My OperaOur house move to Thalwil 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006 1:27:21 PM
Diary of a moving experience.
See also photo album New Apartment in Photos.
The week before the move
On Thursday Richard, Matthew and I inspect our new home. It has been newly polished but is not quite finished. Our helpful architect, Joerg Watter, comes to show us round. He apologises for the lack of lighting and window blinds. Rather a serious defect in my opinion. We have an ongoing list of faults that we can add to. Hope it doesn't get too long. The plumber comes to see where we want the bathroom fittings placing. He is rather rude to Herr Watter. I notice a defect in the kitchen - the rubbish cupboard doesn't close. This is because the plumber has cut a hole in the back for the sink outlet pipe, where one of the rubbish bins should stand. He asks why we need it anyway. Not quite the point - we have paid for it. Otherwise everything looks very nice. We take Joerg for a drink at the Portofino. We are now on Du terms! He talks about his travels to China and Australia, and his new project.
Moving day 18 September 2006
After one and a half years of searching for the perfect new apartment, finding the right architect, finding the funding and signing contracts, choosing a kitchen, bathroom, floor tiles, paint finishes and numerous other details, we are ready to move in to our brand new apartment in Kirchbodenstrasse, Thalwil on 18 September 2006.
In preparation, we have cleared out all superfluous clutter, making full use of all the excellent Swiss recycling and rubbish disposal systems. We even managed to sell a few items with, hopefully, not too many regrets afterwards. On moving day, Herr Siegfried and his team arrive at 7:00am to begin loading up the van. Everything is already packed in boxes and labelled, so the removal men soon finish, have an early lunch and arrive at 10:30am at the new apartment, even while the floor is still being cleaned. We also have two men from the Zurich Brockenhaus arrive to take away our large wardrobe, scratched dining table, cumbersome desk and other once-treasured items considered too un-chic for our new place.
Even on a wet day, the move goes smoothly. Herr Siegfried reassembles our Sten shelves in the new cellar, and manages to restore all our boxes and furniture to their correct places in the new apartment. Even the piano presents few problems, with the lift working which makes life easier - we have moved from a 4-storey house to a first floor apartment. Two of the removals men work indoors in their socks while the others stay outside so as not to mark our sparkling new floors with their wet feet. So the move has been achieved in less time than expected. Laura comes home after work to offer a few suggestions and organise dinner in our new kitchen, but Matthew has already returned to St. Andrews and so escapes the unpacking and other ensuing chaos.
Our first night isn't too comfortable, due to a complete absence of window blinds and the fact that we had ordered a new bed and got rid of the old one. So Richard and I sleep in Laura's room while she has to use a narrow folding bed in our room, without the benefit of any blinds at the windows.
The day after.
Richard still has a day off work and today we start unpacking our numerous boxes. Ikea ring to say that our three furniture orders are arriving today. Marco Leupi from the kitchen firm Sanitas Troesch arrives to check our kitchen. He examines the botched bin cupboard and a few minor faults, and brings along the cutlery drawer dividers. We decide that nothing much can be done about the bin cupboard now, as the worktop was so heavy it had to be brought in by crane and cannot easily be removed, and the hole is not going to go away. Nevertheless the plumber and joiner will both come along next week to discuss who's to blame.
Ikea turn up, accept our payment and deliver our new bed, three sets of drawers, a sofabed for Matthew, and Laura's new wardrobe. Hours of fun ahead! Building our bed is the first priority. Unfortunately we don't realise that a long metal piece to connect the two sides of the bed base is lying underneath the mattress, and somehow it scratches a nasty gash in our lovely oak parquet. However the bed is eventually assembled with no further damage to the floor or our nerves, and a minimum of bad language from Richard.
The boxes are going to take ages to unpack, especially the books.
The electricians also turn up to start fitting our complex light fittings. We get to enjoy living with Herr Benz, Matthias and the crew. All we had to be going on with were a few strategically-placed lightbulbs, one in each room. Fitting our chosen lighting turns out be a long-drawn-out process, as yet unfinished two months later.
The first week.
Richard goes back to work and I am left to unpack the books alone. Laura is also working and doesn't get any time off for moving. She goes back to England on Friday, leaving full instructions about her room - nothing to be added without her permission. One of the electricians seems amazed that I am arranging all the books in alphabetical order. Matthew should be doing this!
On Thursday I go to hand over our old house in Pilgerweg to Herr L from the Lindt Pensionskasse. During eight years of living in that house, this is the first time I have met him. He is very fussy and pedantic, highly polished shoes and well-creased trousers, likes his lists, and is keen to scold me about my sub-standard cleaning skills. He points out,
At the weekend Richard builds the two bedside tables for our room. It looks nice in there. I put my pink cushions and throws on the bed. All I need now is a large work of art and a hook for my kimono. I'm working on the former.
The rest of September.
As the weeks progress, I have to resume my normal life, in spite of all the interruptions. Several friends come to visit and admire our new apartment. We get used to our new high-speed induction hob. The electricians, plumber, joiner, floor man, blind men etc come to call and I receive detailed instructions on how to use my V-Zug kitchen appliances. This year, I am involved with the ZIWA Charity Second-Hand Sale, a useful recipient of our unwanted books, videos and bric-a-brac. I spend 2 days working on that event, and also start my new tai-chi class. At the beginning of October we also spend a weekend in the UK on a flying visit to Birmingham, St. Andrews, Durham and Middlesbrough. We take Matthew's things out of Hugh and Julie's loft (which they are having converted). Builders in - we know the feeling. St. Andrews is sunny but windy, there's a golf tournament on and Matthew is enjoying his philosophy studies there. In Durham we make an obligatory visit to Tesco's to stock up Laura's fridge. In Middlesbrough I collect the sheets and towels ordered from John Lewis. Our luggage is just over 20 kilos each.
October.
Where did this month go? We now have a Project Manager, Luca, who checks every week to see what still needs to be fixed. After 3 weeks he seems to get disheartened. I exchange emails with Joerg, our helpful architect. I share hard luck stories with Niloo who lives underneath - she has more problems than me, I think. I advise my friends also contemplating a house move of all the pitfalls. Dubrovka from my keep fit class wants to buy the last apartment in our block. She's Croatian. Her family comes round to visit our place and likes it all. We buy some nice red bar stools and I email a photo to Laura. She's not impressed.
Matthias the electrician comes round to fix more electrical problems. He has put up our lighting in the living room and over the bar, which looks very nice. But we are still missing one wall light for the wintergarden. How they managed to order two instead of three is a mystery. Everyone blames someone else. The remaining blinds are installed. We still have a few boxes of CDs and DVDs sitting in the office, and the cellar is full of my paintings. Most of our mail is coming to the right address, although Lloyds Bank needs three attempts to get their facts straight, and still write to Pilgerweg. I have finished my double painting of bamboo for the bedroom. So we have a small sense of achievement.
November.
This month we have our first meeting with all the home-owners and the company running the finances and management of our building. This spurs on the Project Manager to organise all outstanding problems to be fixed on one day. A rather optimistic hope. The man who built the fireplace comes to give me a demonstration and leaves the pristine chimney looking a bit sooty. He also cleans some black marks from the terra cotta tiles and advises me to get them sealed. This should have been done before, I feel. The electrician turns up and starts on his list of four outstanding jobs. His boss comes and checks the fuses and brings the missing light. Someone else comes and explains the workings of the automatic sunshades. The electricians leave and I feel a sense of elation, short-lived unfortunately. Joerg comes round for a chat (we can talk in English, a huge relief) and points out a leaking radiator. I rush out to an appointment. On my return I note that two spotlights which worked earlier are no longer working, and the automatic lights in the wintergarden don't switch off. The shutters in Laura's room where I often spend the night open by themselves at 4:00am...
Our house meeting takes place at a restaurant located along a half-constructed road. There's also a funeral party taking place so we have trouble parking. The meeting starts a bit late. All the house owners are represented, also three of the garage space owners. All in German of course. The housing manager is a woman, but otherwise Swiss chauvinism prevails. Two representatives are proposed, both men. I ask a few rather inane questions. We spend a long time discussing the lift service contract, but gloss over all other potential expenses. After one and a half hours I have a headache, but get to talk to one of the new families who have a young daughter. The wife works too, so she has trouble being at home to the workmen. It seems that the others have more problems than we do. I hope we can understand the minutes when we receive them.
Joerg phones me the next day to say he has arranged for someone to explain the merits of various tile sealant products. I hope I will be at home when they call. Now we have the piano and my art chest of drawers in place, it will not be so easy to seal the floor. I am also hoping for some hooks to be put up for hanging things and for mounting pictures. Maybe I'll have to do it myself. Richard has bought a new electric drill (the old one got left behind in England..) in order to fasten the two halves of Laura's half-built wardrobe together. Unfortunately the door handle is in the wrong place and one door won't screw in. Not one of Ikea's better products, I think. Explaining about plugs and hinges in German is a bit tricky. I hope they can come and finish it off properly.
As everything seems to be getting finished, I decide to hold an Open House and invite all my friends. About 14 people take up the invitation and are very enthusiastic about the apartment. Sadly a few minor electrical problems reamin. The electricians who designed the lighting are coming on Friday to see if everything looks as they imagined. I think everyone will be very pleased when all the remaining jobs are taken care of. Then we can expect a few bills! And a bit of peace too.
See also photo album New Apartment in Photos.
The week before the move
On Thursday Richard, Matthew and I inspect our new home. It has been newly polished but is not quite finished. Our helpful architect, Joerg Watter, comes to show us round. He apologises for the lack of lighting and window blinds. Rather a serious defect in my opinion. We have an ongoing list of faults that we can add to. Hope it doesn't get too long. The plumber comes to see where we want the bathroom fittings placing. He is rather rude to Herr Watter. I notice a defect in the kitchen - the rubbish cupboard doesn't close. This is because the plumber has cut a hole in the back for the sink outlet pipe, where one of the rubbish bins should stand. He asks why we need it anyway. Not quite the point - we have paid for it. Otherwise everything looks very nice. We take Joerg for a drink at the Portofino. We are now on Du terms! He talks about his travels to China and Australia, and his new project.
Moving day 18 September 2006
After one and a half years of searching for the perfect new apartment, finding the right architect, finding the funding and signing contracts, choosing a kitchen, bathroom, floor tiles, paint finishes and numerous other details, we are ready to move in to our brand new apartment in Kirchbodenstrasse, Thalwil on 18 September 2006.
In preparation, we have cleared out all superfluous clutter, making full use of all the excellent Swiss recycling and rubbish disposal systems. We even managed to sell a few items with, hopefully, not too many regrets afterwards. On moving day, Herr Siegfried and his team arrive at 7:00am to begin loading up the van. Everything is already packed in boxes and labelled, so the removal men soon finish, have an early lunch and arrive at 10:30am at the new apartment, even while the floor is still being cleaned. We also have two men from the Zurich Brockenhaus arrive to take away our large wardrobe, scratched dining table, cumbersome desk and other once-treasured items considered too un-chic for our new place.
Even on a wet day, the move goes smoothly. Herr Siegfried reassembles our Sten shelves in the new cellar, and manages to restore all our boxes and furniture to their correct places in the new apartment. Even the piano presents few problems, with the lift working which makes life easier - we have moved from a 4-storey house to a first floor apartment. Two of the removals men work indoors in their socks while the others stay outside so as not to mark our sparkling new floors with their wet feet. So the move has been achieved in less time than expected. Laura comes home after work to offer a few suggestions and organise dinner in our new kitchen, but Matthew has already returned to St. Andrews and so escapes the unpacking and other ensuing chaos.
Our first night isn't too comfortable, due to a complete absence of window blinds and the fact that we had ordered a new bed and got rid of the old one. So Richard and I sleep in Laura's room while she has to use a narrow folding bed in our room, without the benefit of any blinds at the windows.
The day after.
Richard still has a day off work and today we start unpacking our numerous boxes. Ikea ring to say that our three furniture orders are arriving today. Marco Leupi from the kitchen firm Sanitas Troesch arrives to check our kitchen. He examines the botched bin cupboard and a few minor faults, and brings along the cutlery drawer dividers. We decide that nothing much can be done about the bin cupboard now, as the worktop was so heavy it had to be brought in by crane and cannot easily be removed, and the hole is not going to go away. Nevertheless the plumber and joiner will both come along next week to discuss who's to blame.
Ikea turn up, accept our payment and deliver our new bed, three sets of drawers, a sofabed for Matthew, and Laura's new wardrobe. Hours of fun ahead! Building our bed is the first priority. Unfortunately we don't realise that a long metal piece to connect the two sides of the bed base is lying underneath the mattress, and somehow it scratches a nasty gash in our lovely oak parquet. However the bed is eventually assembled with no further damage to the floor or our nerves, and a minimum of bad language from Richard.
The boxes are going to take ages to unpack, especially the books.
The electricians also turn up to start fitting our complex light fittings. We get to enjoy living with Herr Benz, Matthias and the crew. All we had to be going on with were a few strategically-placed lightbulbs, one in each room. Fitting our chosen lighting turns out be a long-drawn-out process, as yet unfinished two months later.
The first week.
Richard goes back to work and I am left to unpack the books alone. Laura is also working and doesn't get any time off for moving. She goes back to England on Friday, leaving full instructions about her room - nothing to be added without her permission. One of the electricians seems amazed that I am arranging all the books in alphabetical order. Matthew should be doing this!
On Thursday I go to hand over our old house in Pilgerweg to Herr L from the Lindt Pensionskasse. During eight years of living in that house, this is the first time I have met him. He is very fussy and pedantic, highly polished shoes and well-creased trousers, likes his lists, and is keen to scold me about my sub-standard cleaning skills. He points out,
So that's me failing the Swiss Hausfrau exam yet again... After inspecting all my faults and shortcomings, we meet the cleaning man, who was also derelict in his duties and didn't polish the parquet well enough. He mumbles something in Italian, then tries to disguise from Herr L the fact that I am paying him in cash. I take away the Protokoll (an important Swiss document) listing all the faults in the house, which includes a missing key - very costly. I hope our house insurance will cover it.If you had cleaned the grouting/washing powder compartment every day, Frau Newton, it wouldn't have got dirty.
At the weekend Richard builds the two bedside tables for our room. It looks nice in there. I put my pink cushions and throws on the bed. All I need now is a large work of art and a hook for my kimono. I'm working on the former.
The rest of September.
As the weeks progress, I have to resume my normal life, in spite of all the interruptions. Several friends come to visit and admire our new apartment. We get used to our new high-speed induction hob. The electricians, plumber, joiner, floor man, blind men etc come to call and I receive detailed instructions on how to use my V-Zug kitchen appliances. This year, I am involved with the ZIWA Charity Second-Hand Sale, a useful recipient of our unwanted books, videos and bric-a-brac. I spend 2 days working on that event, and also start my new tai-chi class. At the beginning of October we also spend a weekend in the UK on a flying visit to Birmingham, St. Andrews, Durham and Middlesbrough. We take Matthew's things out of Hugh and Julie's loft (which they are having converted). Builders in - we know the feeling. St. Andrews is sunny but windy, there's a golf tournament on and Matthew is enjoying his philosophy studies there. In Durham we make an obligatory visit to Tesco's to stock up Laura's fridge. In Middlesbrough I collect the sheets and towels ordered from John Lewis. Our luggage is just over 20 kilos each.
October.
Where did this month go? We now have a Project Manager, Luca, who checks every week to see what still needs to be fixed. After 3 weeks he seems to get disheartened. I exchange emails with Joerg, our helpful architect. I share hard luck stories with Niloo who lives underneath - she has more problems than me, I think. I advise my friends also contemplating a house move of all the pitfalls. Dubrovka from my keep fit class wants to buy the last apartment in our block. She's Croatian. Her family comes round to visit our place and likes it all. We buy some nice red bar stools and I email a photo to Laura. She's not impressed.
Matthias the electrician comes round to fix more electrical problems. He has put up our lighting in the living room and over the bar, which looks very nice. But we are still missing one wall light for the wintergarden. How they managed to order two instead of three is a mystery. Everyone blames someone else. The remaining blinds are installed. We still have a few boxes of CDs and DVDs sitting in the office, and the cellar is full of my paintings. Most of our mail is coming to the right address, although Lloyds Bank needs three attempts to get their facts straight, and still write to Pilgerweg. I have finished my double painting of bamboo for the bedroom. So we have a small sense of achievement.
November.
This month we have our first meeting with all the home-owners and the company running the finances and management of our building. This spurs on the Project Manager to organise all outstanding problems to be fixed on one day. A rather optimistic hope. The man who built the fireplace comes to give me a demonstration and leaves the pristine chimney looking a bit sooty. He also cleans some black marks from the terra cotta tiles and advises me to get them sealed. This should have been done before, I feel. The electrician turns up and starts on his list of four outstanding jobs. His boss comes and checks the fuses and brings the missing light. Someone else comes and explains the workings of the automatic sunshades. The electricians leave and I feel a sense of elation, short-lived unfortunately. Joerg comes round for a chat (we can talk in English, a huge relief) and points out a leaking radiator. I rush out to an appointment. On my return I note that two spotlights which worked earlier are no longer working, and the automatic lights in the wintergarden don't switch off. The shutters in Laura's room where I often spend the night open by themselves at 4:00am...
Our house meeting takes place at a restaurant located along a half-constructed road. There's also a funeral party taking place so we have trouble parking. The meeting starts a bit late. All the house owners are represented, also three of the garage space owners. All in German of course. The housing manager is a woman, but otherwise Swiss chauvinism prevails. Two representatives are proposed, both men. I ask a few rather inane questions. We spend a long time discussing the lift service contract, but gloss over all other potential expenses. After one and a half hours I have a headache, but get to talk to one of the new families who have a young daughter. The wife works too, so she has trouble being at home to the workmen. It seems that the others have more problems than we do. I hope we can understand the minutes when we receive them.
Joerg phones me the next day to say he has arranged for someone to explain the merits of various tile sealant products. I hope I will be at home when they call. Now we have the piano and my art chest of drawers in place, it will not be so easy to seal the floor. I am also hoping for some hooks to be put up for hanging things and for mounting pictures. Maybe I'll have to do it myself. Richard has bought a new electric drill (the old one got left behind in England..) in order to fasten the two halves of Laura's half-built wardrobe together. Unfortunately the door handle is in the wrong place and one door won't screw in. Not one of Ikea's better products, I think. Explaining about plugs and hinges in German is a bit tricky. I hope they can come and finish it off properly.
As everything seems to be getting finished, I decide to hold an Open House and invite all my friends. About 14 people take up the invitation and are very enthusiastic about the apartment. Sadly a few minor electrical problems reamin. The electricians who designed the lighting are coming on Friday to see if everything looks as they imagined. I think everyone will be very pleased when all the remaining jobs are taken care of. Then we can expect a few bills! And a bit of peace too.
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