Floorboards

The big push this week is to get down the floorboards in the upper floors because no other workmen can finish until they have access to the upstairs areas. Gianni, a lovely parquetista, has been working hard on getting everything in place. As of late this morning, he had completed all of the upper floor except for the boys' room (he started at the hallway at the top of the stairs to have the only portion that actually lined up with the boards, so crooked are the old walls). He'll finish there tomorrow and then will start with baseboards, during which process, other workers will be able to access the space.

Starting late last week, it was time for the top step

First board...this took a lot of fiddling
due to slight unevenness in the concrete subfloor

In order to get it completely level,
 Gianni did some strategic weighting

Hallway done

Bedroom done

Tinello and half of bathroom corridor done

Girls' bedroom done

Apart from Gianni's efforts, the plumbers have also been in to do bits and bobs. It's delightful to see the progress there, too!

Toilet and bidet in guest bath...a few attachments yet to complete

Toilet installed in powder room

Love,

Alexandra

Rapid acceleration

Panic has definitely set in as far as our contractors are concerned. Already past the July 7 deadline, when financial penalties technically set in, they are also staring down the barrel of Ferragosto. While only really a one-day holiday, just about everything shuts down during most of the month of August because people typically take a two-week minimum holiday to go to the beach. This means that our contractors are finally realizing that if they don't do it before August, then there will be no work done (and financial penalties!) for the space of an entire month. This probably doesn't look so great for them.

Today, we have electricians in the top two floors doing the finish wiring: switches and outlets. Light fixtures are considered furnishings and will likely be done later. We also have Luca continuing to paint away. He has completed the kitchen/dining room, and has been doing prep work for the living room and guest room. He has also moved upstairs to take care of the final painting there, to allow flooring installation starting tomorrow. Marco the plumber is installing toilets and other bathroom plumbing in the upstairs (once the hardwoods go in, the geometra doesn't want the workers traipsing through with dirty feet, with good reason). We also have Alessandro and side kick installing the interior steps (finally). Alviero (Enrico's side kick) made an appearance this morning.

Here are some current photos with notes:

Instead of teflon tape, Marco uses hemp
(see the pile of what looks like a wig just above the case?)
wrapped around the plumbing joints.

He gets some fibers, aligns them, and wraps the threads

A grease-based putty and it's ready to go! If there were any
water leak in the joint, the hemp would absorb it, swelling, and
this would plug the leak.

Sink mounts in the master bath

Toilets plumbed in kids' bath

The electricians run individual wires, not cables,
 through the previously-installed conduit

Color! We have the darker shade of blue (which is also seen
below, more true to life), then the lighter shade on the same
card in the small corridor, then the purple of the kids' bathroom

Interior steps going in!

It was not all happiness when they had to pull out the belt sander

They're putting in soundproofing
strips and doing a nice job wedging to prevent squeaks

Tongue-in-groove joinery between treads and risers

I realize I have no photos of the dining room/kitchen space finished; I'll take some tomorrow and post with an update on the flooring!

Love,

Alexandra

A Wedding to Plan!

Last week, we were all absolutely thrilled to hear that Eleanor and Matthew are going to be married! It’s a delight because they’re such a lovely couple together.

Obviously, the bunnies shared in our enthusiasm, and wanted to start practicing right away for their roles in the ceremony.

Love,

Alexandra

A word about carpenters

We continue to be impressed with the quality of workmanship here. We have three official carpentry teams working on the job: Enrico, who mainly deals with windows and doors with other projects thrown in; Alessandro, who is working on the library bookcase and its associated stairs along with his pal Roberto (a well-known wood carving artist here in Todi); and Maurizio, who is in charge of the kitchen and other furniture/cupboards in the house.

Since a picture's worth a thousand words, I thought you'd enjoy some of the photos I was able to get of their workshops. The first is Maurizio's, for the kitchen:

Maurizio is using slabs of wood

Next, we have Alessandro and Roberto:

Roberto is carving these details to
match the same details on the wood
mantel in the library

Handcarved capitals courtesy of Roberto

Alessandro bookmatched the burled sections beautifully 

This thing is enormous!

The bookcase backs up against these stairs

Love,

Alexandra

While we were gone...more house happenings

While we were gone, we didn't want to miss a thing at the house! I begged all the workers to send photos as they could. An overview:

Travertine landing in library

The staircase has been removed and a railing installed

The gutter includes a wall penetration to reduce water on the terrace

Copper gutter on the terrace

Hardwoods in the boxroom

Hardwood in Michael's office

Working on refinishing the beams

attic painted

Many windows installed

New window installed

Kids' bathroom painted

Library painted

Girls' room painted (also boys', but no photo)

Window opening reconstructed (it has now been plastered and is ready for painting)

While the house is (as usual) behind schedule, we're very impressed with everything they've done, and it's coming together nicely.

Love,

Alexandra