Today the 24th June exactly four weeks after it was started on the 27 May the house was finished and the team left to start another house near Munich on Monday!
The team just before their departure and their leaving in their heavily loaded van.

But before they left there was loads of work to do. This was the day of the testing and inspection.  And, if it had not been for Klaus it would have been impossible – he did all the translation; four hours of it.

So what happened?

In the evening before the famous blower door test was done.
The fan with its associated computer was mounts in place of the a window and a cycle of sucking and blowing was performed with measurements taken of the change in pressure to calculate the air loss from the building.
The building is about 580 cubic metres and the air loss was calculate at less than 1 cubic metre per hour. The standard is 1.5 so as this is about 30% less it was regarded as good.
Then each item on the sampling list was checked for position and function. Each electric point was tested and the French electrical conformity test (consuel) was done by a qualified French Electrician.
The only faults found were some parts of the front door step were missing so it will have to be fitted later and two of the windows for the basement were broken and will have to be replaced.
As soon as i had signed that everything was OK the team left leaving us missing a group of individuals who had over a short period of time made a big impact on our lives, not only now but over many years to come.
The final results are -

The house from the boundary of the plot

The front door and the side that will contain the court yard

From the front showing the solar heating panels

The front and the side that faces east so gets the early morning sun

And how do we feel?

The house has passed our expectations both in terms of looks and quality of finish.

It looks pretty and everyone appreciates it’s looks. More over it fits on the plot well and looks in keeping even though it is obviously not a French designed house.

The fresh air ventilation system is virtually silent when running in normal mode but there is a define rumble when it is working hard, as for example today when trying to keep the temperature down

The hot water system seems to be working well and reached it maximum temperature early in the afternoon, so we have 300 litres of water at 59 deg C

We are little concerned over the water filtration and water softening connections and our ability to obtain the correct fittings to be able connect in a suitable system.

We will not be absolutely certain but have a feeling that the addition of the extra metre on all sides may have made the house too big.  But only actual use will confirm or destroy this theory.

We are pleased that the sun get into all rooms during the day but at this time of longest days the sun is so high that it doing not excessively heat the house.

We are a little concerned that the final permanent connection to the electrical supply will be more difficult than suggested and that is will take longer than we would like.

The working relationship with the team despite the language difficulties were good and we found them accommodating and helpful.

I am a little worried about the amount of work still to be done particularly the laying of the wood floor in the lounge.

Recommendations to others

If you want a house built to a high quality at a good price performance ratio, then you must include Schwoerer in your short list, depending on the planning constraints in your area.

If you decide to go with them, then you will have to fight through the administrative system which could do with a thorough overhaul, but when you get to the actual build you will be pleased.

However, do not expect the house to built any quicker than a conventional one; as whilst the actual build time is fast the time from signing the contract to the final occupation are about the same.

I will add more as we make further progress but after weeks of hard work it is time for a little rest!