In this video update, the demo phase of our renovation begins after about one year of planning the work and prepping the house. The floors were removed and the ground floor dug out to the dirt below. See the house as it got stripped back to its bones.
What You See in the Video
- Shattered tiles everywhere!
- Many rooms throughout the house were brought back to their dirt floors.
- On the ground floor, the workers dug down far enough to see the tops of the vaulted ceilings in the cellar rooms (cantina) below.
The Story Behind-the-Scenes
We had waited for almost a year for the work to begin so there was A LOT of excitement seeing the builder and his guys arrive. We’d stayed in the livable parts of the house, cleaned everything out, and could imagine what it would eventually look like.
But seeing those crumbled tiles and dirt floors, you can’t help but have at least a momentary shudder of panic. To renovate a house in Italy, you need to be brave, naive, and just clueless enough to think you’ve got this. Luckily, we checked all three boxes!
Truthfully, we didn’t want to tear up all the floors but it was a necessity nearly everywhere in the house. Some of the structural issues with the house had left some of the floors uneven. In other rooms, moisture had left the tiles damaged. And throughout the house, we needed to update plumbing and electrical plus add heating to half of the house that never had it before. The only way to do all of this is by pulling everything up, fixing any problems, and running new lines.
We did what we could to save some of the original flooring. And our hope is to use it in other parts of the house or eventually when we convert the barn to a covered terrace and liveable rooms.
Where To Next?
See all the renovation updates in order by heading back to this renovation journey page.
Or watch more now using the navigation links below.
Previous update: Prepping the House for Renovation
Next update: Renovation Update Part 1 – Ground Floor Changes
