So, its already September and my construction project still isnt finished...almost!! But it seems like its been almost for over a month. Argh! This last little push seems interminably slow. Right now the hardwood floors are going in, even as we are still working out kinks - like persistent dampness and leaks in the roof & the staircase. Its been a journey...and in true construction fashion the job has ended up taking twice as long and costing twice as much as originally planned!
As the architect told me (and I totally believe this) a remodel is much more difficult than building from the ground up -- since you have to deal with all of the existing factors. In my case its been moisture in the walls that are shared with neighbors, rotting hot water pipes and bad wiring (the original part of the house is over 40 years old). Also contributing to the challenges of this project is the fact that my architect agreed to make my wacky ideas reality: things like a clear roof on the front bathroom, glass risers in the staircase, and woven straw mats for the ceilings.
Covering the brick wall with a thin coat of cement -- I cant even think of what this process is called in English.
Since Im living in the back house while the work is going on up front, I have been present through the whole project (a blessing and a curse). It has been fascinating to watch each step of the process - laying the bricks, smoothing them over with cement - very artisanal. On several occasions there have been days on end when nobody has shown up to work and to Andres, the architect in charge. Hes been pretty good about keeping me posted on how things are scheduled to progress, but since hes also working on a big house nearby, I sometimes feel like that other project has taken priority.
When he does show up at my place, Andres really takes time to chat with me and hear my ideas and concerns.He has excellent people skills, even if I feel like at times his organizational skills leave something to be desired. He acknowledges the validity of about careless workers and lack of supervision; his willingness to make things right truly does placate me when Im feeling frustrated. One sunny day
Each step has a little strip of glass berneath it! Blue plastic to protect the windows while painting the columns...in theory!
early on, as we were planning the configuration of the windows, we pulled chairs into the place where my bed will be and made sure that the corner windows would be of a size and angle so Id have a clear view of the volcano from bed.
When Im around I usually put out a snack for the workers. Coffee with cookies or bread if its a cold morning; lemonade with cheese and crackers if its hot and sunny. I figure that spending a few bucks and taking a few minutes to offer them something pays off in the quality of work and the spirit of the project. When its especially loud and dusty I close myself in my room and put in earplugs or listen to music with headphones, especially if I have to get some works done on If its impossibly noisy I work at Shanas house, three doors down. Since the workers are in and out of the front gate and more often than not they dont bother to close it, its been much safer for CiCi to hang out in Shanas garden with the
Bringing natural light into my closet space. Im thrilled with how my wacky idea of glass risers translated into this beautiful creation!
I was especially excited to move ahead with the two bottle walls Id been planning, so I timed it with the construction work to ask the bottle master, Francisco, to make the trip down from mountains. My local handyman, Fabian, worked with him so they were able both wall panels (aprox 1 meter x 2 meters each) in four days. Id been collecting the most beautiful bottles (thank you to the local bartenders who, put them aside for me) and was working out the designs on blankets up on my rooftop terrace. As Id done before, I prepared for Franciscos arrival by printing out enlarged photos of layouts.
