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Casa Catalana
United Kingdom
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 19 ส.ค. 2024
The renovation of an old house in the Catalan countryside.
Join me as I work to turn an abandoned stone house near the Costa Brava (in north east Spain) into a dream home in harmony with the nature and culture that surrounds it.
Will my love of the house and its history be enough to help me overcome the challenges of language, regulations and limited DIY skills?
My name is Hugo and any support, suggestions or subscribers are very welcome.
Join me as I work to turn an abandoned stone house near the Costa Brava (in north east Spain) into a dream home in harmony with the nature and culture that surrounds it.
Will my love of the house and its history be enough to help me overcome the challenges of language, regulations and limited DIY skills?
My name is Hugo and any support, suggestions or subscribers are very welcome.
Dungeon Renovation + your 5 Must-Have Floor Designs!
Excavating the floor of a dungeon (a dark room in the back of my house) to find and check the bedrock foundations. Lifting antique tiles. Digging out a lot of dirt. With some sunny views in between and a moment with a Red Admiral butterfly. Comparing the room to a dungeon and presenting the bed rock foundations of the room in the '5 Must-Have Dungeon Floor Designs for 2025'.
00:00 teaser
00:26 intro
01:19 tile lifting
03:46 tile clean ups
05:40 day 1 summary
06:50 day 2 intro
07:16 tile transfers
09:37 excavating 1
11:42 the Red Admiral
13:00 excavating 2
14:20 excavating 3
15:17 day 2 summary
15:52 day 3
15:59 final excavations
18:15 tidy up
18:37 5 Must-Have Designs
20:45 outro
00:00 teaser
00:26 intro
01:19 tile lifting
03:46 tile clean ups
05:40 day 1 summary
06:50 day 2 intro
07:16 tile transfers
09:37 excavating 1
11:42 the Red Admiral
13:00 excavating 2
14:20 excavating 3
15:17 day 2 summary
15:52 day 3
15:59 final excavations
18:15 tidy up
18:37 5 Must-Have Designs
20:45 outro
มุมมอง: 273
วีดีโอ
Can I save 1000 tiles in a day?
มุมมอง 95512 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา
I am rescuing and restoring 1000s of antique terracotta tiles from inside the house. Most are over 200 years old and are covered in dirt, cement and mortar. Watch as I brush, power wash and stack them all on reorganised pallets. With big contributions from the grinder and the Karcher. 00:00 tiles before 00:33 intro 01:00 prep work 01:54 the approach 02:36 first clean 03:28 improved process 04:4...
How to Find Your Bedrock Faster
มุมมอง 868วันที่ผ่านมา
Excavating by hand a lot of asphalt, concrete, rocks, soil and tiles. Some big digging to confirm the position of the bedrock foundations against the back wall and back rooms. Plus lifting and shifting a lot of old terracotta tiles for restoration work later on. 00:00 intro 01:41 first dig 03:50 finding bedrock 1 04:27 tidy up and lunch 05:03 afternoon plan 06:30 tile lifting 08:29 day 2 and in...
Refreshing my 200-year-old Stone Walls (#9)
มุมมอง 4K14 วันที่ผ่านมา
A power shower for the house, to remove dust and dirt and show the full colour of the stone walls. Involving a bore hole, a deposit tank, a generator, hose pipes and a Karcher. A day of power washing the house that left the cleaner in need of a shower. 00:00 set up 00:44 intro 01:39 wash 1 03:22 wash 2 06:06 water supply 07:36 baloons 08:02 moving stuff 09:49 wash 3 11:05 wash 4 11:40 results 1...
The fight to free the old stone walls (#8)
มุมมอง 1.7K21 วันที่ผ่านมา
Final work to liberate a wall from a cement render, ready for lime mortar repointing. Chiselling. Scraping. Brushing. Cleaning. Scaffolding preparations, set up and work up high. 00:00 set up 00:25 intro 00:46 day 1 wall work 01:34 day 2 wall work 03:00 day 3 intro 03:26 day 3 wall work 05:00 day 4 intro 05:13 day 4 work 07:20 outro 08:15 the result
A Quest for Natural Stone Wall Beauty
มุมมอง 576หลายเดือนก่อน
Preparing a side wall for lime mortar repointing. Chiselling out cement render. Scraping out mortar joints. Brushing stones clean. Scaffolding preparations, set up and work up high. 00:00 set up 00:18 ground clearing 00:49 intro 01:07 ground levelling 02:13 first chiselling 02:40 tools and process 03:08 scaffolding 04:11 wall work 05:46 aerial views 07:19 outro
Brush up, scrub up, higher up - front wall work (#6)
มุมมอง 429หลายเดือนก่อน
Scrubbing, brushing and cleaning the front wall of the house to prepare it for lime mortar repointing. Replacing a broken drain. Fighting the wind and the rain. Old stone house renovation work. 00:00 intro 01:17 first scrub 01:35 lower wall 03:22 day 2 05:28 day 3 07:44 day 4 09:28 drain work 11:38 day 5 12:43 summary 13:39 outro
Excavation, archeology - uncovering history (#5)
มุมมอง 424หลายเดือนก่อน
Careful excavation of earth to reveal old tiles and an old ceramic drainage pipe buried long ago. Renovation becomes archeology for the day. 00:00 intro 00:35 digging 01:22 soil removal 02:24 wall? 03:57 sledgehammer 04:52 tidy up 05:47 outro
Preparation, excavation - a hidden surprise (#4)
มุมมอง 309หลายเดือนก่อน
Ground excavation work takes an unexpected turn, when digging reveals a hidden surprise and a mystery. Earth excavation. Old tiles. Unexplained wall. 00:00 intro 00:51 first dig 01:07 surprise 02:02 excavation 04:06 moving tiles 04:49 more digging 07:10 outro
Trim strim and dig - wall work preparations (#3)
มุมมอง 214หลายเดือนก่อน
Preparing for some wall work. Garden, patio, terrace. Trimming and strimming grass. Transplanting lime tree saplings. Digging, raking and shovelling to level the ground. 00:00 intro 00:31 cutting grass 00:55 lime tree saplings 01:49 grasshopper 02:17 digging 03:20 outro
2 years renovation work in 12 minutes - a house tour (#2)
มุมมอง 646หลายเดือนก่อน
A tour of the inside and outside of the house. Showing some of the renovation work done from the last 2 years. Cleaning old stone walls and Catalan vaults. Removing render, plaster, mortar and cement. Removing walls, tiles, beams and debris. 00:00 intro 00:42 side of the house 01:37 back wall outside 02:04 side of the house 02:39 front of the house 04:11 inside downstairs 07:55 inside upstairs ...
I'm Renovating a 200-Year-Old House - pleasure or pain? (#1)
มุมมอง 563หลายเดือนก่อน
An introduction to me and my renovation work on an old stone house on a hill in Catalunya in the North East of Spain, including the first time I saw the house. 00:00 intro to house 01:04 intro to hugo 01:50 the first visit 03:13 about the work 04:00 outro
Found your channel today on youtube and binge-watched all your videos. I'd be curious to hear more about the other buildings and their history in future videos. It is not exactly clear to me if you own all of them, if any are inhabitable or even where your property lines begin and end Also, where do you stay at night? Merry Christmas!
Hello, Hugo! You often reference your tasks in terms of "we." For the sake of context, are your endeavors of a personal or business nature?
Hello! Well listened, I do find myself saying ‘we’ quite a lot. In some instances this is because it is me and the architect that needs some of the work done. Like knowing the bedrock depth. Other times I think I’m just trying to avoid saying ‘I’ and ‘me’ the whole time. And for some future work I know that I will need some help and the work will be done by a we. But in answer to your question - this is a personal project - and it’s only me doing the work, the cameras, the (bad) audio recording and the editing. But a helping hand to make some tasks ‘we’ would be welcome!
@@Casa-Catalana Well said. Many thanks!
Imagine a clear glass or resin over that, all lit up. I know that's a bit fanciful but it would look amazing. 👍
Nice idea. I might try to have some bedrock showing, as you suggest.
It must be reassuring to see that it's built on such a solid foundation, no wonder you don't see huge cracks anywhere like so many older stone buildings. With the proximity to the church I wonder if your house was once owned by it, or served as the residence.
The apparent strength of the foundations is indeed reassuring. Although they might not be so present / strong in the front (right hand side) where the walls are in a less good state.
About the church. You are right. The house is an Old Rectory and was the home for the church priest up until 70-80 years ago. I will talk about the church (and the history) in videos in 2025.
I thought it might being so close and as big as it is. That makes it even more interesting than it already is. 👍
It's amazing what one man on a mission is capable of. You obviously love your property and enjoy what you are doing. Much respect for the hard work.👍❤️
Merry Christmas Hugo 🎄❤️
And happy Christmas to you too !
You're a hell of a digger lol.
i love how you put so much effort in preserving these tiles. the renovation of places like these is to bring back and retain as much of its history as possible, and you seem to believe this as well. amazing, and looking forward to the next one. happy holidays!
just commenting again because i know that helps your channel and i’m also loving the videos. one thing i know a lot of people are always curious about when it comes to renovation channels like these, is how you found and chose this particular property (e.g., did you consider other places, how was the selection process, which things did you deem important), and how much you paid for it in the end. though i can imagine some people not wanting to reveal such information for privacy reasons. just a thought, as i’d love to see your channel grow and see you continue sharing your journey with us
Hi. Thanks for the ongoing support and for the very helpful comments / suggestions. I shall include some more of this type of content in 2025. Have a very good Christmas.
Happy Christmas to you and yours Hugo! Fabulous job on the tiles😊
Thank you! Your support and messages are much appreciated. Happy Christmas!
does anyone lives in the church by the house?
no, no one lives there and there is only one service a year at Easter time. Its interior is quite basic but very beautiful. I intend to provide some more information (and perhaps a tour of it) in 2025.
Hello Hugo, what an effort. You sure got a lot done in one day and I'd say a very successful day. I love that you are trying to save as much of the history as possible, just like the vaulted ceilings, the tiles are so much character. Even the area you uncovered outside looks amazing after you cleaned it. Definitely well worth the effort. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and New year's.❤️
thanks for the message. much appreciated. happy Christmas and new year!
Excellent videos, Hugo! Very impressive work! It would be great to reconnect! Ali Ponder
"Ponder anew what the almighty can do", Thanks. Great to hear from you. It's been a while (again). I'll find your details.
Inspiring job and I admire you tenacious enthusiasm for the project Are you doing this all on your own, or is the camera assistant helping occasionally?
There is no camera assistant unfortunately! and all the work is mine - apart from the new wall build a while ago.
I'm glad I found this channel it's a beautiful property and well presented video I will be eagerly awaiting the next postings come on viewers lots of views not many subscriptions it doesn't cost you anything to hit the subscribe button Let's help this amazing man out and show some love!! Happy holidays to all
Wow. Thank you for the lovely message and for the encouragement to others. Very much appreciated.
Wow, so beautiful and interesting. Do you need any help? 😂
Thanks for the message. All help would be welcome!
I know right I'll be there in a heartbeat just for the view alone... looking forward to all progress
Hi there. Very nice work. I have a similar but more modest project in mid France which I thoroughly enjoy working on when I can. I like your modular scaffolding. Do you have a link to where you purchased it please? Many thanks. Sean
Hi Sean. Thanks for your message. The scaffolding is good (when the ground is flat & stable!). I bought it online at ComprarAndamio.es. I'm fairly sure they could deliver to you in France. They do some excellent prices and while they are online focused they were also helpful on the phone in both engish and spanglish.
@@Casa-Catalana Thank you
sacrifice a comment for the algorithm(nothing better to say just trying to help the channel)
Thank you. Your support is much appreciated.
@@Casa-Catalana i hope you will get much much more subs, the view alone deserves it
Hello Hugo, you really don't have any easy jobs to tackle but it looks like you are doing a great job with it. The vaulted ceilings are such a lovely feature, they are in incredible condition.
Thanks. A lot more tasks both easier and more difficult to come. Yes, the vaults are indeed lovely.
Are you concerned that the tarmac which previously was a barrier to water getting into those below grade rooms is now compromised in those two places? Do you plan to re-tarmac them? It's difficult to tell the grade. If that's the bottom of an incline where water will pool, that would be problematic.
Good questions. I have planning permission for adding tiles to the ground all along the back wall (c. 2m width) and that work will include a lot of waterproofing. So long term, I won't re-tarmac the holes. Short term, I am considering a small concrete lip along the hole edges (to divert any surface flow) and possibly a more robust material on top.
I just got suggested your last video by TH-cam today and then went back and binged all your videos, made a cuppa and you had uploaded! Loving the channel, amazing project and your attention to detail is commendable! 😊
Thank you for the very nice message. and for taking the time to watch all the videos! I'm very pleased that you like them.
Whereabouts in Gerona is your amazing house? It looks beautiful, albeit a huge amount of work. What is your end plan? Just curious, but great videos - thanks for sharing.
Hello. Thanks for your message. The house is between the city of Girona and the coast. The first target is to make the house habitable (!) so that I can enjoy it with friends and family. I'll be talking a bit about the specific plans in videos in 2025. So please do stay tuned in.
@@Casa-Catalana I shall stay tuned. I'm a 74 year old advertising man and graphic designer who these days loves the contrasting jobs of building and bricklaying. I've been learning Spanish for many years, though not really getting very far. That's why your vids are of interest - I'd like to be doing something similar in Spain. Keep up the good work! Paul
Just found your channel through Martijn Doolard's discord and I really like the content and the structure of your videos! !
Hello. Thank you very much for the message. I am very happy that you like the videos. They are a bit different to Martijn Doolard's - whose vision, style, videos and homestead I like a lot.
love this channel already
thank you for telling me. I am very happy to hear.
Could you give a blueprint map or aerial shot of the house in relation to the church? Was there a previous connection? Was your house perhaps a monastery?
Thank you for each of your messages.I really appreciate them. In relation to the church - yes, I will do a better job of introducing and showing it. Perhaps in the new year. About the connection - good questions! - yes, there very much was. The house was actually a Rectory and was the home for the local parish priest until about 100 years ago. There is some interesting history about this and I will try to share it over the coming months. But if you have other questions, I am happy to try and answer them before.
@@Casa-Catalanai’ve been wondering the same things and am really looking forward to hearing more of the history of these beautiful buildings!
I wish your videos were twice as long. Don’t change anything about the format. A short intro and outro , between the videos.
I am very happy you like the format. I hope some others like it as well.
What a treasure of a building! So much potential. You have a great vision of it’s future
treasure & potential. I think so too!
How exciting! And such hard work. Good job, well done.
thank you!
Hello Hugo, I only just found this video last night and after watching a few minutes I stopped and decided to go back and start at the beginning. I was up until early hours but only finished catching up this morning. I was blown away when I seen how the house looked when you started, what a transformation. I think that you have found a really stunning property, the building and the surrounding landscape is absolutely stunning. I can't believe how little subscribers you have, I am following a few renovation projects and this is definitely the most interesting. From the uncovering of the stone, the vaulted ceilings and the historic changes that have been made over the centuries, to the arcilogical dig outside, I find it so interesting and very beautiful. I plan to do something similar this coming year, I still haven't decided where, but I doubt I could take on as much as you have alone. I can't wait to see how your progress goes and I'm looking forward to following your journey. Greetings from Cape Town.
Hello and thank you very much for your very nice message. I am very happy to hear you enjoyed the videos, thanks for taking the time to re-start at the beginning. Best of luck for finding and working on a property to renovate.
You're the hardest working man on TH-cam
thank you for the messages. they provide great motivation.
So much progress
yes indeed. and I'll keep pushing for more.
The view is the view (and it's great). What got me was how well you captured it. Nice job, whether it's because of your expertise or because you just happened to have good equipment. Pleases the eye all the same.
Thanks for your message. I'm happy you liked it.
The before and after would make this video so much better. Good work anyway!
Hello. Thanks for your message. I think you are right about the before and after. I’m sorry! But it proved beyond me on that day, when I ran out of time and light. I will try to show the changes in another video.
@@Casa-Catalana Keep up the good work, you're doing great!
Lovely view, hard work. Thanks for sharing and the effort taken with the editing.
Thanks for you nice message. Much appreciated. I am happy you like the video and the view!
Good work! Well done!
thank you very much. your support is much appreciated.
Fascinating watch huge, beautifully put together very clear super angles great time lapse really enjoyed it. the bricks around the windows are particularly visible in the before and after. Enjoy your optimism at the top of the piece … -a days work or thereabouts
Thanks for the msg. Very pleased you enjoyed the video. Good observation and listening skills!
Great videos Hugo. What a stunning, handsome property you have. Very much looking forward to your progress in the renovations and restorations.
Thank you for the lovely positive message. I am very happy you like the house and the videos.
Buen proyecto! Absolutamente interesante!
muchas gracias!
Brilliant Bugman, it's looking awesome🎉
thank you Camilla!
Amazing Hugo. I had no idea you were doing this...where are you exactly? Heading to Catalonia in Aug 25 with kids!
Hi Mark. Good to hear from you. The house is between Girona (city) and the coast. Let's try and meet up when you are here in August.
Well done Bugman !!! Going to be v special.
thanks oliver!
Massive improvement! It looks so much better without that horrible concrete finish and you won't have to worry about any moisture getting trapped behind it. Lovely view at 5:38.
Thanks for the message. I agree that it's a good improvement.
what would be the reason for people to put a concrete finish over such a beautiful wall, anyway?
@@sp6213 Some people like smooth walls and concrete was all the rage at some point (cheap and easy to apply) - before how damaging it can be became public knowledge. It looks so much better with it stripped back to the original wall.
So much work to remove that render and the vaulted ceilings look amazing! Are any of the beams salvageable or they all ned to be replaced?
hello...thanks for your messages. The beams on the ground floor ceiling will all need to be replaced, although some of the old wood might be usable for other things. For the wooden beams / rafters beneath the roof, some will be salvageable and some replaced.
Beautiful place you´ve found to restore. Where abouts are you, near Figueres? Would you mind sharing where/how you found the property, website?
The house is in Baix Emporda and nearer to Girona than Figueres. I found the house on Habitaclia. Where abouts are you? Congratulation on your house and channel. Keep up the good work.
@ we’re down in Baix Ebre near Tortosa. We looked at some beautiful places up near figueres & Girona, the country side is great there!
A lot of work, good job!
Thanks AIBrainBite !
Muy bien. Ugo mucho trabajo, pero esta quedando muy bien,fantástico!!!
@@isabeldebon Muchas gracias Isabel. Espero tu próxima visita para mostrarte el progreso!