http://windmill.gormagon.org Renovating a windmill in Flanders Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:47:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Electricity - check. Water - sort of. Gas - tank outside, nothing inside. So, no central heating. On the other hand, I have a microwave and an iMac. Humans have prospered with less. http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/11/23/state-of-play/ The final steps to getting my electricity connected sounded easy: get a certificate from the builders to confirm that the wiring and circuit breakers conformed to local regulations, and set up an account with a (retail) supplier of electricity. Drop the certificate at the (wholesale) suppliers of electricity, make an ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/09/04/on-electricity-electricians-and-mysterious-yellow-books/ As it turns out, being hooked up to the water mains really doesn't mean having the water supply for the house switched on. The sub-contractor for the utility company came along this morning (in fact, three trucks and about seven or eight people came, three of whom did something!), installed ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/08/07/the-final-push-part-iv/ This is the current state of construction. One working day left before I need to move in! The living room. The kitchen. Impressive mixer, though. The bathroom. Note the space-age toilet. The bathroom. With a basin, but no water. http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/08/06/one-working-day-left-before-moving-in/ Well, as I predicted, "hooking me up to the grid" did not in fact mean that I have electricity. An inspection has to be done of the electrical wiring in the house, and a certificate issued to prove that everything was done to specifications. The builders were supposed to organise ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/08/06/the-final-push-part-iii/ Well, the latest is that the water guy will try and fit me in to be hooked up on Friday. No guarantee that "hooking up" actually means running water, but it's a start. However, if not Friday then early next week. I might still in fact be moving into a ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/08/05/the-final-push-part-ii/ A wise man once said: "Every cloud has a silver lining." I would like to meet that man, and then punch him in the face. The house was supposed to have been ready for occupation at the beginning of June. That would have given us a month of overlap before ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/08/04/the-final-push/ A major milestone, we finally have windows! The house doesn't quite look habitable yet, but with windows I think we can officially call it a dwelling instead of a barn.   [caption id="attachment_96" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="This will be the living room/dining room area. The window is in fact a sliding door that ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2009/04/03/we-have-windows/ The best things in life are free But you can keep them for the birds and bees Now give me money Today we signed a second mortgage agreement on the property. What was supposed to have been a simple short term loan to cover invoices by the current contractors (excellent Polish builders) turned ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2008/08/25/money-money-money/ This past Saturday we had a meeting with the architect and our (former) builder. Not in a very friendly mood, our brick-stacking friend, but perhaps he was intimidated by the team of Polish builders on site now finishing his work at lightning speed. The long and short of it was ... http://windmill.gormagon.org/2008/07/07/building-castles-in-the-sand-the-polish-way/