This past Tuesday, we were on our way to Mercatale for our big weekly shopping and as usual decided to stop at the house. Just as we were heading up the road to the cemetery someone from the construction crew called to see if we were coming up! We got there just in time to see the cement being poured onto the top floor. One man was also building a small wall that will keep me from falling down to the bottom floor!
The flooring is called "sotto......". It is very light--made from cement and a bunch of small styrofoam looking balls. This was only poured upstairs and covered all the tubes on the floor. Larry took this piece and laid it out to dry and when he went back the next day the only things left was the balls!
Two days later a small crew came back and poured another layer upstairs and one downstairs. This was made of mostly sand with some cement and water. It seemed more like wet sand than cement. It was mixed by a small machine and then shot out of a tube upstairs that wiggled like a snake!
They poured it, then leveled it, then buffed it! Both floors finished in one day by 3 men! They said it would take 2 days to dry enough to walk on and 2 weeks before the tile could be put down. Claver Battazzi (the foreman) told us it may take longer as it has been so cold (43 degrees as I write this at 2:00 in the afternoon).
While we are in the states they will be cleaning up the "sassi" (rocks) walls and then putting plaster over the new walls and parts of the rock walls to cover the rocks that are "brutto" (ugly). Should be ready to lay the tile when we get back. Obviously, We won't be in before Christmas and probably not before the new year! Oh well. Siamo in Italia!
