Come on Karen.....
Submitted by stevegwmonkseaton on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 18:45In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
House built in 8 months
Submitted by karenr on Sat, 05/28/2011 - 05:08In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We saw ruin in February 2007, completed purchase end March. Agreed contract with builder who started work July 2007 and we moved in April 17th 2008. We were delayed approx. 1 month due to the location/access road in the winter weather but this was a complete knock down and rebuild using original materials. We also had to have 12 piles into the ground the deepest 18m. Our builder and his team turned up religiusly every morning (road permitting) and managed a superb project with electrician, plumber, tilers, door/window supplier etc. We would have been in sooner but front-door manufacturer delayed us another month. It can be done!!!!!!!
Renovation in Grottole
Submitted by KarenSheffield on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 06:57In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The frustrating thing is that the whole process is out of our control- or the builders' control. We are waiting for the beams from a supplier in the north, and as for the electricity and water connections, we are dealing with bureaucracies here, and as Stevegw points out, this is Italy. (A UK-based Italian friend said exactly the same thing!) But reassured by my namesake Karenr that even extensive building work can finish more or less on time! Thank you both for your comments. Will post pictures when/if the house is completed.
Renovation contd.
Submitted by KarenSheffield on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 15:28In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Well, the timbers have now arrived, the new made-to-measure window is on its way, and we have a nadover date set for June 25th! We are getting seriously excited. The problem is that there is no guarantee the electricity and water connections will be in place, so we are not planning to stay in our new house, we will just set up the humidifier and come back in September. Only three weeks!
Question ..........
Submitted by alan h on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 17:38In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
"The problem is that there is no guarantee the electricity ..... will be in place, so we are not planning to stay in our new house, we will just set up the humidifier and come back in September" Humidifier? How, with no electricity? [or will you run a lead from your neighbours?
She'll just plug in to the
Submitted by Joy on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 19:00In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Dehumidifiers
Submitted by KarenSheffield on Sat, 06/04/2011 - 07:43In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Whoops - yes, I see the problem! What would we plug the dehumidifier thing into? We've only met our next door neighbour once, so I don't think we can really pop round and ask to borrow her electricity for a few months. However, we can still buy a dehumidifier, and hopefully we can get the property management company we are going to use to plug it in as and when the connections are in place. We have been told that we need a self-draining - autodrenante - model so there is no need to keep emptying the reservoir. It will have to be an industrial strength model as, although the property is a single space and only 55 m2, the ceilings are very high- about 3.6 metres at the sides and 4 metres at the highest point of the vault, so that makes ... er, a lot of cubic metres (my maths is hopeless). So many things to think about.
Question [2] ...................
Submitted by alan h on Sat, 06/04/2011 - 09:53In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Dehumidifier - do you need one? If the place is empty for a few months - can you not 'let it air' and dry out naturally? The property management company could 'manage' the airing [Opening/closing windows when the weather changes] Or - you could go to a yacht chandlers and get some solar powered air vents to keep the air circulating Example on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solar-Power-SOLARVENT1-Powered-Ventilator/dp/B000RM0YFW
Ventilation
Submitted by KarenSheffield on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 08:32In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Well .................
Submitted by alan h on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 09:54In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Renovation in Grottole contd.
Submitted by KarenSheffield on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 13:55In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Our handover date is 25th June - we are very excited! Unfortunately there will not be any water. Apparently the water board has new software which isn't working so are unable to process requests. Or maybe it's the wrong kind of water... Anyway, the upshot is that we won't have any water of any kind, but we were sort of expecting that. Everything else, including furniture, should be in place. Will post photos of renovated wine vault when we get back.