Although it has been windy and wet, it has been quite warm so far (“storms from Africa & Mediterranean”). But we fear that cold weather could blow in from the north at any time. So we had our oil tanks filled today:
The previous owners, the Comparts, had told us that they have left the chez for two winter months with the heat turned off. But I don’t think that we’ll do that — just turn the thermostat down really low to avoid all risk of something freezing. One idea that I had today is to install one of the new smart, communicating Nest thermostats so that the house’s temperature can be monitored and controlled over the internet from afar. For example, it could also be used to pre-heat the house before someone’s arrival.
Over the past week, I have continued to pick away at the demolition of the kitchen and I also demolished a silly masonery bar on the Terrace. As a result the garage is getting quite full of debris. I am curious about how many tons of rubble I’ve hand carried down one or three flights of stairs! The sculptor and his girlfriend next door (full story to come) are renovating their place and, as a “welcome to Mirabel”, offered to haul away our debris with theirs! Here’s the pre-existing kitchen:
and here’s what we have today:
I am getting quite a lesson on construction techniques in this part of the world. Wood is scarce and therefore only used for finishes. Instead, everything is made of masonry. Houses are constructed of thick stone or concrete exterior walls, with concrete girders laid between those walls and concrete blocks then laid between the girders. Lastly, reinforced concrete floors are poured on top of the girder complexes. So you are free to do anything you want between the resulting floors and ceilings since no load-bearing walls are needed in the interior. So those walls are made of narrow, 3” hollow brick. Therefore, there are lots of hollow cavities in the walls and ceiling in which to route wires and pipes (albeit with temporary holes having to be made at junctions, etc.). So, masons are a very, very important trade around here. We have the lead on a couple, my fingers are crossed that we can secure a good one.