When we bought our Abruzzo property, we faced a tough decision whether to restore or rebuild. Getting it wrong could have been a costly and time-consuming mistake.

A reminder what we bought. Two derelict stone and brick houses, with fantastic views over the Abruzzo countryside,  standing in about an acre of a tiny, long-abandoned hamlet near Casoli. The plan is to turn one into a new permanent home for us; the other into three holiday rental villas for two people. Here's more info.

We initially wanted to restore the two properties, re-using as much of the existing building materials as possible. But their overall condition; the time the work would take and what it would all cost meant that knocking everything down and starting again wasn't just the simplest solution - it was the only solution.

And we're convinced it was the right one too. We saved as much old stone and old wooden beams as possible and are using them again in the new build.

The real clincher though is the speed with which the work's being done. After the unseasonal deluges we had in early June which delayed the demolition, work on the foundations didn't start until the first week of July. On the last day of August, our new Abruzzo home - and your Abruzzo holiday villas - had both reached first floor level.

Take a closer look. Here's our kitchen, which has just had the first part of its roof laid. On top of the tiles goes a thin layer of cement. (The yellow wooden shuttering stops this sliding off…) Then there's a layer of insulation; then the roof tiles. 

Early days yet in the making of a new Abruzzo home, but it hasn't stopped Pauline making plans about how it's all going to be laid out. Where the sink, cooker, fridge, dishwasher, cupboards, table and chairs are all going to go. And the wall tiles; floor tiles; lights, switches and sockets.

The red poles ? They're called acro-props and they're holding up the first floor. That's cement - and it takes a couple of weeks to dry. Once it's OK to walk on, Antonio and the guys can smooth it off ready for tiling and then start to construct the main roof.

The stairs are in too. That big piece of wood is to stop people trying to use them until they're dry as well.

And all around, piles of huge bricks, designed to insulate the house and villas against extremes of heat and cold; and seemingly endless lengths of steel waiting to be cut and shaped to provide the backbone of the new properties.

The schedule is for our new home and the villas to be roofed, walled and weathertight in about six weeks time. That'll effectively mark the halfway stage of the build. Still on target to fix our opening date sometime next Spring.

And did I mention the swimming pool ? Work on that starts in October and will be finished in November. That'll then allow us to start a little landscaping over Winter and mark out and lay assorted paths and patios.

So - to answer the 'Abruzzo property - restore or rebuild' question, we've gone the only practical route that was open to us. When you  see your Abruzzo holiday villa built in the timeless and traditional Abruzzese style of white walls; dark green shutters; and a tiled roof, we hope you'll agree we made the right choice.

(For larger images - click on the pictures) 

Abruzzo home, abruzzo property, Abruzzo villa for two, Casoli

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 4:10 am and is filed under About Villas for 2, Property, About Abruzzo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.