Hi everyone!
A slow week went by, with daily heavy rains it's not always easy to find the motivation to work outside.
We installed a 50 square meter fleece and pond liner on top of the build, and started backfilling with dirt.
It's a lot of work because we have to dig the overgrown pile of dirt that's been sitting for 5 years on our lot, first getting rid of the roots in the top soil. But we have to do this manually as the back is only reachable through a narrow path in our neighbor's garden.
My partner also installed the electrical panel with 24V circuits for RGBW LED strips, a PoE WiFi access point and connected the wall outlets to the 230V main. It was temporarily connected to test how bright the strips will be. They will later be mounted in metal railings across the whole length of the lower brick line, with a wood cladding.
We will then have to dig a 20 meter trench from the house main electric supply, lay a PVC pipe and pull a 3-phase copper line to the cellar. This will be the garden hub to provide electricity to the future outdoor kitchen.
The next few days we will work on the mortar joints, using the multitool diamond blades that arrived in the mail to finish the cleanup before grouting all the joints cleanly.
Have a great week and keep on doing it yourself!
For the love of god, install a good CO2_O2 detector, especially for the initial phase that can be crucial.
BTW: How hard was it to get a permit for this thing?
Good call, will do! A building permit wasn't required as it its volume is below 40 cubic meters. You only need a building permit if it's bigger, or if you install running water / heating / a toilet (basically if it's "livable")
Yeah, that depends heavily on local ordinances and state law. A friend has been trying to get one for years now.
CO2 is especially important in the first years as you will put new/mixed soil on it - which has a lot of more organic material in it which is now exposed to O2 and will rot - generating CO2. I work in a wine region as a paramedic and we had more than similar cases.
yeah, Germany loves its rules! But there's also a strong Christian tradition, and if it taught me anything, is that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission ^^
At least it's not a big volume and with the electric ventilation in the door frame, the air should recycle quickly. We will have a couple of CPU fans (or similar), with an airflow of up to 120 m³ per hour, it shouldn't be too hard to refresh the complete volume of the building. But I'll get a CO2 monitor, I wanted to get one for checking the air quality when we use our fireplace in winter too.
The forgiveness part is not valid for the building authority. They absolutely force people to destroy adjuncts/garden sheds that have 0.3m² than the rule and have been build in the 70ies.