Please note that you'll lose heat through the walls - a great amount - if you don't insulate them. These old stone structures hold moisture and you can go through untold amounts of propane, wood, pellets trying to get the moisture out. Your panels will heat your water to approx. 32 degrees centigrade, and in the wintere that will help in giving you a percentage of your floor heating needs (if you choose to go that route), but even with that boost, the heating costs to make the interiors really comfortable will be prohibitive if the walls are not insulated. There are two ways of doing this - insulating from the inside, meaning adding an interior wall with a space in between it and the inside of the exterior wall for air and insulation, or you can pack insulation onto the exterior - there are new systems for doing this that work well. Of course, this is assuming you'll be here all year round. We've lived in Piedmont for 9 years. I can tell you from experience -- we have one uninsulated structure and two fully insulated ones. The feel of the spaces are entirely different where we fully insulated. If you plan on being here year round, I can only suggest that you insulate the entire house. Sebastiano makes a really good point. If you are going to touch the roof, you need a permit. And as a result, you might have to do works you don't feel are necessary - like the concrete or metal screed to square off the building. So much depends on your Comune and how they view your restoration. (I am so sensitive to this stupid screed thing because of being forced to do two of them). They might let you get away with a SIA (a quick approval of the works) or require you to submit a progetto (a complete laying out of plans for approval). You are brave for taking on a project like this and I wish you the best of luck. I promise, in a couple of weeks, it will be just beautiful here -- hang in tight!!
You'll be required to have whatever builder you choose submit a DURC - which is basically proof that he's up to date with his payroll taxes and is legal. This is such a pain because it means choosing a builder BEFORE the permits are final rather than after, and locking you in to said dude because he's the one the Comune has approved. This change happened about 2 years ago. It's a big hassle here in Piemonte and I can't even tell you if it's limited just to Acqui Terme, where we are -- I assume it's throughout the region. High quality trades are worth their weight in gold. I have my little "team" that we assembled of trades after years of heartache and suffering. They work well together, are all smart, above board, ar honest, have insurance, and get the job done on time and on budget. None of them ask to work "black". I am sure they wouldn't mind, but we do it on invoice, as with restoration the IVA is only 10% in any event. It took me 6 years to get this group together. I would not do another restoration in Piedmont without them. So it's all about finding good people. Best of luck.
Hi. If you are using old or even new (but made to look old) "coppi", they can be 1 - 2 euro a piece, whereas there are less expensive tile choices available. Are there tiles present on the house? Can they be saved and reused? That's the first thing. Second, what style roof is it? Will there be cathedral ceilings inside the house (I am assuming yes if you are using the perline wood liners)? What kind of system of insulation will you be using? The insulation makes a monstrous difference in the price, especially if this is a cathedral ceiling. But the higher quality the insulation, the less heat loss you will have. New supporting beams? The house has 250 sm on one floor? Is the roof steeply pitched? The pitch will alter the square meters you'll need to calculate. Are you having a cordulo of reinforced cement poured to secure the base of the roof (this is pretty much required by law now, I think. The costs can vary greatly. Is the rest of the house being insulated? If so, you'll want a high quality roof to make the house tight. If not, then you'll need to be heating a lot regardless of what you put into the roof. You can probably spend as little as 50 or as much as 100 for a square meter, before taxes. With our last roof, I think we paid around 90 a square meter in 2010 - I'd have to double check my records. We got the insulation from Austria, the highest grade possible, have all antique coppi and the main beam is massive. It's a beautiful roof. It breathes beautifully. We have another roof where we paid less that's not nearly the quality, so we didn't regret spending the money.
Hi, Paula. I think that you might want to consider another location. If the Ligurian Coast interests you, then you might want to consider Piemonte as a second destination. Often our guests combine the two locations because they are such a constrast, yet close to each other. In Piemonte, it is all about the wine and the food and the scenery, some of the most beautiful wine country in the country. Together with Liguria, it makes an ideal trip. I know of several rentals in our area which are just wonderful, and if you want information on Piemonte, you can contact me anytime through my blog at www.creativestructures.blogspot.com
Yes, it's important to be very vigilant for pick pockets everywhere where there are crowds! Anytime someone tries to distract you, stay attentive and try to see where their hands are going. It can save you a bundle of trouble. One other trick -- when you go to pick up a rental car at the airport. Beware of someone coming up to the rental car you are about to get into and telling you you have a flat tire. When you exit to see, your bags can be stolen out of the back seat. This has happen to guests of ours at Malpensa, and we spent the next three days trying to straighten out the mess, get credit cards registered, etc. Italy is as safe a country as any other in Europe, and you have to be careful everywhere!
Comments posted
Please note that you'll lose heat through the walls - a great amount - if you don't insulate them. These old stone structures hold moisture and you can go through untold amounts of propane, wood, pellets trying to get the moisture out. Your panels will heat your water to approx. 32 degrees centigrade, and in the wintere that will help in giving you a percentage of your floor heating needs (if you choose to go that route), but even with that boost, the heating costs to make the interiors really comfortable will be prohibitive if the walls are not insulated. There are two ways of doing this - insulating from the inside, meaning adding an interior wall with a space in between it and the inside of the exterior wall for air and insulation, or you can pack insulation onto the exterior - there are new systems for doing this that work well. Of course, this is assuming you'll be here all year round. We've lived in Piedmont for 9 years. I can tell you from experience -- we have one uninsulated structure and two fully insulated ones. The feel of the spaces are entirely different where we fully insulated. If you plan on being here year round, I can only suggest that you insulate the entire house. Sebastiano makes a really good point. If you are going to touch the roof, you need a permit. And as a result, you might have to do works you don't feel are necessary - like the concrete or metal screed to square off the building. So much depends on your Comune and how they view your restoration. (I am so sensitive to this stupid screed thing because of being forced to do two of them). They might let you get away with a SIA (a quick approval of the works) or require you to submit a progetto (a complete laying out of plans for approval). You are brave for taking on a project like this and I wish you the best of luck. I promise, in a couple of weeks, it will be just beautiful here -- hang in tight!!
You'll be required to have whatever builder you choose submit a DURC - which is basically proof that he's up to date with his payroll taxes and is legal. This is such a pain because it means choosing a builder BEFORE the permits are final rather than after, and locking you in to said dude because he's the one the Comune has approved. This change happened about 2 years ago. It's a big hassle here in Piemonte and I can't even tell you if it's limited just to Acqui Terme, where we are -- I assume it's throughout the region. High quality trades are worth their weight in gold. I have my little "team" that we assembled of trades after years of heartache and suffering. They work well together, are all smart, above board, ar honest, have insurance, and get the job done on time and on budget. None of them ask to work "black". I am sure they wouldn't mind, but we do it on invoice, as with restoration the IVA is only 10% in any event. It took me 6 years to get this group together. I would not do another restoration in Piedmont without them. So it's all about finding good people. Best of luck.
Hi. If you are using old or even new (but made to look old) "coppi", they can be 1 - 2 euro a piece, whereas there are less expensive tile choices available. Are there tiles present on the house? Can they be saved and reused? That's the first thing. Second, what style roof is it? Will there be cathedral ceilings inside the house (I am assuming yes if you are using the perline wood liners)? What kind of system of insulation will you be using? The insulation makes a monstrous difference in the price, especially if this is a cathedral ceiling. But the higher quality the insulation, the less heat loss you will have. New supporting beams? The house has 250 sm on one floor? Is the roof steeply pitched? The pitch will alter the square meters you'll need to calculate. Are you having a cordulo of reinforced cement poured to secure the base of the roof (this is pretty much required by law now, I think. The costs can vary greatly. Is the rest of the house being insulated? If so, you'll want a high quality roof to make the house tight. If not, then you'll need to be heating a lot regardless of what you put into the roof. You can probably spend as little as 50 or as much as 100 for a square meter, before taxes. With our last roof, I think we paid around 90 a square meter in 2010 - I'd have to double check my records. We got the insulation from Austria, the highest grade possible, have all antique coppi and the main beam is massive. It's a beautiful roof. It breathes beautifully. We have another roof where we paid less that's not nearly the quality, so we didn't regret spending the money.
Hi, Paula. I think that you might want to consider another location. If the Ligurian Coast interests you, then you might want to consider Piemonte as a second destination. Often our guests combine the two locations because they are such a constrast, yet close to each other. In Piemonte, it is all about the wine and the food and the scenery, some of the most beautiful wine country in the country. Together with Liguria, it makes an ideal trip. I know of several rentals in our area which are just wonderful, and if you want information on Piemonte, you can contact me anytime through my blog at www.creativestructures.blogspot.com
Yes, it's important to be very vigilant for pick pockets everywhere where there are crowds! Anytime someone tries to distract you, stay attentive and try to see where their hands are going. It can save you a bundle of trouble. One other trick -- when you go to pick up a rental car at the airport. Beware of someone coming up to the rental car you are about to get into and telling you you have a flat tire. When you exit to see, your bags can be stolen out of the back seat. This has happen to guests of ours at Malpensa, and we spent the next three days trying to straighten out the mess, get credit cards registered, etc. Italy is as safe a country as any other in Europe, and you have to be careful everywhere!
A couple of months ago we were visiting with Chris and Nicola over at LaVilla and saying how we all should get together! After the season maybe?
... I meant to add that I write a blog about my experiences here in piemonte! You can find it here....