This week didn’t go to plan...
I started out expecting help from someone with a machine, but when they had to cancel the night before I decided to take on the job myself. First I had to clear two rooms, including moving my office, to make space for the work.
Next I marked some excavation indicators, using my Cigman G01 laser level that had been sent to me. Then, with pickaxe in hand, I began digging out the floor of my vaulted entrance — aiming to lower it by 50cm to create an appropriate headroom. It wasn’t easy. I lost a day at the start to severe hayfever and the work was predictably hard and slow.
Along the way, I also uncovered some surprises: An antique drainage channel built into the rock, which might explain some dampness I’ve seen; and some unusual wall structures built on the bedrock that I am not yet clear about.
This work was a mix of heavy labour, unexpected archaeology, and another step toward restoring this old house, one swing at a time.
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chapters
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00:00 intro
00:36 work intro
01:02 room prep
01:43 office move
02:12 more moving
03:10 laser levels
04:06 entrance prep
05:10 into salon
06:50 no help
07:55 turning right
09:20 line of tiles
10:43 inner wall
12:01 beyond wall
12:40 further right
13:00 back area
14:37 connection
15:10 corner clearing
15:50 other corner
17:10 re-energised
18:12 mystery structures
22:20 final dig
23:30 outro
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about my channel and its videos
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My channel is about the renovation and restoration of an old stone house on a hill in Catalunya (North East of Spain). The house is near the Costa Brava and has magnificent views of the forest around it and the Mediterranean Sea.
The house has many beautiful old features, including its stone walls, vaulted ceilings, ancient terracotta tiles and many quirky parts added over the centuries. At the moment, I am working on the house on my own as I try to turn it into a dream home in harmony with the nature and culture that surrounds it.
The house is not in France or Italy and is not a Chateau or Cabin, but I watch and am inspired by channels that are. Especially Martijn Doolaard and Dan Preston's Escape to Rural France. I love Martijn's style, philosophy and cinematography and Dan's energy, humour and ambition. I'm trying to include some of these attributes in my videos.