Another busy day

Today was a little slow, relatively, because we only had the countertop installers in to measure, Luca painting hallways, and the carpenters to install the bookcase.

"Bookcase" is rather an understatement, since it is an entire wall of the house. As is usual with an installation of this size, the first obstacle was to get the components to the house. The van was big enough that they didn't want to bring it into the alley. Instead, they parked in Piazza Jacopone and used an ape (pronounced AH-peh, meaning "bee" because of the sound the motor makes) from there.

The board in the middle is a ramp
for the front wheel because otherwise
the ape wouldn't make it up the step

Here comes the ape!

Making sure everything's loaded. Roberto is in black (he's the carver)
and Enrico is in the background (mostly works with windows,
but came along to have a look)

A push to get it over the threshold and make sure nothing falls off
(Alessandro is to the left)

And up the ramp!

Toting big boards around tight stairs

 

There were pieces everywhere for a while!

Luca painting in the background

Bonus shot of the view out of our bathroom window

The wood is mounting up!

Preparing the layout

Just a few workers' cars blocking the courtyard.
I forgot to mention that the plumbers were also working on
the water softener.

Florence waiting in her reserved ringside seat

Starting the assembly without Ikea's instruction sheet

First block done! The door is
in just to give the effect that we'll have later

Paolo is to the left, helping Alessandro

Second layer going up!

The detail is just exquisite.

Roberto carved these capitals, as well

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. The blacksmith has sent a few photos of his work on the fall-protection railing outside our living room window which I include here

A hive of activity

Today was a busy day. Consider that we had:

1. Electricians doing final installations of the light fixtures we already own, as well as connecting the internet.

Jeremy's room

Measuring for placement holes;
these will be installed later, once the
walls have been painted

Girls' room

Library

Library in progress

Modem installation

Guest room

2. Plumbers doing final installations (water softener hookup is tomorrow, as is the check on all the bathroom plumbing)

3. Painter preparing the walls in the remaining few spaces (stairways/hallways)

4. Carpenters installing the kitchen!

The van is too large to go in our alley well, so it was better
to unload in Piazza Jacopone

An entire kitchen!

Maurizio with the handtruck;
second load of many

Michael couldn't resist
joining the procession

Luckily, we had plenty of room to work

Installation of feet

The cabinet under the stove

Nearly finished!

I love the dovetailing on the panels

This is the rear of a door panel

Love,

Alexandra

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