April 2026

The time has finally come—the kitchen is taking shape. The two of us installed the 5.60-meter-long solid wood countertop. It looks pretty nice:

2. April

I wanted our guests to really get a taste of Danish hospitality, so I—whoosh—hoisted the pennant up the flagpole. Well, everything went fine except for the fact that the rope snapped—of course, only after the pennant was already at the top. Take it down again? No way. Task: Retrieve a pennant from a height of 10 meters at a wind speed of 11 m/s from a conical flagpole that swings back and forth by several meters. Express your helplessness in cubic meters per liter.

3. April

Easter kicks off this year with storm “Dave.” It sounds cute at first, but if you live in an open area near the sea, it’s not quite so funny. Aside from creaking beams and a house that moves (seems to be alive), it offers a whole new perspective on everyday tasks: like opening a door in 112 km/h gales—thrilling! I don’t want to get bogged down in details (that’s what the weather report is for), but annoyingly, some of the greenhouse panes didn’t withstand the storm. And they can’t just shatter like you’d expect with safety glass—no, that would be too simple—they have to punch a hole in the house wall first. Yet another construction project. Lilo and I have decided to tear down the greenhouse and build a new, storm-proof one.

8. April

We're moving on to the bathroom... The insulation is in place:

Starting today, I can drive to the recycling center myself and dispose of my trash. It’s also possible with a foreign license plate if you clear it with the municipality. Another small step forward.

7. - 9. April

I renovated the nest over the course of three days in stages: first, I removed the moss with a brush and acetic acid; the next day, I sanded it down and applied a wood preservative primer; and finally, on the third day, I applied a glaze with a brush and continued working on the interior.

And—underfloor heating was installed in the bathroom:

10. April

It’s snowing again today—unbelievable; we’re thinking about getting the sled out. But despite everything, the kitchen is finally finished today. Finally, a big step toward normalcy.

And a peek inside the kitchen:

21. April

I spent a week in Switzerland running some errands and am back now. The bathroom floor is taking shape:

22. April

There were a lot of small tasks to take care of, including painting the plastered glass inserts. It was exciting because it was my first time working with cement-based paint.

23. April

Today we replaced the five large windows and made some surprising discoveries—for example, the window on the front of the house had absolutely no insulation or weatherstripping. It was an energy-efficiency nightmare, which is why it was so drafty here when it was cold. The other windows were secured with only (too) few screws, but the silicone sealant had kept them in place in the window opening. All in all, another sobering experience.

Well, the pennant is still up—even switching from hPa to curie didn't solve the problem. Eventually, I'll find a solution—or some help.

26. April

Out of sheer boredom, I started building a small box around the unused shower connection. Once again, it’s interesting what you notice when you use a level:

28. April

Since it went so well, we’re tearing everything up again. This time to renovate the main water line, which will now run into the garage and be fitted with a central water filter there. This will allow us to supply both the house and the apartment with softened water. The groundwater from our well contains so much lime that you can actually watch the faucets turn white.

Here's what the finished tangle of pipes looks like—with the water filter not yet connected:

And—the pennant is down. The two helpful guys in the picture tilted the pole and reeled in the string. Thanks so much for that. Now I can hang everything up again.....

30. April

In the meantime, I’ve found out when the heating-pump was installed and by which company. But they aren’t responding. So I contacted the central sales department and am now waiting for a reply. The problem with the system is simply the way it was installed. It’s generally possible to position an outdoor unit inside the building—but then you have to make sure that the fresh air intake comes from a different location. You can see two problems in the picture. First, some of the air is being sucked back in above the exhaust duct, which is equivalent to a thermal short circuit—and second, the condensate is simply running onto the floor. At up to 50 liters per day, that can add up to 3,000 liters per season. It’s quite clear that the wall and floor are already severely damaged. The system was installed in January 2025. So I need to take urgent action here.

As always: the former owner was very creative in his interpretation of the physical realities. Or, to put it simply: ignorant.

The same goes for the apartment. The kitchen cabinets were delivered today: