Last week we moved the polystyrene to the back of the shed and cleared the snow away from the area where they were sitting. During the next few days several loads of sand were delivered there. Must have been more snow there than we imagined. After clearing out the foundations (about 5cm) and then starting on the space for the sand we managed to wear out our lumikola. So far the body count is one shovel, one snow shovel and a snow pusher :-).

Also arriving last week were the pipes for the drainage system around the foundations. Last weekend we also made a start on chopping down the two large trees sitting in the middle of the waste water area. The snow depth around them is still about 40cm, so it made for a bit of hard going. Hopefully we can get the rest of the trees during this weekend.

During this week the foundations were finished and work started on the drains. On Wednesday the ground inside the foundations was heated to get rid of the any ice and the filling work was supposed to start straight after that. But unfortunately the excavator didn’t turn up and they can’t come until Monday. So at the moment the ground is covered in the polystyrene sheets and tarpaulins.

The pictures from Saturday, starting from the panorama.

The last major parts of the foundations are completed now. Last weekend the metal supports for the veranda pillars were put in place in the left most picture. The interior of the foundation was covered in polystyrene in the centre and the foundation for the carport was put in place on the right.

Not much to tell. We spent the whole weekend clearing the remains of last weeks snow away with the help of Petri. Weather was a bit better this weekend, about -5 or so and light winds. Even some blue sky occasionally which made it a bit more pleasant. Not that you notice the cold when you are sweating like a pig.

The result of all the pain for the weekend was that the interior of the foundations are cleared and all but one and a half sides of the outside. Everything that was lying around is cleared up as well now. And, of course, Sunday night it had to snow again…

Here are a bunch of pictures from Sunday starting with the panorama of the site.

And a close up of the work so far.

The only brickwork remaining (I think) is the load bearing area for the fireplace. I’m not sure if the carport area gets any more done to it.

And a few other bits and pieces for the foreigners :-). On the left, the bricks they built the foundations out of (some kind of bead in cement, quite light). Some tools of the trade for winter, a lumikola (snow-pusher) and a studded snow tire.

To cut a long story short. Saturday was spent moving bricks around. Lots of bricks. That and some shopping. Bought a larger snow shovel/sledge and a little snow shovel for the car, plus a few bits and pieces the contractors needed. We thought this would be an easy weekend! Pretty psychic purchases too.

As it turned out, it started snowing on Saturday, and snowing, and snowing and snowing. And then for good measure it snowed again all night. Pia arranged for her brother, Petri, to help us on Sunday, since it was obvious there would be some snow to clear. But on Sunday morning we left to pick him up and found about 30cm of snow outside. And drifts up to 1m deep! We drove straight out the door of the parking building and immediately got stuck. A taxi driver who parks near our car offered to help us, obviously very useful considering his years of experience at this sort of thing. He did manage to get the car out and this sort of driving seems to involve lots of wheel spinning, flying snow and some tire smoke :-). The drive through the centre of Helsinki was quite amusing. I pity the poor people who have to go to work tomorrow. Their cars are buried up to their windows in snow pushed to the sides of the road by the snow-ploughs.

It was a long and slow trip to the land and Petri could only help for the morning. He cleared the driveway while we moved other snow.  The whole house area was covered. All the hole the foundations are sitting in is full of snow and there is no sign at all of the ditch around the outside. When we had to take him back home about lunchtime we had manage to clear such a small amount we had to go back again. All I can say is that we both hurt… a lot. And the weather office says this is a once in a decade snowfall. I definitely hope so.

Some “before” pictures from Saturday… The car was sitting there for about three hours.

And the “after” pictures from Sunday… From the left, I know there is a road there somewhere. Petri clearing the driveway. Up to 70cm of snow inside the house!

Cut down some more trees today :-).

The contractors doing the foundations were there as well finishing things ready for the concrete tomorrow. Everything seems to be going okay. We sorted out the electricity problem too, it just involves a visit to the hardware shop before work and a bit of re-wiring.

Since we keep getting asked if there are any more trees there to cut down, I thought I’d document what we are up against. The main problem is paju — a type of willow. The stuff grows everywhere and generally grows like a bush and is nearly impenetrable down towards the back of the section. There are a few full trees of it here and there. The rest of the trees are birch and a few small pines.

Here are a few more pictures, the first is the paju, then the contractors and the heating cord they have installed in the foundations. They are also pretty handy with a saw and hammer.

The boxing for the foundations is almost finished, and with any luck the concrete will be poured early during the week. There was a bit of a cold spell during the last few days — down to -15 deg at times. That would have been a bit too cold for the concrete to set. But anything above -10 is supposed to be okay. The heating equipment for the concrete arrived Friday afternoon. I didn’t know what to expect, but we got two rolls of orange cable! Now it seems quite obvious how they keep the concrete from freezing. The cable is heating cable. It gets tied along the reinforcing and is connected to the power when the concrete is poured. It will keep the concrete warm from the inside.

The contractors asked us to get an extension cord for the cabling, but we are a bit confused over what we should get and what it should connect to in the electricity box. There are two plug types in the cabinet, normal European 2-pin 10A, or a two phase 16A 5-pin. To make matters worse, the heating cables are terminated in single phase 16A 3-pin plugs! And no-one stocks a 5-pin to 3-pin adapter :-(.

Cut down a few more trees in the waste water area today, but now that the foundations are in place it is a bit more obvious where it is located and there are two large trees in the way. A little bit bigger than I can handle with the axe, so probably need to borrow a chainsaw soon. Took the camera there again and documented the progress so far. This is a big panorama, almost a complete circle.

Last weekend Pia’s parents were here and helped out at the section. They also were there on Monday and helped with the moving of the cabin and arranging the other things there. The windows arrived on Monday and also the phone guy showed up and installed our cable. During the week had to buy a few bits and pieces and do various other running around. Especially important was the tarpaulins to cover the hole where the house will go while the foundations are being done. The boxing work has been going on for the last week and will probably be finished this week. During the weekend we spent most of the time cleaning up and on Sunday moving all the snow that came during the week. Worked out that 10cm of snow (assuming 1cm snow = 1mm water) and the house area of 18m x 10m (roughly) then we shovelled around 2 tonnes of snow. Not sure if that is right, but it felt like it! Of course as soon as we finished doing that on Sunday evening it started snowing again…

Another panorama taken on Sunday. This one shows the tarpaulin covered boxing (before we moved the snow). Couldn’t take this one in the same place as the previous ones because the digger is parked there. On the left (towards the road) is the polystyrene and bricks for the foundations, on the right is the cabin.

Another weekend and some more trees cut down. We ordered a portable room for the contractors and to keep stuff in during the week. The rental place thought they wouldn’t have one available for another week at least, so we thought we could clear some space for it during this weekend. Turns out they found a slightly larger one and delivered it on Friday. And since there wasn’t anywhere to put it, they dropped it in the middle of the driveway :-(. Hopefully using the digger they can push it somewhere a bit more practical. Close to the power box would be best, but I’m not sure if they can push it there. So today we cleared some space to the right of the house and tomorrow we will move the tree pile away from the power box just in case.

Also, the base fill for the foundations has been put in place. So hopefully the foundations will be started on Monday as planned. A few more guests as well. There were rabbit tracks everywhere today and we had a quick visit from a woodpecker while we were working. Luckily it didn’t show any interest in the house wood!

Panorama from the same position as before. As you can see we have a few bits and pieces for the house. Mainly roofing parts so far.

Well, its finally started. The digging for the foundations started on Monday and there is already quite a big hole there! There is a panorama below looking towards roughly towards the south (the actual section heads down to the left of the digger) so you can see all the work so far. I took the picture on Tuesday, so they had just started, only difference now is that the hole is deeper. They are going down about 1.5 metres in total. The work on the foundations starts next week.

Also, the first of the house package arrived on Tuesday/Wednesday. We went out there after work on Wednesday to see what should be covered with tarpaulins. Seems like most of the wood is already wrapped in paper or plastic, so nothing very urgent at the moment. The rest, which isn’t covered, such as the roof trusses have obviously been stored outside for a while already and are covered in snow. So they can wait till the weekend when we can actually see what we are doing.

Today also ordered a workroom/storage place to the section, but that won’t arrive for another week at least. Decided on the fireplace as well and waiting on the offer from the house company. Also still waiting on the quote from the floor heating and air conditioning company.

The panorama is taken from about 10 metres from the road looking roughly south or southwest on Tuesday. Hopefully I can keep taking more of them from the same location in the future. As normal you can click on the picture for a larger one. But your browser probably shrinks the larger image since it is so wide. In Internet Explorer, leave the mouse over the image and when the small orange box appears at the lower right, click on it. In a recent Mozilla/Netscape, click on the image to toggle the size.

The start of a new year and the beginnings of work on the house. Well, next week anyway. But back to the things happening over the last two weeks or so.

We had the meeting with the land registrar mid December and the details of the of the land transfer have been finalised. The land now has a name, which is “Kevätkartano” as mentioned previously. That is “Spring Mansion” in English. Since then we have survived Christmas and done a bit more tree clearing on the section. I think most of the areas that should be clear are. Maybe the waste water drainage area is still not clear quite, but close enough.

The only main thing is that it has been quite warm for several days during the last couple of weeks and everything there is really, really wet. Seems to have all turned into a bit of a swamp. We had to fill in the ditch around the power supply box to make sure it didn’t get drowned. I think it is mainly surface water though since the ground was packed hard and dry all through summer. But I guess we find out when they start digging for the foundations.

Had a meeting earlier this month with our rakennusmestari and went over the things that need to be done soon. We also delivered the plans for the foundations to him as well that had arrived a few days before from the foundation planner. The main things are that the foundations will be a bit more expensive than a normal house because the ground is quite soft. But mainly that will be extra concrete. The worst case would have been if they had to drive in stone piles, but we don’t need to go that far. Probably the foundations are a bit hard to explain, so I’ll scan one of the plans sometime and put them here. Our rakennusmestari has gotten quotes for the foundation job and will select a contractor for that soon. We also looked at the details of the building permit, but he will meet with the county council next week to go over that with them as well as part of the “starting meeting”. He also suggested we find a contractor for the well, and Pia has last week found someone who seems quite good and has already given an estimate.

This week we have a meeting with the interior planner and the electrical planner to go over the lighting and other details. That should finalise those changes and we also have to confirm the plumbing needed. Speaking of the electricity we have the bills for the installation of that already. The distribution box they put in the yard came to 1000 EUR along with another 1000 EUR for installation and cabling! Then they sent us an estimated power bill for 250 EUR (2 months)!

Also during this week we have a meeting with the land registrar (I think that is the closest translation) to officially get our piece of land separated from the other land of the original owner. Once we do that it becomes an independent section registered to us. And it also appears that we have to give it a name! Suggestions welcome, but the frontrunner is a Finnish translation of the original Swedish, Vårgårda. The Finnish would be Kevätkartano or “spring mansion”.

Got a loan of a chainsaw last weekend as well. Now that things are getting a bit close we thought we would clear the last of the larger trees in the location of the house and waste water drainage area. Saturday was fine, but about -3, so quite a nice day compared to the last few weekends. Days are quite short though now, sun is hardly above the horizon at about 10am and it is gone again about 3.30pm, it barely gets above the trees at the end of the section though the whole day. But we managed to spend nearly 4 hours chopping things up. We did get a bit of a surprise when we arrived at the section for the day. Just after we got out of the car Pia noticed conclusive proof that we have a moose infestation! Later during the day I almost stepped in further proof.

Pictures, left to right. Moose print at the end of our driveway (about where the back of the car is). Our ever growing pile of wood and the pile of clippings the moose was eating. The interior plan the designer came up with.