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German House Rebuild

1M views 3K replies 160 participants last post by  BigJim 
#1 · (Edited)
I have began taking down the chimineys. One is very old and has come down pretty easy, no cement in the mortar. It was packed full of soot and crud that was at least 2ft deep inside. It collected water like a sponge and transfered it to the inside walls. The 2nd is much newer with cement in the mortar, much harder to get down. I think the big jack hammer from above is the way to finish it off. Here are a couple of pics of the easy, old chiminey. When I start over it will be just a shell. My friends think I'm crazy!
 

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#2,265 ·
I've taken note of how many hits this thread is getting. Wow. Are you all real people or is there a bot on this? In 10 hours I've had 1243 hits. Hit the like button if your signed in so I know who you are. :thumbsup:. Stay tuned, much more to come. dorf dude...
 
#1,919 ·
We went out after work last night. We met up with one of the Polish instructors at the Hard Rock Cafe. We ended up in a couple different bars. One was called Propaganda. It was Soviet themed. The date on the cartoons is 1951. Here are a few pics.
 

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#2,701 ·
Sorry for the delay posting. The stove tech came and reprogrammed the oven. It will now cool down more before restarting. I went skiing this weekend in Austria. It's been 20 years and I'm sore! I didn't crash though. It's starting to feel more like Spring here. We will see what projects get going this year. Thanks for following...
 

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#2,717 · (Edited)
Thank you all for following over the last years. Mia is having hip problems as mentioned. You know if you work very hard on a project then you get "Burn Out" I have that. I'm darn near a million hits and that is crazy! Only minor projects now. Thanks!! Dorf Dude
 
#1,622 ·
Ok, I was in my yard enjoying my new privacy, fire and a beer and I heard a noise and saw Kilroy. Top of a head, eye's and a nose over the top of my new fence. :eek: It was the neighbor's brothers wife. First thing was "Why did you build the fence?" This is just too funny. I have 2 more boards left and they will go up in a couple days. No more free peeks into my life, "I hope".
 

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#2,683 ·
I'm coming back to the States next week. Missoula MT on the 3rd of Sep. Going to learn Straw Bale house building. I've gotten some landscaping done out front. The grass up in the back is setting in great! I'm now at war with a mole. He really likes the new dirt I've laid down. This is Caddy Shack 2. I've tried many things and it has escalated. Here are a couple pic's. dorf dude...
 

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#2,688 ·
Old German houses have names. I decided to keep my house name alive. I used a few hundred sheet rock screws. Came out ok. We've had a beautiful Fall this year. A couple random pic's.
 

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#2,706 ·
I'm back at it again. The paint on the house has not stood up very well to the UV. The new paint is supposed to hold up better. I purchased a scaffold so I wouldn't have to rent or borrow anymore. My front little garden area is coming in nicely. Mia like's it too. We had a Steam Locomotive come through awhile ago. Really cool. I've also taken up the E-Bike. I can highly recommend it. You get a great work out and the hills are gone. Here are a few pic's, dorf dude...
 

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#1,305 ·
Pellet stove is online:thumbup::thumbup:. The heating dude was amazed about this stove. It contains the heat in the hot water exchange for the most part. I ran it the whole night and it used 1 bag of pellets. Not bad considering it was warming 1000 liters of room temp water. I had 1 very small drip from a conector. Heat dude will fix it today. 2 more days to finish up the apartment and I will be back working on the house:yes:. Here is a great pic. dorf dude
 

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#1,334 ·
I took me a while but I finally finished reading the whole thread (no skipping ahead either)!

Rather than carrying on and on about how blown away I am by your confidence in taking on this project in the first place, how fantastic your window masonry is, how much I love, love, love your use of the old timbers and rough planks, I'll just summarise: WOW!!!

You’ve also done a fantastic job writing and illustrating this thread. I especially loved the little details about the local people and goings on you add about your neighbours, the Stadtfest, the whatchamacallit tree for blessing new buildings, etc. (I’m glad you bowed to the demands of other readers and threw in a few details about yourself too - makes the story that much more engaging. :thumbsup: )

Between this and Keith’s Gulf Island thread, you two have the DIY virtual tourism market all wrapped up!

Tschau,
Julia
 
#2,436 ·
I finally got the last wall in the bathroom pretty much finished. The solar hot water guy stopped by and will install in the next week or so. I had to have a place for him to mount the hardware. With the PV solar panels I've saved 34 Euros so far :thumbup:. Here's a pic. dorf dude...
 

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#1,283 ·
Thank you. Move day is this Sat the 23rd. I have a shower, toilet and sink in the bathroom. Stove is 1 day away. The house is holding 17C with outside temps hitting -2C, snow in the forcast. The pellet stove is not online yet. I'm still heating the neighbors house too which is my 4th wall but that is high on my priority list to get insulated. Move first then tighten up all the details. I won't have to drive back to an apartment anymore:thumbup:. I will be living in chaos for awhile but I will make the best of it until I can get settled. Time for a new start. dorf dude...
 
#1,970 ·
11 more days and I'm back home. Might even have a new job that will keep me off the road:thumbup:. I don't even know what my first project will be when I get back. Anything outside is probably out of the question. Winter is setting in in Germany. I can't wait to start putting up project pic's again, dorf dude...
 
#2,437 · (Edited)
The Solar hot water guy is supposed to get my panels hooked up this week. I put up the wall paper on the section where he will be mounting the hardware. I suck at wall paper. :no: Yes I cut 1 section too short. There is a learning curve. Today's weather was total cr@p, Mia won't even go outside, so I worked on the lights above the bar. They are beer bottles with the bottoms cut off. Older LED's for the bulbs, low power. Not super bright. To change the bulb all I have to do is unscrew 2 connections and drop the bulb out the bottom. Worked out great. Last week I put up an add for "Free Firewood" to try and get rid of the old beams I cut out of the roof. I would not get around to burning them for years. A guy showed up right on time and got 2 loads out with 1 more to go. Good to have them gone. Here are a couple pic's. dorf dude...
 

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#2,465 ·
It's been way to hot in the evenings to do any work this week. I got up early on Sat and Sun and laid a few more stones. Getting there. I went for a motorcycle ride with Matt yesterday. We ran into a guy at the wind turbine with a 1938 Zundap. Starts on the first kick. Here are a couple pic's. dorf dude...
 

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#2,514 ·
Now I'm ready for snow. My buddy Greg came over and gave me a hand putting up a temp carport. I hope the tarp will make it 1 more season. I broke out the duck tape on a couple areas. :wink: I will look for some type of solar powered light with a motion detector. I had one 2 years ago but poor design left it water damaged. Here's a pic of today's progress. dorf dude...
 

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#2,579 · (Edited)
Time for an update. I made a big push on the Mud Room. Took a couple days vacation. First step, frame and level the old wall. 2nd, break up and set a new threshold on the door. I spiked it into the sandstone door frame, not going to move. 3rd, pour a self leveling floor. This should bring you up to speed.. dorf dude...
 

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