#36 Restoring an antique barn door & demolishing the cow manger - Restoring an Italian farm

[@roman5399]

Isi @ Bert... Ihr habt die nötige Geduld, Ihr tragt sie in euch. Klar kennt bzw. schaut Ihr den M. Doolaard. Diese Vorhaben, sollte man auch nicht vergleichen. Anfangs, habe ich OMG gedacht. Nun bin ich voll überzeugt, Ihr seid Helden! Danke, dass Ihr uns solche Einblicke erlaubt. Hi Bertus.. Du hast abgenommen, bewegst dich ganz anders. Auch ein Gewinn. Isis, deine Farben, deine Worte dazu, deine Liebe zum Detail sind berauschend Schön! Liebste Grüße

[@maritza6337]

Of all the beautiful places that I see on different channels, two are my favorites, for the landscape and for their people: you and Martjin Doolaard. You transmit peace, security, union, true enjoyment. I feel sad when the video ends and I'm already waiting for the next one. Thanks for that . God bless you.

[@robertsteele8688]

agree 💯😀!!!..my sentiments exactly!!🙏🙏🙏🥰

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

I also enjoy seeing what's happening between the Cascina and Martjin's property, the weather and the progress. My top two favourite vlogs.

[@poodlegirl55]

Three for me. You should watch Diego Leon too.

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

@@poodlegirl55 thanks I'll check it out.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you SO much! Hearing that you're looking forward to our videos makes us very happy, and it's an honour to be in Martijn's company on your list of favourite channels :-)

[@margjm313]

I love your property and the care you are taking to restore it. Your camera work is beautiful, and you do just the right amount of talking. I can hardly wait to see footage of Velluto in the house, curled up on a lap. He would be foolish not to adopt you.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much!

[@farmkay]

Taking that plug out of the blocked window was so satisfying to watch. Loving the flowers. Enjoyed the KZbin visit. Thanks for the sharing.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it was very satisfying to do as well :-P

[@mariesalway91]

you can really see now, that all the little by little bits of work around the property is making big differences

[@cbrashsorensen]

I also live in the mountains. Yesterday, April 27 we had snow, sleet and rain though everything is green and blooming. May 15 is our last day (officially) of frost so all gardeners are cautious this time of year. May I say, "I feel very 'at home' with the two of you in Italy? It feels as though I am just joining you in the work for the day and week. There is a real sense of comfort and the passing of time when I hear you talk about a door needing replace in "ten years time." Everyone is in such a rush. Velluto will adopt the two of you because you are letting him (mostly) set the pace.

[@terricollins8450]

Thank you Isis for showing all the nature and insects even the beautiful rocks on the beach , these things bring me so much joy I love that you care about the small stuff 💕

[@LittleChena]

I binge watched all your videos and now I’m so happy to see your weekly process!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Yay! Thank you!

[@michaelzimmerman635]

I'm binge watching now, almost there!

[@RuthKrippner]

So pleased you saved the barn door…..

[@barbaradavie150]

You both work so hard and it always ends up looking amazing. Your valley looked so incredibly green and beautiful the beginning and then so magical with the snowy clouds. Great to see you had a day at the coast. The water looked so beautiful and the village so quaint and steeped in history. Loved it all. Did I mention the iris flowers? So beautiful. Congratulations on your amazing repairs to that ancient door.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much!

[@paulinewilson613]

I love your stray tomcat, what a magnificent colour he is. It is obvious he's starting, slowly, to trust you now as he comes closer and closer each time he comes for his food. You are both doing an amazing job with your homestead, what a huge job it has been trying to sort out all the stuff left behind by the previous owners and repairing and painting your doors. I'm really looking forward to when you have all the tools sorted and can start on the house itself.

[@heinzgassner1057]

“His dream-food-dispensers, hoping to be adopted by him” 😂😂😂. What a great understanding of cats ! 🐈‍⬛ 😂😂😂

[@peterwerrenrath1112]

Love your whistling!

[@NovaTechMarketing]

We so enjoy - and envy- your endeavors as you restore your beautiful property and embrace a slow-living lifestyle. Sending best energy for all,you hope to accomplish, and that Velouto decides to grace you with his presence❤️

[@patriziadelorenzis378]

Watching these therapeutic videos, makes me think how lucky this farmhouse is to have found the right owners.As for ventilation, the barn will surely benefit from the window opening. Thankyou.

[@SerendipitySharon]

I wouldn't doubt that the barn wasn't from medieval times with those arrow slot windows. What a long and fascinating story that barn door must have, love that you are restoring it. So enjoy both of your natures, your perspective and your process. Becoming part of what I look forward to on the weekend.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

As far as we know it's about 200 years old, maybe 250. The narrow "arrow slot" windows are a typical feature of barns in this region :-) It's nice to daydream every once in a while about it being older though!!! Glad to hear you're enjoying our videos and lovely to hear you're looking forward to them

[@cherylclark5975]

I thought that you only had 1 cow feed trough..now I see another..previous owners have sure liked to use heaps of concrete..Thankyou for sharing 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@lozinozz7567]

The door looks amazing and still has a life to live 😊 your patience with Velluto is starting pay off. ❤

[@kathrynmoll86]

Velluto has become the star! He is beautiful! Soon he’ll be family. Here in the midwest of America (and most likely in most countries in the northern hemisphere) we’re having hot climate one week then it turns cooler the next -- always quite windy, with trees and flowers shedding their pollen. Very much enjoy your continued progress in your videos.

[@frangraziano2699]

Buongiorno ragazzi, I have followed since the beginning of your channel, and I find your calmness and determination so therapeutic. Thank you so much, and auguri!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Grazie mille a te

[@marycook1657]

As soon as I saw Bertus starting on the demolition of the second manger I thought, "Oh Bertus, you poor thing!!"

[@margomoore4527]

Your purple iris are incredible, like floral amethysts! Someone who lived there liked to garden!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes they are stunning ❤️ they were planted by the mother of the previous owners way back sometime between the 30s and the 50s.

[@mnossy11]

All of your filming is impeccable, but the frame with the big big rock in the ocean was STRIKING! So beautiful and artistic!

[@elizabethfairlie8296]

Wonderful. Thankyou

[@sharlettedavidson81]

The door looks fantastic,the extra work is well worth the efforts. 🙏💪🙏 Mr. vennitto is looking very healthy and is a very healthy boy.❤

[@heatherlaird-mcleod3271]

What a beautiful place to live your best life. Your dreams and aspirations are coming alive via your new home. Hard work has achieved a way forward so far. My heart supports your determination and dreams for the property, which is magnificent. OMG, the cow shed troughs have been such hard work, and you are near your goal of demolition of the troughs, "YAY". Luv luv luv and admire your determination and aspirations for renovating such a beautiful property and for bringing alive a dream of living your best life and living off your land. You recycle, conserve energy, and look at traditional methods of repair & and maintenance and gardening methods. Your cat will be curled up in front of your fire sooner than you realise.

[@Nancy-j8o1t]

I love all the wildflowers on your mountain ☘️🪷🌷🌹🌼🌺🪻

[@Hillbilly007-yd9gu]

Great job saving the old door.

[@patbrady9531]

I can see that your property will Bea special place to visit when you get your rental properties up and running. Birdsong, flowers,mountain vistas, hiking-how wonderful it will be!

[@juanitafoster9834]

Your flowers look great.

[@lindabrooks8242]

Magnificent work on the barn door! It's all beautiful, with all the stone work. You two definitely have some magic up your sleeves. The irises, the coastal town, and of course, Velluto.... Thank You for sharing this!♥️

[@deehalpern8988]

Such beautiful views. I can understand why you’re willing to put in all the hard work. Love the transition from empty wheelbarrow to…poof! Full wheelbarrow. Haha.

[@karinbenedetti172]

Its looking great all those little but big jobs are making it more like home everyday…its going to be beautiful 😊

[@shannonlynne1558]

I love your style of salvaging what’s there. ❤

[@beverlymurray6554]

I love watching you two work on your property and the progress you are making

[@astridanderswelt]

Gut gemacht! Ich mag ihre Videos sehr. ❤ Sie beide sind authentisch und haben Sinn für das Wesentliche. Ihre kleinen Fortschritte sind die Süsse des Lebens im Augenblick. Danke und herzliche Grüsse.

[@michaelzimmerman635]

Poor Bertus. After demolishing the the first half, only to turn around and see he had the same amount of work all over again.

[@elisabethbenders-hyde5286]

Your cinematography and cadence reminds me of the work of another Dutchman in the Italian Alps, Martijn Doolaard. I love your shots of the cloud shrouded countryside, small flowers, and progress with Velluto. Listening to you speak Nederlands brings me back to my childhood.

[@melissaeden1219]

Love what you did with the door. The whole barn is coming along nicely after all of your painstaking work!

[@daynight4902]

BEST

[@censon]

Another remarkable save. Truly great to watch.

[@rosemaryjasper1121]

The door has come up beautifully. You could very nearly hear the door sucking up the paint! The effort was well worth the outcome. Bertus did a very professional looking job on the lawnmower repair. The only background noise we ever hear on your videos is that of glorious bird song! How lucky you are to live in a world with only birdsong to accompany you throughout the day, no intrusion of modern day living to assault your ears! I’m sure that’s part of the reason your videos are so calming. Have a good week.❤

[@seaview9948]

Always a pleasure to join you guys ..

[@jonimarchese7655]

I forgot to tell you, what an amazing job on the door.

[@EricOnYouTube]

Man, I really love what you two are doing.

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Enjoyed

[@susanduff-silsby2695]

The Iris are stunning, such a treat to see them. Bertus, in your new workplace ~ the old cow shed, a second hand wood heater would make those freezing cold winter days a little bearable? So nice to see your excursion. Regards Susan at Hobart.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it definitely would! something to consider ❤️

[@lieuwina]

I am so glad Isis and Bertus that you take time off and go and see places and relax, it is very good for the body and soul, especially after drilling through that through out and wielding big hammers on the concrete. The aerial views from the drone around your property in the cloud surrounding your property is beautiful and as the cloud/mist clears. When driving through those tunnels made in the mountains, I often think how many people built it and how long did it take and what pride they must of had on completion and pray no one died building them. I love the sound of the sea. Thank you for sharing you afternoon off with us, just hearing the sea has helped me and made me remember when I was on the beach in South Africa in Durban and when I went on holiday to Pisciotta in Italy and hearing the sea and swimming in a tidal pool there a lovely place and had a lovely holiday there. Have a lovely day.

[@jonimarchese7655]

Ciao Isis and Bertus, what a project that barn is, the trough is backbreaking. I was surprised when you uncovered the little window when you were taking the render off. I love your property and the area you live in; you are literally in the clouds. I am happy you two took the day off and went to the shore, sometimes we get so busy, we forget to just STOP and enjoy life a bit. Thanks for sharing. Love from N.Y.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

aaah yes we knew the window was there as it was only covered on the inside not outside, but it's an angle we don't often film ☺️ it's so nice that it's open again!

[@neutonrenda2303]

The edging plants at the front of the house is looking amazing.❤

[@CherriRobb]

Love your vlog. First one I watch on Sunday mornings. Colorado Cherri

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@bridgetonhouse9533]

Love your hard work- visually just beautiful. Please protect your back. You lift very heavy things, bend your knees & say no to too heavy. I built a hotel with my husband from an old building. I was always on the other end of heavy, finally had to say no. I let stronger people lift❤️

[@kathleenferguson7537]

Your barn is looking good.

[@france7678]

La beauté partout. Et avec l’œil de la caméra et la poésie du montage , vous la magnifiez.

[@jbyrd2516]

Like so many others i love the work on the door, your visit to the coast - what time do the buildings date back to?, Veluto’s increased confidence and trust, the beautiful views. And the irises! They take me back to my early teens and my first romance. The boy I was enamoured with took me for a walk in the countryside and as we crested a rise, a field of irises in full bloom lay before us. Glorious. Thank you.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Did you mean the buildings along the coast? The town we were in is Noli. Some of the buildings are definitely medieval. The memory you're sharing sounds like straight from a movie

[@agnieszkas.3715]

Love you both and appreciate the hard work you do. You are living my dream life...

[@cindyblair1283]

Your paradise looks amazing! I just love how you both really treasure to salvage all what you can, and you do such a awesome job doing it. I enjoy all your videos and look forward to the next. Thank you again for sharing this journey with us all. P.S. I love how the cat is still loving the place as well. God bless❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Our pleasure! And we're very happy too that Velluto still wants to hang around after 4 months!

[@rosemaryjasper1121]

Great video. Great job on the door, such a work of love. To think the number of people who have used the door before you, what stories it could tell! All the windows you uncovered in the cow shed, surprising just what is emerging as you strip back the layers of the buildings. So many stories to uncover! The purple flags/irises look quite stunning against all the bright green new foliage. You really do live in a most beautiful landscape. All the time there is the promise of things to come. The coast looked a bit cold for swimming but a great way to blow away any cobwebs left from knocking down the cattle manger. I too am fascinated by looking for different pebbles, quite amazing what you can find! I think most of Europe seems to have been wet and soggy over the past week or so. Ten days ago I was in the garden in shorts and a t shirt and needing to put on sunscreen ! This last 7 days here in UK the day time temperatures have really struggled to get into double figures! It’s almost like we had the promise to come, then it was snatched from us! Hopefully the coming week is both somewhat drier and decidedly warmer. Have a good week.❤

[@debbieclark9333]

Keep that what looks like a bed spring. It makes a wonderful vertical planter once you put landscape fabric on the back and fill it with plants.

[@lisa-ul4vi]

So happy you have saved the door! I was thinking that perhaps you could keep one of the troths, create a lid for the top and use it to store things you dont readily need, then perhaps shelving above? Just thinking of saving some strain on your backs😉

[@storiesfromthecascina]

If the troughs would have sat agains the wall we'd probably have kept both of them, but they are half a metre away from the wall and so take away about 1,2 metres of the floor space over the whole 12 metres length of the room. :-) And if we don't do it now we'd have to do it later anyway, so better get it over and done with :-) Thanks for considering our backs!

[@neutonrenda2303]

Your repair just adds to the history and character, much better than a new one could. Looks like the homemade trailer has motorcycle rims, much easier to push with the larger wheels.👍

[@storiesfromthecascina]

that little (dog?) cart is a wonderfull thing! the tires need some extra air but it's otherwise in great condition ❤️

[@ceciliaferrari5832]

Finalmente 🎉 Vi aspettavo come ogni domenica 🌷 Vi adoro Con quanto rispetto verso la natura e materiale che trovate nella cascina . Continuate a dividere con noi il vostro lavoro Traduzione in italiano o tedesco grazie 🌷🧚‍♀️

[@storiesfromthecascina]

❤️ i sottotitoli arrivano presto! KZbin non li ha generati automaticamente, quindi ora lo facciamo manualmente.

[@ceciliaferrari5832]

Grazie🌷🧚‍♀️

[@billdevanney130]

Excellent job with the old door. Loved the whistling whilst working. Whistling is a dying art......wonder how many tunes have been whistled in those buildings down through the years? 😀

[@joaquinminiducatista940]

Hi there!… nice couple living a Great dream, awesome work together!… i love your mood working! Nice hat man!!! Blessings from spain!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

The hat is Spanish!

[@joaquinminiducatista940]

@@storiesfromthecascina Hello again! It's incredible that the hat is from Spain! At first I thought it was a typical British hat but I quickly realized that it had a different style... I saw a documentary that here in Spain they made a type of hat that is highly sought after all over the world! I'm glad to know this detail! I started watching your videos from the beginning, you already have another follower and I love each video. This world needs people like you to recover history, architectural and landscape heritage! Good for your attitude since it seems that you are doing an extraordinary job in every sense! Good luck and I will be attentive to your progress! Good health!

[@GoogleAccount-hz2co]

I’ve been watching your video and how your progressing with your restoration. I admire you both for the strength ambition and talent that you have in the restoration. Both of you have many talents, which I admire. Both of you have definitely great physical strength, which is a plus. And I love seeing the scenery around the property. Yes, I was wondering where was your day off at the coast? As a couple you work as a team and that’s lovely to see until next video. Thank you.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you! We went to the beach in Noli (not far from Savona on the Ligurian coast) and a bit further west to spiaggia del malpasso.

[@sabinendigwa4652]

Ich bewundere euren Fleiß und eure Ausdauer. Und ihr habt eine wunderbaren Blick für Details. Es steckt so viel Leben in eurer Arbeit und euren Videos. Danke.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Vielen Dank Sabine für die schöne Wörter ❤️

[@michaelzimmerman635]

The cantina is looking fresher every day.

[@marshawargo7238]

Since you counter sunk the ugly screw heads you could mix wood sawdust with pva or wood glue to smear on top of the heads & fill the holes. Maybe cover it with woodworm preventive spray & topcoat of a polyurethane of some kind? Sealing in her age & battle further damage❤!!! Beautiful Door❤!!!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Yes and yes :-) We're definitely filling the holes so you won't see any ugly screw heads and we've treated the wood with woodworm preventive product. We are going to paint it rather than use pu or another type of varnish but we'll talk about the thought process behind that decision in next week's video :-)

[@dingc.velasco6038]

Splendid carpentry work!!

[@zlatahume3134]

The barn door is lovely I would Osmo it only to let the age show. But after all it is your door so you will do what you want, enjoying your channel 😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we're still going with painting (an ecological paint that allows all the texture of the wood to show through) but we'll go into the why and historical background of that next week ;)

[@chriscardinal7007]

Love,love,lovvvve that door! It was very satisfying, like joyful to watch you both bring it back! Thanks!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@garywarren5048]

Hard yakka on those feed troughs!! I would of found any reason to work around them. Look forward to seeing how the door turns out.

[@morganleticia2316]

You do such a great job showing all the beauty around you 👏🏼👏🏼

[@Anne-yw6ed]

Love what you did with the door.

[@cbrashsorensen]

The is great beauty in the broken...and repaired.

[@carmenzanetti7205]

Vi guardo sempre con tanto piacere , per la vostra tranquillità e bravura 😅

[@ableaquariums5480]

All the metal rebar and other materials, do you have a place to recycle them? Here we have a local city recycling place. We also have a scrap yard we can sell it to. Do you have something like that? With the amount of old metal you will pull out of the farm over the years of restorations you’d be surprised how much money that could add up to.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes, we have both! everything that we don't want to reuse/upcycle ourselves is going to the local skip or the scrapyard :)

[@ableaquariums5480]

@@storiesfromthecascina can you sell any of it? A barrel of old nails pulled out of boards for example can buy a new saw blade. That farm material was probably a few thousand.

[@frannypeony2076]

The trip to the coast was lovely. Grazie millle. 🌊

[@davideborgna4918]

Bravissimi 💪💪👋

[@UmaAuroville]

thanks...happy spring...♥🙏

[@jboca7337]

Nice editing 👍🏻

[@robertsteele8688]

the chestnut tree is gorgeous!!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we love it too! ❤️ we have a second, smaller one too. the blossoms are magical.

[@avibank]

wow it's so green already

[@Maddie2u]

To be honest, I have a few frustrations I could take out on that cow manager. How much do you charge for a few good solid swings guaranteed to break down a solid chunk...? Then afterwards go sit by that ocean and let the sound of the waves wash it all away .... Building sweat equity in your day in and day out of your lives in infinitely preferably to an office cubical, an assembly line or stuck in a town house in the city which are getting worse and worse.... Yeah, I'm a senior still in the workforce, in my sixties however I too will make changes...as soon as a few more ducks are reasonably lined up.. Saw a license plate the other day that said 'winging it' and, I thought yep, that will definitely be part if it. ♥️🇨🇦 Yeah Velutto!

[@cferguson3368]

A few things to consider when choosing to use nails or screws...Modern round nails push or displace wood which can lead to future cracking. The displacement of wood can be lessened by predrilling nail holes & then putting in the nails. Getting the predrilled hole small enough to allow the nail to do its job and large enough to prevent too much displacement is a bit tricky. Cut or square nails have sharp edges, so they cut, not push or displace, the wood which will minimize any displacement of wood, so they are less likely to cause future cracks. You can buy modern cut nails that are silmilar to, but not quite the same, as antique cut nails. Typically, predrilled holes are not needed, but if the wood is fragile, may be helpful over the long term. Screws, generally, cause less damage if the holes are predrilled. If you use screws on old pieces, you might consider using a nail that will take bluing. Not sure what bluing is called in Europe. It was the process used on old metal parts that gave them a dark grey/black color. A type of bluing is also used on guns & knives to give them a darker color without painting. Bluing will make your screws look like they've been there for ages.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Ah yes we know blueing :-) It was used on historical/medieval armour as well sometimes (Bertus has built a few replica armour in his life). I never heard of it being done to screws though! What you describe is exactly why we ended up going for screws. That and because in order to get the same strenghts we would have had to use long nails that you can bend back on the other side of the door (don;t know how to say it in a way that makes sense in English but I hope you get what I mean!) And that would have basically resulted in a mine-field of pointy hooks on one side of the door. Happy with our deciscion and because we sunk the screws and will fill the holes you won't see them unless you know where to look.

[@karinbenedetti172]

Our weather in western Canada is as crazy as yours,one day like summer and the day after you can put on the fire place…….

[@alaskanrockvodka9622]

Well done salvaging that door. Varnish rather than paint? Just a thought. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Keep up the awesome work. 🥂

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we're still going with painting (an ecological paint that allows all the texture of the wood to show through) but we'll go into the why and historical background of that next week ;)

[@_PJW_]

Instead of painting the door I would rather use boiled linseed oil. That way the old textures and colours stay visible. You'd have to roughen up the newer parts of course. But I think the endresult would look better.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

We love boiled linseed oil! But we're still going to paint the door ;-) (there will be linseed oil in the paint we're going to make, though)

[@_PJW_]

@@storiesfromthecascina 😭!!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we'll share our thought process next week ;-)

[@jennichristie5264]

I caught my sisters half wild cat the other day (who’d been living under their old house and didn’t want to be caught to move to their new place) with pieces of hot chicken and holding them out for her to eat from my fingers. I cld touch her fur on her face with my other fingers while she was eating from my hand. Veluto may come closer and allow touches for this type of incentive!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

he doesn't yet eat from our fingers, not even when it's extra tasty treats 😅

[@guyprot-zq1dz]

Nice job😊😊😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thanks 😄

[@marilyn4098]

Thank you 😊

[@tiborgarvelink1925]

Fijne aflevering weer, succes!

[@davidwillettts931]

If Velluto is an abandoned domestic cat you may be able to turn him into a pet. If he is feral it will be almost impossible to make him a house cat. We have three feral tom cats who have been coming for food for three years but they still won’t let us touch them, their reflexes are lightning and claws razors. They do cross the threshold to eat however. We accept them for what they are - wild animals who depend on us for food. We don’t try to domesticate them. They are healthy but look undernourished after we have been away, they soon plump up😺

[@storiesfromthecascina]

He's not agressive in any way, just very shy and skittish. He has grown about 1.5 times in size since he arrived, so he can't have been very old when he got here. We think he's an abandoned house cat but problably one that has been out in the wild for most of his life. We'll see if he ever becomes a house cat, we're happy to have him either way. But since he's making progress every single week we're hopeful. It's not always easy to document those small things on video, but just this past week he doesn't run off anymore when a car drives by while he's eating, and a few weeks ago he'd not have stayed put in his spot under the kitchen window when we walked by pushing a wheelbarrow. And a month ago he didn't hang around the house for a good few hours a day. :-)

[@LadyElizabeth46]

Which beach did U2 go ? I thought I recognised Savona with the square tower and Albissola with the pebbled mosaic street but I am probably totally wrong. Thanks for sharing your plans !

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we went to the beach in Noli and a bit further west to spiaggia del malpasso.

[@LadyElizabeth46]

@@storiesfromthecascina, Nice !

[@michaelzimmerman635]

Wow, how far away from the coast? I'll bet it has amazing seafood restaurants. 😛

[@storiesfromthecascina]

the coast is an hour drive 😊

[@michaelzimmerman635]

@@storiesfromthecascina How wonderful for you. Mountains and sea within an hour. Reminds me of my hometown on Whidbey Island WA, USA.

[@cferguson3368]

I keep thinking there has to be an easier way to break out that concrete. That is insanely tough work. A thought...do not know if it will help...soaking a metal item coated in cement overnight in 100% vinegar will help soften & dissolve cement that has been left on the metal. Wonder if wetting an old towel with vinegar to soak the cement before hammering it out would weaken the cement enough to make the job easier. To keep the vinegar from evaporating too quickly, you'd have to cover the area in plastic as well. Might be worth a test, but have no idea if it would actually be feasible.

[@avibank]

Curious to know if you looked into the concrete busting chemical I mentioned a while back. If you did, what made you opt not to use it?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we had already looked at the option but would have needed a lot of it and it would have cost a small fortune (i don't know where you are but we looked at prices locally and european dealers online).

[@avibank]

@@storiesfromthecascina Ahh I see, makes sense - it is definitely more expensive than it should be.

[@cferguson3368]

Another tricks to help preserve old wood: Use wood harder liberally on weak spots.

[@TAG993]

How far was the drive to the coast and which town was it? Thanks again!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

the town is Noli, about 1,5 hours drive.

[@TAG993]

@@storiesfromthecascina Thank you for the quick reply! Your property is looking wonderful with each vid. I realize it's a long way till you are in your happy place but looking wonderful.

[@heatherarthur6232]

You said you were going to paint the door…would not oiling it be better for the wood?❔

[@storiesfromthecascina]

We're not going to use sysnthetic paint :-) More about the topic of paint next week