Building progress

The builder arrived early with his offsider, then spent the first hour unloading equipment and materials from his truck including scaffolding, wooden planks, i-beams, cement, buckets, tools, etc. All of these things were laid out around the back of the house. Then he proceeded to build the scaffolding outside for the roof job and erect the support beams inside for the dining room job. He explained that they would prepare for all three jobs and then progress the internal jobs because rain is forecast for the next few days. Then they immediately started on the voltini job, first removing the 3 softwood beams before installing 2 of the 4 i-beams. Only once these beams were in place did they remove the 2 old hardwood beams and replace them withthe remaining 2 i-beams. This is because stone walls are often held together by the internal structure. Sadly, these old beams were in perfect condition except for where dripping water had dry rotted one end of one of them. Before removing the old beams, the builder checked with me...part of me wanted to keep them for their historical and aged hardwood value but the rest of me wanted a higher ceiling. So I told the builder to remove all of them and seeing the result so far (i-beams) I am sure that this has been the right decision.

Above: jackhammering out the old wooden beams

Above: cutting the new steel beams to fit

Above: lifting the new steel beams into place

Above: four new steel beams in place

 

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Building projects

A few weeks ago, I mentioned several building projects that we had received quotes for. We have decided to proceed with three of them: roof (realignment of slipped tiles on the main house and new roof on the rest of the house), construction of voltini (ceiling for the lounge room) and creation of an atrium and new staircase (at the front door). We have been incredibly busy preparing for the builder, who will commence work tomorrow. Stu has demolished the old ceiling in the lounge room while I have been removing rubble and cleaning bricks for the new ceiling. Today, we decided we should check the state of the stone wall that will be exposed as part of the atrium and staircase project. When we peered through the door that currently gives access to the attic, we found an ugly mess of cement had been thrown onto this original stone wall. Cleaning this off suddenly became todays job. Stu spent two hours with a pick and hammer and jackhammer while I shovelled the rubble into a bucket and carried it downstairs to the rubble pile (10 loads). Since this same wall carries the kitchen chimney, we were surprisingly warm despite the 8 degree temperature outside. Opening up this area will mean that the heat from the kitchen fireplace will be directed into the house rather than lost to the attic. During our excavations, we found that there had been a chimney fire at some stage as some of the chimney bricks are burnt. As with all things we find here, we will embrace this as part of the houses history.

Above: The brick wall that will be removed to expose the original stone wall behind.

Above: Stu hard at work

 

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The thorn

Most of you will be relieved to hear that no further inspection was necessary this morning. It seems that my "wait and see" approach gave the poison enough time to dissipate after all.

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A thorn in his (back) side

I refer to earlier posts on the telecommunication issues we are having (broken cable in the forest). Today, Stu took off up the hill behind the house armed with branch cutters and hedge trimmers to trace the line. It is quite steep and slippery up there, with loose dirt and long grass and thorn trees. I saw him slip on his back several times. So I shouldn't have been surprised when he casually suggested over dinner tonight that he might have a splinter in his nether regions. Whatever concern I felt, it was overshadowed by an intense desire to laugh. However, I managed to keep my face reasonably serious while I asked him to give me a brown eye so I could inspect the damage. There, in the middle of our fairly exposed kitchen, he turned around and far too soon I was greeted by a soft white bum marked by a red dot. What does one do in this situation? I decided to take the "wait and see" approach. I told him that any pain he felt was likely to be the poison from the thorn which would probably dissipate overnight and that we should have another inspection in the morning. Stand by for an update. In the meantime, I can report that his foray into the forest was successful. He was able to find the spot where the line was pulled down by bamboo and vines. We are now in a position to explain to the telecommunications people when they return this week.

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Crossed lines

It has been six weeks since we submitted our application for a fixed phone line and internet. We have heard nothing during that time but have visited the shop every week to enquire on progress. We are known as "l'Australiani" (the Australians) and I am sure the poor people behind the counter cringe when they see us enter their shop. Every time we have visited, they have told us to wait for a "technico" to contact us. Well, the technico finally called and subsequently visited. He checked the line with his little meter and far too quickly denounced it as "rotto" (broken). So our communications from home will be delayed a bit longer while Stu cleans the forest around the line in preparation for the return of the technico next week.

 

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Tally

The Story

...The most unsavoury of the convicts were allocated to the brickworks, where they toiled in two shifts. The first shift arrived early and moped around in torn clothes until a poor settler offered them tea and cake to provide strength for the long day ahead. They were then driven to the mine face where they were allocated simple tools by a cruel overseer and instructed on expectations. After several hours of hard toil, they were permitted a short rest and rations of watery soup and crude bread. The second shift arrived during this break and attempted to partake in the rations but were driven away to the mine face. Some were allocated tools whilst others were set to carry unreasonable loads of damaged bricks. Some members of the second shift were seen loitering around the area and had to be driven back to work by the cruel overseers ugly wife. Discipline would normally be the task of the overseer himself but he was lazy and wandered into the bush for a sleep in the sun. At the end of the long day, the cruel overseer and his ugly wife tempted the convicts with talk of hard grog which never came to pass. Instead, the convicts were sent down the dangerous and almost impassable track to their respective barracks.

The Result

...approximately 350 clean bricks!!!

 

 

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Water water water

Our poor dedicated plumber has been here for two days installing our alternative water solution. Tonight, we can report that two dressing gowns are no longer wandering across country to the rustico for showers!

 

 

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Tally

In five days, I have cleaned 230 bricks. Only 570 to go. Thankfully, some wonderful friends have taken pity on me and will come over tomorrow morning with their water blaster to see if it might clean them faster than I can.

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Tally

In four days I have cleaned 180 bricks. Only 640 to go.

 

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The demolition is finished

The demolition is finished! We now have a three storey cavity, the subject of many of my current nightmares which involve stone walls collapsing. As a sign of respect for my subconscious, Stu has agreed to leave the beams in situ to support the walls until the builders have installed the i-beams for the traditional voltini.

 

 

 

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Tally

In two days, I have cleaned 95 bricks. I have 8 days to do the remaining 700.

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First frost

This morning we had our first frost! When we woke, it was 1 degree outside and 13 degrees in the bedroom. Time to pick the rose hips and turn the heating on?

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A treasure chest

I am happy to say that I am now the very proud owner of this beautiful antique cherry hard wood chest, sold to me by a much loved friend who is leaving Italy.

 

 

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On the way

Well, I am off and running in terms of cleaning bricks. Actually, "off and running" may not be the most accurate description. My hammer and chisel worked for two hours this morning to build a monstrous pile of 35 clean bricks... This afternoon, we went to an 8 course luncheon at an agriturismo where my hammer arm had trouble lifting my knife!

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Progress?

We took another three steps forward today. And two steps back, of course. Firstly, our plumber came to resume The Water Challenge. After explaining how he intended to do the job, he instructed Stu to pull up pavers around the back of the house (laid at great expense 3 years ago!). This would allow him to lay the gas pipe. He also asked Stu to make two huge holes in our beautiful stonework (laid 200 years ago!). This would allow access into the house. Ouch to both of these destructive tasks. While Stu got started on these jobs, the plumber connected our new upstairs toilet (yay!) and drilled a hole in the floor to access the first floor bathroom. Then he took off down the driveway, yelling that we should phone him again when we had completed the set tasks. Much to his disappointment we had finished the jobs within an hour. "Sono pronto!" I told him on the phone. Two hours later he was back to install the gas line, then he was gone again yelling that he would return on Wednesday to do the internal work. In the midst of all this activity, I pruned the lilac shrubs in the company of a nice little snake who slid out of the scrub several times. We also had a visit from an artisan who constructs the arched brick ceilings typical of Piemonte known as "voltini". He was here to quote on a new ceiling for our lounge room. We had originally planned a wooden ceiling but that was before we discovered that some of the old beams in situ were rotten. The voltini man viewed our stock of old bricks and said he would be happy to use them if we were able to chip off the old cement still adhering to many of them. Unfortunately, he also said he needed 800! So I now have a new task which I fear may never end...

 

 

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Jobs...three steps forward and two steps back

We have had a visit from a builder to quote on our various challenges. The costs for two of our jobs were bearable; the cost for the third meant giving up food for a year! More on our decisions later. Meanwhile, we continue to take three steps forward and two steps back on every single issue we have on our plates. These include getting internet on at home, getting papers signed to renew my Australian drivers licence, getting the necessary documentation to transfer car registration from Switzerland to Italy, getting our water problems solved and finishing the demolition. Every single day we experience great highs and lows. However, the optimist always manages to come out stronger and we are even thinking tonight that everything may get sorted out on the same day! Exactly when that day comes still remains to be seen...

 

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Ready for a chill...and a thaw

This week, we have had a few blue sky days, so we took the opportunity to get into the garden and do our pre winter jobs. While Stu got to know his mowers again and do what we believe will be the last mow of the year, I raked up fallen leaves and pruned the bushes around the house. The leaves went onto the garden beds, along with the mulched branches from the pruning. I also cut back all the ivy off our retaining wall and cleaned the steps to the fienile, before digging the ash from our fires into the dirt around the roses and covering the old stoves to protect them from rust. We are now ready for Winter...and Spring...

 

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Demolition update

You have probably noticed that I have been writing short blog postings about various minor topics lately. Short postings are all I can cope with after a day of carting bricks and shovelling rubble! However, I can confirm that the demolition work has been progressing nicely. We have now finished the demolition of the loft and removed several square metres of the first level floor. We are aiming for completion within a week. The bricks are piled behind the fienile. At EUR 1 each, they need to be looked after! The rubble is piled behind the house. Smaller pieces are going straight on the driveway to ensure a good road base over winter and larger pieces will be used to shore up our steeper banks in the future.

Above: The hole in the first floor that we are using to send bricks and rubble down.

Above: The situation on the first floor with the loft gone.

Above: The situation on the ground floor. Mattresses are being used to protect the window, heater and fireplace. A fan is being used to direct dust away from the rest of the house. The white smudge is a cloud of dust coming down from above.

Above: The pile of rubble.

 

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The courage to sing

When we were in Ialy two years ago, a middle aged woman who lived in a two storey apartment on one of the main streets used to throw her shutters wide, lean out of her window and sing opera to passers by. We would glance up and down the street in search of a Romeo or a television crew. But the street was always empty of any obvious distractions. Locals went about their business, ignoring this display of theatrical joy. If you looked at her, she would sing to you personally, arms extended and face expressive. It would be a momentous Italian moment. Although she only used to sing in the warmer months, we remembered to cast a glance up at her balcony two weeks ago on a yellow Autumn day. Unfortunately, the shutters were closed. But this is Italy. And Italians sing. That same day in our local cafe, a female customer joined a warbling love song playing on the radio. Simply glorious! She made everyone in the cafe smile.

 

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I will always be Australian

When we drove out of the valley this morning, I saw a dead kangaroo in a curved piece of pale timber on the side of the driveway. A little further on I found a frilled neck lizard in an autumn leaf. It seems that you can live in Italy but you will always be Australian...

 

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