renovation – Trullo Genista

August 16, 2022

Pouring Cement

OK, we’re not exactly on the completion timeline that we intended but after the last couple of years we’ll take any progress we can get. We were hoping that this late Summer/Autumn we’d have been welcoming our first guests through the door at Trullo Genista but sadly it looks like we’ve missed the boat again.

But on the positive side, that gives us the entire winter to get the house ready to open the doors to the first holidaymakers next Spring – likely early May but no doubt if people wish to book for April, or even Easter, we could likely accommodate.

What then is happening here? Last time we visited the house in May, there was a big hole in the ground (see previous posts). Since then the hole has been lined with brickwork in readiness for cement to be poured. Why the time lag between the two processes took so long we have no idea. Now it’s done, we have to wait a month (maybe less as the weather is very warm) before back-filling can take place and then the liner can be fitted.

In order that the pool can be used for as many months of the year as possible, or at least well into October, it is also going to be solar heated. The solar panels therefore have to be installed as part of the project alongside everything else. Maybe then by end of September we could be all finished. This project has taught us never to take anything for granted so we will just keep the positivity levels up and carry on.

October 1, 2020October 7, 2021

Weeks not months…hopefully!

Writing once again from Puglia where we are not experiencing quite the same weather that we had this time last year. It’s been incredibly windy with the Sirocco blowing most days and some fairly spectacular rain and thunder to boot. But as can be seen from the header picture here we have new doors on the cupboards which means we can start to install appliances and store certain items down there to get them out of the house. The washing machine for example is now resident behind one of those white doors you see there. It’s difficult to get too excited by cupboard doors but given what this build has had to endure, every step forward feels like a significant one so forgive us if we get emotional about the smallest of things.

The new ensuite bathroom is now really starting to look nice. The towel rail, shower and sink are all in and it looks very slick. A few little snagging items in particular with the floor tiles have to be resolved but we’re pleased with how this looks.

The marble surround for the sink looks really nice and we’re glad we took that decision. But we still live and learn on the assumptions front. We just kind of assumed that they wouldn’t build a nice surround for the sink and leave all the pipework underneath completely exposed. That, perhaps, they might put some doors on the front? What we realise increasingly is that nothing should be taken for granted and that extras like doors have to be factored in. We have an ongoing joke at the moment that every time we meet the builder at the house he leaves a good few hundred Euros better off. But it’s all worth it to make the place look as good as it can be.

We’ve also ticked off another box with the gate posts. These are now clad in the same stone as the rest of the house which finishes them off nicely. All that remains here is for us to purchase a new house sign. Being in quite a rural and remote location it will help guests know that they have actually turned up at the right place. We know from experience that some of the later flights that tend to bring you in to Bari Airport result in your arrival at the house being in the dark. It can get a bit fractious if you are in a strange place and not sure where you are. GPS and Google Maps have improved this massively of course but a welcoming sign adds that little touch to round off a journey in the right way.

Pomegranate fruits in the garden in Puglia

As we speak, we have been assured the permit to build the pool should be finally signed off by end of October which is a blessing. Why it has sat on someone’s desk at the town hall since this time last year we can only guess but with lockdown and restructuring of departments at the Comune in Martina Franca to contend with, we are only too pleased that someone is still aware that we exist. We can gaze on this year’s crop of pomegranates and hope that by December we will have sunk a spade into the earth and begun the process. But we know from the past that until we have that piece of paper signed and in our hands we will not be opening the bubbly just yet.

But the next post on here should be one that shows the current building work just about complete. And we’re talking weeks not months.

January 18, 2020October 7, 2021

A Puglian Rental Takes Shape

It’s now January and we’ve arrived for our update visit after a nice Christmas break and New Year. We can’t say we weren’t a little disappointed with the lack of progress but many have said to us that not a lot goes on down here from December to January. It was certainly not something that was made clear to us back in October at any rate. But we have builders here and things are progressing.

Inside the new extension, the new block work has been replaced by a nice smooth layer of plaster. Somehow when the plaster goes on it starts to feel like a proper room at last. We have to pick the door through to the bathroom, the door from the house to the bedroom and the window/doors that lead outside to the patio. Although fairly standard items we were quite shocked to find that these were not included in the original quote. Completely missed by us but worth bearing in mind if you yourselves are thinking of embarking on a project such as this. Some might consider the inclusion of a bathroom door a fairly reasonable assumption to make. Not so in this case so beware.

As can be seen from this shot here, a gap has been created in the wall up front so it is easy to walk from the house to the swimming pool. This cladding you see here is an added extra that we have chosen for cosmetic purposes as it looks so much nicer than a whitewashed wall. These are the kinds of additional expenses that tend to crop up hen you visit the property because, as building progresses, you begin to see areas where improvements can be made. Our estimation so far is that for every visit we make to the property while renovation is in progress, we add about another €3-4K to the bill. But, you only do it once so we want it done right.

Sadly on the subject of the swimming pool we now have to wait until February for the pool to be approved and for work to start. We desperately hope not to be writing in March saying this has not happened but it’s fairly par for the course. The Commune at Martina Franca made the decision at the beginning of 2020 to move whole departments around to new areas of responsibility. Hence in January they are doing no work at all while they get used to their new jobs. Which of course means we’ll have a whole new set of people who have to go through our case and get to know it before approval is finalised.

More here as it happens.

October 28, 2019October 7, 2021

Floors and Walls

On the 26th October we headed for home knowing that the new ceiling had still to dry off before any further work could take place on the extension. Our next trip is scheduled for January by which time we should have the pool permit approved and ready to go.

Hence, we were delighted to receive pictures of what looked like a load of tyres wrapped in bin bags scattered all over the floor. But we are assured this is to provide ventilation under the floor when the concrete is poured. That has to be a good thing right?

On top of this, as can be seen from the picture at the top of this article, a shiny new layer of concrete floor. The new bedroom is finally starting to look like a proper room at last. Just as important as a floor, we also have walls and windows.

The window for the new en-suite bathroom is in and the walls will soon be ready for plastering. The aim is to have this all finished by end of January, weather permitting. Once finished the room will be kitted out and the finishing touches applied so that Trullo Genista will be able to sleep four to six people comfortably.

Another added bonus is the current bathroom has been re-jigged a little. What used to be a shower cubicle that even Kate Moss would struggle to turn around in, has been removed, the shower head has been fixed to the opposite wall and we now have a drain at one end of the room creating a perfect wet room. Once finished this will improve the showering experience enormously. Drop the soap now and there will be no having to fish it up with your feet as bending over now will be easily accommodated.

All told, progress has been good and when we visit again in January, we hope to be seeing the end of the process in sight. More here as and when it happens.

October 21, 2019October 7, 2021

A Roof Over Our Heads

One thing we cannot accuse the Italian builders of is not making hay while the sun shines. When the weather is set fair they pitch up at 7am as soon as the first light appears in the sky.

As you can imagine therefore, it was a fairly rude awakening when this lot started going up in the early hours. But go up it did and with ruthless efficiency and meticulous attention to detail. It forms the framework for the new extension’s corner support pillars and roof. After which the walls will be accommodated.

Perhaps a slightly disappointing aspect to this is that once the concrete is poured for the roof, it will be at least a week to ten days before the next phase of building can go up as the concrete needs time to set.

Later in the day, against slightly more leaden skies than we’d been used to recently, the lorry bearing the concrete showed up outside. Looking like the leg of a tripod from the War of the Worlds, the huge arm was extended over the top of the trulli, and the pouring of the roof began.

The end result is what you see here and that was the end of proceedings as far as the extension was concerned for now. At least a 10 day wait is now on the cards before any further work can go into the extension block to make sure that the concrete sets properly before work begins on the walls.

The phrase ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ springs to mind here. Because in the absence of anything constructive to do on the building front, there emerged the opportunity to do a bit of exploring. As the evening drew in, the skies cleared again and a trip to Locorotondo beckoned. This is a bar that sits on the edge of the town overlooking the Itrian valley. Even in the third week of October in this fantastic part of the world you can still get days like this where the sky is a deep blue and it is as warm as toast sat outside with a cold Peroni. And that’s exactly what I did.

October 7, 2019October 7, 2021

Good progress

By way of a bit of background, what you see in this photograph used to be a stand-alone bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.

Buying a property in Italy is rarely simple and when we had arrived at the point where we wanted to make an offer, our geometra looked into the property in more depth and discovered that the building had been illegally erected some years ago. Hence, we would be advised not to purchase the property unless the vendor dropped the price and demolished the extra building.

The vendor, therefore, duly did the minimum required to make the site legal again by removing the roof to make it inhabitable. He also did us a favour by not demolishing the walls and leaving in place the basic fixtures and fittings.

What you see here is the beginning of the process of turning the building into an external kitchen and dining area complete with barbecue, fridge and bathroom. From now on known by the builders as ‘the illegal building’ or ‘l’edificio illegale’. It will have a bamboo roof (which is allowed) for shade and shelter from the Puglian sunshine. It will also be entirely re-plastered and re-clad in matching, sympathetic stone to create something really special from what might at first have been a bit of a white elephant.

We are really pleased with this development and feel it will add enormously to the enjoyment of our future guests. They will able to take full advantage of the warm climate by being able to enjoy cooking and eating in the open air in an area that has it’s own facilities but is very adjacent also to the main house and swimming pool.

Watch this space.