DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

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!
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#39 · (Edited)
Big Progress

Today I had some help from the "Dorf Dudes" That is the name we have chosen for working on this house. The main beam is in. It was 2 pieces because of the length. We put an overlapping cut and Gorilla glued and lag bolted it together. It is also lag bolted to top of the wall. Now all the rest of my 2nd floor beams can be set referenced to it for level. All I have to do is either shim or trim until they are at the same height. I also passed with my trench for the electric company! That was a major concern because I was not exactly deep enough because of the hole in the foundation. He was smart to realize I had no other option. I will have my electric box in my bedroom and not in the hallway. He could not understand it. I asked him if it was forbidin and it is not, but nobody puts their electric panel in the bedroom. I just don't want to see it everytime I come in the house. They are ugly. I now can back fill my trench and get started on my drain for the kitchen. Here are a few pics from today, I hope you enjoy. The Fire Dept was training some young volunteers in one of the pics. Also is the recycling containers across the street. SHU, Dorf Dude.
 

Attachments

#40 ·
Big Progress today

Today I got some of the floors filled with gravel, power pipe buried and cemented in, kitchen drain pipe set in the wall, started putting up the entry/bathroom wall. My first attempt at brick work. It is a learning process but I'm picking it up. I poured cement on top of my bedroom wall the other day and it rained soon after. It left a gravel surface but is still looking strong, I put rebar in also. Another big beam will rest on top of it like the other wall. I hope to have it up this week. Then it will be getting to ceiling beams set and leveled. I will need help for that. I'm still waiting for my building permit to raise the side walls. Enjoy the pics, Dorf Dude, SHU
 

Attachments

#41 ·
well done

I bet it feels real good to get the gravel floor in and smoothed out. I would guess that you are starting to get excited that the whole project really will come together. I can see it's going to turn out lovely. :thumbsup:

Where are the stairs going to go? Will they be a straight rise? It doesn't look like you have a lot of room to create a more gentle angle.

When you are finished what will be left of the original house? It looks like parts of the original foundations, the shell of walls, some of the original beams that are still good in good condition, maybe the old door anything else? That should be enough to help keep the old character of the place. I'm glad you're adjusting some of the inside walls to open the house up a bit. Some of the old houses with small rooms, and small doors can feel so closed in.

MrsBear246
 
#42 ·
Way to go Scott

Momb here, Scott:

Way to go on all that remodeling :sweatdrop:. Thanks for finding this neat way to show the progress on your venture/adventure. What does the neighbor think with you making such dust and commotion when the houses are attached? Is he not fearful you'll come through to his side? When you said you were right by the road boy did you mean right by the road. I looked at the map and google earth. It is a wonder the vehicles aren't spraying gravel and dust onto/into your house. I'll have to figure a way to save the pics as I have with the others. MrsBear246 forwarded this to me. I am a Taurus also. No wonder I liked you the first time I met you. DadB is looking over my shoulder at all the pics. Whew!! is all we can say. Being a chip off the ole block I know you can complete the remodel. No wonder you haven't called lately. The satisfaction of a job incredibly done will be worth it all. You show 'em son. :thumbup: I'll keep checking back.... and you keep in touch ya' hear.

F.R.O.G.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Hi SHU great thread man I've been Lurking for a few weeks now and signed on to get a look at your pic's.
I'm really impressed man and more power to you.I live about 300 miles to the west of you on the border to Luxembourg.I'm a time served Carpenter originally from the UK.As you say it's a different way of building.I've worked on quite a few projects similar to yours and I wouldn't let the nay sayer's get you down usually they don't know a lot about building anyway.
I've got a 1000 and 1 questions for you and may be a few tips that might save you a bit of work down the line but that's up to you.
On pulling permits (Bau genehmigung) I've found that no one country has a monopoly on bureaucracy and it will probably take the time they are talking about.I know thats a real bummer but keep the faith.
Use the time to get as much done that is allowed and check on you supliers that alone can save you $$$ down the line.
All the best and good luck with the project and permits Billy.
 
#44 ·
Thanks

Thanks for the responses. I will have about 2 1/2 ft to stretch out the stairs. That will help quite abit. They will go to just before the bedroom door. Billyd you can personel message me with your questions to keep this thread on track. I'm always open for new ideas and ways to save$$. What will be left of the original house is just the outside walls, front door, just because it has that old charm about it and 2 inside walls. Today I got a notice that I have registered letter to sign for at the Post Office. I asked my ex if she started anything and she didn't, so with fingers crossed it might be my building permit!:thumbup: I have gotten the main water line into the house moved to the bathroom, the kitchen and chiminey drains joined and almost finished. They are sitting in a bed of sand. My freind and I got the 2 halfs of the 2nd main beam up onto the 2nd floor, 1 is temp set in place to check the height. Using a water hose level from the first beam the 2nd is 7.5cm, 3 inches low. I will rip a board 7.5cm for a form wall and pour more concrete with re-bar tomorrow. This time I will cover it in case of rain. As it worked out the first pour now has a great surface to join with the second. As always from the Dorf Dude, I hope you enjoy and stay tuned.
 

Attachments

#45 · (Edited)
Wall leveled

Today I got the top of the wall poured level with the other one, I hope! It will be really close. I received my building permit today:thumbup:. I now can start putting up the walls. I first must finish the beams, then I can begin that. Here are a couple pic's. My helper is Steve, he is one of the Dorf Dude's. Now he is famous! We had to bring the concrete in buckets up the ladder and hand pour. There is also a pic of the overlaping joint of the beam, hand cut for accuracy. Unexpectidly this evening the roof beam guy showed up to take a look around, right on time. Unfortunately I have put my chiminey 4 inches accross the center line. I measured from a different point. Very crooked house. He was telling me I have to tear it out and re-set it. I said no way, shift the roof a little bit, the house is so out of square anyway. He was upset that it would not be perfect. It's my money, make it slightly shifted to one side, everything else is so out of wack who cares. His pride will fall before I rip out all my work for 4 inches off center for the main header beam. I can live with it, nobody else has to. Next is set the big beam on the wall after a few days drying time for the concrete. Then trim and set the remainder 2nd floor beams in level. I will post pics as things go along, Thanks for following along, Should have 1600 hits in the next day or so. I didn't think this would take off like this. From the Dorf of Seugast!
 

Attachments

#47 ·
Beams

We have made progress on the 2nd floor beams. Summer weather has left us and a very cold fall has set in very quickly. My daylight is gone much sooner also. 10 pallets of wall bricks are ordered for Monday, this is just for the back half of the wall. I must have the 2nd floor ready to handle the weight of 5600 kilo's by then. I do not want to lug the bricks up a ladder. I must thank my friends for their help over the last few days, Rudi, Steve and Mick. Now they have their spotlight! Here are a couple of pic's of the beams pretty much in place. The full length ones weigh a ton, very difficult to shift around. I plan on making a sort of crane for getting the mortor up to set the walls. Very busy times ahead. I have a friend flying over to help the entire month of Oct. so I hope to post great progress pics if the weather cooperates.
 

Attachments

#48 ·
Scott -

It looks good!! Your last photos came across the pond a little dark, but I enhanced them. - I understand what you mean about the loss of light. I am south of you (Minnesota) and can see the winter darkness coming here. - About 77 F (25 C) here today but below 0 C at night in a few weeks.

What will you be putting down over the the beams? You will certainly have a stout construction when you are done. I lived in that kind of construction and it has a very unusual feeling - you never hear the storm coming, do not know about it while it is there until you wake up later and look outside.

It would be interesting see some shots of them laying the clay block. Do they use the traditional eastern European trowel (short and wide) or do they use the type (longer and narrow) that Americans use for hollow block and brick veneer. Will the mortar be blended and in bags, masonry cement or will you proportion cement and lime on site?

Looks like your are well on your way to another 200 years (or is it 300 on the foundation?).

Keep the photos coming.

The other SCHU - Dick
 
#49 · (Edited)
The trowel is a short wide one. When you refer to "they" on laying the bricks I'm guessing that you mean a firm. I'm not getting one, just me and whoever will help me. The mix of mortar is on site with shovel and trailer hauled sand in a cement mixer. There is a sand pit about 7 miles away, 5 Euros a ton. Correction, 10 Euros a ton. It is bagged mortar cement "Binder". I've been told a mix of 4-6 shovels sand to 1 of Binder with a touch of Portland cement thrown in for good measure. I will post more pic's with better light. Dorf Dude
 
#50 · (Edited)
New Perspective

I got on top of my garage and took a couple of pics. This gives a better layout of things. My camera has no wide angle at all, one heck of a zoom though. Not much use in the real world. I will pick up some cross beams tomorrow to lay on top of the floor beams for when the 10 pallets of bricks show up on Monday. They will be used in the future for an awning off the garage. The neighbor came by for an inspection and wanted to know if the header beams on the long walls were level, the ones that the floor beams rest on. I said heck no! They don't have to be. He gave me a very funny look. Then I explained that the top of the floor beams only need to be level with the 2 big beams at each end. It doesn't matter how level the wall beams are. I only must shim or trim to get them even. Tonight I did the trim, so only shim is left. Alot of it too. I will have an easy weekend. Got to take a break sometimes. From the Dorf of Seugast....
 

Attachments

#51 ·
5600 Kilo's Bricks

The 10 pallets of bricks are here and up on the 2nd floor. This is only half of what I will need. I have been building a small crane to lift the mortar up with. Should be done in the next couple of days. The bricks are 30cm, 12inch wide. No mortar goes in between, only on the top of each row. Just about ready to start!
 

Attachments

#52 ·
Wall Started

I have finished the crane and with help we got it erected. I made one design error but it is holding up. We have started the first row of the wall. There is a steep learning curve laying these bricks. In the beginning I had 2 of my neighbors giving me tips, they are masons. Then they left me and my friend on our own. It's not perfect and it took some time but it is a big step forward. I'm exhausted! From the Dorf........
 

Attachments

#53 ·
Scott, momb here. The pics came across great. Wow are you ever making fantastic progress!! :sweatdrop: How is your daylight holding out? We have some halogen construction night lights. Could you use them? Have you considered the spiral staircase I gave you the link for? Keep up the great work. F.R.O.G.
 
#54 ·
Scott, been following yhour progress...keep it coming. Doing a total rebuild of my place too, but nothing compared to what you are going for...besides me, I'm sure you are motivating many others!

Just met my daughters' boyfriend's father, who grew up in Germany. He sez if you get ANYBODY (other than relatives) to assist in the project, you get slapped with a fine because you are utilizing unlicensed help...basically a racket to keep the trades people employed...is that true? Sounds like the career beuracracy there is way over the top.

Rock on, dude. Show 'em what independence, hard work and determination can do. Following your progress makes me proud to be an American.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Wall going up

I have been working alone the last 3 days. Progress slow but sure. Thanks for the feedback! I had to cast concrete on the corner. This gave me a solid base to set bricks on. I've used 4 pallets of bricks so far. Building up and filling in the peaked wall will be a bit of a challenge. I'll figure it out one way or another. In the first pics you can see the string wrapped around a brick. This is pulled tight and then all the bricks are set to this level. Just got to make sure it is always tight! Lesson learned there. Tends to cause your wall to droop. Rain has set in, looks like for the next few days. The moisture might actually help the motar set up better. It is time to decide where I want windows. I'm leaning towards only one on the backside. I can put roof windows in any time in the future. My neighbor expressed concern that I don't put one overlooking his yard. They are funny about that here. I must get permission to put an overviewing window in. Here are a few pic's to keep you up to date. Greetings from the Dorf Dude:rockon:
 

Attachments

#56 ·
Walls going up and up and up

Scott:

Wow, that sure looks like a lot of brick. :eek: As a woman, you might need more windows than what a man might think. Are you going to be covering your neighbors windows up near the peak? Sure wish I could send you some of our sunshine. We've got lots and you are doing such a great job. :thumbup:

momb
F.R.O.G.
 
#57 ·
momb -

They just use as many brick as necessaryy. Wood is really not a preferred building material everywhere, especially since he wants to get a few hundred years out of it like the original home.

Dorf Dude -

In the last photo posted, is that an illusion or does the left end of you wall abut the neighboring house at the front corner of the neighboring house? - Your lower front wall seems to be set back from the neighboring house. Maybe I just can't see visualize that end.

Dick Schu
 
#58 · (Edited)
I am a little set back from the neighbors wall. My wall and his do not line up. I have used a foam sleeping pad as a buffer on the neighbors wall. My actual peak height will not change, just the angle of the roof will be much less. The neighbors window will not get covered, forbiden. My work is not perfect but it will stand the test of time. At least my time. Thanks for the feedback. SHU
 
#60 ·
funku -

The insulation cannot be compared to the simplistic numbers provided by the pink panther which come from ideal lab condtions on a small insulation sample using steady state criteria over a short period of time. These also only apply to lightweight walls. - As an example, R-19 in a stud wall can actually be as low as R11 on paper if the studs are counted. This is the ideal, and the real life values are worse because of the lack of mass and heat storage. - The pink numbers are good for advertising in the U.S. but is not really applicable to the much of the developed world that does not build our way for many reasons.

It is possible to test the insulation of wall assemblies in a more reaslistic way (dynamic hot box subjected designed to simulate real conditions), but even that gives lower effective R-values (if that is how you measure) than the real performance for heavy walls.

There is also a way to get partial credit/effect on the insulating value of heavy walls in the standards, but that is limited and depends on the climate.

Reagarding the electrical insulation, there are many ways electrical is installed in ceramic block walls, depending on the interior composition and finish. In some countries, a "channel" is routed you with a masons hamer after the wall is built to set the wires in the walls. This is done with 3" (by a good mason) or by anyone in 4",6", 8", 10" and 12" walls. In many cases, the walls are plastered with conventional plaster or with insulating plaster in some areas. A soft wall, like drywall, is always an option.

I am sure the Dorf Dude will fill you in on his plans for electrical and wall finishes. He will also fill you in on his reasons for the wall materials and possibly why wood frame was not used and if it was allowed.

Dick Schu
 
#61 ·
He will also fill you in on his reasons for the wall materials and possibly why wood frame was not used and if it was allowed.
Wood framing is just what we use around here because it's the quick and cheap way to build. I have a friend from UK who thinks everything we build is a glorified shed :laughing:
 
#62 ·
Thanks Mr Schu for answering Funku's questions. I have not gotten much further. I now have a helper for the next month.:thumbsup: We put the water level against the wall, you need 2 people for this. I needed to do this earlier but was workng alone. Anyway we have a bit of a drop in the wall. Over the 12 meter length you could not see it. No big deal. That is why I started on the back wall, to figure out how do do things before we do the front. We will be in the "Prime Time" with the whole world watching as they walk and drive by. More pictures later. From the Dorf!
 
#63 · (Edited)
Corner set





Today we got the corner set. I rigged up a form and poured concrete. Looks pretty ******* but the ends will justify the means. We also got another 1/2 row of bricks set. Had to take it down once! Listen to this word of advice. Those little hang on the line levels will mess you up!!! They have mass and will pull your line down. I had my line stretched as tight as possible and it still drooped with the weight of that little level. Here is a pic also of my helper, Syd, at a Czek brewery with a restaurant in a cave. Best food and beer around! You can Google Chodovar and find it. Here are a couple of pics.
 

Attachments

#64 ·
Here is what we got done today. The wall is 2 rows higher. We got the corner built up and another concrete pour done. The neighbors are keeping their eyes on things. I included an original picture of before I started just for compairison. Things are moving ahead! From the Dorf of Seugast, the Dorf Dude.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top