It's taken some time - but....

Well the house is about to be finished finally! All the building work was finished in Late July 2005 and the only thing remaining was the 'finish' for the outer walls.... all 347sqm of them! The orignal plan - the geometra's and decorator's - but not mine was that the outer walls should be first covered with a 'capotto' which is a layer of insulation similar to polistyrene sheets which are stuck to the walls and the sealed and painted. I was told by them and a couple of locals (who weren't involved) that I really needed this 'extra insulation' because otherwise it would be far too cold in the house in the winter...(Yeah - right!). While others - not involved with 'spending my money' told me that this was a load of rubbish.

So I decided to try it for a couple of winters to see what it would be like (and to revive a sorely depleted bank balance at the same time) before making a decision. The house before I bought it had no central heating, only one fireplace, no double glazing and the window 'slots' beneath the roof (which had partially collapsed) were just holes in the wall to let air (and cold) circulate. But most important was that some of the walls were 18" thick!!! The house at that time looked like this




But now things are a bit different and it's ready for theat all important 'final touch' So from the wreck above, and after many months of planning the house now looks like this.






I have found a decorator who lives in the village and after some meetings (and getting other quotes) he has come up with what I want and at a price I can afford.... The walls will first be coated with a thin coat of cement to get rid of all the blemishes that would have been covered by the 'capotto'. that is then left for some days to allow it to dry out completely. Then this coating is sealed and another thicker layer of a coloured silicate mixture with a texture like tiny pieces of gravel will finsh the walls. The exposed 'under roof' beams will also be treated with a colourless 'matt' varnish to preserve them too.

So then it was down to choosing the colour! Well I had always wanted it to be 'pale apricot' (which is permitted in my village) and so this photo of a house in nearby Varenna gives a good idea of what it should be like. All this - with a favourable wind - should be completed before Easter. I can hardly wait. Honest I'm like a cat with 9 tails...I don't know which one to wag first.

posted by Carole B @ 9:57 AM