In this video update, we had to make some hard decisions about where to apply new plaster and where to keep the bricks exposed. The house also continued to show its hidden history like, a fireplace opening we didn’t know existed and a hallway that wasn’t always where we thought it was.
What You See in the Video
- We walk through one side of the second floor showing uncovered walls and how we decided where to put new plaster.
- Learn about “cuci scuci,” the process Italian builders do to repair bricks that will stay uncovered.
- See the old doorways for the hallway.
- We started mapping out some bathroom spaces with a few of the fixtures we were considering.
The Story Behind-the-Scenes
From the start, I loved learning about the house’s history.
When we uncovered the old opening for the fireplace, it answered a lingering question I’d had about how anyone living in these rooms stayed warm. There never was any heat on this side of the house aside from this hidden fireplace that we discovered.
And these rooms were definitely lived in. In the first room, we found old school notebooks, assignments, and artwork dating back to the start of the 1900s. The other two rooms had wardrobes with clothes and some old toys, like a hoop and stick set.
The wall dividing the hallway from the first bedroom is not load-bearing. We don’t know for sure but chances are it wasn’t always there and the opening of the fireplace was directly in the first bedroom.
We also loved learning that the hallway on this side of the house used to run on the opposite side of the rooms. I couldn’t believe how low the doorways were using where they bricked shut as the marker!
At the start of the project, the price quotation for the work always included the price per square meter for any cuci scuci work needed to repair brick we wanted to keep exposed. It’s a labor-intensive process and not cheap because a skilled bricklayer needs to basically go brick by brick deciding which ones to switch out, where to fill in gaps, and then re-fill the joints and crevices with new mortar.
So, we tried to be as smart as possible making decisions about which walls to keep exposed. But it was SO hard because we love the exposed-brick look! With each decision, I learned that listening to what an old house has to say is usually the wisest choice. Here and throughout the house, the walls told us what made the most sense.
Sure you can shape these brick and stone houses EXACTLY as you want but it won’t be the path of least resistance and it will be expensive. Usually, the middle ground makes the most sense. With that in mind we made some compromises but felt like we got the balance of brick and new plaster right.
Where To Next?
See all the renovation updates in order by heading back to this renovation journey page.
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Previous update: Renovation Update Part 4: Plaster, Electric & Plumbing
Next update: Renovation Update Part 6: Sandblasting, Channeling, & Frustration
