Humberto Primo

The plan : a complete remodelling job, which involves :

• moving the kitchen from the back of the house to the middle, adjacent to the dining and living rooms.
• opening up walls between these spaces to create an even greater sense of dimension to this large house
• creating new stairs to the roof terrace which anyone (not just a mountain goat) can use. The existing stairs rise up 5 metres in a distance of only 2 metres, that really only suit a mountain climber in pre-Himalyan training
• creating an entire new heating system, by removing ALL the floor tiles and laying down under floor heating, over which we put down beautiful Brazilian hard wood floors, so that wherever you are in winter, the feeling underfoot is toasty & warm
• creating a new master bedroom with ensuite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe
• creating a completely new second bathroom where the kitchen once was, which will serve guests and the new second bedroom
• create a laundry where the neck-breaking stairs once were
• re-plumbing, re electrifying, re-piping for gas every single thing that ever existed
• changing the nasty aluminium frame windows that run along the passageway, for traditional iron frame glass panel windows
• repainting and redecorating 

Starting with the entry hall, floors have been removed, original brick ceiling exposed, and niches created.

The wall between the (new) kitchen and dining room now cut open.

And the living and dining room, no corner untouched !

The passageway, which is the main artery for new gas, water and electrical connections.

Creating a new stairwell : looking up having ripped open the roof and built a new stairwell exit 8 metres (25 feet) up !

Removing the old concrete stairs, revealing the original roof: all part of a days work. At least Juan is still smiling.

the floors finally are finished, with underfloor heating, Ebony (ebono) african hardwood, and a fine finish…

now, we cover the again for the final painting…

The ensuite bathroom starts to take form

Finally new framework and glass change the passageway for the better

The new wood floors are seen here before sanding, left as such for 3 months to settle

The African “ebony” wood for the floors arrived !

Was hauled upstairs…all 1.5 tons of it…

and I spent the weekend sorting what goes where !

Then work started on the layout and installation…

After finishing the under floor heating installation, the system was fired up and left to run for a week, nicely drying out all the cement floors.

the living room floor has been raised now (as has the whole house) by 12 cms to accomodate the uner floor heating and various layers above and below such. Fortunately with 5 metre ceilings the impact is non-existent.

the passageway roof is ripped off, and soon too those ugly aluminium window frames will go

the master bedroom dressing room and bathroom start to take shape

looking down the hall to the second bathroom 

another skylight is added to the ceiling of the second bedroom

the laundry door gets put in 

and an access to the loft study is made, awaiting the balcony and stairs to be installed

Owing to works in other apartments and the needs of those clients that override my own desires to continue at full tilt, work on my place slowed a little…

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Still, we managed to finish laying all the floor heating, cover over it with cement and start to prepare the walls with plaster, start the formations of the fireplace, and lay all the new gas pipes.

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The question I have is…when will it all end ? 

With the underfloor heating tubes laid, a top coat of cement goes over the pipes in preparation for the wood floors to be laid.

work on the new underfloor heating system

over these pipes, we will soon lay cement over which the hardwood floor will be laid

  Miguel and team - pleased with their work