Terrace | Our Big Italian Adventure

Terracing, Terra Armata, and Terrazza And Some Interior Work

Ed Building a House September 23, 2017September 21, 2017Construction, Interior, Landscape, Terrace 0 Comment

Earth moving continues to (re)shape and soften the land terraces in front of and behind the house. This major project started about two weeks ago and we saw some photos of progress earlier in the week.

Now, not only is the earth being moved, it’s being reinforced by a technique called terra armata, which I described and illustrated in an earlier post. Steel grids are inserted into the slope and on the face of the slope. They provide a structure to keep the earth in place.

Anne continues to be concerned about our ability to plant on the slopes with the terra armata grids in place, but we continue to get reassurances that we’ll be fine: bushes and trees can be planted.

Terra Armata Mesh Reinforcement
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Back of House From Below
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The top floor terrazza is being finished, as are the roof sections near the terrazza.

Inside, they have started putting a skim coat of concrete on top of the underfloor heating pipes. When finished, it needs to cure for 10 days or so. Then they will start laying the floor tiles.

Terrace with Roof Over Kitchen
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Skim Coat Partially Applied
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Here are more photos of this work.

Work on Slope in Front

Slope in Front

Level Area Behind House

Level Above the Pool

Across a Land Terrace

Terra Armata Materials

Terra Armata Mesh Reinforcement

Terra Armata Mesh Closeup

Terra Armata Mesh in Place

Slope Covered in Terra Armata Mesh

Slope Behind the House

Back of House From Below

Pool From Above

Portico Beams in Place

Portico Roof Cross Beams in Place

Terrazza with Roof Over Kitchen

Roof Section by Terrazza

Terrazza Toward the Back

Terrazza Drain

Working on Roof Near Terrazza

Skim Coat Over Heating Tubes

Skim Coat Partially Applied

Main Room Skim Coat in Progress

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Earth Being Moved, Portico and Terrazza Being Built

Ed Building a House September 21, 2017September 21, 2017Exterior, Land, Landscape, Portico, Terrace 0 Comment

Making the Hill Less Steep in Front
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Moving an Olive Tree
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Beam Across Portico Columns
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Cement for Roof on top of Poroton — Cement for Roof on Top of Poroton
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Work is continuing to try to address that bugaboo land slope issue. Kevin reports that the situation seems much improved. It’s almost impossible to tell from pictures, as we can’t assess the steepness of the slopes or the width of the land terraces very well. However, it looks better in front of the house, but I’m not yet sure if they are building land terraces with a descending path at one side or with a path that “snakes” across the slope.

As part of this work, they’ve needed to relocate some olive trees from the front of the house. They are supposed to be very hardy, but on our last visit I noted a few transplants that looked pretty sickly. We will hope for the best.

Since the portico columns are now built and faced with stone and brick, they are adding the beams to support the roof. The main cross beams and the side beam are in place. Next should come some cross beams and the support structure for the roof.

Also, they are working on building the top floor terrazza and the small roof sections that cover the ground floor areas that aren’t under the main roof. There is also a “false” peaked roof that is above the flat ceiling in the kitchen. The construction of these roof sections is just like that of the main roof: Poroton blocks, rebar, and concrete.

Here’s the whole photo album.