Finally Looks Like We're Gonna Build a House

If you want, you can click here:

http://www.kindersite.org/Directory/Content/Build%20a%20House.swf

The house looks great! The first floor is almost complete. The inside walls are up and they are starting the ceiling. That's Eli and me outside the front of the house.

About three weeks ago, Alan, Iran, Ganadi, and Harry and I met at the house. They had laid the blocks for the rooms on the first floor. We walked around and made some very minor changes. As soon as we were done, Iran told the workers to start putting up the walls.

Now that there are rooms, the kids have chosen their bedrooms. Leia and Sima plan to share the large bedroom and Sarida will have her own room. Eitan has taken a room for himself and Bentzi and Eli will share a room. The boys are on the side facing the meshek and the girls are on the side facing the street.
Now we have so many decisions. We are starting with doors and windows.

We need to pick inside and outside doors. I've been to about 4 places so far. Inside doors can be handmade or factory made, white, off-white, colored, or wood colored. The price can range from 800 NIS to 3000 NIS! We have 15 doors in the house. I have not mentioned the outside doors which can we also have to chose.

I have estimates from two window companies. There are 65 windows in the house. We have to chose the type of window and the look. Alan recommends insulated windows with double glass. One of the window people recommends what is called triplex, it is 2 pieces of glass with plastic in the middle. The advantage of the type Alan recommends is that it provides the best insulation. The triplex provides less insulation but is will not shatter because of the plastic.

Picking windows also includes deciding on the window covering. In Israel, it is common to put aluminum coverings called tressim. These keep the sun out and darken a room during the day. They can be electric or manual and open several different ways.

We haven't made any final decisions but we have to very soon. And then we can start choosing floors.

Water System Installed (Not hooked up)

Water System (behind Bentzi)

This week they installed the water system. In the end we did decide to go with the Wetlands Construction, which is a natural water recycling system based on plants and sediment. All the water (grey and black) will be sent out to the agricultural area behind our house. The recycled water will be used to water the fields.

The system is being built, installed, and maintained by Ayala Water and Ecology (http://www.ayala-aqua.com/) and we are working with Ziv. Their system is

"a man-made phyto-technological system for waste-water purification. The main principal of this system is the ability of water plants to transfer oxygen and different exudates to the roots zone. In that oxygen saturated zone, a rich population of microbes, bacteria and fungus develop. As there are particular microorganisms and bio-flora specific to each plant type, the hybrid system has a remarkable ability to treat all kinds of pollutants such as nutrients, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, pathogens etc. The bio-degradation process can take place directly by the plants themselves, or indirectly in the roots-zone biosphere through numerous processes.

Our system consists of four pools with plants and sediment. Ziv and his crew installed the pools with the plants and sediment. While the house is being built, the plants will have time to grow. As soon as we are ready to move in, Ziv will come out and run pipes from the house to the system and hook up the system so that it can water the fields. In the meantime, we just have to be sure that a minimal amount of water is in the pools for the plants.

Tractor Arrives Ready to Dig

One of the pools with the rocks, which are part of the filtering process.

More Digging

More Pools and Tanks

Almost done... in the picture below, you can see the plants and one of the tanks. It was raining when they installed the system so they were not able to finish the landscaping. When they finish, all the tanks and pipes will be covered and only the plant pools will be above ground.

Some Pictures

Harry in the shelter. This is located in the basement of our house.

Harry coming up the stairs from the basement.
Alan (architect) and Harry in the kitchen.
Iran (contractor), Alan (architect), Ganadi (foreman), and Harry in the kitchen, looking over the plans.
Eli in his bedroom.
Addax

We decided to use addax for insulation. This picture is the living room. You can see the addax pile up.
All the concrete walls will be covered with addax. Here you can see the addax.

Exterior Walls

Last week, they started putting up the exterior walls. With every new development, the house feels more real. Of course, with every new development, comes a new decision. This time it is insulation. The exterior walls are mostly pumex block, which is a synthetic block for construction. It is porous, so it provides good insulation. The pillars between the pumex, are concrete and provide less insulation. Now we have to decide whether to add insulation, and if so what type. Since we live in a basically mild climate, insulation is not as important. Although, when it rains in the winter for a number of days, it can get pretty uncomfortable. And of course, the summers are hot. So our choices are:

• Thermoplast: Covers all the external walls (both pumex and concrete) and is very expensive
• Addax: Covers just the concrete pillars, is a relatively new product (about 10 years old), and is moderately expensive
• No additional insulation

I've talked to several people. It seems all three are good options. If money was no object, more insulation would be great. Since we are not on an unlimited budget, will the additional cost be worth it??? Maybe no insulation is the best choice and we will just work the heat and air conditioner a little harder???

Ofer and Iran came by last week. They met us (Eli came with me) at the building site and demonstrated our options. They layered some pumex block, showed us samples of addax and thermoplast, and explained the pros and cons of each. Ofer is pro addax and Iran is pro thermoplast, however both say that the house will be insulated with no additional insulation.

Concrete

In a way, building a house is similar to being pregnant. When you are pregnant, every mother offers advice you and tells you about her pregnancy experience. When you build a house, anyone who has built a house offers advice, and tells you about the building experience. In Beit Gamliel, where we live, almost everyone has built a house or done major renovations on a house. So, without even asking, we are learning about house building from everyone.

When it came to the foundation, everyone had advice, so I checked the internet and learned, "Building the foundation of your house is one of the most important tasks while building your house. If the foundation is not properly laid then the entire edifice will be unstable. " (From http://www.indobase.com/home/building-a-home/footings-foundations.html)

Apparently there are several methods for laying the foundation. In our house, the first layer of the foundation is dirt. We had hoped to be able to reuse the dirt that they dug up when they started building. Unfortunately, the dirt was filled with trash. The builders decided to use as much of the dirt as possible by taking out any large pieces of trash and adding new dirt. Then placed a layer of styraphone and then metal rods. Finally they poured the concrete.

I was standing around the site while they poured the concrete and Ofer asked me if I was going to take pictures. I asked him if there was a reason and he told me people often take pictures of the foundation before the concrete is poured. So, I took some picture.

In Israel, the law requires that you hire a company to inspect the construction materials at certain points. The builder noitifies them at certain points, such as when the concrete is poured. Just as they were getting ready to pour the cement, the inspectors showed up for the check.

Starting to See a House

When I look at the construction, I am starting to see the house. I have looked at the plans so many times that I can tell what will be where. They have poured the cement around the perimeter of the floor. They are covering and sealing the basement, so they can pour the cement for the 1st floor.
Here is one of Alan's images with the areas of the house labeled.
The basement without any covering. The basement with some covering. The worker is walking on the section that he covered.

We are standing by the kids' sitting area.

My Amazing Husband

Well thanks to Harry, the electricity was hooked up today. I'm not sure what he said, or who he talked to. The only thing he said was that it took several phone calls.
Efriam completed the paper work. The connection was inspected today and Benny did the final hook up.

Power

We're almost over a big hurdle... hooking up the electricity.

For us, the story started in March 2008 when we tore down the small house that stood on our property. At that time we paid the electric company 800 NIS to disconnect the house. Here's what happened next:

• June 8 2009: Applied for temporary power, initial payment 1592 NIS


• July 30 2009: Received the bill requesting final payment no later than July 14.


• August 5, 2008 : Paid final payment, 14,911.25 NIS.


• August 15 (approx): Benny, the electrician, put in the cement block that will hold the electrical box (in Hebrew this is called the pillar).
  
• Sept 10 (approx): Zohar from the electric company dug the trench for the cable. and put down the cable.


• Sept 29: Efraim from the electric company hooked up the electric cable.


• Sept 29: Benny, the electrician, hooked the electrical box to the cable

Today, Benny requested that Efraim come out to the site one more time and approve the connection. If he does, we have temporary electricity. Could tomorrow be the day we get temporary power?

The answer is no. Efraim did not enter his work in the computer so the next person cannot approve the work. The Electric Company is on vacation during Succoth. No electricity this week.

New Years House Status

Since I last wrote, they have completed the basement walls and started the base for the rest of the first floor. They still think they will complete the house according the original contract date (which was the end of May).

Shanah Tova!

Waiting

We are waiting. Iran and Ofer wanted additional information on the plumbing so they brought in a plumbing engineer. I had never heard of a plumbing engineer, so I checked on google. I guess I am naive. Plumbing engineers even have their own society in America, American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE). On the site it explains that the ASPE is an " organization for professionals skilled in the design, specification and inspection of plumbing systems. ASPE is dedicated to the advancement of the science of plumbing engineering, to the professional growth and advancement of its members and the health, welfare and safety of the public."

So, we are waiting for the plumbing engineer to clarify the design and specificaiton of our plumbing.

They have done as much as possible in the basement. The cement floor is poured, the metal which enforces the walls is ready, and the electrical wiring is in. They cannot continue until it is clear where to put all the plumbing pipes.

According to Iran, the plumber will have his work done no later than the end of the week and then they can proceed.

We are also waiting for our electrical connection. In order to finalize our plans and get our permits, we tore down the old house on the property. In order to tear down the house we had to remove the electical connection. Now in order to build the houe, we need ELECTRICITY. So we paid the electic company a lot of money to connect the electricity. In order to connect the electiricity we need to put up a cement base where the electrical base will stand. Once the base is up, the electric company will come out and hook up the electricity. The cement is planned for the end of the week. Once that is in, the electric company will set a date when they will come to put in the box.

Basement Floor and Walls

The house now has a basement floor, as well as some walls.



This picture shows the floor and I labeled it:

• Stairs: Stairs from basement to first floor.
  
  
  
  
• Future Bathroom: Bathroom with shower. We could not get a permit for a bathroom in the basement. Our approved plans do not show this area as a bathroom, but we put the plumbing and electrical spots in. When we get the Tofes 4 (remember that is the final OK), we can add the bathroom.





• Sealed Room: Reinforced room. This room is standard size and construction. It is required by lawfor all homes built in Israel.





• Possible Future Kitchen: Kitchen area which can include a stove, oven, refrigerator, and sink. We designed it with Alan and we planned the plumbing and electrical spots. It does not appear on our approved plans as a kitchen. I'm not sure we will add this.

This next picture shows the walls. The first picture shows what we saw when we came home yesterday. The second shows the progress made today.

Water Problem Solved ?

On Friday, Harry and I met with Asaf.


He has a company that installs a natural water purification system based on constructed wetlands systems. Here is a link that explains constructed wetlands:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructed_wetland


It looks like we will be going with this system.




The water runs from the house to a tank. Here, only the grey water is being recyled. Our system will recycle both grey and black water.
















This is the first stop for the water... before being treated.
















The water runs through an underground filter with rocks and plants.
















These rocks promote bacterial growth to break down the waste products in the water.
















After the rocks, the water is sent to this pond. It contains fish and plants that provide another source to further break down the waste producst. Our system will be much larger. It will include two underground tanks for filtering the water. Prior to final exit, the water undergoes UV irradiation.











Pure water. In our case, ready for the meshek...

Are we buiding again?

It seems so...
Earlier this week, the workers put down the steel for the basement. It looks like they laid steel under the floor and then the columns that will support the weight of the house.It took the workers about 2 days to lay all these.



The drainage pipe runs from the middle left side of the basement, which is where the bathroom will be, to the upper left-center, which is by the drainage pit. In the plans, we put outlets and piping on this side. If in the future, we want to build a kitchen in the basement the plumbing and electicity are set up.







On Thurdsday they poured the cement for the floor. We now have a basement floor. To keep it from cracking, we watered it several times each day.

We are back (I think)

It has been over 2 weeks since I have updated this blog. We have been working on plans and waiting for Iran and Ofer. We did meet last week but no work has been done. Today hopefully we restarted the process. Ofer, Iran, Alan, Josh, Yossi, and Benny were all there. We discussed the plumbing. They explained that by law we have to be hooked up to the main sewerage line. (It is interesting that we received a permit to build the house without the connection.) Actually, in order to get our Tofes 4, we must either be hooked up to the main sewerage line or have a plumbing engineer review and sign the plans. Sounds good, sounds like we should find an engineer, however, no engineer will sign plans. I spoke to about 5 engineers and not one agreed to work with us.
But, there is always a solution... the plan will show a hook up to the main sewerage line. All the water will run to that line. After we get our Tofes 4 we will put the purifying system in the ground in the path to the sewerage line. The purified water will be pumped out to the fields as we originally planned.
Harry and Ofer still have hopes for the cooling system. (Running pipes under the ground and bringing the cool air into the house through the basement.) I am more of a pessimist but Alan estimates the total cost at about $1000. (All of the sudden, $1000 seems like a small amount.) At that price, I may be willing to see what happens.

The Pit

Sunday, after I heard about Shmulik, I assumed that they would stop working on the house until after the shiva. By chance, I was home in the morning and drove by the building site. I was surprised to find Yossi (the plumber) there. And I was more surprised to see that he had an old copy of the plans in his hands.

He was working on the connection from the basement bathroom to the drainage pit (which I now know is a בור משיכה, in Hebrew ) . The problem was that the old plans that were in his hands show the bathroom in a different location from where it is on the current plan. When I saw what was happenning and then finally understood what was going on, I drove home and printed a copy of the basement plans from my computer. Yossi said it is not a problem to leave it there. I spoke to Josh and Alan, and both said it is not a problem to move it. So, if everyone is right, it is not a problem. I also think, it is not a problem, it will just have to be moved.

Shmulik Ronen, our contractor passed away on Shabbat. He had been sick, but his it seemed that the cancer was controlled. He died at his home on Saturday. From the chance I had to work with him, he seemed to be a patient and fair man. It was clear his sons admired him.

Josh the Plumber and Benny the Electrician

Josh is our new plumber. Josh the Plumber is not replacing Yossi (Joe) the plumber. Yossi is Shmulik's plumber and actually installs the system. Josh is designing the water system. Josh worked in hi-tech, was laid off twice, decided to learn plumbing, and seems pretty happy with his choice. We were at his apartment for over 2 hours deciding what to do and looking for manholes on the plans. In the end we are still continuing with our (Harry's) idea to recycle ALL the water.

Benny the Electrician insisted we start our eletrical plan with a visit to a lighting store. I met the owner of the store and he reviewed our plans, and suggested where we should put in lights and what type. I learned a lot about types of lighting and how to use lighting. I learned that it is best to put in plugs wherever you might possibly need them now rather than to find out later that one is missing and try to add it (in Hebrew it is called a נקודה (point), I think that translates to plug). I also learned that each plug costs 200 NIS.

You can see from the pictures that they have done a lot of work on the basement. Initially, they laid gravel and then poured cement. You can actually see where the rooms will be.

Building Permit (היתר בניה)

The building permit is in our hands!

I have been going back and forth to our local office for 3 years. The secretary there who knows me as Suan (another story for another blog) congratulated me today and told me she has yet another friend who will copy the plans for a good price. Of course I thanked her for ALL help. I still have to go back one more time at the end. Once a house is completed according to the plan, you have to complete a Form 4 (Tofes 4). Then someone comes out and makes sure you built what was on your plan. If you did, or at least they think you did, you get the permananent hookup to the electric company. Then the way it works, is that you can make all your "illegal" changes. For example, we were not allowed to include an entrace to our basement from the outside. So, many friends have suggested that we build the doorway and then seal it. After we recieve the Tofes 4, we can open the door.

Water, Water, Everywhere

So that's where we are, trying to figure out the water system. We originally wanted to recycle all the water, and there are systems that do that. However, not in Israel..yet. We spoke to a company in the US and they are willing to set us up. They sent us an estimate and specifications. As far as I can see, the biggest problem is maintenance. They are "negotiating" with someone here but it is not yet in place. In the meantime, if we buy their system, they would train us to maintain the system. We would even learn how to clean it. That made me very nervous.

After a lot of phone calls we decided to hook into the moshav's sewereage line. We will probably send all our waste water (remember the black water) to the sewereage line. And then we can use our other water (that's the grey) water to water the fields.

We have a basement.

This a picture of Eitan, Bentzi, and our first "guest", Yochai, in the basement of our house.

What a surprise. When I got home from work and drove by the property, I saw a huge hill of dirt. When I got closer, I saw what had happenned. I guess I didn't understand Iran. In the morning we spoke and I asked if they would be out later. He told me that a tractor would be coming out. I didn't realize what the tractor was going to dig...the basement.

I met Alan this morning. I asked him to come out, take a look, explain to me where everything will be, and try to finalize a few things. We met there at 9:30. We walked around and Alan pointed out what will be which room, and the view we will have from each future window.