Villa San Rocco

Pipes & Plaster

December 2008 — Updates

Now, at last, the roof is on and sealed; all external rendering is complete; the 17th century drainage channels from the hillside have been located and are being unblocked and improved; and the plumbers and electrician are in.

It's now at that exciting turning point when a rejuvenated stone exoskeleton begins to resemble a place where people might actually live and enojoy themselves. The windows for the top floor are sitting in the Francesconi's workshop in Lucca and will be brought up the hill (Massimo and his father have houses in Benabbio) when the plastering begins. Stephano, our ironmonger ('fabbro'), has made designs and measurements for rails, bannisters and lightwells. All the channels for pipes and wires in the main block are complete, and Marco, the plumber, has created a work of art for the 'conettore' - the junction where all pipes to taps, showers, radiators etc gather and are sent off to their respective destinations. It's a mechanic's blue dream: every water outlet in the house will be controllable by an individual brass stop, banked in parallel. Remembering there are 12 bathrooms and 1200m² to keep warm, it's no mean feat.

To date, they have completed pipes for:

• 6 bedrooms
• 6 bathrooms
• The altana (terrace)
• Underfloor pipes for radiators
• All waste/sewage and vent pipes
• Sites for boilers (x3)

As soon as I retrieve my camera from my overnight return stop near Zurich last week, you'll be able to see for yourself.

Happy Christmas and buone feste everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who's helped, worked, enthused and supported - painting parties begin in the spring. And God bless ENEL...