“There are the places you wish to go, there are the places you desperately wish you never left, there are the places you imagine you should be, and there is the place called here.” – Padraig O Tuama from his beautiful book In the Shelter
The Electrician promised us in an e-mail that he will “do the possible”, when we made it clear that we were desperate for electricity at the house. When we arrived, it looked like no work had been done inside, but there was at least electricity at the box outside the house.
We felt disappointed, even though in reality we expected it, and so Michael decided that the only way to push the project forward would be for him to chase the walls himself. He bought special tools for the job in anticipation, and so, without too much of a muttering, he set to work on what is most probably one of the worst jobs, when building a house.
It took days of teeth rattling patience, despite the fact that he carefully measured out all the sockets and light switches during his November visit in consultation with The Electrician.
To drill out the space for the communications and electric boxes took four hours alone, despite making the decision to build a dry wall to limit the amount of drilling, before he could plaster the space and fit the boxes.
When, after an initial three days of warm weather, the temperature dipped, and we had a look at the weather forecast. Not only was it getting cold, but a hundred percent prediction of rain, got Michael donning his tools and shifting his focus to the barn. The barn roof is leaky, and with all our clothes and tools stored there for the duration of our stay, he had no choice but to try and fix it as best he could.
As part of this diversion he also decided to clear the brambles growing against the wall of the barn that forms part of the boundary fence. We cannot risk our structure by neglecting this task, as we hope it will one day become our bedroom when we link the tiny house and the barn. But that is a project for the distant future. Our immediate concern was to protect the structural integrity of the barn as best we could.
And so, after swiftly dealing with the rogue brambles, out came the sticky tape (or as Michael would say “bitumen aluminium self-adhesive waterproofing tape”) he bought on a previous trip to South Africa and a mask, as we aren’t sure if the roof is made of asbestos or not. We subsequently learned that one can tell from the numbers on the roof sheets, so we will have to check during our next visit to make sure. Anyway, he wasn’t taking any chances, and although the day dawned cloudless, the storm clouds eventually started to gather, and by the early evening the rain came down. Needless to say, we were very grateful we didn’t dismiss the weather prediction.
An unexpected benefit of the rain and cooler weather was a reduced fire risk threat, and as our access road was in desperate need of strimming to deal with the brambles before they could get out of hand, the strimmer came out on the first day we were in the clear. A couple of hours later most of the heavy work was done, and I could follow with a pair of secateurs and a rake to finish the iffy bits of the job, while Michael got back to the never-ending job of chasing walls.
Two weeks on the land is always hard on our city bodies, but this time Michael came back with a tennis elbow that is extremely painful. The doctor prescribed at least five weeks of complete rest, but with our next trip on the horizon I am not sure how much healing will take place until another bout of physical torture awaits.
Installing the ceiling is at the top of our to-do list for the next trip, followed by completing the dry walling. But for that part, we need The Electrician to be finished with the wiring and plumbing of the house. Fingers crossed.
June 2019 Visit
Written by: Jolandi
Nice to watch this unfold from the comfort of my home with its roof and new guttering. Thinking of you as you toil away. Fingers crossed for you.
Don’t even mention guttering, Peggy! That is another item on the list for this upcoming trip – or some paving around the house before the rainy season, as we need to try and keep the water away from the house so that we don’t compromise the structure. These stone structures weren’t built with modern foundations! Oh the joys of joining the tribe of crazy dreamers who take on these restoration projects. Thank you for cheering us on from the comfort of your home. 🙂 – Jolandi
what wonderful skills of the” self “.your man has, Jolandi, one underestimates the process of any structure and you have led us down the path from water to electricity and roofing…….. its real sweat and blood stuff and the patience to steadily keep plodding away. So inspiring to see your portugal plot unfolding into a home. is that not what dreams are made of……………………………… living your dream every bit of the way x
Indeed Nanette. Dreams don’t come packaged ready made, they are made of all the “sweat and blood stuff” you talk about. Michael has an amazing skill set. Something that comes in really handy when embarking on this kind of dream. And you are so right, one really underestimate the amount of time the different stages in building a house takes, be it big or small. – Jolandi
I winced while reading this. I went through a very similar experience with a 100-year-old farmhouse that hadn’t been updated since the 1930s. We did have running water, a bathroom, and electricity, but virtually everything was broken or so old it was barely working. I think you’ll appreciate that you’re having new, modern wiring and plumbing put in : replacing ancient infrastructure made me want to tear the house down and just build a new one on the land! Hang in there! Hoping the weather will hold up for you, and Michael’s tennis elbow gets better. (Another wince: “tennis elbow” doesn’t do the pain justice.)
Yip, I am with you on this one, Hangaku. Having to deal with ancient infrastructure would be a complete nightmare. Like you say, having modern wiring and plumbing, even when we have to wait for it, is far better. AND something I am very grateful for. Michael and I originally wanted to build a new house on the land, but in that specific municipality one is not allowed to build closer than 50 meters from the boundary fence, and because of the odd shape of the land, the only place we could build was near a seasonal stream, which for obvious reasons cancelled out the spot. And so we joined the club of crazy people taking on renovation, restoration and conversion projects. 😉 – Jolandi
I am so enjoying watching your journey on this beautiful land. You both must fall into bed completely exhausted by the end of each day. Your work is also rewarding. I understand how frustrating it can be when you are waiting on others to do their jobs. Hang in there, it is starting to look like a home.
Thank you, Terri. Yes, we do fall into bed completely exhausted at night, especially as we are not used to continuous physical labour like that. A couple of glasses of good Portuguese wine in the evenings at least soothes the muscles, and give us courage to face the next day. 🙂
Hello again Jolandi,
I felt utterly exhausted simply reading the post. Again, hats off to both of you, and of course to your super-skilled husband. Although not nearly a daunting a task, hubby and I continue to make little updates to the rooms in our new home. It can be intimidating even with all the “modern comforts” so I can’t imagine the adventures you must have. Once again, we continue to send our best wishes from Japan. Tennis elbow is very painful, hope Michael can catch up on some much-needed rest.
Best wishes,
Takami
Ah, thanks Takami. I love to hear how you and your husband are also settling into your space. It takes time to make a space one’s own, and I hope you are enjoying the process. – Jolandi
I am sorry poor Michael has tennis elbow! I hope he recovers quickly.
Brambles are the bane of my life as they grow so quickly and their roots go down such a long way. I have only just got rid of a couple of thorns in my finger after my last bramble-clearing episode three weeks ago!
I am also sorry the electrician is being so dilatory. Some rural tradespeople can be really infuriating as I know from experience!
Oh, dear! Yip, brambles are definitely also the bane of my existence. Especially when they grow over and across wire fences. I think relying on others for these vital jobs is perhaps the most difficult for us. It is hard to be patient when all we want to do is to move the project forward. We will take a deep breath and say a silent prayer, and hopefully the wiring and plumbing will be complete mid-August as we were promised. We do worry a bit about his elbow, Clare, as it is still far from being healed, but we will just do what we always do: stay optimistic, and do what needs to get done, despite the stumbling blocks. – Jolandi