End of week 6 – cantina bathroom is looking good

Work crawls ahead at the moment. The workers have been building the new wall which will enclose the guest bathroom in the basement. They’ve put in a sliding door and it feels quite good, now that the layout of the space is there. We’re still not sure how we’re going to fit a radiator in though! Hoping the plumber will have some ideas.

Meanwhile poor Roscoe has been given the long, boring job of scraping old paint off walls. Just our bedroom has taken over a week.

To give him a break, I’ve taken him with me on tile shopping expeditions (I’m not sure which is worse!). We’d planned to get super cheap plain tiles in both bathrooms and for the floors, but we gave in and got slightly nicer ones. The cheap ones were all so overdone! After much agonizing, we got nice horizontal rectangular ones for the main bathroom in a dark grey-chocolate colour for the detail and beige for the rest. When they arrive, we’ll pay around EUR 22 per square metre, plus EUR 40 per square metre in the detailed bits. Ouch.

Meanwhile we’ve economised in the guest bathroom with a basic cream tile, with a slightly darker border at the bottom. These will cost EUR 12 per square metre.

The floor area to be tiled in the cantina is large – over 20 square metres. But we just didn’t like the cheap tiles (looked like they belonged in a cheap clothes store in 1985!). We feel this level of the house is a bit more rustic, with it’s sloping walls and cavern feel. We want decor to reflect that, so we went for a rough-edged, cotto-like rectangle, which we’re thinking of putting in a herringbone pattern. It comes in around EUR 18 a square metre. I just pray they’re nice!

All in all, it’ll be around EUR 700 of tiles, and we still haven’t sorted the kitchen!

We’ve had a tip-off from one of the builders about someone who is selling some old tiles like our own, so we’re hoping that comes through.

Cost of works to date:

Previous total EUR 7,485

Labour (13.5 days) EUR 1,755.00

Petrol for the truck EUR 40.00

Sand for cement EUR 10.00

Cement, sliding door cage, lintel (for cantina) EUR 233.00

Washed sand EUR 33.00

Art for walls EUR 342.00

Shower cubicle (curved) EUR 193.00

TOTAL EUR 10,091

Digital cameras – the key to effective shopping

I once went to a seminar on effective desk research. The crux was to keep a careful record of everything and its source, even if it didn’t seem useful at the time. I was unconvinced at the time that all this effort was needed – after all, you just have to keep in mind what you’re looking for, right?

Those presenters would be pleased to know I’ve found a use for their method. Shopping.

I now carry a notebook with me everywhere. Brochures and magazines are bookmarked and filed (at least when I’m feeling disciplined). Thank goodness for tabbed browsing – I keep all my house sites bookmarked in folders. And when I go to shops, I take pictures of products I like and their info tags.

Pulling the camera out does get me some odd looks, I admit. But there are advantages.

1. I don’t have to bring Roscoe on every shopping trip – I can get his yea or nea from the comfort of his computer seat.
2. I can make a note now of items that aren’t needed for a while so I don’t forget them.
3. If I want to do some comparison shopping, the photos are a better record than my memory, and quicker to get all the details than writing them in the notebook.

How else am I supposed to remember the myriad tiles, window fittings, skirting boards, etc.?

Home theatre? But I just want the basics!

Our cabling needs must be decided quickly so we can book the electrician. But, Roscoe’s research reveals, getting a movie screened in your very own home theatre is not as easy as plugging in the TV. Perhaps our needs are rare – we don’t watch normal TV, instead we tend to watch DVDs and internet material and play games, all directly off the computer. So all we need to do is beam a signal from the computer in the study to the projector and speakers in the lounge. Simple, right?

But a good quality video signal doesn’t go via wireless connections – it’s too big and fast. So a cable has to go somewhere. Or, to be specific, three places – the projector and (at least) two speakers, which are, naturally, on opposite sides of the room.

We don’t want cables lying around; we could get the electrician to bury them in the wall, but it would cost EUR 50 for each outlet – so I guess EUR 200 minimum before materials – steep!

And then there’s the high definition question. If you’re burying cables in walls, you want them future-proofed, rather than needing dug out again to upgrade in a couple of years. So do we get a costly high definition system? We’d need a data cable as well to use the inernet or play games. And audio cables. Suddenly it all seems complex.

An alternative is to leave cables accessible so they can be upgraded or added to when you want. The more subtle options for doing this are putting the cables under skirting board or under a cornice, between the ceiling and the wall. Special ones are made with cavities inside for the purpose. We’ve got balcony doors in the way so the skirting option won’t work for us. And the cornice option still requires wires to be trailed down walls to the ideal speaker height.

There just doesn’t seem to be an ideal solution.

A whole bathroom... sort of!

Two more deliveries today – this is better than Christmas!

Sadly, the lavamani mini sink I ordered for the tiny basement bathroom arrived broken. Silly person hadn’t (a) packed it very well, or (b) written “fragile” on the pack. Ah well, I guess these things happen. Hopefully he will refund me the EUR 30 I paid for it, but I can live if he doesn’t.

Meanwhile the shower arrived for the main bathroom (luckily very well packed and all in one piece). It’s just perfect – plain white curved tray and clear glass curved sliding doors. Anyone who has ever felt good about getting a bargain will love the fact that I got this – with very professional service – for EUR 193 delivered, after being quoted EUR 533 in the local bathroom shop. The abundant packing should keep us in barbecue wood for at least a month too!

We laid out the shower tray along with the loo and bidet and sink and it all fits, thank goodness. I’m so pleased. It’s our first room that is really starting to take shape, and I’m amazed just how exciting it is. Never thought I’d care this much about a bathroom.

Meanwhile the workers continue the meticulous job of getting the basement floor reinforced and level, and I despair at the thought of ever finding light fittings I love. Know any good sites for lighting ideas? Please let me know.

We’re torn between modern ideals and old-fashioned style. I wish LED and solar lighting was more practical, but I guess there will always be technologies that are just not ready in time. (On an aside, I did see this rather lovely idea of a solar jar: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6809959.)

I like some of the retro and minimalist stuff out there, but Roscoe tries to restrain me from introducing too many styles into the house.

Hoping inspiration strikes soon!

Our sink has arrived! Woo hoo!

Back to work after the Ferragosto holiday today.

I was perplexed to see Concenzo and his helper in deep concentration over a tube of water. Each had an end of the tube at different sides of the room, while the middle of the tube hung toward the floor. They explained the concept of the "water level" to me - if you hold a tube of water in a "U" shape, the water will be at the same height at both ends. So, on our very uneven earth floor, the tube allowed them to mark the same height all round the room.

Apart from the joy of having a level floor, it's useful because our cantina was previously as short at 2.5m in places. If in future we want to make this official living space, it needs to meet the regulation height of 2.7m. I'm keen to keep the space as flexible as possible, so the boys have had to dig. Luckily, the ancient foundations were only made of rubble and earth, so after they got through the modern cement with the pneumatic drill, the going was easier.

A nice surprise for our first day back at work - the sink finally arrived! And it's gorgeous! Apart from Paypal holding onto my cash for a week and slowing things down, I'm pleased with the Ebay sink-buying experience. Now we're just holding out for taps and a shower, which should arrive in a couple of days. If these all go well, I'll march ahead and get the u-bend (which don't seem to be u-shaped in the modern world, instead, it looks rather sleek), and see about a plug.

In my enthusiasm for a minimal sink and minimal, wall-fitted taps, I didn't think of how the plug would work. Plugs in shops don't seem to have chains anymore. Most seem to be popped up using a lever at the back of the taps, but our tap maker clearly didn't think this was necessary. Will have to do a bit of web research and see what else is out there!

Meanwhile Roscoe has taken an interest in the bedroom. By "an interest" I mean, he's vetoing my ideas. If it seems early to be planning bedroom layout, it's because we need to decide fairly soon where we want lights and light switches.

Given that the room is fairly large (about 5 x 3 m) I had hoped to have an open-plan wardrobe (to avoid the frustration of doors left open by a forgetful boyfriend), ideally screened off in its own dressing area with a muslin-type flat curtain (to avoid the stress of boyfriend's mess being visible). It was a perfect design for co-habitational bliss. Until Roscoe said flat "no" to muslin curtains (no matter how stylishly done). His suggestion is rice paper sliding doors, such as the Iki model offered by www.urushi.it. Seems a bit oriental for an Italian casa d'epoca. May have to think on this for a while.

Any ideas, please post below!

End of week 5: half way to done?

Week 5 has been notably short due to Ferragosto on Wednesday (tomorrow). Since the start of August, all of Italy has been gradually grinding to a halt, and today is the last day anyone is allowed to do anything useful. Concenzo would have continued drilling, bless him, except that he didn’t want to disturb the peace.

The builders are taking the minimum holiday of Wednesday-Friday, and are coming back on Monday. Our friends have reacted with shock. “You’ve got builders in during August?! How’d you swing that?” It feels great that we can press on when we thought we’d be twiddling our thumbs. That said, the electrician and the plumber are going to be needed soon, and they certainly aren’t giving up their 2 week holiday!

So what shall we do with ourselves for our enforced pause? Given that furniture shops are shut for the break, Roscoe is granted a reprieve from shopping. We're off camping in the mountains instead, to enjoy our new region.

The short break gives us a nice pause to think about where we’ve got so far. We had hoped to be half-way through the works in our fifth week. But we hadn’t considered all the cement floors to be drilled off and rebuilt at the right height. How annoying that it’s set us back a good couple of weeks!

On a positive note, the boys have finished that job now, and almost all the “demolition” part of the job is done. (We’ve still got to cut some steps into the basement, but that’s it – I hope!) The “construction” phase began today with the new waste pipe being laid to the drain. It’s nice to see building rather than just knocking down.

Still loads to do though! I feel quite overwhelmed.

Our secret room and other adventures

As we reach the end of week 4, Ferragosto (Italy's summer holiday, in theory not starting until 15th August, i.e. next Wednesday) affects the project more and more. First of all it was the sink, which we couldn't have delivered until September/October (and I eventually ordered off Ebay). Now, all the builders merchants are closing for the holidays, and the electrician and the plumber don't want to know. Our own trusty builders are only taking next Wednesday to Friday off, but even they can't keep working if they need more materials.

With this in mind, the boys spent most of today shovelling an impressively large consignment of sand. At the same time, they wanted to dig up the cantina (basement) floor (yet another place that has had too much cement poured onto it). And where do we put sand if we can't use the cantina? Well, the next door house is a derelict ruin...

In any case, I got a bill from the Comune this week for taking up the pavement with our hoist. If we're already paying for pavement space, we may as well put our sand on it. We had asked the Comune a few weeks ago for permission to put up the hoist (we took our friend who's a friend of the mayor to smooth things along). When they said yes, I didn't realise there was a tax involved. The letter was of the “legalese” type. It took me a good 45 minutes to realise I hadn't done anything wrong. Then, the sums were interesting. Translated, it went something like this:

1 EUR per square metre per day

(We had requested 10m2 for 55 days.)

10m2 x 55 days = EUR 550

EUR 550 x 50% = EUR 275

EUR 275 x 50% = EUR 137.50

No explanation as to why the 50% discount, never mind why they had applied it twice. Not that I'm complaining. I've paid it already so the local vigili don't come and shout at us.

Yesterday the boys finally started (what I hope is) our last piece of demolition: the cantina floor. Before starting, they had to finish off the leftover sand that was sitting on it. They did this by cementing everything in sight. I decided not to question.

To my great disappointment, I wasn't there when they discovered our secret room! It's under the floor of our cantina, and could have been part of a stable or perhaps a wine storage room (as we're on a steep hill, it would still have been at road level rather than underground). They filled it in again before I had a chance to take a picture. But I guess that keeps it secret, eh!

Cost of works to date:

Previous total EUR 6,003

10 worker days EUR 1,300

Petrol for truck EUR 20

Sand EUR 35

Tubes etc. to make waste pipe EUR 154

Refund for lavamani sink which arrived broken - EUR 27

TOTAL EUR 7,485

Our first purchases!

To Roscoe’s relief, the shopping trips have yielded some results. To his disgust, what we’ve bought so far hasn’t come from Pescara or Rome where I dragged him to see bathrooms and kitchens, but in most cases, the comfort of our own internet connection!

By chance, we took a wrong turning and ended up at a bathroom shop where a chatty chap called Paolo explained that he had a cheap-ish loo-and-bidet set that are even smaller than the ones we were planning to order. They’re 47cm long, giving us a whole 6cm more room to squeeze into our “cosy” bathroom. Best of all, he had them in stock!

Paolo also told me about agevolazione fiscale, or tax incentives for those in historic centres that were damaged by earthquakes. Nevermind that I personally wasn’t around to lose out in the 1984 earthquake, I’m helping to put things right, so the state wants to help me. All this means I pay 10% sales tax on my loo and bidet rather than Italy’s normal 20%.

I tried this neat trick again with a washing machine which was on offer in the summer sales. Didn’t work. Turns out it’s only for rebuilding the house, not furnishing it. I guess loos must be considered structural...

Meanwhile Ebay wins again with some lovely (I hope) taps and a super-cheap mini sink for the downstairs cloakroom. None of it has arrived yet, so here’s hoping.

If I was impressed with all this bargain hunting, Concenzo the geometra was less so. He rolled his eyes at my confession of having ordered a washing machine. I guess it’s not the easiest thing to shift around while you plaster... Nonetheless, the lads helped me by manouvering it out of the car and carrying it all the way up to the roof terrace (lots of steps!). I would love to say I stood up for women’s equality in this moment, but I decided that looking helpless was more likely to get the job done.

On an unrelated note, Roscoe found a very small baby shrew (possibly) by the front door. It liked hiding inside his glove. Picture above for your enjoyment. I wouldn’t let him take it home, so it has probably fed a cat by now...

Our budget for the works so far:

Previous total EUR 5,354

Mini loo, bidet and loo seat EUR 220

Sink tap EUR 60

Wall tap x 2 EUR 83

"Lavamani" sink (45x35cm) EUR 27

Bosch washing machine EUR 259

TOTAL EUR 6,003

The great bathroom hunt!

A while back, Roscoe came up with a clever idea for our bathroom layout. The room is small (about 160cm x 210cm) but it will be our main bathroom (the second one being even smaller – 115cm x 200cm!). But, friends warned, Italians demand bidets. Waste of precious space if you ask me, but we don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot (or annoy guests!).

Instead of re-opening an old window (which would cost a fair bit if you include the window), Roscoe’s idea is to use the 80cm-wide niche for our sink, lining it with mirrors. We’ll miss natural light, but this window would open at eye height on the dark lane running up the side of our house. Because of this, we couldn’t open it often, and we would have to get frosted glass, and we wouldn’t gain much light.

At our local arreda bagno (bathroom) shops, we began the hunt for Italy’s smallest loo! The 20cm x 50cm “motorcycle saddle” and the 30cm circle “magic mushroom” still make us laugh. Ok, maybe not Italy’s smallest loo! We soon managed to find a cheap simple loo and bidet set a little smaller than average (36cm x 53cm) from Laufen. Cost seems to offset time though – the shop threatens that Laufen are slow to deliver. (Very few bathroom shops, we find, store stock – they order from manufacturers. And now we’ve hit Italy’s holiday month, August, we have to wait.) I guess we’ll use the local bar’s loo for a while longer!

Encouraged by our find, we started asking how much sinks cost. Concenzo has asked us for the sink soon, so he can shape the niche to fit. We had in mind a modern square design, and, if possible, taps coming out of the wall rather than coming out of the sink.

After adding tax (20% in Italy), Simas’ lovely models came in at EUR 200. Eurolegno’s sharp design came to EUR 250. Roscoe fell for a semincasso or partially embedded design for EUR 180, but we couldn’t use the trendy wall taps with it. There are some lovely moulded glass sinks, but the prices are scary – around EUR 800. We started to think we’d have to give up on our idea and have a normal oval sink (which can be found for less than EUR 150).

On the offchance of finding more options, I had a look on www.kelkoo.it (price comparison site). Woo hoo! There were lots of sinks on Ebay. Including what could be our dream sink! It’s half the price of the shop models (EUR 115 including delivery). I’m wary of the risk, but it comes from an established seller with good feedback. If it’s not perfect, we can send it back for a refund. And, we don’t have to wait until after August for delivery!

If sink shopping goes well, I might buy my shower cubicle online too, having spotted one that costs EUR 125 in tempered glass (including insured delivery!). Shops quote over EUR 500 for the curved style, even if the doors are in plastic, so I think it’s worth the risk.

Our budget for the works so far:

Previous total EUR 5,219

Trip to Pescara bathroom shops EUR 20.00

Square bathroom sink EUR 115.00

TOTAL EUR 5,354

End of week 3 – busy, busy, busy!

ENEL finally decided to connect us (just inside their 15 day deadline). Thank goodness for the quiet now we don’t have to use the generator any more!

Our friendly carpenter came round, late as usual, to measure up for window frames. The inner frames are attached to the wall before all the other work is done. Then, after all the messy construction is finished, the beautiful new windows are attached. It was pretty urgent to get the inner frames put in, and he has agreed to have them for Tuesday of next week. If he does manage it, I’ll pay him in advance a third of his quote. I’m hoping this will encourage him to work quickly on the rest of the order!

We met Micky, an electrician who will quote for wiring the house. He reiterated my own thoughts – better to put in plenty of plug points now rather than missing them later when it could be expensive to add them. I had prepared a plan of the house with my own light/plug point suggestions, but I hadn’t realised that we also needed to think of TV points, satellite points, phone points and extractor fans. Although we don’t watch TV ourselves (frankly, Italian TV doesn’t justify the licence fee!), we may want to sell the house to Italians one day. Which means TV points not just in lounge and kitchen but also bedrooms!

The plumber who we asked to quote hasn’t come back with his preventivo (quotation), so, with some dread, I’ll go and get it from his shop. I’m hoping the quote isn’t too scary!

Our budget for the works so far:

Previous total EUR 3,541

Trip to Rome Ikea EUR 32.00

Labour EUR 1,300.00

Petrol for the generator & truck EUR 60.00

Sand for cement EUR 15.00

Internal door frames, cement, lintels etc. EUR 184.00

Terracotta crossbeams EUR 46.00

Hollow bricks and lintel EUR 11.00

TOTAL EUR 5,219

Plumbers, electricians and international transfers

Work continues apace with masters of every trade visiting this week. We’ve had an electrician, a carpenter, ENEL (the electricity provider), and we’re expecting the plumber shortly.

All this progress means I’ll need money in my Italian account and soon.

There are several currency transfer options and I’ve learnt the benefit of shopping around. I started with those suggested by www.moneysavingexpert.com. When I bought the house, I was in a hurry to secure the sale, so I chose the company that responded to my email fastest. To transfer the money for the works, I decided to ask more than one for a quote.

The trick is to open an account with each in advance – so you can get an instant quote. Sounds easy... until they ask for a lawyer-verified copy of your passport and a recent bill and goodness knows what else. Having just moved to the new area, I don’t have any bills at my address. And paying a lawyer to sign a copy of my passport would probably negate any benefit in using the transfer company over my own bank!

I scraped through the bureaucracy with a couple of the firms. Both gave keen service. Best of all, they matched each other’s quotes, getting me about EUR 300 more than the first offer. Nice one.