The windows and doors were made by a carpenter in a nearby village who specialises in windows. They are made out of local chestnut and are incredibly beautiful, as well as super-efficient. There are chestnut shutters on some of the windows, but not all of them, only where necessary. The south-facing floor to ceiling doors will eventually open out onto a large terrace. We had hoped to have louvres fitted in between the glass, so that we could block out…
We bought this place in March 2013. No one had lived here for many years and the old house was falling down, which was just what we wanted. Our plan was to build an eco-house, using local, natural materials and built by a true craftsman. In part, this was a reaction to living in London and the brutal ugliness of the city – yes, parts of London are beautiful and we enjoyed living there for many years, but it is…
Drainage and waterproofing for the house was always going to be a challenge. The house is 500M down an unpaved track which was a knee-deep river when we bought the place. One of the first things we did was to dump 26 lorry loads of hardcore onto the track, just so we could drive down it. To make matters worse, the house is situated right next to the track and is at a lower level! The storeroom/bodega was a stinking…
We have finally started on our house renovation and hoping to get enough done before the rain sets in. We’ve done lots of clearing, laid foundations and dug a huge pile of clay for the cob. It will be mixed with straw from our field and local sand. Our neighbours can’t understand why we want to build a house out of mud! Most of the houses around here are made from stone and part of our house will be stone…