Blogging

I am posting this post as in the next couple of days my blog will be changing to a word press blog with the address as www.casacolleverde.com/blog  where as at the moment it is http://www.casacolleverde.blogspot.com/ a small change. Hopefully things will otherwise remain the same. But I hope to gradually improve on the posts as I learn how to do things. Hopefully I will not loose those of you who are following on the way!

Did the earth move for you?

My neighbbour called yesterday ( I thought to complain about the builders) but no.. that was a relief. My neighbours wanted my view on putting gates on the private road which leads to our houses... I will have to think about it i am not so sure ( apart from being on a severe budget at the moment). However she also mentioned that the builders have started moving the earth to create the parking area, new terrace and swimming pool. Cant wait to see how things are going but will have to wait until next week..... I will then post some photos.Lets hope the weather holds.

Thoughts on a new colour for the house.

We took this picture on one of our many visits to the Comune. We are looking back toward the house from Castelnuovo Magra. You can see the house with our neighbours a little to the left and below(terracotta) and our other neighbour above us and to the left(cream). We are thinking of painting our house a darker colour so that it doesnt standout so much. Maybe a dark mushroom/taupe colour. The house would then blend in with the background more. Also we will be putting some dark wooden shutters on some of the windows.These will not only be decorative but will also keep the summer sun out if required.

Aspirations to be Green!

When I was looking for a property I was interested in buying a relatively new house rather than an old property. I wanted to create a modern home in Italy. Most expats want to buy a piece of history and restore it. I have done this with some friends in Tuscany www.fontelunga.com but now I wanted to do something a little different for myself. By buying a modern property I had more scope for doing something a little bit different and at the same time not being constrained too much by history but only the bureaucrats!

The problems with renovating a 70s' house you become aware of when you open it up like any property. You realise that the methods of construction during these times were a little slap dash to say the least. Little or no foundations no insulation the use of asbestos etc. The much older houses were probably better built or at least they had thick walls.

We are removing some old asbestos water tanks in the roof. - the cost is expensive and as they are not broken I could leave them there but probably better and I feel better with them not there. I just have to make sure they are disposed of correctly. As we are digging up the old floors to put in foundations we can now insulate them properly and at the same time we will insulate the roof. We are putting in under floor heating with photovoltaic panels to use the suns energy to provide the electricity for use in the house and solar panels for heating the water for the underfloor heating and domestic use. We are also using air heat pumps which are economical in their use of electricty. These are also useful in that they can be used to cool the water and therefore cool the house as well by keeping the floor cool. The larger windows mean we have to use glass that reduces energy and heat loss/gain in the winter and summer. The frames themselves will also be insulated. Use of blinds in the house will also reduce energy gain in the summer.

Water is a problem for us as we rely on a well. We will be conserving water wherever possible using rainwater in the loos and washing machine and for irrigating the garden and also by encouraging our guests to use less! Trying to be green has to be a passion as its expensive, I can understand people thinking twice before doing it. But inspite of the higher upfront cost our energy consumption should be low.

Progress? The house has not fallen down!

Just got back. We had a meeting with the Electricians and Plumbers today.. so they are now appointed and we can move forward! The builders will be happy. The house has not fallen down and I am told it is a lot safer now as they have filled in some of the holes and started to put in a cordolo (foundations) . Also there are a few more metal beams around the place holding things up! The space inside is beginning to come together and we are beginning to see how the spaces/rooms will look. Next week they hope to start earth moving so lets hope the weather stays good and the rate of construction remains at a good pace. Next week we will meet the falegname, who we hope to use to do the wooden shutters on the house and pergola in the garden.

Progress?

Tomorrow I hope to appoint the Idraulico and elettricista who will be working on the house. The electrics quote doesnt seem too bad, and the quote for the photovoltaic panels has come in less than I thought (the only one!) and that helps. It seems trying to be green and help the environment is expensive and I am not suprised few people are doing it at the moment.
It is the same as using rain water in the bathrooms you need double the number of pipes! I must be mad but it should be worth it in the end. I will be going to the house again to see it is still standing so i will post tomorrow and hope to have more pictures of what remains of the house.

The house has not fallen down!

We visited the house on Friday. Well that despcription could not apply now! They have discovered that the back of the house is built on rock and the front on soil with little foundations if any. So that explains the cracks in the old house. Well now we have to put new foundations in as well as strengthening the first floor. It would be less expensive to knock the whole thing down and start again maybe we should let it fall down. It reminds me of a film called The Money Pit a storey of the restoration of an old house which I think ended up bankrupting the owners.... I hope not!

Progess

Well after a long day we are back. We spent an hour wandering round the house or whats left of it, if any more holes are made in it I am sure it will fall down. They have already put some scaffolding in to shore up one ceiling.(see pictures). The old pine trees are down which has improved the view from the house but in addition has also drawn more attention to the dead trees on my neighbours property. I will have to have a word with them and ask if we can have them taken down. They are gradually falling down mostly on my side of the fence with each storm! The work is progessing inside so much so that we need the [lumbers now to put the pipes down inside unfortunately we havent apponted one yet as they seem slow in doing the quotes! The only one we have is way over the top on cost.Tipical.Anyway you cannot rush things in itlay!

I havent posted for a while. I am going to see progress on the house on wednesday next week. Unfortunately depsite the continued dry weather they havent started the earth moving. I know when they are ready to start it will rain! Its always the case. They are however still getting on with the work inside.

I will post new photos when I have them

Work on the project is continuing. They have taken oup the floors and dug down inside the house to see if the foundations need redoing. Only in part thank goodness. As that will be a small saving!
I have also received a quotation for the fotovoltaic panels and electrician. These seem ok ... I say ok they are less than forecast and having said that I have asked what is not incuded there is always something! Next week I will go down and take some more photos! Cant wait to see the progress even if it still all demolotion!

Have a good weekend

I think I was getting carried away with the view but actually it is Corsica and not Sardinia. I think Elba is obscured by a hill we have in the way. But which ever it is it is still a nice view :-)

The view from what will be the dining room and breakfast terrace towards Forte di Marmi. On a clear day it is possible to see Sardegna! Obviously not today.

There are more photos of the house on facebook - Casacolleverde Villas

This is the view from the first floor. Once the old pines are cut down and an Olive tree moved it will also be the view from the ground floor. We will be replacing the pines with some old olive trees which will become the focal point of the garden obviously not taking anything from the view!

As you can see the work has started. There is still a lot of demolition to do. But they are off to a good start. As ever they have discovered that the old building was not built very well(1970s') and as a result we have to strengthen the entire first floor, otherwise we risk guest ending up on the ground fllor if they are not careful tipical!

The house backs onto Olive groves and woodland which forms part of the Parco Apuane. There are lovely walks from the house. There is much evidence of wild boar and the other day we suprised a young one on the track from the house. I know our neighbour who is above us has problems with them digging up his garden and so he is fencing a large part of it off. Tomorrow I will post photos of the progress.

Work has started on the house. The windows ,doors and blinds have been removed and some walls. I will try and go down and take some pictures to post on the site to update everyone on the progress!

Sun setting over Castelnuovomagra yesterday evening. The photo was taken just before we went to dinner at our local restuarant - Rizieri.
The buidlers are going in on Monday... there is no turning back now!

We arrived at the house this afternoon. It is very hot and very dry. The last time we were here it had rained a few days before. The okd well is dry. Just as well we have our reserve tanks for our last week end here before work starts. They will have to get the new bore hoel working if they want water for the building work.

Tomorrow we will spend our last weekend at the house beofre building work commences. We will remove all remaining furniture, which is not much. A couple of fold up beds , a small fridge and a hot plate. We have been spending every other week end there since we bought it 2 years ago. Such luxury in two years you can see how the house has deteriorated without any maintenance. Now it will undergo a major face lift....

One of our guest rooms is to be called the Melangrano Suite. We have a tree in the garden which we will unfortunately loose once the building work begins. But we will replant another. The accent colour of the room will be a pink/orange. We will have printed on cnavas some photos of Melangrano and I have some Melangrano sculpted from Cararra marble which i will use in this room.

I have spent the last 2 days at the house. The first day I cleared the grounds around the house, so that the builders when they start will be able to see where they are at more easily. There is a lot of wild fennel thyme and sage. The smell was very evocative. There were some figs ready for eating though the main crop is still not ready. Early the second morning I cleared some of the regrowth in the olive grove. There is no hot water so I have been showering in a makeshift shower outside, hopefully my neighbours were not watching! The weather has been perfect. The sunsets beautiful can wait to be there...

I am going for the weekend to our house to enjoy a few days before work starts. I will cut some of the grass in the Olive grove with a strimmer and take some photos of the existing road to the house. My neighbours want me to put the road back into the condition it is in now if the lorrys do any damage. They will of course and I will too. But better to have a record of how it is now to avoid arguments.

Back to the olive grove. This year there will not be many olives as we did a big cut back this spring and they are looking a little sad. But the wild flowers amongst the trees are lovely. I hope to bring back some figs. We have 3 trees all settembrini and we have already had a lot from the initial june crop hopefully we will not loose them with the building work. Two will definately have to be cut back the third we may loose but hopefuly not.

We have just got back from a weekend at our home in Castelnuovo Magra. The weather was great and we spent 2 days at the beach. We also signed the contract with the Construction company for the building work and they will start 1st September....at last. I took the picture of the Melangrano (Pomegranate) in the garden at 6 in the morning. You can see Castenuovo Magra in the background.

We also in the evening went into Sarzana for cocktails and dinner. Here during august they have every evening an antiques fair from 6 until midnight. The town is buzzing.

We have just received some good news - my bank has accepted me for a mortgage last week which meant that finally we could go ahead and sign the contract with the builders so that they can start as soon as the holidays finish here . Hooray... we opened a bottle of frizzantino from our local winery in Castelnuovo magra (Lunae)to celebrate!!!

Giacomo has designed our website for us and has this weekend linked our website to our blog. Thank you Giacomo!

It has been some time since I made a post. We have heard nothing from the bank.... not a suprise as it is august. Hopefully soon as I would at east like to give the go ahead for work to start!

We have had some friends to stay for a couple of days Marco and Kerstin and they left today. It was great to catch up with Marco and meet h is friend. We had a great time. I hope to be able to invite them to our new home soon!!!!! Carmelo and I will be going to La spezia for the weekend. It is vewry basic as there is no gas so only cold water and no kitchen so we cook on a single electric hob or on the BBQ and basically camp there. But it is fantastic cannot wait to be there permanently.

Hi there, I thought I would tell you some more about our proposed B&B. we have designed it so there are 3 suites. Each has a living room bedroom and ensuite bathroom with bath and seperate shower. The rooms are a good size and each has its own music system and Ipod dock. Each room has some private space, two with direct access to the garden and the other with access to a balcony. The names of the suite are Melangrano (Pomegranite) , Fico d'India and Neroli (bitter orange) the colour and the room themes will follow from the names.

This is how the house will lokk after works have been completed. Modern and light but energy efficient.

Well there is not much new to add to my blog. We are still waiting to hear from the Bank regarding the mortgage. Once we have recieved the ok I can authorise the start of work. If we dont recieive it I have decided to sell the property and do something else as life is to short ........ but I am hopeful :)

Well today is really hot in Tuscany and half of Italy has already gone on holiday and the other half is getting ready to go. The bank has still to confirm my mortgage. I should hear in a couple of weeks hopefully holdiays permitting. The form has gone off to the revenue though and we have now got planning permission. So as soom as the bank says yes i can sign the contract. We are keeping our fingers crossed!!

Hi there, well the week could have started a little better. We should have received plannng permission on Monday but it is still not ready. Maybe thursday. It is not a disaster as I am waiting to hear regarding a mortgage from my bank which I would like to know about prior to signing the building contract. We wouldnt want a house half finished due to not having enough money. Also in order to claim tax back on the building restoration work my accountant needs to send off a declaration prior starting work to the tax man, I learnt yesterday that this had not yet been done. So a short delay is not too much of a problem. In addition to this I learnt last week that my registering as resident at the house last year had not been processed, a year after I had been in the town hall to do it. It had been sitting on an officials desk somewhere or under a pile of papers. So i had to visit the town hall to sort it out.

Its a mad world but twice as mad in ITALY

Sunday and its sunny again after the big storm we had yesterday I am currently at work in Tuscany but my mind is thinking of my future home. We have in the grounds of Casa Colleverde 3 fig trees. Two of which have already produced some lovely ripe fruit. So much so that I have had to make some jam. We also have an old olive grove which had not been looked after for many years. The trees we have had pruned for the first time in a long while, more like massacred, and they are looking little sorry for themselves. I will eventually do this for myself. We have 100 trees but it will be a few years before they start producing any significant crop. We hope to use the old stone mill down on the aurelia towards Sarzana to produce our own organic oil.

Have a good weekend everyone.

To get to the stage where we are ready to start building work has taken 18 months so far. The designng planning and administration takes a long time in Italy and after a while it begins to wear you down. You have to persevere and have a lot of patience and think of things how they will be in the end. The eventual aim is to have a home where we can provide to our guests something special. They will have a beautiful room with great facilities. They will have on their doorstep beautiful surroundings and lots to see and do and I hope they will enjoy the food and company and leave wanting to come back.

We hope to be able to be as 'green' and energy efficent as we can. We will recycle water and refuse. We will be installing photovoltaic panels and solar panels. We will be using rain water collection in the house and garden. We will be using organic produce where possible. All this and hopefully much more

In the next couple of weeks we should be signing the building contracts and then our adventure will be begin in earnest.

The first post

Welcome to the blog of Casa Colleverde a bed and breakfast in the Liguria Levant in the Colline del Sole the province of La Spezia

The house and website are in the course of being built and we hope you will follow our progess and visit our site and eventually our home.

Our progress you will be able to follow here.