It’s growing way over our head
After all the excitement with the fluid floor stuff, we are forced to make create some distance between us and our project. Literally because it needs to dry and harden. Emotionally because of all the pressure. Luckily there are also chores in the Netherlands waiting for us, so we travel up and down. Just imagine we could get some peace of mind…
We are trying to relax on our sofa, covered in blankets, sometimes we are really cold. In Portugal, yes. We take hot water bottles to bed. When I am using the shower for a long and hot defrosting, the steam it produces goes nowhere. There is no ventilation in the bathroom. We have to be very aware of the molding on the walls and ceiling, before it becomes a true invasion. Very bad for our bronchi. In the meantime, during the day, the weather is lovely. Sun, just a slight breeze and the temperature soon reaches 18 degrees! Then I quickly move the laundry outside. Wet laundry is becoming a nuisance with a bad smell if it does not dry soon. I so very much hate that.
Oranges
We take the Dutch traditional Santa Claus candy with us to Portugal, so we maintain our level of bad calories. In Portugal the time of ripe oranges has begun. What a treat to have one of those beauties from the local garden for breakfast!
Suspended ceilings
The other thing growing over our head, are the suspended ceilings! Another challenge of coordination and communication for the main architect. There are now several teams and disciplines in play: that of Juvenal Ferreira for the ceilings and the team of Nuno Ferreira for the systems. Above the ceiling there is a whole grid of piping, electricity tubes and the heat recovery system. This ventilation system draws heat from the extracted air and passes it on to the air which is being filtered in from the outside.
In the ceilings holes for light spots need to be exactly in line, as designed. Via the orange spots we so carefully indicated. The curtain rods are integrated. First they lay out a whole grid. Next plaster boards are attached to the grid. The holes from the screws and the joints are filled up neatly. In the end a layer of paint will finish it off!
Cantinho dos Gambuzinos
The carpenter brings a visit to prepare his work for the kitchen cabinets. The layout was drawn on the floor by Luís. Now we can all imagine easily what has to go where and how we will move in the final kitchen space. The carpenter is happy with it. In the corner of the kitchen one space will remain unused, however. We decide this will be defined as the ‘Cantinho dos Gambuzinos’. A ‘corner’ for our house ghosts. A Gambuzino is a fantasy animal that can come and overturn your household whenever it so pleases! So we better please them upfront… For the time being they will have to live in this corner, later we’ll design a more luxury place for them. I am very curious to see what our Gambuzinos will look like when they reveal themselves!
Wow Claudia, your home is coming along! It looks so big and spacious. Hiccups are not fun, especially when you have many people working and nothing gets done. You should be confident with the work, it looks phenomenal ! You will be toasty warm come winter. Michael and I have spent many hours looking for homes for sale around in your area. Seems like we need to know a lot more before we make any decisions. One thing we do know is we like our house warm in the winter! We are very spoiled that way, and cool in the summer.