The Stavdals

We're probably moving into a new house at the end of May 2006. Here's a brief account of the process so far.
When a friend of ours, Bjart, who is a construction engineer, called us one and a half years ago saying he had come across a perfect building site for us, we were both thrilled and flabbergasted. Having had a number of rented flat the past 14 years, it was high time we moved into something of our own.

The site is on the island of Kval?ya to the west of Troms? about 10 km north of the airport (ENTC), in other words it is basically in the countryside. This is what it looked like before the excavator started digging into the lush, green "meadow".

After buying that spot in the summer of 2004 sorting out all the paper work, changing the original drawing with the help of Bjart, we truly believed we would be able to complete the groundwork and the mat foundation before the snow came. However, that autumn the first snowfall came in mid October, but that didn't bust our hopes. Both friends and neighbours, even my family from Arendal helped mowing snow for about three months before we had to give in to the heavy snowfalls. Just take a peep at the pictures.

So we put off the project until the spring of 2005. As soon as the snow had melted, we went ahead and prepared the foundation using a comprimator and a rotating lazar to get everything levelled out. Great precision was put into measuring the diagonals with the guidance of Mr Bjart on Skype from Brazil! Later a friend of Bjart's, Asbjørn, also went to the greatest possible lengths to help out by erecting the Jackon beams and walls.
Here are a few glimpses.

Here the mixertruck has filled the Jackon elements with concrete.

The next step was getting all the plumbing done.

Subsequently, owing to the help of my strongest friends, we managed to fill the foundation with 60
of gravel by means of manual labour using spades and wheelbarrows

After hours, days and weeks of sweating in the arctic midnight sun, all the gravel was in place.

Then insulation, reinforcment and cables for floor-heating before finalizing the top of the foundation.

Here's a shot of Bjart. Without his help, this project would have gone down the drain.

But the story goes on. Despite the fact that everything was set for the contractors to start building in mid August; surprise, hey, Byggmesteren Troms? (The contractors), hadn't got any carpenters available, so we impatiently waited in great suspense and anticipation from one broken promise of commencement to the next. After THREE months, two weeks before Christmas, they came. And dazzled by surprises, the day after they set up their gear, it started snowing, and I expected mowing. Sure enough, my expectations were fulfilled...