b>Everywhere storage system</b></div>
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Ok, so here's one for which we actually coughed up good money; no regrets.<br>
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We spent about two thousand quid around ten years ago for a two metre unit to go under our big telly. It's still looking strong, clean, neat and (most importantly) capacious (those drawers are <i>huge</i>) seeing as we have those zillions of CDs and DVDs that yer seem to accumulate.<br>
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And look at those feet! Actually, you can't 'cos it's a crap photo. But if you could you'd recognise them because they're so copied that they've become a bit of a cliché. Look for them in Ikea or wherever, and once you start noticing them you'll never stop. A bit like humming that song... can't stop yerself.<br>
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Anyways, it's the prototype, the original, the <i>real deal</i> and I never get tired of looking at it, or its brethren, in the Ligne Roset shop.<br>
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(Sigh).<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgZTFbwyyMhV40IlW2l2H2VGVjj66gce0PznkcEw1tRTmn3nSu-NqYcZsG2gESoKodyF53mm8qiefvMDJh3C5y7QQgDlhMikJ3ApRlM9ZPX9irVl4R3Wma22wlUZ1xj3YfImspQ/s1600/bianco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="289" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgZTFbwyyMhV40IlW2l2H2VGVjj66gce0PznkcEw1tRTmn3nSu-NqYcZsG2gESoKodyF53mm8qiefvMDJh3C5y7QQgDlhMikJ3ApRlM9ZPX9irVl4R3Wma22wlUZ1xj3YfImspQ/s400/bianco.jpg" /></a><br><b>Bianco dining table</b></div>
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We didn't buy the Bianco dining table, but oh how I wish we had. Nay, we will! This is another modern design classic copied outrageously by others. Costs about two and a half grand, and it's <i>soooo very clever</i> that it hurts. The table slides smoothly apart in't middle (have a close butchers at the photo) in such a way that your dinner guests will applaud loudly. Although you probably should have set the table before they arrived.<br>
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Still if they <i>did</i> see the expansion then they'd be well impressed.<br>
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Our current dining table is a 2.4m cherry-wood dream that we bought to fit into our old house, which <i>simply doesn't fit under the viewing gallery space above it</i>. Basically, it's too nice to replace, but needs replacing anyway. Leave this one with me, and I'll continue to erode my beautiful wife's objections.<br>
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Might take years.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyM0m8yF3uUYvbBYEkkyL1JmPW9RomG4coIiKcbB0bxprhjZKmHpt1ZSoXpNYc6hFPJ8_UjqHj8cV4BfEPVJOVFI1YCotDE9z9mP1ZMJvAter_4cs229pW5XnFKBsjAPpfMfn-ZA/s1600/fil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="303" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyM0m8yF3uUYvbBYEkkyL1JmPW9RomG4coIiKcbB0bxprhjZKmHpt1ZSoXpNYc6hFPJ8_UjqHj8cV4BfEPVJOVFI1YCotDE9z9mP1ZMJvAter_4cs229pW5XnFKBsjAPpfMfn-ZA/s400/fil.jpg" /></a><br><b>Fils dining chairs</b></div>
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Well, we can't have the dining table (pah! just you wait!) but we can bloody well have the chairs. So we have ten. They cost three hundred quid a pop, are comfortable, cool, strong, wipe-clean (kids), and for an extra fifty quid you can have moo-moo cow-hide in place of the coloured leather. Yep, two of our chairs are cow-hide and they look <i>great</i>!<br>
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Now you should understand that the Swiss are very particular about designer chairs (dunno why, but they are) so they can happily chat about just about every modern (and old) designer that ever bent a piece of metal into a seat. However, these Fils chairs never fail to impress, and I do rather enjoy them mentally trawling through their design catalogues before arriving at... the name of the wrong designer. Hah!<br>
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Kenny Everett voice: <i>It's Ligne Roset, you fools!</i><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fBZy5xc0edtdwWRu5LdHYfCxjZEOgoHwSUifItFl5S1jsjxsgc0-eWWiew7c0tHbj_ukx7-nV3IUz43vdTdoMs4N-432ZRuYBjfezFNniYhfb7FQUi6n_1JPJivO56Bb8a5cDw/s1600/everywhere_desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="275" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fBZy5xc0edtdwWRu5LdHYfCxjZEOgoHwSUifItFl5S1jsjxsgc0-eWWiew7c0tHbj_ukx7-nV3IUz43vdTdoMs4N-432ZRuYBjfezFNniYhfb7FQUi6n_1JPJivO56Bb8a5cDw/s400/everywhere_desk.jpg" /></a><br><b>Everywhere desk</b></div>
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And here's the Everywhere take on the home office desk, a mere bagatelle at one and half thousand quid.<br>
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Not yet bought, but it will be any time soon. Shall wait for the wife's birthday to come around, so (shh) let's keep it to ourselves, eh? And have a look at the feet under the drawer unit, 'cos that's the design cliché I was referring to before. Look!<br>
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Do you see 'em? Do ya?<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vM2XriPxtcnEncCa64LDjQ10IQRhFJPLwxZkD3c4pQVuerCNwbLG6rNYZhMCECHJ-jCaYeTh76fKDFyw4irgVOI44hwQi67TktO5d6DaSscMDytG_v0WVWXPYl7cbmQT7Z73OA/s1600/mama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vM2XriPxtcnEncCa64LDjQ10IQRhFJPLwxZkD3c4pQVuerCNwbLG6rNYZhMCECHJ-jCaYeTh76fKDFyw4irgVOI44hwQi67TktO5d6DaSscMDytG_v0WVWXPYl7cbmQT7Z73OA/s400/mama.jpg" /></a><br><b>Mama standing light</b></div>
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Last but not least, we have the Mama standing light. Almost a daft name, but still within acceptable limits of naming credibility.<br>
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This is another Ligne Roset classic that graces our home, and it's lighting up me and my iPad as I finish typing this post. Ok, so it's six hundred quid, but what price for (yet again, this is getting embarassing) an oft copied modern design classic. What's so clever about this (one does so like <i>clever</i> things) is that the metal hangy-over bit slides back over the metal standy-up bit so that it can be converted from hangy-over to standy-up.<br>
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Oh for god's sake have a look at the photo because written words don't describe this very well.<br>
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My written words, anyway.
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That's all for now, and see you all next time.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-1597830560252357062009-11-13T14:27:00.004+01:002012-10-30T21:49:58.163+01:00Any questions?Hi World,<br /><br />Well, our Huf Haus has been complete for well over two and a half years, and therefore you shouldn't expect too many updates going forward. Or going backwards, either.<br /><br />Anyways, I'll probably add a post or none each year as and when our car port (finally) gets built, and the garden (finally) gets terraced. However, all such home improvements are subject to the size of my annual bonus... which is subject to the performance of the financial markets... which are subject to the competence of the investment bankers.<br /><br />So not much bonus expected then, hence no improvements, hence nowt to write about.<br /><br />Anyways, I've received a couple of Huf-related emails recently, and both queries mentioned what a buggah it was to track down my email address. Hmm, I think the difficulty was the point. Can't receive too few emails, eh?<br /><br />So here's the <i>official</i> Capucho Query Policy: assuming yer not too shy, then write yer queries as "comments" against this post like wot everyone else does. If your query is a bit too much of a private nature for public consumption (yer planning an S&M dungeon in yer Huf Haus cellar, or whatever) then the <i>unofficial</i> Capucho Query Policy is to email me directly at ric.capucho(at)gmail(dot)com.<br /><br />Regards to All,<br />Ric<br>
<b>Update, October 2012. I'm up and blogging again, so forget all this farewell nonsense...</b><div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-69508161551497022942008-04-10T09:21:00.024+02:002008-04-10T15:36:19.425+02:00KitchensI've received a couple of emails over the last year or so, plus the odd comment, asking me which kitchen company we used for our own Huf Haus and why. Well, here's the post I've been meaning to write to give a full and structured answer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5HLqSFlh_mov69CrHSrcdUdqKBcQBrVQb3CJ44zuRipqHzGJMM5QAaQoHnVGQBoCm2Uev7RbXoV2N1QLXyjX4iJc_fjDlVh_dQF6phrVoakPiMNKbawo0iv3q1x8ZuuONktONg/s1600-h/capucho_129-2949_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5HLqSFlh_mov69CrHSrcdUdqKBcQBrVQb3CJ44zuRipqHzGJMM5QAaQoHnVGQBoCm2Uev7RbXoV2N1QLXyjX4iJc_fjDlVh_dQF6phrVoakPiMNKbawo0iv3q1x8ZuuONktONg/s320/capucho_129-2949_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187548026538082610" /></a><br /><center><b>The Capucho kitchen (by Leicht)</b></center><br />One thing that's very noticable when going through the design of your dream Huf Haus is that the Huf people don't include a "standard" kitchen as part of the "standard" house.<br /><br />Compare that with the bathroom situation where a decent standard comes as, erm, standard, and then a set of options can be applied to upgrade it right up to posh hotel levels of luxury. And if that's not enough for yer, then they have their StilART people waiting in the wings who can design you a bespoke solution, at a cost mind, which would make the Onassis family jealous. But I'd say that 99 times out of 100, there's still plenty of the standard bathroom somewhere underneath even the wildest StilART creation.<br /><br />So why don't they offer a similar approach for kitchens?<br /><br />Well, it's because kitchens are too personal, too emotional, too non-standard by their very nature. 99 times out of a 100, the Huf owner wants something different; something completely different, as the Monty Python people would say. So the Huf people pragmatically offers us a 'kitchen base' as part of the package, and that base includes the following:<br /><list><br /><li>Floor tiles - similar to the bathrooms and entrance areas<br /><li>Water pipes sticking out of the walls<br /><li>Electric sockets in the walls<br /><li>Electric cables sticking out of the walls<br /><li>Painted walls and ceiling<br /><li>Glass in the kitchen window<br /><li>Air<br /><li>Erm, that's it<br /></list><br />Lemme see, I'll carefully review that list to see if I've forgotten anything. Da di da di dah. Nope, it's all there.<br /><br />Now most people would consider that to be a bit too minimalist, although I have a mate who wouldn't notice as long as he has somewhere to plug in a kettle. But for the rest of us the concept leads yer to two possible solutions: Call in the StilART people, who will suck on their pencils and work with you to design your wet-dream of a kitchen; or to call in some non-Huf related kitchen people to do likewise.<br /><br />What's important to remember is that the water and electrical channels are built into the very guts of the Huf Haus, so whatever kitchen layout you end up going with needs to be with the Huf people <i>before</i> they start to manufacture yer house in their Hartenfels factory. They'll make a few clicks on their CAD-CAM design software and lo and behold yer electrics and water'll be in the right places when your kitchen people turn up months later to do their work. As we found out, they have some limited flexibility to move a few water pipes and electric cables about once the house is up and standing, but they can't make any radical changes without open heart surgery - and that comes at a serious cost.<br /><br />So yer want to have a kitchen layout figured out before the build, or you're sunk.<br /><br />The second thing to remember is that no pesky kitchen installer is allowed anywhere near yer Huf Haus until <i>after</i> the formal handover. This might seem like a case of over-formality, but there're a myriad reasons that make this a necessity: site insurance is an obvious one; workers tripping over each other, is another; water and electricity flowing as needed - or not flowing, as needed; floor tiles in place; etc etc etc.<br /><br />So, here's a recap of the research that Claudia and I went through before landing on our own kitchen.<br /><br />During our trip to Hartenfels, we had an afternoon with the StilART people; mostly on the bathroom 'cos we wanted a fancier double sink unit than comes as standard. Anyways, we also discussed the kitchen 'cos the setup in the showhouse really did look good. We left them with an outline of what we had in mind, and then waited to see what their offer would cost out as.<br /><br />In parallel, we looked at some of the fancier kitchen suppliers that we're up to our necks in around Zürich.<br /><br />First stop was Poggenpohl, a German manufacturer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg_eN4EHJTeoqHGn0Xmpox-RnnkJXJL3ZPZe7iW3XkhUJRWsP_544cKuQSqYY11F_it0cjqq_hRvfUCr2OJk58yf8FgxV0ggqkichhFDjcWl-tlFUuhvJRLU4ggmZa6rugGX3_Q/s1600-h/poggenpohl_plusmodo_half.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg_eN4EHJTeoqHGn0Xmpox-RnnkJXJL3ZPZe7iW3XkhUJRWsP_544cKuQSqYY11F_it0cjqq_hRvfUCr2OJk58yf8FgxV0ggqkichhFDjcWl-tlFUuhvJRLU4ggmZa6rugGX3_Q/s320/poggenpohl_plusmodo_half.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187568367503196482" /></a><br /><center><b>Poggenpohl - 250% of our budget</b></center><br />Now you should understand that out here in Switzerland there are people who would rather cook on an open fire built into a refugee camp gutter than to choose anything other than Poggenpohl. It's posh, it's stylish, it's tasteful, it's the tip of the top. We walked into a veritable Aladdin's cave of cool kitchens, drooling as we looked left and right.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Poggenpohl's also bloody expensive.<br /><br />The 'representative' took one look at my shoes and clothes, and then rushed us through a design to see how the costs might look. That quick estimate told us that the bare units <i>without</i> the electronics yer might need for cooking, indeed without the doors yer need to hide them pots and pans and cutlery, would be significantly outside our price range. Like 50% more than we had in our budget for the lot. I'm serious. We exited stage left feeling like tramps that had accidentally walked into Claridges instead of the soup kitchen next door.<br /><br />Oops.<br /><br />I have to stress that the Poggenpohl bloke was really very tactful with us, and very likely saved us all a lot of time and bother.<br /><br />What would I recommend to you? Well, in theory yer Huf Haus is the Bentley of "factory-made component houses", so it deserves the Bentley of the kitchen world. Is that Poggenpohl then? Well, very likely. They're both German nowadays anyway. Maybe Claudia and I were in the wrong movie, as they say, and massively unbudgeted for what should be a significant cost in our Huf Haus project? Maybe we really are skinflints, and we should have devoted about 10% of the entire project budget to the bloody kitchen. But we didn't, so there.<br /><br />Go and see for yourself, and if yer appetite and budget stretches to Poggenpohl, then go for it. What they have is beautiful, truly beautiful.<br /><br />Next stop was with a local supplier who handles the SieMatic brand, also from Germany.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfEq021MtayHNT2LwlvUW-jcahRNFWQVmEFYKNr77MO5ZSUzBGPaaoQBHASXAqVLakBqKquG8z5YZbJu1VbfqZcMeb82sqjbhMx9F_4bh_9zos0xRelsoKpmwBAvFqJSji36xFA/s1600-h/siematic_k34_g.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfEq021MtayHNT2LwlvUW-jcahRNFWQVmEFYKNr77MO5ZSUzBGPaaoQBHASXAqVLakBqKquG8z5YZbJu1VbfqZcMeb82sqjbhMx9F_4bh_9zos0xRelsoKpmwBAvFqJSji36xFA/s320/siematic_k34_g.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187571747642458450" /></a><br /><center><b>Siematics - 120% of our budget</b></center><br />The first thing we did was to establish whether we could afford the bloody prices. This rather upset the salesman who's more used to discussing such indelicacies as dosh somewhere towards the end of the sale process. Preferably while you're reading the final invoice placed upon the worktop of your new kitchen that'd been installed some weeks previously.<br /><br />Slimey salesman git.<br /><br />Still, this was our first opportunity to do some real research. And here's what we found: The better of yer modern kitchens have doors and drawers that don't make scraping and banging noises when you shut 'em. Oh no. They slide almost shut in a single silky motion, and then, by virtue of their built-in dampers, slowly but surely close the last bit all by themselves. The drawers themselves should be made of wood laminate or metal, and abso-bloody-lutely <i>not</i> be made of plastic. As goes the cupboard and drawer handles; if they have 'em, 'cos the fashion these days is to have door-width slots to break yer finger nails in. And yer can stand in them drawers, and in fact when you open the bottom drawer in the kitchen showroom, look for footprints. If there aren't any, flag a passing pimp, erm, I mean helpful kitchen salesman, and dare him to do it. The door surfaces should be as hard as nails, nay harder than nails - as hard as a decent kitchen surface which is very very hard indeed. The designs themselves are too subjective for me to discuss here, but for sure the kitchen range should include something that'll make yer dreams come true.<br /><br />And SieMatics of Deutschland offers you all of the above.<br /><br />Indeed, as we found out a little later, it may be the cheapest entry to that level of quality that's available here in Switzerland. Your experiences in the UK or elsewhere might differ, but have a butchers at those details just in case.<br /><br />Well, the pimp salesman did for us, so we moved on... and up up up to Bulthaup.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8Ah85hu3lMpdWXzvvrr8_uFUYpLuNSxqhPNw7SkxZ5F32TFxfK9RW6o6_mCATMMPDwDawLovTz-9lXMVuNqheS1ryoxu22WT0u3Ir4psVbOA22ozVHU-r98v63BsWAbUIhcRbQ/s1600-h/bulthaup_pro_sb1_gal_07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8Ah85hu3lMpdWXzvvrr8_uFUYpLuNSxqhPNw7SkxZ5F32TFxfK9RW6o6_mCATMMPDwDawLovTz-9lXMVuNqheS1ryoxu22WT0u3Ir4psVbOA22ozVHU-r98v63BsWAbUIhcRbQ/s320/bulthaup_pro_sb1_gal_07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187577352574779746" /></a><br /><center><b>Bulthaup - 200% of our budget</b></center><br />How best to describe Bulthaup? Well, Swiss designer stylish. Ever seen that Wallpaper* magazine? It's one of the few English language magazines available in a foreign airport newsagents <i>without</i> a photo of Keira bloody Knightly on the cover. If you know it, then you know it. Well, Bulthaup supply designer kitchens that even the snottiest and most elitist design snob couldn't sniff at; the kind of kitchens that yer see in Wallpaper*.<br /><br />There're a couple of Bulthaup showrooms in Zürich, but the one we went into had easily the coolest kitchen salesman that ever existed. He was really a great guy, and we had hours of fun going through the Bulthaup range. When we'd found our look and feel, he waved his magic wand and created... art. That's what he was: an artist in the medium of kitchen sculpture. We discussed the philosophy behind the design, the original designer himself (twas some French bloke, I think). We discussed surfaces and textures and tones and shades and and and, and we discussed space and proportion.<br /><br />Stainless steel worktops? But they'll scratch to buggery? Oh yes they will, but after a good few years scratching they'll look as scratched as a restaurant kitchen: i.e. they won't look scratched, they'll look glorious. Er wot? Downstairs for a look see into their training and cooking club centre, where the worktops get a <i>serious</i> hammering. Stainless steel worktops after a few years look... bloody glorious. We'll be having 'em.<br /><br />I felt like a designer myself at the end of it all. Or as close as some git from Manchester gets.<br /><br />But, and there was a BIG BUT, we couldn't afford the end result. No way. All concerned looked pained that the lack of readies had doomed all of this glorious creativity, but twas so. He choked with his pain. Claudia sighed wistfully. I clutched my wallet, and sighed with relief.<br /><br />Still, there was a good outcome to all this wanky designer stuff. Up to the point we walked into Bulthaup, we were hellbent on fire-engine red cupboards and dark grey marble surfaces and a sort of barrier-reef row of tall kitchen cupboards. In between sobs into his handkerchief, our Bulthaup designer made us promise that we'd commit to the white cupboards, stainless-steel worktop and general layout of the pinnacle of kitchen beauty that he'd created for us. We promised, and exited to the sound of his heart-rending sobs.<br /><br />Oh the horror of surviving alone in this world as an artist.<br /><br />Next stop was Leicht, so back to the Germans. No more crying then. We walked into a major Swiss electronic chain (Fust, a sort of Comet equivalent) that supplies Leicht kitchens on some sort of strategic corporate deal, whatever that means.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTi19VCJlryj7Wl881o5YcTLrGg5yN5lz0hdVW_poDt7eljDaRrszlUche5njejRNo7YwjmrhEBTBtEWwMpQ92PXbWb6fKr9dA2zz1Q0BI94l2QbCsf9GZDHxFWUiOQrrucjKTRQ/s1600-h/leicht_407m292m_151ki_1028RAL_j04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTi19VCJlryj7Wl881o5YcTLrGg5yN5lz0hdVW_poDt7eljDaRrszlUche5njejRNo7YwjmrhEBTBtEWwMpQ92PXbWb6fKr9dA2zz1Q0BI94l2QbCsf9GZDHxFWUiOQrrucjKTRQ/s320/leicht_407m292m_151ki_1028RAL_j04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187583799320691058" /></a><br /><center><b>Leicht - 150% of our budget</b></center><br />By now we were kitchen veterans, and swooped in on the salesman fully prepared for battle. Poor sod never stood a chance.<br /><br />We'll be having <i>that</i> design, with, erm, <i>those</i> cupboards and this layout. Nope, we said <i>this</i> layout. Yep. And a stainless-steel worktop, thanks muchly. Yes, we know it'll scratch. Yes. Yes. Look, we're having the bloody stainless-steel, alright? Alright. Cupboard doors in white. Yes we said white. Look, what part of white don't you understand? Right, so white it is. Oh, and those handles over there. No, the other sort breaks yer finger nails.<br /><br />Oh, and open that bottom drawer and stand in it.<br /><br />Now jump up and down.<br /><br />Can yer sing?<br /><br />No, yer can't sing can you.<br /><br />Total cost in the post? Ta muchly. Bye.<br /><br />He tried it on a bit, in a similar fashion to the SieMatics pimp, but to be honest we left him with no area to play his salesman games in.<br /><br />But! But! But!<br /><br />But the story continues just a little longer. The offer we received a week or so later contained a little cost time-bomb (on the electronics) that I wasn't going to put up with. So, Claudia and I walked into a small kitchen supplier in a nearby town called Baar. We'd noticed that it had a Liecht logo in the window, so worth a shot. We handed over the spec to the blokey (imagine a big cheery bloke with a red farmer's face and a vicelike handshake) and an hour or two later walked out with the deal done. He'd even spotted an implication that'd slipped past quite a few expert noses; a minor detail not worth noting here. Not telling. No.<br /><br />Is there a moral or six in this story?<br /><br />Probably a few: We <i>had</i> under budgeted on the kitchen. Which is equivalent to me confessing that we've blown our kitchen budget by 50%. Take yer pick. Oh, and using the 'all fur coat and no knickers' line of reasoning, what's the point of spending a bloody fortune on a Huf Haus build if yer gonna slap in some cheapo kitchen? Well, actually there is a point, and a family we visited a couple of years ago had done just that (Ikea) to get 'em through the first few years before they could afford their dream kitchen (a bloody Poggenpohl, of course). But the most important point to all this is not one of design or cost or whatnot. It's all about service and people and trust.<br /><br />Look, I've really ripped the pee out of the Bulthaup designer, but the reality was that here was a salesman bloke who really cared a damn about what he was doing, and who he was doing it for. He's the star of this story, followed by the farmer who finally sold us the Leicht. One did the design, the other provided the good service. A bit rough on the designer and his sales figures, I must admit. The other salesmen were, to be honest, the kind of salesmen that we've all learned to fend off over the years.<br /><br />A week or two later, the StilART offer came through the door: someone had been on holiday or sick or something. And the cost? Way way up there with Poggenpohl.<br /><br />Some time later I'll go through the electronics story, but that'll have to do for now.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-29910244054110315022008-04-02T15:48:00.005+02:002008-04-02T17:14:21.066+02:00Furnishing yer Huf HausQuestion: how do new light-house owners furnish their light-houses? Answer: they start by chucking out all their old furniture.<br /><br />The same applies to Huf Haus owners. And wind-mills, now I think of it.<br /><br />I have a feeling this post'll mean more to existing Huf Haus owners (for whom it'll strike at least a small chime of a chord) than to those of you who're researching a new build. But come back later when you're all moved in, and see if I was right.<br /><br />One of the things we've found as we've become accustomed to our glass-walled, open plan Huf Haus, is that most of our existing furniture just doesn't work anymore. There are two very good reasons for this: Reason One and Reason Two.<br /><br />Ahem.<br /><br />Reason One.<br /><br />Most furniture (especially ours) is designed to be pushed up against one of the three available interior walls of a comparatively small room (compared to a typically cavernous Huf Haus lounge, for example). Almost everything is designed and manufactured with that assumption: indeed the majority of furniture, even quite expensive stuff, isn't even painted at the rear.<br /><br />Saves costs, right? And who's to see anyway?<br /><br />Well, yer get a wake up when you move into your spanking new Huf Haus where you have little or no interior wall to shove yer sideboard against - it's all glass, innit. Maybe you have a dinky side unit that'd look just so against that big exterior window anyways? 'Cept for the bare wood and screws on the arse end that's there for the outside world to see. Or perhaps you want to place a particularly prized antique in prime position where your visitors (already blown away by yer Huf Haus) can admire your exquisite taste in Victorian cabinet-making - only the skilled artisan of yesteryear wasn't going to spend an extra month of sundays extending that veneer all the way around the back.<br /><br />So yer need to start thinking about furniture that's nicely finished on every side. Literally, furniture you could look at from every side.<br /><br />The good news is that dining tables and chairs, and coffee tables are better in this regard 'cos they're designed (or so you'd hope) to be placed away from walls from the off. But here's a list of furniture that very often ain't walk-around: side boards, side tables, drawer units, shelving units and TV and HiFi units. Oh, and almost all antiques. And non-grand pianos. Buggah, eh? And there's a lot of sofas that look, well, a bit crappy from behind.<br /><br />So, Reason One is due to the fact that most furniture ain't walk-around. Ergo, you need walk-around furniture. Some of your furniture is already walk-around, which is great. But then we have Reason Two to consider.<br /><br />Reason Two.<br /><br />Most furniture (especially ours) might look great in some suburban semi, but maybe not quite as good in that great design icon wot is known to us as the Huf Haus. A Huf Haus is cool, fresh, classically modern. It's notable, nay, remarkable. It's a landmark design, that will make yer friends, family and neighbours just a little bit envious, and yer enemies openly seeth with green-eyed jealousy. So you can't be furnishing it courtesy of Ikea and Leather World, can yer? That'd be all fur coat and no knickers, design-wise. As James Bond would say, your cuffs and collars wouldn't match.<br /><br />So, that's Reason Two: you've got yerself a design classic Huf Haus, so you'll be needing to shove in the design classic furniture to match.<br /><br />So, we have two good reasons. Huf Haus furniture should be design classics, and walk-around design classics at that. Ahh, don't take me too seriously, but there's a valid point somewhere in all of this.<br /><br />Conversation with Frau Capucho when we moved in:<br /><br />Claudia - "We need a new sofa, don't you agree? Don't you?"<br /><br />Me - "What? That cost a bloody fortune - and it looks... like new. Erm, the covers can be cleaned. Nah, we'll make it work. How about putting it... erm."<br /><br />But it was true. Our sofa was a bloody fortune in Italian chic, about 3m long, Only we didn't have a 3m wall to put it against. Not in that house. And it looked a bit daft when we tried it as a walk-around sofa. Chic from the front, side, and, for all we know, from below, but dowdy from the back. It had to go... and did, sort of. It's still down in our Keller if someone wants to buy it.<br /><br />And that was just the start of it.<br /><br />Our dining table is a 2.5m behemoth that looked smart and stylish in our old pad, but looks a bit, erm, unadventurous in the Huf Haus. It's walk-around all right, but really lets the side down style-wise. We're keeping it for now (skint) but notice has been served. Our dining room chairs passed muster. Phew.<br /><br />The ethnic-Indian wall cupboard that we used to keep our CDs in never had a chance. The back end of it was unvarnished, and indeed had some sort of writing daubed on it in what looked like magic marker. The importers, one supposes. We now have nowhere to keep our CDs. But then again, we don't have a hifi either - or more to the point, we haven't figured out (a) spots to put the hifi and speakers and (b) how we could hide the cables and (c) whether there's a hifi unit that doesn't look daft from the back.<br /><br />Sigh.<br /><br />We desperately need shelves and storage, but just about everything we've looked at won't work. Unpainted at the rear. Falls over unless screwed to a wall. Falls over, even then. Not cool enough. Decidedly uncool. Very cool, but useless for storage. We've had it up to here, really we have.<br /><br />Soooooooo, here's the thing. We've turned our attention to a whole class of furniture that's not only walk-around, but also design classics comparable to the building they'll be going into. And as I've got to do a shed load of research on the furniture subject, I thought I'd write it all up for you lot. Well, the truth is that I've already done plenty of research, but it'd look daft if I started reeling it all off without some form of introduction; which is what this post is about.<br /><br />Gives me something to write about, anyway.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-289370682056539832008-04-01T12:38:00.005+02:002008-04-01T14:27:21.328+02:00DaVinci differences - an updateI've received quite a lot of extra information regarding pricing of the DaVinci Haus, so here's another post on the DaVinci theme. I must stress that everything below is from someone else who really went into a full and detailed comparison, so I can't claim anything 'cept the wording and grammar. Wot is mostly mine. So there.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJV9Y86DY7qJMRgS_ItGjNVIsy7FZQpa19IEoNzfOC5EeNMuLGFRtGX7PGRPD_stY-OMuvmEOpiIuNP3sYNNrNMO4wzSJFsh-osJINRnbONHjoK3UWfozLUWrV-JdxFl858ajBQ/s1600-h/DAVINCI_01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJV9Y86DY7qJMRgS_ItGjNVIsy7FZQpa19IEoNzfOC5EeNMuLGFRtGX7PGRPD_stY-OMuvmEOpiIuNP3sYNNrNMO4wzSJFsh-osJINRnbONHjoK3UWfozLUWrV-JdxFl858ajBQ/s320/DAVINCI_01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184225120353646610" /></a><br /><br />There's a more significant pricing difference than I'd imagined. All DaVinci models are available in two versions that roughly translate as "budget" and "premium".<br /><br />The "premium" version comes with a similar level of goodies to the equivalent Huf Haus, but at a saving of 10% to 15%. However, there are some under-the-skin differences that help to explain the saving - more anon on those.<br /><br />Yer "budget" version gives a cost saving of about 30% compared to a Huf Haus. By "budget version", we're talking about no balconies, no underfloor heating, and by implication a few more missing bits and bobs. Such as a roof? Of course, our friends in Hartenfels will likewise strike big chunks out of your Huf Haus specification, and this appears as a "credit" on yer protocol. But I'm guessing that you'd be down to bare wood and concrete to get yer Huf Haus cost down by a whole 30%. But let's forget the budget version, because if we were budget people then we wouldn't be building our own home, right?<br /><br />So we're comparing the <i>premium</i> version DaVinci to the <i>standard</i> Huf Haus. How come the DaVinci is 10% to 15% cheaper?<br /><br />Well, there's a touch of apples and pears going on.<br /><br />The equivalent DaVinci's windows are double-glazed, compared to the triple-glazing that comes standard with Huf Haus. Double-glazing offers a lower level of insulation, and let's not forget that these are primarily glass-walled houses, so the energy leakage really adds up. My secret informer, erm, secretly informs me that this ups your heating bills by about 15% to 20% per year.<br /><br />Is this extra energy consumption really a big deal? Well, that's up to you. If you drive a Prius, then yes. If you drive an SUV then no. The rest are somewhere in the middle. Personally, I think the best way to reduce one's carbon footprint is not to be born at all, but I think it's a little too late for that. And pegging it may generate more carbon dioxide than gasping out the rest of your life: the hearse, the church service, the bloody singing. Not to mention the cremation. Hmm, this is a clear digression. Must continue. Sorry.<br /><br />You can take some greenie solace in the fact that we're talking about different levels of German insulation standards here, which are already way up there with the best in Europe. "Very good" versus "excellent", then.<br /><br />The next point is a cracker: the lower and upper floors of a Huf Haus are basically made of concrete, whilst the DaVinci floors are all wood. Believe me, concrete's as expensive as hell, so this goes a looooong way to explaining the cost differential all by itself. One can imagine that this might cause a few concerns to those of you like my pure, mountain-bred Swiss wife who're used to living in decent buildings where you <i>can't</i> hear people clumping about upstairs. Unlike almost every house I've ever lived in back in Blighty where a quick trip to the loo sounds like the charge of a bull elephant - with our without carpets. And then there's the bloody plumbing to deal with after yer done.<br /><br />Eek, another digression.<br /><br />There's also a more subtle impact which I'll quote: <br /><br /><i>"The ceiling is a wooden-one, not a concrete ceiling like in a Huf-Haus, which means you have a different "climate" in the house as the concrete stores the heat better than wood – still some people like a wooden ceiling better."</i><br /><br />Got that? Good.<br /><br />The last point's one of standardisation. Huf Haus offer their windows and walls in three different widths (known as "raster sizes") of 2.3m, 2.5m and 3m. In fact they can offer almost anything in between if you have a particularly sticky problem to solve (like wot we did) but that's a different story. Yer DaVinci people've standardised on 2.3m to save their own production costs, 'cos standardised sizing leads to standardised purchases from standardised suppliers. Is this a big deal? Well, that depends on whether you're looking to take advantage of the flexibility that the Huf Haus raster sizes offer.<br /><br />That's pretty much it on the house itself: increased heating bills 'cos of double glazing 'stead of triple glazing; clumpy wooden floors with a different climate, whatever that means; and a standardised raster size of 2.3m and not a centimetre more or less.<br /><br />But there's a <i>big</i> difference when it comes to the cellar costs: The bare-bones DaVinci Keller is about 40% cheaper than its Huf equivalent. Why's that? 'Cos DaVinci use a well-known (to the German market) cellar company, while Huf Haus do it all in-house. That well-known cellar company (oh ok, it's called Knecht-Keller) has far larger economies of scale, while Huf naturally builds a maximum of one cellar per house. Stands to reason, dunnit.<br /><br />Bottom line?<br /><br />My informant reckons all the above can trim up to EUR 100,000 off a typical project.<br /><br />Would Claudia and I have made a different choice if we'd known the above? Nay, nay and thrice times nay. No way. Not on yer nelly. Huf Haus it was, and Huf Haus it would be if ever we do it all again (I'd love to, by the way. Very much). We're a little more greenie than I let on (not a lot, but definitely more) and we like the mix 'n' match of the different window raster sizes - in fact we'd have been a bit buggahed with our planning permission if Huf couldn't have offered us the flexibility of trimming a 20cm slice off our central 3m raster (facing the house, it goes 3.0m - 2.8m - 3.0m which tells you something of the precision that yer Swiss planning permission goes into). Anyways, we loikes having whopping big 3m windows in the main, with the odd 2.3m and 2.5m units here and there to make it all a bit more interesting.<br /><br />And a <i>wooden</i> floor instead of concrete? Pah! This is our <i>home</i>, not a tool shed!<br /><br />One last point: one of the comments on my last post (you hum it, and I'll play it) is from a chap who built a DaVinci Haus in lieu of a Huf Haus. He said:<br /><br /><i>"I didn't go with Huf because they were generally rude and didn't return my phone calls when I was speccing the house. This despite having prepared plans for my house with an architect and visiting their offices in Hartenfels. So I was clearly a serious customer. I got the feeling they were swamped with business following the grand designs show."</i><br /><br />And here's a quote from my secret informer:<br /><br /><i>We would have gone with Da Vinci, if their architect had not been an arse in the pricing negotiations... we're moving in our Huf in 2 weeks time."</i><br /><br />Go figure.<br /><br />p.s. A great big thank you to my secret informer, who I recall sent me his first email right at the beginning on my own project when our land was still mostly a grassy bit of Alp, and his own project was (clearly) still deep in its head-scratching paper phase. You know who you are, my friend.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-7687792808925733542008-02-01T14:58:00.000+01:002008-02-01T15:38:25.418+01:00Huf Haus versus DaVinci HausOver the last year or two I’ve received regular emails and the odd blog comment asking me what I thought of the DaVinci Haus system, which, on the surface looks like a copy and paste Huf Haus clone. From the beginning I’ve maintained that the example DaVinci Haus I’ve seen near Zürich (a 4-axis) didn’t measure up to the equivalent Huf Haus examples. And I’m pretty sure my own white 3-axis Huf Haus knocks that particular DaVinci Haus into a cocked hat on every measure I care to imagine.<br /><br />So that’s that then… but… well, two things have happened recently that've caused me to think that I’ve done DaVinci Haus a grave injustice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnH3Hb-57332cndFyM88wO8J-StDXxzjNDhVAv2GnabiiGXvjCRbuF1V4Vwevhsq9z85RPKNUd7jCl9RuwPKindU8LJZkG4Qpv1hQEo7N5rBWuRye7zOwlZkaf4F5HH07ejCVRw/s1600-h/DavinciHausOutside_%252817%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnH3Hb-57332cndFyM88wO8J-StDXxzjNDhVAv2GnabiiGXvjCRbuF1V4Vwevhsq9z85RPKNUd7jCl9RuwPKindU8LJZkG4Qpv1hQEo7N5rBWuRye7zOwlZkaf4F5HH07ejCVRw/s320/DavinciHausOutside_%252817%2529.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162011376370857794" /><b>This is a DaVinci Haus - <i>not</i> a Huf Haus!</b></a><br /><br />The first thing: just before Christmas I saw another “queer looking” Huf Haus that looked rather fantastic – and no wonder it looked a bit different; it was a DaVinci Haus. I’m resisting the temptation to be more specific than that, but I think that the owners deserve to keep their privacy – however, I did get a quick look around the place and a peep inside, which was very nice of ‘em as they didn’t know me from Adam. The second thing that happened is that whilst sniffin’ about the web looking for landscaping ideas, I came across the following website:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.davinci-house-pictures.com">http://www.davinci-house-pictures.com</a><br /><br />And my oh my, don’t those DaVinci Haus pickies look nice.<br /><br />Sooooooo, as an apology to DaVinci, I’ve decided to write this post to try and straighten the record a bit.<br /><br />Like Huf Haus, DaVinci Haus are an established German manufacturer and erector of turn-key factory assembled houses. (Note the term “factory assembled”. During a social event last year, I spent and hour or so chatting to a very senior Huf Haus manager who made it clear that they take a dim view of alternative terms such as “pre-fab” and “kit”). Like Huf Haus, yer typical DaVinci Haus is characterised by the post and beam architecture, steeply sloped roofs, floor to ceiling glasswork, open plan interiors, sweeping staircases and open floor-to-roof galleries. Yer DaVinci woodwork is available in black, white and grey. And you’ll see that most DaVinci owners opt for those black roof tiles, but red and dark grey tiles are on the menu as desired. Both have that fresh, modernist look that makes ‘em look like visiting UFOs when lit up at night.<br /><br />Or during the day, for that matter. Nowt else in yer neighbourhood looks as fresh and modern and clean… unless it’s another Huf Haus… or (mumbles) some bloody DaVinci Haus.<br /><br />Let’s be clear: what’s beyond question is that the Huf Haus company is the <i>original</i> and <i>only</i> manufacturer of the landmark modernist design dreamt up by the great Manfred Adams during a fit of artistic creativity. However, DaVinci has entered the market with a similar concept, that, while not the real thing, is somehow similar enough to be in the same space. Is it a <i>clone</i>? Well, that’s a harsh term as it implies a certain level of cynical plagiarism. Erm, well there <i>are</i> plenty that’d say it’s just that: a open clone and therefore an example of cynical plagiarism. But l’d more tactfully say that it’s <i>very similar</i>, and the differences (and there are quite a few, as it turns out) tend to escape the casual glance. All I can say is that when I saw that particular DaVinci Haus in the distance I immediately assumed it was the real thing: “Oh look, a Huf Haus… erm, but it looks… not quite right. Hang on… is it a DaVinci? I think it is…”<br /><br />Ok, so in the interests of not landing up in some court, I’ve managed to skirt the cloning issue, so let’s concentrate on what’s significantly different about DaVinci.<br /><br />How are DaVinci to work with as a company? Dunno, we went with Huf Haus and I’ve written about 100,000 words on my impressions – very good ones. But does anyone seriously think that one successful German construction company would be greatly inferior to any other? And they’d be insulted to think that they’re only <i>equal</i> to a Brit equivalent, so the “German-ness” has a lot of credibility in itself - DaVinci are a success in Germany, and they’d not get even a whiff of that if they had a reputation for slackness or sharp practices.<br /><br />How do the costs compare? I’ve heard DaVinci’s about 5% cheaper, but can’t give any guarantees – probably not enough to change yer life, but then again 5% of a lot of money is still a lot of money. What about the material quality then? Erm, just imagine the correctness and strictness of the German building codes and that should take care of that concern. German houses don’t fall down or rot – and yer can drop a feather behind a window on a windy day and it’ll fall straight down to the floor. The loos flush, the showers shower, the plumbing doesn’t creak and rumble and the heating heats. The windows and doors open and shut, and the locks lock.<br /><br />So what <i>are</i> the differentiators?<br /><br />Well, they’re mostly in the product design itself…<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfT7OfjdCWdVyXPbNqgVNr0Ismo4jIktDT34NCM-vxpEgy_w4e_u5uparkpnrFs0pHNIYFlIFtW-O3ah2ymTfLYhx216hO2tpWcNk9BIvwBo4-2SFZenryNPuyOrDAxROOpqz7g/s1600-h/DavinciLiving_%252850%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfT7OfjdCWdVyXPbNqgVNr0Ismo4jIktDT34NCM-vxpEgy_w4e_u5uparkpnrFs0pHNIYFlIFtW-O3ah2ymTfLYhx216hO2tpWcNk9BIvwBo4-2SFZenryNPuyOrDAxROOpqz7g/s320/DavinciLiving_%252850%2529.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162011861702162258" /><b>DaVinci Haus interior</b></a><br /><br />Daft as it seems, I didn’t notice the headline difference at first: the structuring of the DaVinci beams is very different from the Huf Haus design. Now yer Huf Haus lateral beam very obviously starts outside one end of the house, continues inside, and extends all the way through and out t’other end. The cross beams do the same, side to side, and go under the lateral beams, criss-cross – and the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle are held together with whopping great steel bolts. So, yer Huf Haus beams (side-to-side, end-to-end, criss-cross, cross-criss, whopping big steel bolts) are one of the most definitive features of the Huf Haus interior, along with the walk-around posts, extensive windows and the vast open plan areas. Well, yer DaVinci beams don’t criss-cross in the same way, nor do they as obviously pass through from the exterior to the interior. They’re almost apologetically countersunk into the walls, into the ceiling and indeed into each other – so much so, that there are some owners of <i>black</i> DaVinci houses who (gasp!) paint their interior beams and posts <i>white</i>!<br /><br />Exterior and interior beams painted in different colours! Well, imagine that! They’d be much scowling and muttering into beards at Hartenfels if some Huf Haus owner had the temerity to do the same. But to be fair, the more blended DaVinci interior beams allow such painting without the exterior/interior disparity looking as daft as a paint brush.<br /><br />There’s also a subtle difference in the area above the windows – yer Huf Haus windows have a sort of wooden plate running along the top that is used both to hide the light cabling above and the curtain rail below. Very handy. The criss-cross of the Huf Haus beams also liberates some space above the windows - which is where the skinny upper windows go. Have a look elsewhere on this blog and compare with an interior photo from the DaVinci website above and you’ll see what I mean.<br /><br />The next difference is very minor: the DaVinci stairs, gallery and balcony handrails are of painted wood instead of steel tubes. Ok, no drum rolls or crash of cymbals required, but it was one of the differences that contributed to the “not quite right” exterior look of the DaVinci Haus I saw.<br /><br />I’m really unsure whether my next observation is fact or just the way that things have turned out in those DaVinci pictures and the two examples I’ve seen in the flesh: your standard Huf Haus has windows literally everywhere, and in fact apart from a few solid wall panels here or there to hold the bloody house up, you’re free to use as much window as your modesty and inhibitions will allow you. Endless windows come standard with your Huf Haus – and you are then free to <i>reduce</i> them as you wish – at no extra cost sir. When you look into your standard Huf Haus catalogue (you’ve got one now, right?) you should assume that the few solid walls shown on those various floor plans are the ones needed to safely support the structure. Many of the DaVinci pickies show houses with less windows than their Huf Haus equivalents – especially in the bedrooms for some reason, but also here and there in the downstairs areas. Why is that? Do the standard designs come with fewer windows, so more windows equals more costs? Does the different beaming system have an impact on the structure, so yer need more solid walls to hold the house up? Is it simply because yer average DaVinci punter uses the interior space differently, or are invariably less into naturism? The jury’s out, but I can’t help feel it’s a combination of all the above.<br /><br />Except for the shyness, ‘cos most Huf Haus owners are reluctant streakers, instinctively using the internal posts and the odd piece of furniture as 'natural cover' during the inevitable midnight streaks from bathroom to refrigerator to bedroom.<br /><br />And this brings me onto the overall aesthetic difference between the two designs: yer Huf Haus is more industrial looking inside and out. There are a number of touches that DaVinci have done to soften the look – wooden handrails and countersunk beams are just two examples, but if you look very carefully at the DaVinci imagery, you’ll see other ‘softening’ details – for example, those whopping big exposed bolts that are so evident inside a Huf Haus are kept to an absolute minimum in the DaVinci.<br /><br />Looking through the DaVinci imagery, I can see that their system is as equally flexible as Huf Haus. Lot’s of different shapes and sizes, and fancy tailoring is in evidence. However, I believe there’re a few DaVinci examples that the Huf Haus people might not have been too enthusiastic about… Now Huf Haus is quite rightly proud as punch about their product family, and consider each and every example scattered about the European countryside to be a three-dimensional advert of what they’re about. They’re guardians of the original Manfred Adams design, and therefore can and should be forgiven for occasionally keeping an eye on the aesthetics when some prospective client steps a little bit too far “out there”, taste-wise. Well, there are some DaVinci pickies which show customisations that I’m sure Huf Haus would have <i>cooperated</i> with, but might perhaps have gently advised their clients against if at all possible. To my eyes, some of DaVinci’s customised balcony extensions and non-standard roof treatments look, to be frank, ungainly. And there are some skylights hammered through here and there that could have been a bit more thoughtfully integrated into the overall design. One can only imagine that DaVinci are more “accommodating” to the wilder wishes of their clients…<br /><br />Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, few of us want to be strongly guided by some representative of the taste police – taste is subjective, after all. But then again, even fewer of us want to think that our dafter ideas will be politely agreed to with an insincere smile, a cynical shrug and an outstretched palm for the extra dosh. Neither Huf Haus or DaVinci go to these extremes, thankfully, but which company has the better balance? Well, I suppose that depends on you. I’m personally glad that I was talked out of one or two of my dafter ideas by Huf Haus – and shudder to think that I might now be living with those ideas if we’d gone with DaVinci.<br /><br />Any regrets that Claudia and I went with Huf Haus? Of course not. We’re Huf Haus people, through and through… erm, well we are now. But on balance, I reckon we’d have gone with Huf Haus even if we’d done a more thorough job of assessing DaVinci – ‘cos we really do prefer the look of the Manfred Adams original: the criss-crossed beams, the expose whopping big bolts, the endless windows, the more industrial feel of it.<br /><br />Now if anyone reading this knows a thing or two about DaVinci and would like to correct or add to any of the about, then feel free to comment. As I stated earlier, the intention is to paint a fairer picture of DaVinci.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-70289964377534175252007-12-01T12:40:00.001+01:002007-12-01T13:23:15.861+01:00A few more photosStill feeling a bit guilty that I've rather neglected you lot for the last few months. Anyways, here're a few more photos that I took this morning - as the snow's gone (for now) you'll get a better butchers of the current state of affairs.<br /><br />Note the posh Biohort shed - aluminium, and bloody great. Bought a matching aluminium box for the outside cushions and sun-loungers. Also note the posh postbox, aluminium, and bloody great. I think we might have an aluminium thing going on... oh no, that soddin' great armco's made out of steel. As yet there's no paint on it, but I reckon it'll collect it's first ding sometime this winter.<br /><br />Couldn't resist the temptation to take a nerdy photo of the snow-thrower thingy. Nice colour innit?<br /><br />I think the photos also capture the progress in the garden quite nicely. The earth is there simply 'cos the gardener came last week and hoicked out the weeds - leaving plenty of gaps between the plants. Prior to that the whole area was a sea of green. Oh, and you'll see our infamous weed patch. Going to break someone's back to weed that lot out again. Broke mine last summer, so not doing it again.<br /><br />Oh, and the full splendor of our wooden decking/terrace. Well, fullish 'cos it <i>is</i> winter. Discussion with Frau Capucho this morning on that very subject - we built a huge one, but we're very glad we did. Now looking forwards to endless summers with the kids on one side, and Claudia and I on t'other with a glass of wine each.<br /><br />And that's that for now...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcySsJGVPJEG3_4OJhLb8dxobRb-kzprzoI2Yv8kmfib2G4hzSi5rM2ekoF-5dJLomsK8XfOY3Fc3aPWiTnRNyHFzhBT982OZ9MnHZk65CrvKGch3cAvj518W7_0_CEE3bRdTPgQ/s1600-r/132-3224_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvSAyCAB53fVyKH9eZCS3M2z1BGwtAZxPtEyQCyKivU2yLNmE1rQD_z6uJL273DJr1UE43TMgb-JiAtYqWcQnOZTwaDNezw_-b74qLvObbeYWp5R3h_7SCR-yF_6s-_TKAH-_zg/s320/132-3224_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138976419313335730" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb3MjFroy27vFRZYHrDT5NXipMHoWAKc2Yi8yVJCyX9I4rsCCIDhHkHI7MvQrcPF_qTWs7kbha9wjhpfKC5aWlQhyB76YSeNBAM8KOARFa55MmyT-0hiASRRGmRRwL7HZaWCC5Q/s1600-r/132-3225_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqafDn2Lu4yLwheIEjDJkko8VrW0F1Vgb66mNjuVyqnTuvLSrD3zTUdlutVlSOgEb9skXE0FCNTdN6h4CHC7HzoQ6GdloOa4Qa1agGHq77u7JIE_jaf0v5SumMvOrYLS2PyqbmFw/s320/132-3250_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138970440718859298" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Z6oaaL6YiGb2WcveNSkzyBIm386wvC0b2CXIBlaUDbEVEy7PKAQM4iIMqXVQNn9-X4jgN9GQoSwNAx2e9UfyzHTaZr2aZU-CAREjUVV6GoMLS-u0tya0tBIpmj8ZGkfuFBZnXQ/s1600-r/132-3251_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFnrquzPTEJCYHsbUd77ymlPf9cTKJ03q0n3QF5MDYvyMR6WepWLoFz-rDejK-keHwpiGVAMl6uziaOMsE77FKhnPJpQCi-ukNlCY8vckmalQkBsMfhLQ8V58f_vBAfvboL0JqQ/s320/132-3251_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138968916005469202" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILu50frcEKecrmaoHYOL0FX5u-GmnLSCcakhPbK8a59aBXwPSS5VzdCFG3uEp4YXYb7r3p926Cgk-t4eOYBq4pv3EpazgF4NcX1XPXJO2uQPLCKh7JB3KnnavC2PZbxD9S6tc2Q/s1600-r/132-3252_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2b7G6GJ7WSZXlkC1h4-z7J9EKN4iH_JOk0nfujT-gTlzm1-vG947L3snNV8NLSsa7_eiZ8GR2NqGL6HmxElS94AWqSAF_Ks9TfamQQkuu-yjjTOp7pFOQLs6bcvSPF3xlTriNEA/s320/132-3252_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138968688372202498" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-54319795065671954272007-11-28T18:14:00.000+01:002007-11-29T06:13:40.816+01:00Winter is upon us - againBeen a while since you lot got some sort of update, so here it is...<br /><br />We're... living in our house. The last significant step was the fencing and armco, but they've long become background features. We're now in that nice business-as-usual period of simply living in our beautiful Huf Haus, and wondering if we should buy this or that stick o' furniture for this or that nook or cranny. Not that yer Huf Haus <i>has</i> any nooks and crannies. As stated before, finding a wall to put a cupboard against is no mean task when the majority of yer walls are windows.<br /><br />The wooden flooring is bearing up - parquet floors are surprisingly durable <i>if</i> yer stick to the rock 'ard woods, and therefore inevitably the most expensive ones. Only major ding was done by yours truly last weekend, when he dropped a whopping thick glass jar on the kitchen floor - missed my foot (thankfully), jar survived, notch in the floor.<br /><br />The other thing that's bearing up very well is the central heating system. Oo! Oo! Meant to tell yer all about that. Mr Banking and IT here had absolutely no idea as to the significance of the heating system we ended up buying. Nuff said that it was supposed to save money (makes me happy) and generate copious amounts of heat on demand (makes Claudia happy) and all's well with the world. Turns out that the air/air heat pump system is actually fairly greenie. Not as green as a ground/air heat pump, mind, but then the local geology was against us on that. I'll say to anyone that it's a crime against nature that some form of heat pump isn't a mandatory requirement for any domestic new installation or replacement throughout the western world - which would reduce the rather pricy acquisition price still further. They're cheap to run, efficient, greenie and just bloody marvellous.<br /><br />One just hopes that one day it becomes so.<br /><br />I'll continue to day-dream about some form of solar power for the hot water (currently running 100% off the electricity) but will await developments before I commit. Surely there's a market for roof tile-shaped solar panels? And surely someone can design one that's snow-friendly enough for use half-way up a mountain? Current mountain area planning regulations take a dim view on solar panels 'cos snow readily slips off 'em thereby putting any visiting vicar at risk of a decapitation.<br /><br />What else?<br /><br />Good thing the pickies below are snow-bound because although we've found a local gardener to take care of the borders and grass and stuff, the uphill side of the garden is still a massive weed patch. We have a local landscape garden firm submitting a 'concept' very soon - although one mistrusts 'concepts'. 'Concepts' usually need copious amounts of money to 'realise'. Still, we'll have a butchers at whatever they come up with.<br /><br />And I've left the best and coolest thing for last. We've bought ourselves what's known as a snow-thrower - one of those lawn-mower looking machines that yer see on the telly sucking up snow at the front and then spraying it out of a nozzle on the top. Really bloody cool. Cleared our entire driveway with it in just a few minutes - a job that would have taken me an hour or more by hand and spade. Cost me about CHF 1,500 or, what's that, six hundred quid. Eek! Anyways, I'm made up with it. Four-stroke petrol powered, for those that understand such things, and light enough for Claudia to use it when I've succumbed to frostbite.<br /><br />Anyways, here're the long overdue pickies...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9btljwkCaJo8uC854s-cHDhHYJfaZO4LdxjP_J0ox9W9QSGtQ_M3PKs5fxPyVKldvHpN1AFEstdkZpC1nBV3O7J0o9iNwXaaE0-rlAM_iigsm-DqCCgL_m5MQOzdC9Lgy-X01nA/s1600-h/131-3127_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9btljwkCaJo8uC854s-cHDhHYJfaZO4LdxjP_J0ox9W9QSGtQ_M3PKs5fxPyVKldvHpN1AFEstdkZpC1nBV3O7J0o9iNwXaaE0-rlAM_iigsm-DqCCgL_m5MQOzdC9Lgy-X01nA/s320/131-3127_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137942450315294658" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitx-ztIxQ_kbr3nYiYERQKBc13wwWZwjwLuCuKka2Ck9lqa4kGYDcJh5oAuF3FshJk2aQ5wn4igHMAh3vHHs9iUgxWP0ZC0v9DmJ5YfNQEDJ51WZEntQKQG_OcJibxJB2iWJ25xg/s1600-h/131-3131_IMG_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6f2qU87NzMfmOvWJgv4_LTSXl8zDg4Yr8C9N1zJ0o9XzqpC71s_TkBeZw14EJG_e1NbBO2r2F_Gry2Di0QMOHUP2Ea3RlauETqrNy8gDSs4rJYdRultU1WjsyUupDfO-SRqI_Q/s320/131-3162_IMG_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137942145372616594" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5_DfAO5S37TJrO7vdLtDkSq6DsgIq_jKRkqXd_qaa0RnU8_cqD4LfNsHRmAE7ib5xVlM6PuefpMhjK4x1Sgo8bch9kosKkDIIJXaMvxuRLUgjgHoc1lTkDaQooJpqpsF39clIg/s1600-h/131-3186_IMG_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5_DfAO5S37TJrO7vdLtDkSq6DsgIq_jKRkqXd_qaa0RnU8_cqD4LfNsHRmAE7ib5xVlM6PuefpMhjK4x1Sgo8bch9kosKkDIIJXaMvxuRLUgjgHoc1lTkDaQooJpqpsF39clIg/s320/131-3186_IMG_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941999343728514" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IMeQz4kFZzEjt9QL_h1LqGf2-2lyMxtuElOp19GViMI847hfpURaE2_cqX40jqgq0pDGrQbh3PkdXvrZddzGbo6_3VH1JTfqVFTId3Uh_J7Wvwlxeh1OKsMkdnUwNFjLawX4Pg/s1600-h/131-3187_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IMeQz4kFZzEjt9QL_h1LqGf2-2lyMxtuElOp19GViMI847hfpURaE2_cqX40jqgq0pDGrQbh3PkdXvrZddzGbo6_3VH1JTfqVFTId3Uh_J7Wvwlxeh1OKsMkdnUwNFjLawX4Pg/s320/131-3187_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941896264513394" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYozZzA0Dsm520LMr5-Ul1GCoINSIWYJ3lM9Nst1QtUOT9fu7V3ZUhaH7hdar9qS-sy3VVIOhj0dY3OVScjp-dK6kG4q-Ns32i88yonHvU0tocY1RloJ2ioc-RaDRI7YWbMnt4aQ/s1600-h/131-3188_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYozZzA0Dsm520LMr5-Ul1GCoINSIWYJ3lM9Nst1QtUOT9fu7V3ZUhaH7hdar9qS-sy3VVIOhj0dY3OVScjp-dK6kG4q-Ns32i88yonHvU0tocY1RloJ2ioc-RaDRI7YWbMnt4aQ/s320/131-3188_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941793185298274" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-ZRiQINd3guCdTO5GLwuCxyO5tCtEZ0pfI90NYgVw78wPlbhEGOrUliCXaTRlyn0Hn8VPJshEGnIftXyxwNcDriFud74Fd_qI3giv0VQjMmD0ihnLzudhTRtKhg9n1531DN61A/s1600-h/131-3189_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-ZRiQINd3guCdTO5GLwuCxyO5tCtEZ0pfI90NYgVw78wPlbhEGOrUliCXaTRlyn0Hn8VPJshEGnIftXyxwNcDriFud74Fd_qI3giv0VQjMmD0ihnLzudhTRtKhg9n1531DN61A/s320/131-3189_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941668631246674" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3aZTcDe6J2xgQnBMvAYTw7-A5XwaRwwwTxga6zMQTbqHrak7TCrINghK3HqIU6WsY6NtbScNaWZk_mkDIYyy-eLkSG99HJeuWe3cPaxxcAsNzKL-zPt2ADq_MS475EE038qjWA/s1600-h/131-3190_IMG_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3aZTcDe6J2xgQnBMvAYTw7-A5XwaRwwwTxga6zMQTbqHrak7TCrINghK3HqIU6WsY6NtbScNaWZk_mkDIYyy-eLkSG99HJeuWe3cPaxxcAsNzKL-zPt2ADq_MS475EE038qjWA/s320/131-3190_IMG_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941561257064258" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIphyphenhyphenGEJS-v4rVvv9wIlgThFhI4Y2pT_cqyVgjJoxgfbMPsjWjZHF7pzizakA9wshlbVUkNKD-weJwqEx2hUd9koI11SZGz18h0cKL4fSuLivPWSC8DLN9p5j24XJEUCKXtAoKyw/s1600-h/131-3191_IMG_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIphyphenhyphenGEJS-v4rVvv9wIlgThFhI4Y2pT_cqyVgjJoxgfbMPsjWjZHF7pzizakA9wshlbVUkNKD-weJwqEx2hUd9koI11SZGz18h0cKL4fSuLivPWSC8DLN9p5j24XJEUCKXtAoKyw/s320/131-3191_IMG_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941449587914546" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcBe_RsP3Mi9Smgd-4NHWKkTba2UdBk0_nB8Nnc0eeQBfh4AgVXdrDKqYGe70rZsDEo4kCX9n-wEKj9ULjNmQXHWg3Ur6DhbzQwMQ21C90Ig9hUoYgdlqt8EdYKMO7KuKTelF3A/s1600-h/131-3192_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcBe_RsP3Mi9Smgd-4NHWKkTba2UdBk0_nB8Nnc0eeQBfh4AgVXdrDKqYGe70rZsDEo4kCX9n-wEKj9ULjNmQXHWg3Ur6DhbzQwMQ21C90Ig9hUoYgdlqt8EdYKMO7KuKTelF3A/s320/131-3192_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941333623797538" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjJwH3cK_ZnFfXKbZ5RnNiuU1RjDI0SPcSvELa4o0ZM_sFjEGTYaa7jmGfsKi91WrdoaiCealQyn-16GHLV7fGfeVkR-NBKqIpLm3rZwiAyN8XLYfQcU1PBHns71MNBXoh4vdjw/s1600-h/131-3193_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjJwH3cK_ZnFfXKbZ5RnNiuU1RjDI0SPcSvELa4o0ZM_sFjEGTYaa7jmGfsKi91WrdoaiCealQyn-16GHLV7fGfeVkR-NBKqIpLm3rZwiAyN8XLYfQcU1PBHns71MNBXoh4vdjw/s320/131-3193_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137941071630792466" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7TUjnXHi6m0578941XLq7PMbs_472YSAqdCyYkCm4jOd0mME0YCqZxEPgB85J3fZhqWsgu6KREIvhDN7sa2I855u-xlVY38N1a7oBQeB-pXacFRbYBXrmn68jhs67fAfGnmgMg/s1600-h/131-3194_IMG.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7TUjnXHi6m0578941XLq7PMbs_472YSAqdCyYkCm4jOd0mME0YCqZxEPgB85J3fZhqWsgu6KREIvhDN7sa2I855u-xlVY38N1a7oBQeB-pXacFRbYBXrmn68jhs67fAfGnmgMg/s320/131-3194_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137940981436479234" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-64563417246217563022007-09-26T14:13:00.001+02:002007-09-26T14:28:05.301+02:00FencingA quick update in lieu of the pickies. I'm still waiting for a decent enough day to venture out with the camera, but the weather continues to suck.<br /><br />The fence people have done their stuff. One day they came to set the metal posts in concrete, then a week passed and we returned one evening to find the steel cable fence complete, and also a short stretch of very Formula 1 looking armco.<br /><br />All's well.<br /><br />The cable fence looks a bit, erm, industrial with steel posts and ten rows of ultra-tight steel cable. It's set amidst the hedge-to-be, which is still a very gappy affair - the odd branch and twig with a leaf or two. Once it all thickens up over the next year or so, the fence'll disappear entirely methinks.<br /><br />The armco is something else entirely. My word, 'industrial' is too wimpy a word for it. It's about three metres long, with rounded ends in case an articulated lorry hits it end on. My money'd be on this armco even so, let me tell yer. We've always been a bit nervous about that two metre drop on the down-slope side of the parking entrance. At the bottom of the drop's the kitchen corner of the house, and the nightmare scenario has been the nose of some ice-skating car crashing throught the kitchen window one snowy evening. Quite apart from the big structural risk to the corner of the house, plus the written off car, not to mention the crushed kitchen and a half-cooked family dinner, there's also the look of surprise on the car's occupants to take into account.<br /><br />It would have been a very bad day.<br /><br />Anyways, this armco's just the ticket, and unless that car belongs to Claudia or me, (eek, the likeliest scenario), then bring it on, I say.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-68629113744149799612007-09-17T11:43:00.000+02:002008-02-03T07:06:17.616+01:00OutsideLong overdue for an update, folks, so here it is...<br /><br />No changes within the house, at least none worth discussing in detail. Bathroom mirrors and their lights turned up in August (from memory) and were carefully nailed to the walls, so two more electric cables that had been peeping out of their respective holes finally disappeared. A few new bits of furniture materialised, and a few more were formally declared casualties to the cause... they might have been super in whatever nook or cranny they squatted in at our last place, but there's no place for them in our Huf Haus. Oh no. Not really a Huf Haus issue, as that's something that happens to yer any time there's a house move. Oh and Claudia figured out a sneaky way of putting up some curtains (yawn) in the kid's bedroom, which saved us a lot of playing up during those long daylight hours of summer. And that's it.<br /><br />More goings on outside the house...<br /><br />The wooden decking was completed sometime in late June, just in time for 2007's summer that wasn't. Within a couple of weeks of the final screw being tightened the usual paraphernalia appeared on it; table and chairs, sun loungers, whopping big parasols and some big pots with plants in 'em to make it cosy. Oh, and lord knows how many multi-coloured plastic toys, buckets and spades, a sand pit filled with wet sand and pebbles, and a limp faded paddling pool containing rainwater, bits of grass and dozens of dead flies.<br /><br />One can only imagine that the proud owners of those designer homes that appear in House & Garden are typically childless.<br /><br />The two parasols we bought are worth a brief plug: they're a cantilevered design (generally more wind-resistant that yer normal parasol) called the Sunwing C+ and manufactured by a pure, mountain-bred Swiss company called Glatz. The concrete bases weigh 90kg a pop, so they're as safe as houses against strong gusts; although you'd still want to leg over and close 'em up sharpish. I have a horror of parasols falling over and impaling the kids - seen far too many close shaves over the years.<br /><br />I finally persuaded the landscaping chaps to cut that shed-sized paved area into the slope behind the house and shore up the walls against landslides. Once completed, father-in-law and I assembled the metal shed during one of the few sunny weekends of the summer. Claudia was greatly relieved as the plethora of gardening tools, lawnmower, plant pots, and lots and lots of outdoorsy stuff finally disappeared from their customary clumps and piles around the house - and I have to say that I'd become so used to seeing the mess that I was pleasantly shocked as to how nice the outside suddenly became.<br /><br />A real transformation.<br /><br />In 20-20 hindsight, I'd have done something about the shed from the start.<br /><br />Again, the shed's worth a plug. It's an all alloy wonder called the Avantgarde manufactured by an Austrian company called Biohort. The coolest shed I've ever seen, and puts yer traditional wooden model to shame as it's essentially maintenance free, and should last decades. Pricy of course, but I couldn't bring myself to plonk the garden tools into some green plastic disaster that wobbles when yer shut the door. If the door can be shut at all.<br /><br />And the garden itself?<br /><br />First the good news: the lawn has grown up all nice and strong, and gets thicker and stronger every time we cut it. Even better, the meadow beyond our lawn has regrown, so there's a continuous stretch of grass from our wooden decking to the horizon. The dark swathes of soil left over from construction is a faded memory: it's amazing how quickly yer can make a garden superficially straight enough not to drive you nuts simply by chucking a few grass seeds around.<br /><br />Final plug of the day: the lawn mower's from an American company called Toro, and its the lightest petrol mower currently available - 20 kg for a 40cm width. It has a mulching widget for those days when yer want to feed the lawn - oh alright, for when yer garden waste container's full to the brim. Light weight is good for us, as we have some slopy bits to negotiate.<br /><br />Claudia's done a fine job of starting up the flower beds around our entrance are. There's a lot to be said for her 'instant gratification' approach; lavender, herbs (especially mint) and a few other bits and bobs which soon filled up the space. We also planted some of those japanesy maple saplings as per yer standard Huf Haus specification.<br /><br />Erm, what else?<br /><br />Oh, we planted two containers with various herbs and stuff and added water regularly. Two of 'em delivered big time: the basil and, amazingly, the chilli plant. We had big green basil leaves all summer, which is a first for me as all basil plants within ten feet of me normally peg it within days. But it was the chilli plant that was the revelation: over the last month or so, we've had dozens of fat red chillis. Well chuffed. Next year we'll plant only basil and chillis and see what happens. I'm all up for farming the buggahs.<br /><br />The hedge along the parking area's slooooowly thickening up. Still transparent, but showing some promise of opaqueness for next year. Hmm, must buy myself a hedge trimmer.<br /><br />Over the next week the safety fence for the parking area should be completed. We've been 'legal' since we moved in courtesy of a make-shift wooden post and rope affair. It's been looking a bit rough of late, with the rope between posts sagging sadly and the odd post leaning over due to fatigue. The fence itself'll be there to stop people/children/livestock from falling the three metres to the concrete path below. But there's a short stretch near the entrance corner that we've opted to properly armco to deter any wayward SUV from plunging downwards and thence through the kitchen window.<br /><br />And the bad news?<br /><br />Well, the long steep slope behind the house is a long, steep slope of weeds.<br /><br />The ground cover plants have been struggling to compete with the local flora since they went in during late May, but in spite of a centimetre by centimetre weeding session by yours truly in early July, they're simply swamped with the fastest growing weeds I've ever seen in my life. A bloody triffid would be left in the starting blocks compared to these buggahs. Claudia's decided that we should go with the flow and simply call the entire slope an 'alpine flower meadow' (Bluemli-wiese). Not a bad idea, as yer bona fide alpine flower meadow is a mixture of grass, alpine flowers and, erm, alpine weeds.<br /><br />Just need to add grass and flowers.<br /><br />One shall post up a bevy of piccys again as soon as the rain stops for long enough to take a snap or six. Until then, sayonara...<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-68867161681810198292007-06-03T13:14:00.000+02:002007-06-03T13:32:55.692+02:00A little bit greener...Another deluge of photos... taken about 11am in the morning, so the sun hasn't had time to come around yet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEDrBfiXQJ8IDcBrl6CY_u9ec95uF8ePDVaz3kTiGl9uO9ZqG4aBAfcdts4TdVVcwY8MuoWZllNsbGj9JVDed6ffUbV6JcK4Jlm5QIHmR7Ltnl5aw057ODmcIp1Zu7ynBmzg3tw/s1600-h/131-3107_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEDrBfiXQJ8IDcBrl6CY_u9ec95uF8ePDVaz3kTiGl9uO9ZqG4aBAfcdts4TdVVcwY8MuoWZllNsbGj9JVDed6ffUbV6JcK4Jlm5QIHmR7Ltnl5aw057ODmcIp1Zu7ynBmzg3tw/s320/131-3107_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071799319253376994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFS0n8j1BeBGxSqI87791NXOULa8a9Oiz9W28GBF7GqtZYuZ25JHPXNNJNu3lRB2okzL7Ll3dGL-TNDw8qneLjBKoNu7a3H51IwORMnlQpeWpMnRaNF97RSjKWYIZ7MCTxo0ru5Q/s1600-h/131-3108_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mojIJgxt8Z2YINGIN68zJy6BNdtxzsdScG3MfaMqB_Fh-Vxi1GbZsj4f-QY8UWjZESwWJ0OTqUauZM15S2cchn1WHL9rD6-4n8kXd3sbrRihOHJDD-P6P-NDjGrxDs3k-OM0Kw/s320/131-3125_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071795342113660626" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-18662623581765991552007-05-07T14:15:00.000+02:002007-05-07T16:08:53.331+02:00Landscaping & gardening (mainly)(Ahem)<br /><br />Last time we talked, we were well and truly moved in. Most of the lights, and, I think, blinds were up (yawn). Boxes emptied, kitchen and bathrooms fettled, wardrobes erected, larder full of food, cellar full of wine. Indeed, a myriad things had been done that help to make the house habitable. I'll add a few more recent points to the above list, and then get down to external business:<br /><br />One of the idiosyncracies of living in a Huf Haus is that there're few flat walls to put bookshelves, wardrobes or any other cupboardy thing against. Our 3-axis house is a typical case, as just about every downstairs wall is made of glass. And then each of the bedrooms has just one 'normal' wall, and that's yer lot. They also offer a triangular-shaped wall 'cos of the slopey roof, which would be great if Ikea started manufacturing triangular-shaped cupboards. So our storage furniture options are somewhat limited. Claudia and I've been scratching our heads to find 'creative' ways of solving this or that storage problem in this or that room.<br /><br />You would do, too, if it happened to you. As the song goes.<br /><br />Now don't get me wrong here, we're not dealing with converted lighthouse or windmill levels of problem, but it does need some thinking about. We found a big white shelving unit for the kids room in Ikea, and some chromium-plated metal shelves for the nooks and crannies in the bathrooms. Existing wardrobes from our previous house swallowed up two of the available bedrooms walls. The bugger is what we're going to do in the living room. The cellar's a long way to go to find a CD. Ah well...<br /><br />The last of the one zillion lights went up last weekend. These were the two long flourescent strips for the cellars, and both went up fairly easily. After forty odd lights I'm getting quite the dab hand at this. No more electrocutions, so I reckon I got off lightly; you might want to budget for taxis to the hospital when it comes to your own project. I also put up the five external lights a couple of weeks ago, so I no longer need braille when unlocking the front door late at night. One bit of good fortune is that we won't be needing those automatic security lights for our parking area after all. It turns out that next door's security lights're of Colditz specification: hyper-sensitive and hyper-bright. All we need is the barbed wire, sirens, machine guns and guard dogs. Anyways, job's a good un, 'cos a mouse coughing on our parking area would set 'em off.<br /><br />Curtains and blinds're up... (yawn)... and the cellars're a chaotic mess. So we're pretty much back to normal, then.<br /><br />So, onwards to the Outside.<br /><br />If you recall, the landscapers did a good job of levelling the various bits of land, so that while it was still looking a bit, erm, bare, it was at least looking less like the Second Battle of the Somme. Cheapo concrete slabs were put down under what will soon be our wooden decking terrace, and boy have those slabs served us well. Our wee lads have had a ball throwing loose dirt, big and small stones, soil and sand all over the place, so those slabs at least gave us an area that could be swept clean of fallout. Something to consider when you've got small kids: a newly built house offers endless amounts of ammo to chuck at each other/the papa/the nearest windows.<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago, the Bodendecke (literally, groundcover) plants were put into the steeper bits of hillside. These actually have a structural duty to perform as they'll be holding the hillside up come the monsoon season, so they're much more than a pretty face. A few more areas need the Bodendecke treatment, and there's still lots of soil around each of the plants, but for now it's a relief to see at least some sort of green. Sometime next year we should see the plants merge into each other, and any fool-hardy weeds strangled to a miserable death.<br /><br />The 'safety' hedge has been planted up along the parking area. Dunno what type it is, but it's not a privet. The hedge already offers a bit of mental security, as the three metre drop doesn't seem quite so bad when there're a few plants between you and it. It <i>is</i> as bad, it just doesn't <i>seem</i> to be. Again, these'll take a couple of years to thicken up, but for now they'll do nicely.<br /><br />And finally finally finally, the grass seeds have gone down. More or less at the same time the farmer reseeded his field (if you remember, our soil mountain sat on it for four months). I spent many an evening watering the 'lawns', and also chucked some water on the field to inspire the farmer's seeds to action. Then late last week the weather finally broke, and the rains descended on us big time. By yesterday lots of thin little grass shoots started, erm, shooting up everywhere. We're a couple of months from having a lawn (and field) we can walk on, but at least it's on its way.<br /><br />And on Friday/Saturday the landscaping chap will come again, only this time he'll be building our wooden sun deck. Just when I'd become used to sweeping the concrete slabs. Anyways, Claudia's all excited and I must say I'm also very curious to see how it looks. Just about every other bit of gardening on that side of the house's on hold until this thing's built, simply as the geometry of the garden'll change drastically. Hard to explain, and I won't even try. This is what yer get when yer write yer blog using the 'stream of consciousness' method; painted into visualisation corners. Anyway, once it's there we'll know where to put various bushes, big pots, the parasol, etc.<br /><br />Oo oo! The parasol! Lots of recent discussion with regards to the parasol. Absolutely imperative at 730m amsl, 'cos the sky's very very clear. Often turquoise clear, which is a nice problem to have. We have to wear sunglasses <i>inside</i> our house, so yer can imagine how bright it gets out on the sundeck-to-be. One of the things we've found is that our spot can get very windy, in a sort of no-wind to gusty-blast sort of way. To put this into context, we're talking wanky Swiss wind here. Proper Manchester wind would laugh and point at weedy Swiss wind, but it nevertheless deserves a bit of respect when it comes to parasols; 'cos gusts and parasols don't mix well in my experience.<br /><br />Anyways, we've found a sort of cantilever design that's supposed to be far more resilient to gusts, 'cos the umbrella bit just wobbles about on the universal top joint, thereby spilling the wind. One shall continue one's researches and then revert, but it looks very very promising. They have similar ones at an outside restaurant near where I work, and I recently had lunch there in a wind that was blowing the beer glasses off the table. Parasols just shrugged it off. Very neat.<br /><br />There's also a cool 'new' system that looks rather like a horizontal yacht sail, and in fact is called a Sonnensegel (sunsail). This is typically a whopping big triangle of thick fabric that's anchored to yer house on two corners, and then yer bolt the spare corner to a very secure pole wot yer plant in yer garden.<br /><br />I do hope I'm not being too technical.<br /><br />Now this Sonnensegel concept has some possibilities as a parasol surrogate, although the cantilevered design's looking favorate at the mo' 'cos it can be swung in an arc to track the sun as necessary. However, the Sonnensegel people also do a super-dooper-thick-weather-proof-all-year-round-and-supports-rain-and-snow version. And it's this that I've got in mind for our <i>carport</i>.<br /><br />Gasp!<br /><br />Yes indeed. If I'm right, we'll end up with the coolest carport in Switzerland, at, erm, half the price of a real one. And believe me, we need to save a few quid right now. Again, will continue the investigations and then revert.<br /><br />And the plants and stuff themselves?<br /><br />Well, as stated earlier we've not committing until we see the sundeck in all its glory. The idea is that we have some japanesy-looking trees (red and green pygmy maples) here and there, plus the odd pampas grass thingy. We also fancy some bamboos for that cool oriental look, but've been advised that they'll rapidly colonise the rest of our garden, then the village, and then the entire mainland of Western Europe. Within weeks. Anyway, if there's a way of growing bamboo in big pots, then we'll probably go for it.<br /><br />Elsewhere, we're plotting big and small ferns for the base of our retaining wall. Cool and shady there, so it'll likely be the practical solution anyway. Also fancy a patch of hostas, and think I have just the place for 'em.<br /><br />What else? Ahh... the watering system. We bought one of those Gardena wheel things for the hosepipe on one side of the house. I also fancied their new system with an enclosed reel and have mounted it on t'other. Works very well. I toyed with the idea of installing an underground watering system (actually fairly affordable, if not exactly cheap) but have put that project on hold due to (a) the cost and (b) because I couldn't be arsed to tackle it just now. Two hosepipes'll have to do for the time being.<br /><br />And finally... the garden shed.<br /><br />There ain't one. Tools are either resting on the ground, against the house, or in the cellar. And there's no logical place for a shed, either. The 'hidden' side of the house has a rash of air-vents, heating vents and skylights along the ground which means there's no shed-sized area available. The only solution that offers itself is to cut a shed-sized step into the sloping hillside, shore up the sides with concrete slabs, and then half-submerge the shed like some military bunker. Needless to say, Claudia is less than enthusiastic, and my heart sinks just thinking about it. But the lack of a shed is already a pain in the harris, so once we actually have a garden it'll become impossible. It's not like we even have a garage to shove our gardening stuff into like wot other people do.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-75518783512081019802007-04-21T13:41:00.000+02:002007-05-01T12:46:19.103+02:00Typical Huf Haus costsWell, I've been putting it off for months, but the time's finally come for me to spell out the costs involved in building a Huf Haus... well, building our three axis version anyway.<br /><br />It's probably not escaped yer notice that our house hasn't been built in Blighty, and as Switzerland's not in the EU, and thus not an Euro nation, that our costs are a mixture of Euros and Swiss Francs. Not a Pound Sterling to be seen anywhere. But that doesn't mean we can't come up with a useful way of breaking the costs down.<br /><br />Ok, here they are, warts and all...<table><tr><th align="left"> </th><th align="right">GBP(£)</th><th align="right">EUR(€)</th><th align="right">CHF(<small>CHF</small>)</th></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Building land 660m2</b></td><td align="right"><b>£168,708</b></td><td align="right"><b>€248.513</b></td><td align="right"><b><small>CHF</small>408'000</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Architect</td><td align="right">7,236</td><td align="right">10.659</td><td align="right">17'500</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Excavations, water, etc</td><td align="right">68,228</td><td align="right">100.502</td><td align="right">165'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Local services</td><td align="right">21,502</td><td align="right">31.673</td><td align="right">52'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Project costs sub-total</b></td><td align="right"><b>£96,966</b></td><td align="right"><b>€142.834</b></td><td align="right"><b><small>CHF</small>234'500</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"> General landscaping</td><td align="right">33,080</td><td align="right">48,728</td><td align="right">80'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Gardening</td><td align="right">2,068</td><td align="right">3.046</td><td align="right">5'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Wooden decking</td><td align="right">7,443</td><td align="right">10.964</td><td align="right">18'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Car port</td><td align="right">8,270</td><td align="right">12.182</td><td align="right">20'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Landscaping sub-total</b></td><td align="right"><b>£50,861</b></td><td align="right"><b>€74.919</b></td><td align="right"><b><small>CHF</small>123'000</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><br /><tr><td align="left"> Huf Haus 3.09.30</td><td align="right">238,882</td><td align="right">351.866</td><td align="right">577'729</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> House extras</td><td align="right">38,064</td><td align="right">56.067</td><td align="right">92'056</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Standard cellar</td><td align="right">53,746</td><td align="right">79.167</td><td align="right">129'984</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Cellar extras</td><td align="right">1,383</td><td align="right">2.037</td><td align="right">3'345</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Insurance</td><td align="right">930</td><td align="right">1.370</td><td align="right">2'249</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Huf Haus costs sub-total</b></td><td align="right"><b>£333,005</b></td><td align="right"><b>€490.507</b></td><td align="right"><b><small>CHF</small>805'363</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Heating system</td><td align="right">9,511</td><td align="right">14.009</td><td align="right">23'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Kitchen</td><td align="right">16,127</td><td align="right">23.755</td><td align="right">39'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Bathroom extras</td><td align="right">4,549</td><td align="right">6.700</td><td align="right">11'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Lights</td><td align="right">827</td><td align="right">1.218</td><td align="right">2'000</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Non-Huf internal costs sub-total</b></td><td align="right"><b>£31,013</b></td><td align="right"><b>€45.683</b></td><td align="right"><b><small>CHF</small>75'000</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Grand total</b></td><td align="right"><b>£680,552</b></td><td align="right"><b> €1.002.456</b></td><td align="right"><b> <small>CHF</small>1'645'863</b></td></tr></table><br />Yes, it's quite scary isn't it. Better sit down for a while, if you haven't already.<br /><br />Feeling better now? Right, so what does this mean for <i>your</i> dream Huf Haus project?<br /><br />I purposely split the costs into the above categories 'cos I reckon the external costs are more or less proportional to the size of the land, and the Huf Haus and internal costs are proportional to the size of the house. Now our land is 660 square metres, and the internal floor area comes to 240 square metres.<br /><table><tr><th align="left">Land costs/m² (660m²)</th><th align="right"> £255</th><th align="right"> €376</th><th align="right"> <small>CHF</small>618</th></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Project costs</td><td align="right">146</td><td align="right">216</td><td align="right">355</td><br /></tr><tr><td align="left"> Landscaping</td><td align="right">77</td><td align="right">114</td><td align="right">186</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>External costs/m² (660m²)</b></td><td align="right"><b>£223</b></td><td align="right"><b> €330</b></td><td align="right"><b> <small>CHF</small>541</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Huf Haus costs</td><td align="right">1,388</td><td align="right">2.044</td><td align="right">3'356</td></tr><tr><td align="left"> Non-Huf internal</td><td align="right">129</td><td align="right">190</td><td align="right">313</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><b>Internal costs/m² (240m²)</b></td><td align="right"><b>£1,517</b></td><td align="right"><b> €2,234</b></td><td align="right"><b> <small>CHF</small>3,668</b></td></tr></table><br />Ok, so we finally have some per square metre projections. But isn't every country different? And what about variations in land prices? Well, I honestly think that the internal costs are pretty much the same across Europe. Huf Haus will charge you in Euros, and assuming you don't go too crazy with non-Huf internals, even variations in VAT or whatever won't make too much difference. The land prices are another story though, hence I've given 'em their own sub-total.<br /><br />An example... you have in mind a 1,500m² plot which is up for grabs for £300,000 (Ha! You wish!). How much would it cost to shove a 350m² 5-axis Huf Haus palace on the top of it?<br /><br />Lemme see, the land cost itself is already known at £300,000. So the external costs will come in at 1,500m² x £223 which comes to, erm, £334,500 externally. And then we have the Huf Haus itself plus internal specials, which comes to 350m² x £1,517 = £530,950. Add the land price, external and internal costs together, and we come to a grand total of £1,165,450.<br /><br />Eek!<br /><br />So, have fun calculating... and can a few existing owners let me know if the above calculations tie in with your own experiences?<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-18114801011404489882007-03-31T10:49:00.000+02:002007-04-02T11:18:32.856+02:00Another shitty day in paradiseAfter the photo famine comes the feast...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08djuZbNrYZRth8yI9yPJk7D0PupFvZQ1iTytWwhxOL-Wzl3-2vxt15EgA3N5zt29tqsYL8u-gwqdKVMz4Bn3srchsOC_6J4_v2rdgzmG4HbpDl8kZeA_nGVtXHue3Gpkc3cEUg/s1600-h/129-2929_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08djuZbNrYZRth8yI9yPJk7D0PupFvZQ1iTytWwhxOL-Wzl3-2vxt15EgA3N5zt29tqsYL8u-gwqdKVMz4Bn3srchsOC_6J4_v2rdgzmG4HbpDl8kZeA_nGVtXHue3Gpkc3cEUg/s400/129-2929_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048014840815059954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_eqs5DzVUn_r_5YP1jjj3Y7kaa3ysTxaj2wBy20kG6dd3bTjZAazhLmyBkIGATbtkDAYj5VBUDDrxh0WBJgWha4Z83nYPEaWqse6uvIY6IbDnyQlKMJE58zZelon57_-HMvHbw/s1600-h/129-2930_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_eqs5DzVUn_r_5YP1jjj3Y7kaa3ysTxaj2wBy20kG6dd3bTjZAazhLmyBkIGATbtkDAYj5VBUDDrxh0WBJgWha4Z83nYPEaWqse6uvIY6IbDnyQlKMJE58zZelon57_-HMvHbw/s400/129-2930_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048014686196237282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrmXcaOfFOVAJzAb5S1z21Znoxozb7J8jhpKpHFasBHeSwTq6C8qC8rNI5XpiO9ybNenuPS0MsvneFzWMNpMeCGzhgqyRtpEXkFOmroy2ZYyxX4aqieuUcbHUx_jvbjekAft8WQ/s1600-h/129-2931_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrmXcaOfFOVAJzAb5S1z21Znoxozb7J8jhpKpHFasBHeSwTq6C8qC8rNI5XpiO9ybNenuPS0MsvneFzWMNpMeCGzhgqyRtpEXkFOmroy2ZYyxX4aqieuUcbHUx_jvbjekAft8WQ/s400/129-2931_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048014192274998210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPmfPT9Oy7egvPqKfRvPh63A0Fu0xBiYKLMEJr5PWI9pBreI3geuyyOiWH2oex7_Yn7m3HeIr0RjPxLZLPJ7mbDV9r7tsEbFCHEUTYYYy4Y13FkvbzhYqURVHAUCsOgQ5q7slgA/s1600-h/129-2935_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOsiwCmajBLmo1mXHsX5EBzsfYTd2XRHiMLVhdOkx3BnXUcJb-uDdgi2gGFuBj6u8XidqvTRr20c-gv871_cceEs5WezG1xeV4AmsvqQGKngjVH1iemaG9GwM-RY9bUkMInSb0g/s400/129-2959_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048009802818421330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd6ZQnYSPXxFnaw3e_pdLiQAYvhMMY-8K0crIZOc_m48ONxn733eiryFgoVp0P_UAYOyRXxCaGBMyRdxj6dlj_x1_6Wo-vndS-ySSYJJkm_k68Nfcx89sgJ3wL9t2GgGfzXWmlA/s1600-h/129-2960_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd6ZQnYSPXxFnaw3e_pdLiQAYvhMMY-8K0crIZOc_m48ONxn733eiryFgoVp0P_UAYOyRXxCaGBMyRdxj6dlj_x1_6Wo-vndS-ySSYJJkm_k68Nfcx89sgJ3wL9t2GgGfzXWmlA/s400/129-2960_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048009661084500546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryK4eGn4kg9P5hxLoZb75OIXl09rbHF1R8YScHmRVRZYK-uTXwsmtahitnhL0pgVGCQS6pn9aaOtK6H97INfy-97W2nq2xloGPal3wUh2cxl5twzkTTUdqu_PmSS2xjZOZ84HlA/s1600-h/129-2961_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryK4eGn4kg9P5hxLoZb75OIXl09rbHF1R8YScHmRVRZYK-uTXwsmtahitnhL0pgVGCQS6pn9aaOtK6H97INfy-97W2nq2xloGPal3wUh2cxl5twzkTTUdqu_PmSS2xjZOZ84HlA/s400/129-2961_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048009497875743282" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-80939359762566617052007-03-26T09:38:00.000+02:002007-03-29T08:54:05.670+02:00Almost shipshapeMost of the rooms are now looking a little less like a refugee camp.<br /><br />The mayhem lasted a few days, but, by close of day Sunday, we had our bedrooms, bathrooms, snug, kitchen and HUGE living room reasonably functional. Even the infamous Bastelraum and Weinkeller are roughly as they'll be, although we have a long way to go. The guest bedroom'll be done this evening on a just-in-time basis; it's Claudia's birthday tomorrow, so her mother's coming to babysit while we go out scoffing fine food and quaffing wine.<br /><br />Ooerr, I still haven't thought of anything to buy her.<br /><br />The main Keller's still a disaster area of regional importance. As we're short of a garden shed, there're all sorts of outdoorsy stuff here and there, including our garden furniture. Plus two adulthood's worth of 'valuable' but unused-for-donkey's-years crap that we really should either sell or scrap. Box after box after box of it.<br /><br />Now what really gets me is the way that removals people the world over think. Or don't think. Or maybe they do, but their sadistic sides get the better of 'em.<br /><br />Imagine four or five removal blokes walking into our Keller, all bearing identically sized boxes. Identical in every respect, with the logo of their company on the sides. Stack 'em good, right? Well, the first seems incapable of placing his box against a wall, and the rest are equally incapable of putting their boxes upon a box that's already there and waiting for them. Result? They drop their boxes all over the place according to some random dispersion pattern that'd baffle a Chaos theoretician. The next batch of boxes then arrives, and are likewise scattered about the place... but wait! Wait! Look over there, that bloke's actually putting a box upon another one... oh... oh no... no no no.<br /><br />He has of course placed the box rotated roughly 50 degrees to the previous box, and offset enough that it's centre-of-gravity's somewhere over the edge. As the bloke turns his back, it slowly tilts and then slides off until one corner touches the floor. It's progress is then halted by a garden rake that's lying on the Keller floor, a perfect setting for a slapstick routine. The rake's about three feet from a corner that even the most idiotic person I've ever met (you wouldn't know who you are) would recognise as a prime location for gardening tools.<br /><br />Hmm, another chap's getting very close to the rake. Will he? Will he? Heh heh heh... go on, it's only divine justice... Oh bugger, he's dropped his box directly onto the rake's tines (crunch at they break through the cardboard, hopefully nothing broken inside). Booby-trap safely deactivated by a mixture of apathy, incompetence and Mister Magoo levels of good fortune.<br /><br />Disaster avoided, the chucking in of boxes and stuff continues, and the colour of the Keller floor becomes a distant memory. It's now looking like a squatter's township as almost nothing's higher than a single storey. Progress slows as it takes quite some fancy footwork to navigate across the Keller...<br /><br />(sigh)<br /><br />Onto happier subjects...<br /><br />The lights situation? I put a couple more up in the kitchen this weekend, so that's a total of... oh lordy I've lost count. A good few dozen done with my own fair hands. No further electrocutions, so I think I'm getting the hang of it.<br /><br />There're two more utility lights to go up in the Kellers, but the nice Huf Haus people don't bring those until Thursday. And we've finally found a decent design to be nailed onto the <i>outside</i> walls of the house, so we'll be ordering five of 'em. At least I think I counted five sets of cables out there. Must check later today. Oh, and we've decided on bathroom mirror's with integrated lights, so I think they sort of count, so two more.<br /><br />The light's at the end of the tunnel (sad pun intentional).<br /><br />The kitchen's 99% finished. We're waiting on a piece of glass for the splash back that couldn't be ordered until the last moment. Accurate measurements, dontchaknow.<br /><br />What else?<br /><br />The shower cabinet arrives by Huf Haus on Thursday, so we'll be able to bring our main bathroom up to scratch. The blinds are likewise up on that side of the house, we'll be able to use the main bathroom without a show. I'll be able to chuck Claudia's bathroom stuff out of my downstairs bathroom and then it'll be mine, all mine. Mine! Hah hah hah...<br /><br />Curtain rails are up throughout, but out of action 'cos the curtains guy needs to come back and cut notches here and there so we can thread on the slidey things. For now we're surviving with the blinds on the upstairs side that faces the neighbours. T'other side's uncurtained for now, but then there's nothing out there but rolling hills and the odd farmhouse in the distance. Downstairs we have the outside electric shutters. It'll all look better when we've got proper curtains, but for now we're functional.<br /><br />And why no photos?<br /><br />'Cos we're waiting for the electrician to come and conect up the phone and TV cables. Until then, no internet access from home. And that means no way of posting up photos for a little longer. Should be up and going by next weekend, but we'll see.<br /><br />Needless to say, we're ecstatic about our house.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-72153438124754007832007-03-23T14:14:00.000+01:002007-03-23T14:42:16.312+01:00We're in!We moved in on Tuesday.<br /><br />Five words summarises the whole thing, but as always the story was a bit more complicated than that.<br /><br />You should know is that during the first official days of spring we were inundated with a full winter's worth of snow. The flakes started to descend on us on Monday evening, as we finalised the packing, then intensified during the night. By Tuesday morning, there was a respectable blanket covering most of Switzerland.<br /><br />Ooerr.<br /><br />Still, could have been worse. Oh hang on, it was worse. Because our old house is at a far lower alititude than the new one, (by about 300 metres, or a thousand feet), so if it was inconvenient at one end, it was going to be a bloody nightmare at the other. Lots of worried glances out of the window on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Lots of mental plans to defer the move a day or so, or to at least figure out where I could steal a snowplough. Or a husky.<br /><br />Only... it seemed to go alright.<br /><br />The chaps turned up about an hour late ("Snow chaos across Kanton Zurich"); filled their wagons in more or less the time they said they would; drove over to the new house; unloaded and were away before yer could say Bob's yer uncle.<br /><br />By Tuesday evening the house still looked a bloody mess, boxes and unbuilt furniture everywhere, but at least our bedroom was intact enough to sleep in. Kids remained with Claudia's parents.<br /><br />As we're a tad short on the curtain front, that night we had an open view from our bed out of our bedroom window (floor to ceiling, if you recall) right across the rolling farmlands. Fluffy snow lay everywhere, and the weather cleared enough so that the visibility was crystal. The few farm houses out there were still lit up, presumably as them Swiss country folks were still feeding their goats or something. Each light gave a glow to the surrounding snow. Little pools of light.<br /><br />Magical.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-83237534447283192892007-03-18T22:00:00.000+01:002007-03-18T22:08:09.491+01:00PackingClaudia and I've spent most of the weekend packing up our stuff. Kids were dropped off at the grandparent (Swiss side) yesterday morning, and by lunchtime we were cracking on with the job at hand.<br /><br />I recently counted the number of times I've moved house since leaving the family nest aged 19 years. It came to, erm, a little more than once per year. In the old days, it'd be a bootful of books and stuff. Then when I started buying furniture, I needed a rental van of some sort. For the last few moves I'd called in the professionals, and coughed up instead. But this move's looking very different...<br /><br />What was a bit shocking was the massive increase in posessions that's come with parenthood. It took us a few hours just to pack up all the kid's stuff. And the lads're only 3 and 1 years old. Imagine what it'll be like when their spotty teenagers... or maybe they'll have less stuff 'cos they'll be aborbed into their computer games by then.<br /><br />Anyways, packing's been a bigger job than we expected.<br /><br />Anyways, I'm going to bed now. Knackered.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-38943816689647725912007-03-17T07:05:00.000+01:002007-03-18T21:45:01.854+01:00Things are coming together...A quickish update... things really are coming together.<br /><br />The kitchen has now been completed. True to his word, the Kitchen Guy had a new worktop in the <i>correct</i> stainless steel made up. It arrived on Thursday, and that was the piece that allowed all the last few pieces of the kitchen jigsaw to be assembled. Yesterday, (Friday), the plumber came and did his stuff. He also spent about an hour downstairs in the Keller plumbing in the washer and drier. So, both our kitchen <i>and</i> laundry room are now 100% complete.<br /><br />Erm, but we have no idea how to use the new appliances 'cos the electrics guy forgot to leave us the instruction manuals. Hmm. However, one expects they'll appear soon enough, so a minor point.<br /><br />The Curtains and Blinds Guy also turned up yesterday. He put up the somewhat essential blinds in the main bathroom and 'overlooked' bedroom. They're a good solution, and should spare some blushes. He's supposed to turn up again on Monday with the six or seven kilometres of curtain track that'll be needed for the endless glass areas. Ok, one exaggerates, but needless to say, the Curtains and Blinds Guy was a little shocked at the final tally once he'd done a sweep around with a tape measure.<br /><br />Then there's the Bastelraum parquet situation. Do you recall that the Parquet Guy forgot to reserve the stuff we wanted? And there wouldn't be any more until April? Sheesh! Well, Claudia and I had another look at our samples, and opted for a slightly different parquet, which is definitely available right now. "It also looks <i>much</i> warmer..." says Claudia. Hmm. Anyways, he's also supposed to turn up on Monday, so hopefully he'll get on famously with the Curtains and Blinds Guy.<br /><br />And those lights? Those endless lights without which our Huf Haus will be a <i>dark place</i> when the sun goes down? Well, I've put up 32 of 'em myself. Another 4 were either done previously, or were done by the Kitchen Guy. A few more to go after we're moved in, plus another 5 for the outside of the gaffe.<br /><br />I did a fantastic job, even if I say so meself. And only got electrocuted once. Eeek. Good tip for you do-it-yerself electricians out there: put up some sort of provisional light bulb as a visual clue to whether the electric's on or not. And if you <i>do</i> get zapped, don't write it up in yer blog or yer wife'll find out, ("But you told me you knew what you were doing..."). Still, it was all worth it. The house looks far less <i>alien</i> now it doesn't have bare cables poking out of every orifice.<br /><br />And then there's the landscaping. Now I must say that the only non-Huf supplier who'll consistently provided Huf levels of service has been the landscaping people. They guided us through the various negotiations with the local Gemeinde (local government), helped us sidestep the stupid situation of the Case of the Stolen Land, and generally solved this or that problem as and when it arose. I've a lot to say about the progress outside, but it must wait for another post. However, the punchline is that the general earthworks are now finished, and I couldn't be happier. The landscaper's remaining work could be better termed <i>gardening</i> and <i>joinery</i>.<br /><br />Progress on all fronts!<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-21042978798122344732007-03-10T07:32:00.000+01:002007-03-10T08:30:19.901+01:00Back to realityWell, those wonderful, reliable, punctual Huf Haus people wrapped up just over a week ago... and now we're getting a glimpse of what everyone else has to put up with when building a house: the fact that the vast majority of companies and suppliers work to a different level of service to Huf Haus.<br /><br />A lower level, in case you're on the wrong track.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GBwIU7yS35YqLOWj5stzuTaM6cuibpKXJvVYklBB3_u34mFnFeSjiF9yS6MWcyjhxthB3K_NVIKuQ5T6PPe_VxEgukfBueqb6GjNhrCUVQzPUxBof5V33MuOtqS-zz28_FRTnA/s1600-h/128-2857_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GBwIU7yS35YqLOWj5stzuTaM6cuibpKXJvVYklBB3_u34mFnFeSjiF9yS6MWcyjhxthB3K_NVIKuQ5T6PPe_VxEgukfBueqb6GjNhrCUVQzPUxBof5V33MuOtqS-zz28_FRTnA/s400/128-2857_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5040185097175713442" /></a><br />The construction of our kitchen started last Friday, and continued on the Monday. It was supposed to be finished that day, only a few hiccups surfaced. We'd ordered two stainles steel worktops, one for the area around the sink and t'other for the cooking island. Well the kitchen guy had ordered the sink worktop in some other non-stainless steel material. Furthermore, while unwrangling the worktop problem, half the wiring up was delayed; so we're missing the sucky hood thing over the electric hob, the dishwasher's still in its wrapping, that magnificent food centre's full of melt water, and and and.<br /><br />In theory the wiring'll be done next week. In theory the new worktop for the sink area'll arrive the week after. In theory this'll all be wrapped up just before we move in. In theory this was all to be finished last Monday, so yer can shove that theory where the sun don't shine.<br /><br />And then we have the Bastelraum parquet situation. <i>That</i> was to have been laid down last Wednesday, and the skirting boards nailed to the walls. Easy-peasy, no risk, no trouble. Except that when the parquet guy popped over to his supplier to pick up some 50 square metres of the stuff, he was stunned to find nary a stick of it. Someone'd mopped up the lot on Monday. Claudia was likewise stunned to hear that the factory won't be able to produce more until April, so in lieu of a time machine, we won't have a Bastelraum parquet in place until a couple of weeks after we've moved in. I, on the other hand, was stunned that the daft sod hadn't reserved the parquet a few weeks back when we'd made the decision.<br /><br />C'est la vie? C'est le guerre, more like. Why do these people insist on introducing unnecessary risks into their work? Do they want their lives to be more exciting? I'm sure this has happened time and time again, over the years, and he still doesn't get round to making that crucial reservation.<br /><br />Daft sod.<br /><br />Claudia and I've decided to take all these things in our stride. We've just left the Huf Haus autobahn (efficient, fast, free of traffic) and are now on the local roads (pot-holed, clogged, diversions). We can either bitch about it, or we can feel smug about the fact that 97% of our project was on that autobahn.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd08TNcLHAq51yWec36uuXTKIk7oSAaBk-83pyx4wHWSIAP7m7ryWNp7cIj59-wSi1bc5RAAu-clmybam0oceo0fcBlqS67gKw0hWpC9FwsKJaPflP5ubaBs1B4hSrRjSBY2s4Q/s1600-h/128-2870_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd08TNcLHAq51yWec36uuXTKIk7oSAaBk-83pyx4wHWSIAP7m7ryWNp7cIj59-wSi1bc5RAAu-clmybam0oceo0fcBlqS67gKw0hWpC9FwsKJaPflP5ubaBs1B4hSrRjSBY2s4Q/s400/128-2870_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5040186072133289650" /></a><br />On a happier note, the sink unit for the bathroom arrived on Wednesday. Claudia was there to let 'em in.. and was surprised that they'd already been inside the house for an hour. Huh? Turns out that local suppliers operate a sort of house key exchange; they'd got it off the kitchen guy.<br /><br />Anyways, the unit had been nailed to the wall by the time she arrived, although there was still some work left to do... which was just as well as it was 5cm higher than it should have been. Claudia took the snap shown above, gave the orders to move it down a notch, and left. We'll see how it looks in its full glory later today.<br /><br />Another happy note: I painted the keller floors last weekend, using a special keller floor paint. Sort of battleship grey, so a side of one of Her Majesty's fleet'll be short a lick o' paint. I really got quite a buzz of satisfaction out of making my own contribution for once. Until that then, I'd been more like the gentleman farmer of the project; mumbling some irrelevence or other, waving a stick at this or that, and then watching the hairy arses march off into the fields to do the real work. At that moment, I joined the ranks of the hairy arses, and it felt rather good.<br /><br />Also on a happy note, we managed to find lots and lots of lights this week. If you recall, we've a total light count of 45. So we were left with a lot of research and shopping around to do. And the likelihood of spending a <i>lot of money</i>.<br /><br />Well, we found the window wall lights at Interio, and bought 12 of 'em. CHF 69 each, so what's that? About 30 quid a pop? And we found the 4 wall lights we need for the stairs at a place called Moebel Pfister, a mere snap at CHF 62 each (about 25 quid). And we also picked up 6 ceiling lights at, erm, at one place or other. Hard to recall as all those light places are beginning to merge in my mind's eye. Anyways, they cost CHF 59 (also about 25 quid). We also bought two spot light clusters, but they were way more expensive at CHF 150 each (65 quid).<br /><br />A total cost of CHF 1,730 (750 quid) for 24 lights. Plus whatever we paid for the four we already had, plus the two on the way from Huf Haus. And muggins here's going over to the house today to start wiring them up. Should take a month of Saturdays, eh?<br /><br />Make sure you pop over to Bob's Blog (link on the right) as he's experiencing similar difficulties. Well, maybe a lot worse...<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-17934042912837212642007-03-01T10:13:00.000+01:002007-03-18T21:45:37.393+01:00Final handover!So, the final Huf Haus handover date arrived. Claudia was supposed to do this alone 'cos of my work commitments, but a bit of finessing of a meeting or two made it possible for me to jump into my car and get up there. I arrived towards the end of the handover process.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5FXadhfUFvLHoJkMHgsf6UCQQpMw0mKOFOBkGRuTTTs-GIApOWWzwGqQwLgRmYnewGI6h-Zg4pZwP5db7E-JSQTlNSYGQZACI6aro6HawoJbl0Xuwdd2MkP7FtY3TMkqRjS8Yw/s1600-h/127-2788_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5FXadhfUFvLHoJkMHgsf6UCQQpMw0mKOFOBkGRuTTTs-GIApOWWzwGqQwLgRmYnewGI6h-Zg4pZwP5db7E-JSQTlNSYGQZACI6aro6HawoJbl0Xuwdd2MkP7FtY3TMkqRjS8Yw/s400/127-2788_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037628486520574450" /></a><br />The house was looking very very beautiful. All the mayhem of earlier in the week had either been nailed to the walls, or cleared up. There was a cleaning bloke doing some final touches here and there, plus a big hairy bloke was going around with a toolkit adjusting this and that. And there was our nice Huf Haus blokey, Rudiger, a different Rudiger from that Bob Salmon but naturally close colleagues. Anyways, he had his clipboard clasped in his mighty mitts, and a cheery smile on his face.<br /><br />There were a few details already written down (trivial stuff, to be honest) but the handover had almost reached the bit where signatures were to be applied to paper. But what's this? A box of touch-up paints, just in case? And a fixit toolbox (think similar to those kits you get in posher cars, but more extensive)? There were a few more bits and bobs like that, all of which contributed to that nice warm feeling yer get when yer deal with a company like Huf Haus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFrsuSLWkKnp1fFO1-Q6sESUPXvv6HNvqi5RWtPE9NZqNMEk7-pvy9C9W9val7kA1Gi_qtBF5ceAgOBaSEHVR6HY8nxRC2JLyDMWBNgIElf4NHhHRVLmx5zn2l3MGDtQ1yfURBg/s1600-h/127-2775_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFrsuSLWkKnp1fFO1-Q6sESUPXvv6HNvqi5RWtPE9NZqNMEk7-pvy9C9W9val7kA1Gi_qtBF5ceAgOBaSEHVR6HY8nxRC2JLyDMWBNgIElf4NHhHRVLmx5zn2l3MGDtQ1yfURBg/s400/127-2775_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037624681179550098" /></a><br />Wet ink on paper, handshakes all round, and we were done.<br /><br />And there I was feeling a bit sad that this was the last of our regular meetings with Rudiger. But then we did have rather a nice house to compensate for that.<br /><br />I spent some time looking at the parquet flooring in its full glory. This was the first time all the wrapping had been taken off the staircase, and the floors were clear enough for a, erm, clear view. Click click click with the camera. The results of which are posted here. This doussie parquet's not for everyone, but we're ecstatic about it. And if you recall, it's harder than nails. We will see if it proves to be harder than two hyperactive wee laddies.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdBSuIUQ7sqlbhyphenhyphenaDCHdph7pLyLQdx8AzgN8Jy4_1B2khVpqIKUOqbSfhuYTWPIghuxD9A6d_1FmBac2Zvnb3D77efe2B-YKMNzLXCwUuLrLIMH5eKA1Pas5fr5HIamm1wkC0gA/s1600-h/127-2779_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdBSuIUQ7sqlbhyphenhyphenaDCHdph7pLyLQdx8AzgN8Jy4_1B2khVpqIKUOqbSfhuYTWPIghuxD9A6d_1FmBac2Zvnb3D77efe2B-YKMNzLXCwUuLrLIMH5eKA1Pas5fr5HIamm1wkC0gA/s400/127-2779_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037628091383583202" /></a><br />This was also the first time we'd looked at our bathrooms without the usual construction mess lying around. Again, not for everyone, but we are very very proud of the look. Posh New York hotel, we call it.<br /><br />Of course the main bathroom's missing a few things. We elected to source our sink unit from elsewhere. Should arrive a week on Friday. The shower cabinet's also missing, down to a minor Huf Haus cock-up. Seems that someone ordered the tall shower cabinet which wouldn't have fitted under the slopey roof; it should be here before our official moving in date (20th March) so no harm done.<br /><br />The last point is an object lesson to all who're about to move into a Huf Haus: living in a goldfish bowl's all well and good, but few of us are brave enough to use a bathroom without some form of curtain or blinds. Our blinds arrive in a couple of weeks, but until then it's handwashing only. Oh bugger, no sinks. Maybe we can use it as an office?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuU9qzXzFh9HP4fgUo6VkWtDq5TqYVYwdOxhAdt4R9QgR9QsIcJoUSWavWNBu9QXegmYP4cQuDBhylJBDe0lpudAaBwJrsJvUqgVLXIpri-_J8Dzr0zx99aOR_CC4ipEAvlGgHw/s1600-h/127-2781_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuU9qzXzFh9HP4fgUo6VkWtDq5TqYVYwdOxhAdt4R9QgR9QsIcJoUSWavWNBu9QXegmYP4cQuDBhylJBDe0lpudAaBwJrsJvUqgVLXIpri-_J8Dzr0zx99aOR_CC4ipEAvlGgHw/s400/127-2781_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037624255977787778" /></a><br />But the downstairs loo, really a shower bathroom downstairs next to the front door, was 97% complete. The missing 3% represents the two lights that need to go up. I'm still strggling with myself whether to diy this, or call in the professionals. However, short of those lights, <i>my</i> bathroom's finished. Heh heh heh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxckVceAB3VCCJH1_BQAQvOMWq4_2kHeqRNqwZoeueHrTruf18Fp2ny4VrOyG5OK3pM4xKizorBwB2k_pVWBHb2naN2_Rh8BDQc6BE1P8Pb02Kh0XOccK9PywBC0857SD_bea4fA/s1600-h/127-2771_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxckVceAB3VCCJH1_BQAQvOMWq4_2kHeqRNqwZoeueHrTruf18Fp2ny4VrOyG5OK3pM4xKizorBwB2k_pVWBHb2naN2_Rh8BDQc6BE1P8Pb02Kh0XOccK9PywBC0857SD_bea4fA/s400/127-2771_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037626089928823202" /></a><br /><br />Just as we were finishing up, Herr Arkitekt (he of the bowtie) turned up for a butchers. Lots of back-slapping, jokes, handshakes and peering at this or that detail.<br /><br />Nice bloke.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QJkN_0le5H78seLkSTWtl2EGtQEVFStoY5B7FPwkxTZrUqQlG8trgEXM7pVZHj8_AbhwoKOZi5tdM-LRuRe9sqeegJvi37-DSTWJEzlPxTSODxd16psce0vcNVGekhVUOHySRg/s1600-h/127-2772_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QJkN_0le5H78seLkSTWtl2EGtQEVFStoY5B7FPwkxTZrUqQlG8trgEXM7pVZHj8_AbhwoKOZi5tdM-LRuRe9sqeegJvi37-DSTWJEzlPxTSODxd16psce0vcNVGekhVUOHySRg/s400/127-2772_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037627528742867410" /></a><br />Just after we left, it seems the kitchen guy delivered his stuff ready for the Friday's work. Talk about quick off the blocks. The following photos were taken Friday afternoon, so you can see that the clutter's back. Ah well.<br /><br />By that Friday afternoon, most of the kitchen units had been positioned. Our cooking island was looking vast. More like a cooking continent. During a lull in the proceedings, I stood in front of where the elecric hob's gonna be and gloated at the extensive views both inside and outside of the house. I'm going to feel like a master of the universe standing there. Won't miss a trick, so watch out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwoRniPmHSHF6bRVsYscSLrXrVcdpERIEc4hx4tmjFbwKFEVwQpTwC4iWHaBdTErMsZK8PunxF_93KaMyEe9Kc-7-9VvZ-YR2fELqF55b4roAL7iGsuP19Hwaq6vzzSG380JhQQ/s1600-h/127-2789_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cur<br />sor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwoRniPmHSHF6bRVsYscSLrXrVcdpERIEc4hx4tmjFbwKFEVwQpTwC4iWHaBdTErMsZK8PunxF_93KaMyEe9Kc-7-9VvZ-YR2fELqF55b4roAL7iGsuP19Hwaq6vzzSG380JhQQ/s400/127-2789_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037626927447445954" /></a><br />And then we have the food centre. Or food center, as this one's an american model.<br /><br />Ok, this bloody big metal thing's an outrageous extravagance. We looked at all manner of fridges during our kitchen research, and landed on some Seimens food centre as the way ahead. Rationale was that plenty of people spent money on a normal fridge for the kitchen, and then more money for some sort of vampire's coffin of a freezer in the garage or cellar. If we put that money together, then we could justify a single food centre with plenty of space inside, job done. Only the Seimens food centre turned out to look a bit, erm, crap and tinny.<br /><br />Now, the kitchen guy had some whopping big General Electric food center humming in his show room. He cottoned on that the Seimens research had been a failure, and offered us this one at a massive discount. All's well then? Well, erm, not quite. Even the discounted price of this GE box was way more expensive than the Seimens version.<br /><br />And our original cost justification? One expensive box is the same price as two less expensive boxes? Hah! We could have bought a fridge, a cabinet freezer and had a long weekend in a posh hotel for the price we paid for this thing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2G4ZzjzR724fw88sftTWUUZwHmpvI_wJAISvj6-tOvaag3No-X8Zhu5dYq7vqiG4qKX7Fc8LjDDV82lmnh7c2ZTY9GIDpRj8d5z5Y6Wh1O_Q_kLA4tAu-4hPTbV6B8LUDNgUYEw/s1600-h/127-2792_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2G4ZzjzR724fw88sftTWUUZwHmpvI_wJAISvj6-tOvaag3No-X8Zhu5dYq7vqiG4qKX7Fc8LjDDV82lmnh7c2ZTY9GIDpRj8d5z5Y6Wh1O_Q_kLA4tAu-4hPTbV6B8LUDNgUYEw/s400/127-2792_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037626605324898738" /></a><br />And for those landscaping fans out there, a brief update. The driveway paving's finished (again). Everything's now cemented in place, so I've been told that by Monday I can test drive my driveway by driving my car on it, and see how it works for us. The various gaps you can see here and there are for soil which'll have to wait for drier weather.<br /><br />The sandy stuff you see all over it's actually... sand. The idea is that after a few rains it'll wash between the cracks of the paving stones and set 'em rigid.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-3993599399247279272007-02-27T22:16:00.000+01:002007-02-28T22:55:34.888+01:0048 hours to final handoverSo, it's the Tuesday before the final handover on Thursday, and we had an appointment to go and see the nice Huf Haus waterworks bloke.<br /><br />When we arrived, we could see a little more progress on the grinds, but as there'd been a few days rain that was more than we could have hoped for. Anyways, landscapers were beavering away on the paving stones for the driveway. (sigh) And there's a story behind all this.<br /><br />Actually, two stories:<br /><br />The whopping big stone wall wot acts as a bastion against the few hundred tonnes of earth that's underneath our parking area had moved a wee bit, one dark and stormy night. (gulp) The landscaping boss man had noticed something not quite right, called in his troops, and basically rebuilt the wall quietly one day. Gratis, of course. However, the bloody big digger that they use for moving half tonne granite blocks about had stirred up the beautifully lain paving stones on the parking area. Soooooo, the landscaping bods were busy repaving the driveway.<br /><br />And then there's the second story. It could be that our driveway might be a few centimetres too narrow to park our two cars side by side. They can definitely park sidish by sidish, which is a start. However, anyone with a bit of exposure to the sidish parking concept will instinctively know the implications: last in first out, first in last out. We'll be forever having to let each other out. Buggah. I had a go with the lads there to see if they could squeeze an extra 10cm width out of the driveway, and they agreed. However, even then there're no guarantees.<br /><br />Back to the house...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxbvRt-pwHJTV74-iI3gEeI0af-AJluPzOj8ghjXkCj2RxHZ6XCTvkimApbXexdpC3CbYUsiioz__QND0uNTGRb-AboSYPUiO-yUBWaTTxZpNoi2CaBtPGeFjgUyr58K0JrpDFQ/s1600-h/127-2762_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxbvRt-pwHJTV74-iI3gEeI0af-AJluPzOj8ghjXkCj2RxHZ6XCTvkimApbXexdpC3CbYUsiioz__QND0uNTGRb-AboSYPUiO-yUBWaTTxZpNoi2CaBtPGeFjgUyr58K0JrpDFQ/s400/127-2762_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036699997697699426" /></a><br />So this is the nice Huf Haus water bloke that we met up with. The photo's a bit unkind 'cos it looks like he's superglued his hand to his head. Not so. He's busy negotiating or confirming something or other that Claudia asked him. What that something was will forever remain a mystery 'cos I was busy gawping at stuff.<br /><br />After the clear floors, and general emptiness of the house during the laying of the parquet flooring, it was a shock to see the bloody mess was back. Well, to be fair, most of the bloody mess was protecting our expensive wood flooring from collateral damage.<br /><br />Nice bloke whisked us from bathroom to bathroom; this towel rail goes here, this loo roll holder goes there... hmm, where should we have the heated towel rail thingy? And the bog brush holder (a magnificent chrome-plated affair, so far too posh to clean bogs with)? Anyways, that kind of trivial, but ultimately important final final decision stuff.<br /><br />Well, choices made, and toolbox at the ready.<br /><br />A bit of drilling later (while we were outside negotiating with the landscapers) and we were ready for an early water-works handover. All, of course, present and correct. Bath? Check. Shower? Check. Shower cabinet? Arrived later this week. Bog? Check. And then a tour of the underfloor heating system in rapid fire german. Fortunately, my wife's fluent. Unfortunately, my wife is incapable of remembering anything remotely technical. Fortunately, we were handed the operations manual. Unfortunately, in german. Hmm. So I'll figure it out anyway. Reading the manual's a sign of weakness, anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7bRQvsSAKbNAMHiieDcLJshy3tpGg5W3cZuVSBiDgVADeOX1BEKkiV2i2uTkIYuG_5nHEc25wiqHvjcpi4caHSarXkCV5CRpNCR1vNSTFCPlQngQtWdsgDgkgSfo-C2C13DUxA/s1600-h/127-2761_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7bRQvsSAKbNAMHiieDcLJshy3tpGg5W3cZuVSBiDgVADeOX1BEKkiV2i2uTkIYuG_5nHEc25wiqHvjcpi4caHSarXkCV5CRpNCR1vNSTFCPlQngQtWdsgDgkgSfo-C2C13DUxA/s400/127-2761_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036702072166903410" /></a><br />More tours down the Keller where... oh... where did that fluorescent light comes from? All part of the Huf Haus package sir. Great, so only 44 more to put up. Anyways, a further tour of the various pipes and stopcocks, inside and outside.<br /><br />Job done.<br /><br />Claudia signed the paperwork (for my maximum deniability later, heh heh heh) and the waterworks bloke's nicely setup for an early trip back to Germany, one assumes. Really great bloke, I must say.<br /><br />In parallel, another Huf Haus bloke was busily hanging doors on hinges and a few other bits and bobs. And the final details of our house, if we could have seen beyond the bloody mess, were coming together. Skirting boards, bezels for the various light switches and plug sockets, a strip of wood here, a bit of something else there. Yer turn a tap and water comes out. A miracle! Yer turn a knob and the electric shutters descend like something out of... of... well, out of a Huf Haus.<br /><br />Hands shaken, and off we went.<br /><br />Thursday's the final handover date.<br /><br />Wow.<br /><br />Wow.<br /><br />Wow wow wowsy wow.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-14002203669039004782007-02-21T15:31:00.000+01:002007-02-25T08:23:20.935+01:00Capucho on interior lighting...One of the less obvious features of yer Huf Haus concept is that the combination of wide stretches of adjoining windows, endless stretches of wooden beam, large open plan rooms, broad entrances, staircases and galleries, all takes quite some interior lighting.<br /><br />Quite some lighting, indeed.<br /><br />Consider those windows: leafy views during daylight hours are all very nice (actually really wonderful) but they become large black squares at night, or even worse, scary black squares. Aarrgghhhh!!! Therefore each of those beams above the windows are screaming for at least one cupped wall light every two metres or so. And even then, the vastness of (especially) the open plan downstairs living area means there'll still be a few underlit areas away from the windows. And then we have to also worry about the entrance area, central bit away from all the windows and the kitchen. And of course the bedrooms. And the bathrooms. And then we have the sweepy staircases and that whopping big 'suicide' gallery.<br /><br />And finally, positioning yer posh dining table under the open gallery is all well and good, and probably a great opportunity for yer kids to throw stuff down upon the heads of dining guests. However, most of us want some lighting above the table, but the (sloping) ceiling's somewhere around eight metres above yer bonce.<br /><br />An explanation of my terminology will help here: a window segment is the roughly 3m wide by 3m high square wot has a window in it. A wall segment is the equivalent, only with cement instead of glass. A roof segment is the equivalent roughly 3m by 3m square wot is above yer head. All segments are deliniated by wooden beams, so, the walls, windows and downstairs ceiling are all defined by (roughly) 3m by 3m wooden beam squares with either cement, glass or, erm, more cement in 'em.<br /><br />With me so far?<br /><br />Now the good news is that most of these issues will be discussed and (mainly) resolved during your Hartenfels trip. The nice Huf Haus chappy yer spend a couple of days with will devote around 2-3 hours to discuss yer electric cabling needs, and believe me, he'll be very proactive in suggestions. He needs to be, 'cos Claudia and I hadn't much of a clue.<br /><br />The bad news is that, as is the norm outside of the UK, yer Huf Haus lighting facilities as delivered will amount to nothing more than a pair of twisted wires poking through a small hole. Still, might be a good idea to get at least that bit right up front, eh?<br /><br />(Minor digression: these continental types sneer at the cheap plastic bulb sockets that dangle from the ceilings of almost every British household. But then again, you might still want to do it the Brit way, and good on yer for resisting the pressure. Needless to say, one's wife's a foreigner, so one's choices were somewhat limited).<br /><br />What yer Huf Haus bod'll recommend will probably run along these lines:<br /><br />One cable centrally up on the wooden beam above each window segment for those cupped wall lights. Very diffuse, very elegant, very Huf Haus, dontcha know. Fairly obvious downstairs, as every Huf Haus in christendom has the same solution, but less obvious upstairs in the bedrooms. Do those have one or two segments? Oo-err... turns out 3-axis and 4-axis house bedrooms have the equivalent of two. Two cables per bedroom then.<br /><br />Now bear with me here, 'cos there'll be a punchline to all this...<br /><br />The entrance area and kitchen needs plenty of downlight, and he'll nudge you towards a cable located right bang in the centre of each of the roof segments in that area. We went for two cables per ceiling segment in the entrance area, equally spaced, 'cos Claudia likes her spots, she does. Only one per ceiling segment in the kitchen because because, erm, just because.<br /><br />The stairs need a wall light mounted left and right. They'll have to be fairly flush to the wall, though, 'cos they're positioned about elbow high. Ditto the upstairs gallery area, although they can have cupped wall lights 'cos they're up above your head. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.<br /><br />The bathroom is shaped like a bedroom, so gets the two window segment treatment, but you'll also be needing a lighting cable above or behind yer bathroom mirror. Yer can't have too much light in a bathroom. Unless hung over, or spotty, or pale. Or me.<br /><br />And that dining table light? Well, we all love to have some sort of light hanging down from the ceiling, beaming a cone of muted light down upon on those wonderous culinary creations wot you and your guests are scoffing. But that huge gallery above yer head is a big problem 'cos that big light needs to dangle from something, and also needs electricity. There's no easy solution. Well there is, but few of us will want an extra wooden beam above our heads just for the damn light. The more difficult solutions fall into one of the following categories:<br /><br />1. An extra wooden beam above yer... - no way!<br /><br />2. Super-long cables all the way down from the sloping roof far far above your head. The downside is that if yer as much as cough near your light, then it'll swing like Foucault's Pendulum for a month of sundays. That and the impracticality of hanging yer light from a cable that weighs more than, erm, your light.<br /><br />3. Use one of those super-sized cantilever floor lights, which'll reach right over yer table. Hmm, not to everyone's taste. And an object ripe for bumping into, and knocking over, after a couple of digestive brandies.<br /><br />4. Some other approach.<br /><br />According to Huf Haus, this always causes a few headaches so there's no prescribed solution. "Be creative", they say. Which translates to "Yer on your own, mate".<br /><br />Well, in a fit of inventiveness, I went for the "some other approach" option. I reckon I might be able to use a couple of cross-wires braced left and right on the downstairs ceiling beams as both power cables and supporting points. Attach our above-table light to said cross-wires and bob's yer uncle. Hmm, at least that's the theory. Might end up looking like the cables above an electrified train line, but then again it might just look ok.<br /><br />And the punchline?<br /><br />Numbers, dear heart, numbers.<br /><br />Our 3-axis house has a mere:<br /><br />- 8 downstairs window segments (1x cupped wall light per)<br />- 6 bedroom window segments (1x cupped wall light per)<br />- 2 bathroom window segments (1x cupped wall light per)<br />- 2 bathroom mirrors (1x mirror light per)<br />- 1 Bastelraum (2x ceiling lights per)<br />- 3 Keller rooms (1x flourescent ceiling light per)<br />- 1 cubby hole room (1x ceiling light per)<br />- 1 downstairs loo (1x ceiling light per)<br />- 3 entrance area ceiling segments (2x spot lights per)<br />- 2 kitchen ceiling segments (1x spot light cluster per)<br />- 2 stair cases - down-to-Keller, up-to-bedrooms (2x flat wall lights per)<br />- 1 gallery area (2x cupped wall lights per)<br />- 1 dining table (1x dangly light per, and bloody complicated at that)<br /><br />That lot comes to:<br /><br />- 18 cupped wall lights<br />- 6 spot lights<br />- 4 flat wall lights<br />- 4 ceiling lights<br />- 3 fluorescent ceiling lights<br />- 2 mirror lights<br />- 2 spot light clusters<br />- 1 dangly dining table light<br /><br />...and a partridge in a pear tree.<br /><br />Count 'em. That's a grand total of 41 lights (including the partridge) to be found, paid for, wired up, and securely screwed to the wall or ceiling.<br /><br />Ouch.<br /><br />So, there's a logistical issue to be addressed here.<br /><br />One thing's for sure, no one in their right mind's gonna choose a mixed bag of 18 totally different cupped wall light designs. Standardisation's the key here, and not only because they'll generally look better than way. The way I've presented the list above isn't the way that we carefully thought this out. Oh no. It's a sort of standardised list that we arrived at after a lot of discussion, poking about light shops, and after the realisation that we needed a lot of lights had slowly sunk in.<br /><br />And then there's the cost.<br /><br />The dangly dining table light's already paid for a few years back (I still shudder at the insane cost of that super-trendy italian design icon) as are the two spot light clusters for the kitchen. But the rest...<br /><br />Well, if we're not too careful we'll end up spending a fortune on the rest. Not just the light units themselves, but we must also consider the installation costs... unless yer fancy wiring up around 40 lights yerself... No? Thought not. We budgeted (budgeted? Hah!) about 50 quid a pop, rising to 100 quid plus for the special stuff, i.e. the bathroom mirror lights. Roughly double that for the installation, and that gives yer a total of, erm, oooooooooh lordy, somewhere in the region of 4,000 quid.<br /><br />So we slashed the per unit budget down to about 30 quid a pop... and generally found some half decent candidates. I'll have to do some of the installations myself; think fluorescents, spots and clusters, normal ceiling lights and, ahem, the dangly dining table light, in fact anything that feels generally like the sort of job that any normal bloke could do. The trickier stuff will need the services of a professional.<br /><br />Who'd have thought there'd be so much to write about on interior lighting, eh? More anon regarding <i>external</i> lighting... (sigh)<br /><br /><b>Postscript</b><br /><br />A detailed look over the plans this morning's turned up a few more lights...<br /><br />- +4 downstairs window segments (1x cupped wall light per)<br />- +1 bathroom window segments (1x cupped wall light per)<br />- +1 keller lobby area (1x ceiling light per)<br /><br />But it turns out that 'only' two of the entrance hallway ceiling segments need two spots per. One of them's due for a single spot light cluster... which costs about the same as two single spots.<br /><br />(sigh)<br /><br />- 23 cupped wall lights<br />- 4 spot lights<br />- 4 flat wall lights<br />- 5 ceiling lights<br />- 3 fluorescent ceiling lights<br />- 2 mirror lights<br />- 3 spot light clusters<br />- 1 dangly dining table light<br /><br />So we're up to 45 lights, not including the poultry.<br /><br />On the bright side (too jaded for puns) we've already bought ten of the cupped wall lights... that's all the Interio warehouse had on stock. Interio's a sort of Swiss Habitat, and will figure large over the next couple of months, I'm sure.<br /><br />(sigh)<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-54344471001746767092007-02-20T09:17:00.000+01:002007-02-20T20:05:49.747+01:00Capucho on flooring...What is it about Brit tastes in flooring?<br /><br />Speaking as an expat Brit (well, as British as a half-portuguese, bit-of-french bloke, married to a swiss girl, and living in Switzerland, can be) the flooring differences between Britain and the rest of Europe are easy to see: southern europeans have polished tiled floors, upon which they place one or three beautifully woven turkish carpets; northern europeans have wooden parquet floors, upon which they place either yer beautifully woven turkish carpet, or if they're a bit racier, they go for the iranian or persian options; eastern europeans have survived the post-WWII years with lino or worse, but please believe me that as soon as they catch up economically, they'll go for the polished tiles or the wooden parquet, but they'd laugh and spit on the idea of putting down <i>fitted</i> carpets.<br /><br />And the idea of skimming and varnishing the bare floor boards, as the trendier Brit is liable to do, looks to yer continental european eye like someone forgot to order the <i>real</i> flooring. "Poor lambs, can't even afford lino. Maybe next year, eh..."<br /><br />Tis trooooo.<br /><br />Yer typical visitor to British shores find the flooring situation perplexing to the extreme. In fact the flooring situation, to foreign eyes, is trumped only by the ugly wall-mounted hot water radiators positioned <i>just so</i> underneath every window in the house; windows so ill-fitting that the radiator is doing a better job of heat up the exterior of the house than the interior.<br /><br />One digresses, as one is wont to do.<br /><br />Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit for comic effect, but each and every one of yer knows there's a kernel of truth to the above, eh?<br /><br />Now yer bog standard Huf Haus comes with the following: bathrooms, front door entrance area, and kitchen come with 'standard' ceramic floor tiles in a dozen different colours; the rest of the floors come with fitted carpets in a myriad of exciting hues. A British homemaker's dream come true then...<br /><br />Hang on!<br /><br />We're building a Huf Haus here, not a two and a half bedroom Barratt house. The rest of this post is not meant to be some sort of style guide, although one hopes the first few paragraphs might give one or two Brits something to think about, but one hopes the cultural background to the choices Claudia and I have made will be a little clearer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WXV7pfck6RBitr8Oe4H_wP2lTqP64sxkexLwy4DBab-poPK8L_oHUx6-bj9dgdHD-zcOgXcc0ps7rXHNUvunqwPWmIrz7SIch9luBSAROqfo7gnRPJp2wzKZ5wg3exArN16L1g/s1600-h/125-2595_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WXV7pfck6RBitr8Oe4H_wP2lTqP64sxkexLwy4DBab-poPK8L_oHUx6-bj9dgdHD-zcOgXcc0ps7rXHNUvunqwPWmIrz7SIch9luBSAROqfo7gnRPJp2wzKZ5wg3exArN16L1g/s400/125-2595_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030287207211164706" /></a><br /><br />First things first: the tiling. On our very first visit to Kindhausen (where the main Swiss Huf Haus show home's located) we fell in love with the Huf bathroom concept. That particular bathroom had lightish grey, washed effect tiles, so why would we want anything different? Well, we didn't as the photo above shows. We discussed a variety of options during our trip to Hartenfels, including bigger oblong-shaped tiles, and tiles with fancier surfaces, real stone tiles, etc etc. But in the end we realised that we'd be perfectly happy with the standard ceramic tile in the light grey, 'cos it was already a beautiful thing.<br /><br />One thing to keep an eye on is the grouting colour. Golly, the details yer get dragged into, eh? Yer Huf Haus grout comes in three colours: white, black and grey. We went for grey, but believe me the overall effect of the tiles is surprisingly sensitive to the colour of the grouting, so choose carefully - Wake up at the back! This is important!<br /><br />Well, that sorted out the bathroom flooring situation; and it didn't cost us one penny extra.<br /><br />What we didn't need or want, however, were tiled floors in our entrance and kitchen areas. So, went for the delete option and received a 'credit' for them. Needless to say, we also didn't want carpets throughout, so we deleted them and banked the credit to spend on... what we really wanted.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9-7P2E-2RuA/RdgFVzgDZEI/AAAAAAAAAHI/XCSaPAsAuo4/s1600-h/126-2627_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9-7P2E-2RuA/RdgFVzgDZEI/AAAAAAAAAHI/XCSaPAsAuo4/s400/126-2627_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032778455746569282" /></a><br />Geographically, Switzerland is somewhere between southern and northern europe. A relevant point, when one is to consider whether we were to 'go parquet' or to floor tile the bloody lot of it to keep cool in the summer. Believe me the majority of this country is somewhat Germanic, and the houses have steep roofs for the snow. The western strip has a fair number of francophones (non-dialect, this being the french language after all), and the southern tip speaks italian and smoke vast quantities of cigarettes. There's a language called romatsch, a sort of degenerate latin (aren't they all, heh heh heh) that's spoken by a minority living somewhere in the alpine wilderness.<br /><br />So, it doesn't take much imagination to realise that <i>Frau</i> Capucho was gonna want wooden parquet floors throughout, does it?<br /><br />Now there's more to yer parquet flooring than meets the eye. Literally. What it ain't is a solid lump of whatever wood takes yer fancy. What it is is 3mm to 5mm of solid wood surface bonded to a 7mm to 5mm base of cheaper wood (Perhaps the unused inventory from a bankrupt match factory - looks like it). Anyways, yer parquet piece is about 1cm thick in total, and, depending on poshness, taste and, especially, cost, comes in two sizes: big pieces and small pieces. Dunno the exact measurements, but then you do need at least <i>some</i> scope for your <i>own</i> research.<br /><br />Bigger pieces need a larger continuous surface of unblemished wood, which is why they cost more. But plenty of people prefer the look of the bigger pieces regardless. Tastes vary. The 5mm thick 'veneer' needs more posh wood material, so costs more... but leaves you the possibility to skim the wood once or twice over the years, as wear and tear, stiletto shoes and pogo sticks take their toll.<br /><br />We went for the 5mm thick option, and (as luck would have it) preferred the look of the smaller pieces. Yer win some and yer lose some.<br /><br />Question: would Sir and Madam prefer the more sophisticated finish of <i>oiled</i> parquet, or is your preference to slum it with the slightly cheaper, <i>sealed</i> finish that hardly deserves the removal of hob-nailed boots.<br /><br />The right answer for us? Sealed parquet loses some of the lusture of the grain when compared to oiled, there's no doubt. But consider this: the sealed parquet is far more likely to survive the odd trampling of, well maybe not <i>hob</i>-nailed boots, but kid's dirty wellies. So we went for sealed, and ignored all elitist advice to the contrary. And saved a few quid to boot. Pun intended.<br /><br />The next thing to consider is the laying pattern: standard plank (overlapping, like brickwork); herringbone (ziggy-zag, like yer old school's assembly hall); dutch pattern (sort of squared, would suit an old folks home); and finally ship's plank (long planks with dark calking betwixt to keep the sea water out).<br /><br />Our house being somewhat above sea level, and not liking the other options, we went for the standard plank as the majority of you lot would.<br /><br />That's all very well, but what about the <i>type</i> of wood?<br /><br />Well, I'm sorry to say that almost everyone approaches the parquet question with a particular type of wood in mind. I know we did. And almost everyone's in for a rude awakening when they find that their preference is a disasterous idea due to any combination of the points below:<br /><br />1. Parquet floors must above all be durable.<br /><br />There's a hardness measure known as the Brinell Scale which is about as misleading as any scale I've ever come across. Cherry is rated at 30, while something like maple comes in at 35. So cherry must be about 85% as durable as maple, right? Pah! A cherry parquet floor will soon look like an ice-rink after a particularly busy weekend, while yer maple will stay fresh for years.<br /><br />Red cherry was our first choice, by the way.<br /><br />2. Some woods can be a bit... funny.<br /><br />I've always loved the look and grain of beech, for example. But did you know that beech is notorious (in yer sophisticated parquet circles, yer understand) for bleaching when exposed to sunlight (think photo negative of a rug, for example) and, even worse, when exposed to heat. Not the sort of material to choose to put on top of underfloor heating elements, eh?<br /><br />Beech is attractive, hard wearing <i>and</i> cheap cheap cheap, by the way. Buggah.<br /><br />3. Almost all the nicer, durable parquets are expensive.<br /><br />Ain't that the truth. It doesn't matter whether your thing is for light, reddish or darker woods, the end result is that almost anything suitable for you will turn out to be towards the upper end of the cost range.<br /><br />What did we go for? We found an analogue for our first choice, American Red Cherry, in a tropical wood called Doussie. I hadn't heard of it either, but then I work in a bank. It's reddish, darkish (but not too dark!), durable (41 on the Brinell Scale!), and while expensive, it wasn't <i>expensive</i>.<br /><br />The credits we got from those nice Huf Haus people in return for unwanted tiles and carpets went about half way paying for the Doussie parquet flooring throughout, including bedrooms, but I had to put my hand in the pocket for the rest. About 6,000 quid for the upgrade, and that's for one of the biggest 3-axis houses with, say, 180 square metres of parquet. A 4-axis or 5-axis house would be considerably more.<br /><br />And then the sting in the tail: yer standard Huf Haus staircase comes in weapon's grade, specially treated <i>beech</i> wood. And each step's a solid block. Now yer know I like beech, but one thing beech ain't is... doussie. Therefore, we had to upgrade the stairs to match the parquet, which came to... another 6,000 quid. Ok, so we doubled up 'cos we have two staircases: one up to the bedrooms; and t'other down to the Keller.<br /><br />So, 12 thousand quid in total for the doussie parquet upgrade throughout.<br /><br />Yep, life's an expensive bitch.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N0kDL_oeSIuSa9otJr1a2sEEiBQqsAiMlOacW91WBF7Q6pjqUqGjDy3-IUgdW9jyHTtuzmP1bbploHLFoyhApPGHS4Ta9oh79IsHJQULIVlpq3SCXyvWjurE_q6vfh6BAPVfiQ/s1600-h/126-2628_IMG_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N0kDL_oeSIuSa9otJr1a2sEEiBQqsAiMlOacW91WBF7Q6pjqUqGjDy3-IUgdW9jyHTtuzmP1bbploHLFoyhApPGHS4Ta9oh79IsHJQULIVlpq3SCXyvWjurE_q6vfh6BAPVfiQ/s400/126-2628_IMG_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033565323159897954" /></a><br />Still, it'll be nice when it's done.<br /><br />Last Friday's visit was specifically to see our new parquet. When we arrived the upstairs had been completed, apart from a few trimmings, and the two Huf Haus people were just beginning the downstairs. They should finish the lot, trimmings and all, this week.<br /><br />And...?<br /><br />Well, Claudia and I were simply bowled over with the doussie parquet. It's everything that we'd ever wanted (in the end, 'cos we twisted and turned a few times). As we'd continually reminded ourselves during the process, yer Huf Haus has so much natural daylight coming at yer, that you're not restricted by anything but your personal tastes and depth of pocket when it comes to the colour.<br /><br />We got what we wanted; and more.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36830780.post-20569147368396634932007-02-11T14:48:00.000+01:002007-02-11T15:39:42.519+01:00Bathroom tiling and more landscapingAnother week closer to the handover, and another week's worth of progress.<br /><br />On arrival, we couldn't help but see yet another fundamental leap forward in the landscaping. It had snowed last Monday, so we'd really hoped for little or no progress. But, in keeping with the weird winter we've had, the snow had pretty much melted away by Wednesday, so the landscapers had clearly resumed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint7X76HnEoiLnnHyFkzLgmeemCf7ihkYVDmjlwi98gBjDEYBIsySYSqGvCtXRoJWXxS6n2Nas0_1Rhbs2t8wGYj_yWKO0APd5P0x1FLd53Gb9JDSsJaP_F6yJxwR8WsqZkIWDCQ/s1600-h/126-2606_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint7X76HnEoiLnnHyFkzLgmeemCf7ihkYVDmjlwi98gBjDEYBIsySYSqGvCtXRoJWXxS6n2Nas0_1Rhbs2t8wGYj_yWKO0APd5P0x1FLd53Gb9JDSsJaP_F6yJxwR8WsqZkIWDCQ/s400/126-2606_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030283921561183234" /></a><br />The parking area has (finally) been correctly levelled, shored up both uphill and downhill, and there'd even been a little progress on the paving stones. About a third of 'em are down, and the rest are on pallets sat on (ahem) our neighbour's land. If the weather holds (a big if) then we can expect the rest to be down by the end of next week, and maybe even the various trimmings done, such as edging stones and whatnot.<br /><br />As usual, I mentally turned my car into the driveway, and found plenty of (mental) space for the swing in. Reassuring Claudia will remain a chronic task, one thinks, perhaps ending a few weeks after we've moved in. I've seen (and driven into) plenty of tighter driveways over the years, so I reckon after a few hiccups we'll be feeling our way in and out with nary a thought.<br /><br />Inside the house, we raced to the downstairs bathroom, right next to the front door, to see the results of the tiling...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2-b6t31JApCYGteWhhRy5DmtlpAmaZTDd2-sEYDVyDcsyF9od6jPRz0cVFGB5-O-0cOV0hy3nMIMhVCl6XvJcNkTWY7hT9_HxgENi-r41-LPu-c7pKEYBZesQs7-rFfgIMCKHg/s1600-h/125-2593_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2-b6t31JApCYGteWhhRy5DmtlpAmaZTDd2-sEYDVyDcsyF9od6jPRz0cVFGB5-O-0cOV0hy3nMIMhVCl6XvJcNkTWY7hT9_HxgENi-r41-LPu-c7pKEYBZesQs7-rFfgIMCKHg/s400/125-2593_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030285588008494098" /></a><br />...and we were very very happy indeed. The light grey tiles had been a significant point of discussion during out Hartenfels trip (only nine months ago, wow!) so the overall effect was, well, both reassuring and simply great. The shower base had been installed, and short of the loo and shower cabinet, the general outlines of the downstairs bathroom are now there. If yer squint yer eyes, that is. Hmm, might be better to close them entirely.<br /><br />But it was the upstairs bathroom that blew us away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WXV7pfck6RBitr8Oe4H_wP2lTqP64sxkexLwy4DBab-poPK8L_oHUx6-bj9dgdHD-zcOgXcc0ps7rXHNUvunqwPWmIrz7SIch9luBSAROqfo7gnRPJp2wzKZ5wg3exArN16L1g/s1600-h/125-2595_IMG_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WXV7pfck6RBitr8Oe4H_wP2lTqP64sxkexLwy4DBab-poPK8L_oHUx6-bj9dgdHD-zcOgXcc0ps7rXHNUvunqwPWmIrz7SIch9luBSAROqfo7gnRPJp2wzKZ5wg3exArN16L1g/s400/125-2595_IMG_2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030287207211164706" /></a><br />Bath pedestal, shower base, boxy thing where the sink's will go, all present and correct. Again, the loo and shower cabinet were absent, but the overall shape and spaciousness of the bathroom was quite simply great. When you're in the middle of a building project, surrounded with mud, concrete dust, wires coming out of the walls, and Lord Knows what else, it's easy to forget the reason for all this: we're here to build a beautiful house, with beautiful bathrooms, and a beautiful (meaning bloody expensive) kitchen. The progress in the bathroom was a welcome taste of, erm, taste to come.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_3Gw7ssbh2d_kC-IRXFN6NiB4N3yONLK88JuhOPcNwYCd3_bRfxqSZcvCFRut2A80QEK-rbEZyr3UYYKMzBfWxLJNtGrZYi3ZybkT-IX6HxOV-GyYRs-rdgJs8WReioXp-RBmg/s1600-h/126-2622_IMG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_3Gw7ssbh2d_kC-IRXFN6NiB4N3yONLK88JuhOPcNwYCd3_bRfxqSZcvCFRut2A80QEK-rbEZyr3UYYKMzBfWxLJNtGrZYi3ZybkT-IX6HxOV-GyYRs-rdgJs8WReioXp-RBmg/s400/126-2622_IMG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030288624550372402" /></a><br />Lastly, as we left, we spotted the The Mystery Box mounted on the exterior wall of the kitchen. Does anyone out there have any ideas as to its purpose? We're at a complete loss...<br /><br />Next week, the parquet flooring work begins according to the schedule. It'll need two weeks of nailing down, which makes me wonder. Is that one week preparation followed by a week of yer actual fact bonding of wood to floor? Or will we be seeing some parquet during next weekend's progress trip?<br /><br />Stay tuned, folks!<div class="blogger-post-footer">The ups and downs of building a Huf Haus on the side of a mountain in Switzerland. At least a post per week, plus plenty of imagery.</div>Ric Capuchohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02793229852370115082noreply@blogger.com6