Work started on the stables roof – where our guest rooms will be. The old beams sadly could not be saved. Lifting the new beams into place needed a crane (which kept breaking!). Reclaimed flat tiles have been placed between the beams and this will be the final ceiling look as they will be left exposed. The next step is to insulate above the tiles and before the original curved roof tiles are replaced.
We had more fun and games with the water supply as Aguas Bocairent started some maintenance work (without telling us) which went wrong as so we had no water for a week. By some strange co-incidence the well closest to El Cipreret was also dry. As a result we had to pump water from the well next to the kitchen garden 200m away. This got slightly farcical as we linked pumps and pipes together which kept leaking and coming apart. It was a great relief when the water came back!
Work has started on internal walls. We now have some internal insulation walls and some room divides. They have appeared scarily quickly and we have had to make sure we are happy with the each location. It felt like the start of the flood of decisions we need to make in order to ensure it ends up the way we want it. Exciting as we can start to see how it will be inside.
In parallel to the work on the house ITP Piscinas arrived to start work on the pool. They’ve built an external frame against which they will spray concrete to create the final wall. This does give us an idea of how the pool will be and we have been imagining swimming in it! The view of the external wall from the approach to the house looks a bit brutal at the moment but we will cover it with a stone wall (which we will build from stone excavated from the site) and it will then look spectacular.
The first guest suite is taking shape and so we need to think about the position of beds and other furniture. We have already been discussing this with the architects but it is hard to be sure until you can see it on the ground so we have been laying out pieces of wood to mimic different bed options. We now need to agree where lights, plug sockets and switches will go….