More steps and railings

I've forgotten to take photos of the new steps into our utility room. Until now, it was a series of crumbling dirt (?) ledges that were a death trap. We asked Umberto to pour a decent set of steps so we didn't have to fear for anyone's safety during maintenance and when we went to get wood.

As usual, they did a lovely job.

The big excitement for today was that the balcony's railing came back, having received a spit and polish. Everyone was very excited up until they realized that the balcony is a bit higher than they'd remembered, and this time gravity would be working against them.

Hm.

Time to pull out the sawhorses and raise them to the maximum height. Time to pull out the ropes. Time to pull out the extension ladder and commandeer one of the electricians to help. But! They managed to get it up during one of the hottest days of the year, and we all had to applaud. It looks so much better, and the anti-rust treatment will protect the iron for the next few years.

We also had our self-designed laundry system that arrived today. Our goal was to keep our beautiful view uncluttered when there was no laundry, while allowing laundry to dry on our terrace as necessary without the encumbrance (and inconvenience) of racks. The solution was a pair of poles with eyehooks that will allow a cord to be strung and tightened. One pole is permanently mounted and the other

has a bracket on either side of the terrace: when not in use, it stays next to its twin on the chimney side. When in use, however, it moves to the opposite corner. Since the washing machine hasn't yet arrived, we can't yet test it out, but we're hoping it works well. The same metalworker who did this has also completed the skeleton for the made-in-place vent hood. It looks great!

In other news, Luca has been working hard on the final drywall applications, and will be trying to get everything done before leaving us for his vacation. We were somewhat dismayed to see that he'd collared our vacuum cleaner for his own purposes, but I didn't have the heart to get annoyed. I never liked that vacuum, anyway...

Enrico has carted off a few windows that have warped and will be reshaping them, as well as continuing to paint the interior doors. The electricians have been continuing to hang light fixtures and generally piddling around.

In the meantime, we've been creating punchlists and have been having a great time supervising, as well as moving bits and bobs when we go back and forth.

Love,

Alexandra

The move

Well, okay, not really. As in, we'll be staying in Via Mazzini for the time being.

BUT

We did have a man with a truck come and the rest of the family schlepped while I directed and nursed my ankle. I did a ton of cleaning, as well. It's amazing how many times you have to mop a floor in order to remove construction dust, and I won't claim to have finished.

The living room, still with plenty of boxes

All the large pieces of furniture have been moved, along with the majority of the boxes from Atlanta. The sofas are now at the upholsterer's, so we're hoping that they'll be done fairly quickly...not likely, given the fact that this week is a big holiday week and he's (fortunately for him) perpetually behind. We'll see!

The table in place!

The guest room offers ample seating, but no bed

The boys' room needs a bit more
furniture

Anyway, I captured a few shots of the move so you can see what it's like to do a move of 150 meters in small-town Italy.

Books in the girl's room

 After lunch, Michael and I made a few trips to the local recycling center to take care of a lot of debris. A trip to the wine store was also indicated, but only because it was in the area.

The drill was to walk between the two houses,
loading at one and unloading at the other

Yes, the truck IS that small

Love,

Alexandra

Kitchen counters, steps, and more!

Enrico came late this morning to install the paper on the stairs so that workers could access the upper floors: poor thing has the dreaded "febbre" (fever), so we directed him sternly not to breathe on us and to go home.

The day was spent in much activity. Electricians hung light fixtures and completed various bits and bobs around the place. The plumber came, fiddled a bit, and left. Umberto and Bogdan finished pouring the new steps to access our storage/utility room. Alessandro and Roberto spent time working on Florence's bed. And in the afternoon, the counters were installed!

This is the easy piece

Stove installed!

Out of the truck...

...Up the stairs...

...Through the dining room...

Nearly there!

We were happy with how the ceramic top echoes the travertine
elements in the house

The sink is a flush-mount

Maurizio working on the dishwasher

Florence being Rapunzel

There's a story on these light fixtures: they're actually wrought iron candle-holders from the 1800s (1700s? I have to look it up) that were electrified with the addition of surface-mounted wires. However, they're too narrow to cover any kind of traditional electric box. There was much consternation when Roberto and co looked at the situation because they did not want visible wires or junctions. They ended up carving out a little cranny in the plaster to hold the wire. Roberto wasn't thrilled with the first fixture because it came out a little from the wall; his diagnosis was that the fixture was curved. I could see from the side that actually, there was a little nut on the bottom edge. I mentioned to him that the NEXT trough (for the second fixture) should include a gouge to accommodate the nut. Once he saw and accepted the issue, nothing would do but that he should take down the first fixture to gouge it similarly. It now lies flat against the wall.

Roberto (electrician) being lovely

Florence, Jeremy, and I also worked on cleaning the main floor's spaces and the master bedroom, since we have a helper + truck arriving tomorrow morning bright and early to help us schlep the big stuff to the house. So exciting!

It's extraordinary how much fine dust an irregular wood floor will trap. We ended up using the driest possible mop and working in tandem to dry the floor right away with a rag. It is slow, but had pretty good results. It took over an hour to clean one bedroom, but it looks fantastic! We did preparatory sweeping for the rest of the floor, having pulled up all the protective cardboard carpets.

And afterwards, a well-earned gelato in the piazza.

Love,

Alexandra

One step at a time...

We're in crunch time here (next week, everything stops in Italy for the annual holidays), and there's a lot of competition for space and work access in the house. Fortunately, we saw Umberto while enjoying our morning coffee outside, and had the chance to go over the work flow with him to help him tell everyone where he could/should be at what time.

We had present at various times:

1. Plumbers, finishing out the water softening system
2. Carpenters, working on Florence's bed-under-the-stairs
3. Electrician, removing the temporary power feed and going over the remaining light fixtures and details to be addressed
4. Carpenters (group 2), preparing the old stairs for refinishing and removing all the yucky hardware from the front doors to allow them to open all the way. Sadly, I don't have a "before" picture.
5. Muratori ("wall-builders"), preparing to pour the steps down to the utility room and general cleanup
6. Floor layer, fixing gaps in the front hall floor so he can do the final polishing

The room's too small to get a full perspective,
but the dark triangle is the top of Florence's bed

Another view!

Installing the ladder rail for the bookcase

Partitions on the stairs

Both sides open!

Looking back into the courtyard!

Notice the holes and dents in the plaster

Hinge damage in the plaster

The hook will stay, as will the bolts

The wall looks like it always did!

Love,

Alexandra

 

At the blacksmith's

I got a call yesterday from the blacksmith, Marcello, who is working on a few fall-protection window grates for us. Rather than utilitarian blech (which is pretty common here, but feels like jail to us), we've commissioned a real artist to do the more important and visible pieces.

He's made some progress, and wanted to show it off; he also wanted to give us a live demonstration (which was completely fun, especially since the end product will be for us!). Florence and I spent about an hour there, and left completely impressed with his artistry.

Making the curve in a longer leaf

Part of the template for one of the grates

Curlicues and little wigglies in the back (branches)

A flower, next to the sketch for his template

These flowers already have the longer leaves attached

This is how a longer leaf begins

Adding the undulations to a longer leaf

This leaf started out as a rod; he used
the hydraulic hammer to do the rough shaping

Hand-hammering creates texture
and refines the shape

Voilà! Complete with lifelike curvature and movement

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. Enrico and Alviero have been working on installing the new steps today: