Thursday, October 20, 2011
Building home: Solving problems one biscuit at a time...
Building home: Solving problems one biscuit at a time...: The house looks like wet'n'wild and we're supposed to be moving in on Saturday... there are 3 cleaners scrubbing the windows while all aroun...
Solving problems one biscuit at a time...
The house looks like wet'n'wild and we're supposed to be moving in on Saturday... there are 3 cleaners scrubbing the windows while all around them carpenters drill, painters paint, electricians fiddle... it's almost funny. Almost.
For the first day in ages it was raining... not a great day for the 'aménagements extérieurs' to start or for an army of workers to be treading over the freshly laid carpet.
Finger pointing started promptly this morning with the carpet layer extending the famous finger at a stain on the freshly laid carpet. The first unfortunate person to enter his field of vision was the electrician (the one who only speaks polish and german) and a very noisy and a rather unfair accusation ensued.
After a few minutes of 'yes you did', 'no i nie'... 'yes you did', 'nein, es war mir nicht' the frustrated electrician kicked off his muddy rubber soled shoes in defiance and said in a mix of all the languages he knew that he would just work bare foot and proceeded to angrily poke around the electrical sockets with his metal screw driver. It seemed clear that on this day there would be a death - either a blow to the head delivered by a plinth or by spectacular electrocution.
I grunted at my shoes (so as not to be seen to be taking sides) in response to the whining and decided there was only one thing to do. I jumped in the car and went and bought a kettle, coffee and biscuits.
I thought this might re-create an Nespresso moment (as seen on tv). Failing that at least I could count on a sugar and caffeine high accelerating their mutuel annihilation...
For the first day in ages it was raining... not a great day for the 'aménagements extérieurs' to start or for an army of workers to be treading over the freshly laid carpet.
Finger pointing started promptly this morning with the carpet layer extending the famous finger at a stain on the freshly laid carpet. The first unfortunate person to enter his field of vision was the electrician (the one who only speaks polish and german) and a very noisy and a rather unfair accusation ensued.
After a few minutes of 'yes you did', 'no i nie'... 'yes you did', 'nein, es war mir nicht' the frustrated electrician kicked off his muddy rubber soled shoes in defiance and said in a mix of all the languages he knew that he would just work bare foot and proceeded to angrily poke around the electrical sockets with his metal screw driver. It seemed clear that on this day there would be a death - either a blow to the head delivered by a plinth or by spectacular electrocution.
I grunted at my shoes (so as not to be seen to be taking sides) in response to the whining and decided there was only one thing to do. I jumped in the car and went and bought a kettle, coffee and biscuits.
I thought this might re-create an Nespresso moment (as seen on tv). Failing that at least I could count on a sugar and caffeine high accelerating their mutuel annihilation...
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Building home: Adult (Predominantly Male) Crèche
Building home: Adult (Predominantly Male) Crèche: Before you get the wrong idea, let me immediately highlight the key word here - crèche. It seems that our house has turned into a 'pop up'...
Adult (Predominantly Male) Crèche
Before you get the wrong idea, let me immediately highlight the key word here - crèche.
It seems that our house has turned into a 'pop up' kindergarten in it's fleeting transition between 'building site' and 'home'.
As building lends a whole new meaning to the word 'mental' in the last few days leading up to the handing over of the keys... (3 to be exact) I'm starting to understand why workmen wear gloves!
It's to protect their most valued tool - their index finger!
The use of the index finger goes far beyond the teasing of freshly laid carpet, or the delicate removal of a smudge of paint or the tender smoothing of a hard edged wood flooring. Oh no... the index finger has a much more treasured role to the builder!
With the swift extension and tautening of the aforementioned digit, fault is seemlessly transfered from one builder onto another!
If builders lost their index fingers in an unfortunate accident, they would lose their ability to swiftly transfer blame onto someone else for work shoddily done and this would cost a company thousands in time spent correcting mistakes.
I wouldn't be surprised if construction companies employed workers primarily on the rapidity of their brain-finger reaction time when hiring them. Pay rises would be based on increased unfurled finger endurance.
So with a house full of painters, plasterers, carpenters, carpet layers, cupboard fitters, plumbers, tilers and electricians all crawling over each other (squeezing 365 days of work into 48 hours) it has turned into a bit of a dusty schoolyard and I happen to be the teacher doing the lunch break stint. Oh where is the project manager when you need him...
... actually on reflection maybe his not being here today is the smartest thing he's done in the last 2 years!
It seems that our house has turned into a 'pop up' kindergarten in it's fleeting transition between 'building site' and 'home'.
As building lends a whole new meaning to the word 'mental' in the last few days leading up to the handing over of the keys... (3 to be exact) I'm starting to understand why workmen wear gloves!
It's to protect their most valued tool - their index finger!
The use of the index finger goes far beyond the teasing of freshly laid carpet, or the delicate removal of a smudge of paint or the tender smoothing of a hard edged wood flooring. Oh no... the index finger has a much more treasured role to the builder!
With the swift extension and tautening of the aforementioned digit, fault is seemlessly transfered from one builder onto another!
If builders lost their index fingers in an unfortunate accident, they would lose their ability to swiftly transfer blame onto someone else for work shoddily done and this would cost a company thousands in time spent correcting mistakes.
I wouldn't be surprised if construction companies employed workers primarily on the rapidity of their brain-finger reaction time when hiring them. Pay rises would be based on increased unfurled finger endurance.
So with a house full of painters, plasterers, carpenters, carpet layers, cupboard fitters, plumbers, tilers and electricians all crawling over each other (squeezing 365 days of work into 48 hours) it has turned into a bit of a dusty schoolyard and I happen to be the teacher doing the lunch break stint. Oh where is the project manager when you need him...
... actually on reflection maybe his not being here today is the smartest thing he's done in the last 2 years!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
I'm back after a sense of humour failure...
I'm back after a sense of humour failure... I can't quite remember the details of what lead to the moment it happened... perhaps the small flood in the tv room that no one could account for, or the bath not being as close to the wall as I'd drawn up (getting irrationally emotional over details like these are normal I'm told when you spent 5 hours drawing a plan, measuring to scale and working out details as meticuslousy as if you were making an origami swan for a blind midget only to be told by a man who spends too much time sweeping his long locks across his face with the back of his hand that he won't even try to do as you asked - because he's a stubborn numbnuts*.)
Or perhaps it was the call from my wooden floor supplier to tell me that my wood had arrived in 2 batches and they didn't look anything alike... but maybe we could mix and match!
Thinking this sounded like a sub-optimal solution for us and a great solution for him - I decided to temporarily put him out by turning his showroom floor into my bedroom floor and sort out the planks by colour differentiation - just to see if we could work with it. After 2 hours of placing and replacing we concluded that we could not work with it. He said he would call me with a new lead time for the new order of wood to be delivered but he hasn't yet and he suddenly seems very occupied elsewhere...
Anyway - today the sun shone on me and the house - the workers were all friendly (probably because in 15 days they won't have me breathing down their necks anymore). That's right! The architect confirmed that we would do the 'etat des lieu' and the 'remise des clefs' on friday 21st and then the house will be ours, all ours! I don't think I thought the day would ever come - and though the place still looks like a tip it will be 'the tip we live in'!
* Just found out that aforementioned numbnuts has been fired! Maybe he's going to get a job in a hairdressing salon.
Or perhaps it was the call from my wooden floor supplier to tell me that my wood had arrived in 2 batches and they didn't look anything alike... but maybe we could mix and match!
Thinking this sounded like a sub-optimal solution for us and a great solution for him - I decided to temporarily put him out by turning his showroom floor into my bedroom floor and sort out the planks by colour differentiation - just to see if we could work with it. After 2 hours of placing and replacing we concluded that we could not work with it. He said he would call me with a new lead time for the new order of wood to be delivered but he hasn't yet and he suddenly seems very occupied elsewhere...
Anyway - today the sun shone on me and the house - the workers were all friendly (probably because in 15 days they won't have me breathing down their necks anymore). That's right! The architect confirmed that we would do the 'etat des lieu' and the 'remise des clefs' on friday 21st and then the house will be ours, all ours! I don't think I thought the day would ever come - and though the place still looks like a tip it will be 'the tip we live in'!
* Just found out that aforementioned numbnuts has been fired! Maybe he's going to get a job in a hairdressing salon.
Friday, September 2, 2011
I'm not sure how my house is still standing
I'm not sure how our house is still standing considering the number of holes there are in place for the sockets and plugs we anticipated needing! It looks like it's been machine gunned by a weapon loaded with plastic sockets!
I took the advice very much to heart about making sure you have enough plugs in your house - because 'you can always take them away but you can't always add them'!!! However, it seems we will be doing a lot of snipping and filling in the coming days. Hopefully the place won't fall down like a tower of cards when we pull out unnecessary wires!
On arriving at the house this morning, I was greeted by the electrician and his assistant. He proposed we go over the electricity plans rooms by room in either Polish or German. I guess not having spoken German for 20 years is better then not having spoken Polish for 33, so we went ahead in the latter. There was a lot of gesticulating and acting out, which really came into it's own when I tried to ask about the risk of being electrocuted by the socket in the shower...
Checking the height of your plugs is very important when building a house. Do you want your plugs just above the plinthes or half way up your wall (as is apparently the Swiss Way). Very practical - you can use it for ceiling hangings or for floor lamps... but not very aesthetic, especially if you have invested in a beautiful wall treament.
Finally if you do end up finding you were overzealous in the socket department (as I was), make sure to take picture of all the tubes and wires before filling in the holes - you never know when you may need a socket for that rotating discoball in the future!
I took the advice very much to heart about making sure you have enough plugs in your house - because 'you can always take them away but you can't always add them'!!! However, it seems we will be doing a lot of snipping and filling in the coming days. Hopefully the place won't fall down like a tower of cards when we pull out unnecessary wires!
On arriving at the house this morning, I was greeted by the electrician and his assistant. He proposed we go over the electricity plans rooms by room in either Polish or German. I guess not having spoken German for 20 years is better then not having spoken Polish for 33, so we went ahead in the latter. There was a lot of gesticulating and acting out, which really came into it's own when I tried to ask about the risk of being electrocuted by the socket in the shower...
Checking the height of your plugs is very important when building a house. Do you want your plugs just above the plinthes or half way up your wall (as is apparently the Swiss Way). Very practical - you can use it for ceiling hangings or for floor lamps... but not very aesthetic, especially if you have invested in a beautiful wall treament.
Finally if you do end up finding you were overzealous in the socket department (as I was), make sure to take picture of all the tubes and wires before filling in the holes - you never know when you may need a socket for that rotating discoball in the future!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
How not to be floored by flooring.
The first few months of choosing flooring can be overwhelming. There is so much choice and at such varying prices. You see something you like and then flip through a magazine and see something you think you may well love more! How to choose what to spend all that money on!
Here is some advice from my experience from the places I have visited locally (Geneva area).
Challandes in Nyon: Good selection of tiles, dalles (exterior) and stone floors. Expensive. Staff couldn't sell humid skin to a mosquito. They open and close about the same time you get to and leave your office - so not great for the working person. Great for inspiration but I would take that inspiration and pay for the goods elsewhere.
Getaz Romang: Lovely new showroom in Etoy. They have real wood flooring and fake as well as tiles and dalles and stone for outside. Helpful staff. They have top of the range products as well as low end products on display.
Sabag: Only do tiles and stone (no wood). A good selection and some very interesting stuff if you are planning on opening a nightclub. Prices are reasonable.
Hornbach: I was scared of what I would find here - it is a bit of a DIY place - however I was nicely surprised by some of what I saw. I don't think it would be wise to buy laminate flooring there (even if it sells for 12m2) as the quality wouldn't be great (unless you wanted it laid somewhere no one could touch it - like on your ceiling). However I found white stone pebble flooring (as you would have in a shower) for 1/3 cheaper then at Getaz - so definately worth checking out. They also have extemely cheap tiles however sometimes you have to buy when you see it as the stock can go quickly.
Leroy Merlin: The french equivalent of Hornbach. If you import into Switzerland you get the TVA back - added bonus!
Mondial Moquette (Paquis): Looks a little dodgy from the road - however it has a huge selection of carpets and the largest choice of wood (real and laminte) in Suisse Romandie. They guy that runs it - Gils, has a huge knowledge and passion for wood and get's what you want - even when you might not!
Furnishing a large expanse of floors can be expensive - so choices sometimes have ot be made. Bathrooms can be a real pleasure to do as they are small and so you can sometimes let your hair down and go a little wild with your choices without worrying too much about falling out of love with it in a couple of years time when green felt tiles are no longer 'du jour'.
For larger expanses always find a few floor types that you like in different price ranges and then weigh up the pro's and con's.
Finally - A Nasty Surprise Alert.
The prices are USUALLY by m2 - but not always. So you could be looking at 2 similar tiles one for 50.- a m2 and another for 13.50.- and you may well think the decision is (as I did) a no brainer! Make sure you look closer as it may say 'par pièce' which may mean for example that the 13.50.- tile which may be 25cm x 25cm, would actually cost 216.- per m2! This would be a nasty surprise for a large room and no one likes a nasty surprise.
Oh and another Nasty Surprise Alert (for good measure):
The cost of the flooring is just for the flooring - you can happily add about 1/2 the price per m2 again to the actual laying of the flooring by a specialist. :)
A piece of advice (after a couple of unfortunate personal experiences) where I thought that the eye could 'carry colour'. It can't. You can think you know a colour and that you have commited it to memory - but it never works out that way. Always get a sample or in Français 'un échantillon' (so much prettier). They will usually give you one for free. Take it with you whenever you need to colour or texture match. It saves time, money and unnecessary tears.
All this said and done - here is nothing as satisfying as walking into a freshly floored room. It can completely change the way a space feels. Floors can make a room darker or lighter, bigger or smaller - fresh or cosy. Even the direction you lay the tiles can make the room feel less or more spacious.
Most importantly - have fun - go with your gut and enjoy!
Here is some advice from my experience from the places I have visited locally (Geneva area).
Challandes in Nyon: Good selection of tiles, dalles (exterior) and stone floors. Expensive. Staff couldn't sell humid skin to a mosquito. They open and close about the same time you get to and leave your office - so not great for the working person. Great for inspiration but I would take that inspiration and pay for the goods elsewhere.
Getaz Romang: Lovely new showroom in Etoy. They have real wood flooring and fake as well as tiles and dalles and stone for outside. Helpful staff. They have top of the range products as well as low end products on display.
Sabag: Only do tiles and stone (no wood). A good selection and some very interesting stuff if you are planning on opening a nightclub. Prices are reasonable.
Hornbach: I was scared of what I would find here - it is a bit of a DIY place - however I was nicely surprised by some of what I saw. I don't think it would be wise to buy laminate flooring there (even if it sells for 12m2) as the quality wouldn't be great (unless you wanted it laid somewhere no one could touch it - like on your ceiling). However I found white stone pebble flooring (as you would have in a shower) for 1/3 cheaper then at Getaz - so definately worth checking out. They also have extemely cheap tiles however sometimes you have to buy when you see it as the stock can go quickly.
Leroy Merlin: The french equivalent of Hornbach. If you import into Switzerland you get the TVA back - added bonus!
Mondial Moquette (Paquis): Looks a little dodgy from the road - however it has a huge selection of carpets and the largest choice of wood (real and laminte) in Suisse Romandie. They guy that runs it - Gils, has a huge knowledge and passion for wood and get's what you want - even when you might not!
Furnishing a large expanse of floors can be expensive - so choices sometimes have ot be made. Bathrooms can be a real pleasure to do as they are small and so you can sometimes let your hair down and go a little wild with your choices without worrying too much about falling out of love with it in a couple of years time when green felt tiles are no longer 'du jour'.
For larger expanses always find a few floor types that you like in different price ranges and then weigh up the pro's and con's.
Finally - A Nasty Surprise Alert.
The prices are USUALLY by m2 - but not always. So you could be looking at 2 similar tiles one for 50.- a m2 and another for 13.50.- and you may well think the decision is (as I did) a no brainer! Make sure you look closer as it may say 'par pièce' which may mean for example that the 13.50.- tile which may be 25cm x 25cm, would actually cost 216.- per m2! This would be a nasty surprise for a large room and no one likes a nasty surprise.
Oh and another Nasty Surprise Alert (for good measure):
The cost of the flooring is just for the flooring - you can happily add about 1/2 the price per m2 again to the actual laying of the flooring by a specialist. :)
A piece of advice (after a couple of unfortunate personal experiences) where I thought that the eye could 'carry colour'. It can't. You can think you know a colour and that you have commited it to memory - but it never works out that way. Always get a sample or in Français 'un échantillon' (so much prettier). They will usually give you one for free. Take it with you whenever you need to colour or texture match. It saves time, money and unnecessary tears.
All this said and done - here is nothing as satisfying as walking into a freshly floored room. It can completely change the way a space feels. Floors can make a room darker or lighter, bigger or smaller - fresh or cosy. Even the direction you lay the tiles can make the room feel less or more spacious.
Most importantly - have fun - go with your gut and enjoy!
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