Yesterday, we finally moved into our unfinished house in Chișinău. Today, life continued more or less as expected: another day of renovation, technicians, moving belongings, cleaning and discovering just how much work we still have ahead of us.
Unfinished house, unfinished business.
At least we are now living in our own place. That makes all the difference, even when the day begins with somebody arriving to disconnect the gas supply.
We knew this was coming. The gas technicians had been scheduled to reroute the external gas pipes so that we could continue work on the outdoor deck. It was one of those jobs that had to be completed before the next phase of construction could proceed.
And so another Saturday began, not with a leisurely morning, but with more construction work.
The Soviet approach to gas pipes
One of the things that continues to attract my attention in Moldova is the way certain installations have traditionally been arranged around buildings.
The gas pipes on our property were a good example of what I would describe as a rather Soviet-style approach to engineering: external metal pipes running visibly around the buildings, with functionality taking precedence over appearance.
There is nothing inherently wrong with having external gas pipes. They must be installed according to the applicable technical and safety requirements, remain accessible where necessary and be protected against corrosion and mechanical damage.
But there is a considerable difference between a pipe installation that merely gets the gas from one point to another and an installation that does the same job while respecting the appearance of the building.
In our case, we wanted to make the pipework considerably less intrusive, particularly because we are still finishing the outdoor areas and the deck.
The technicians arrived in the morning, and the first practical consequence was unavoidable: the gas supply had to be shut off while they carried out the work.
Fortunately, it was not a cold day.
Having the gas disconnected in the middle of October is not necessarily something I would welcome enthusiastically. Moldovan winters can be cold, and heating is something I take seriously. But the weather was cooperative, and the interruption was manageable.
It was simply another temporary inconvenience on the long road towards finishing this house.
Two technicians and a very entertaining working relationship
The two technicians who came to do the job provided an unexpected source of entertainment.
They behaved like an old married couple who had spent far too many years together.
The constant bickering between them was genuinely amusing to watch. There was always something to disagree about, something to comment on or some reason for one to challenge the other.
I found myself watching their interactions almost as much as the actual work.
Of course, a certain amount of disagreement between experienced tradespeople is not necessarily a bad thing. People develop their own methods, habits and opinions, especially when they have spent years doing the same kind of work.
What matters to me as the customer is the result.
And in this particular case, despite the entertainment, I must say that they did an excellent job.
I was genuinely pleased with the quality and appearance of the finished installation.
A remarkable number of bends
The new external pipework follows the contours of the walls much more closely than before.
Instead of having pipes crossing areas in a visually intrusive manner, the technicians arranged the new route so that it follows the building's geometry, keeping the installation as discreet as reasonably possible.
That required quite a few bends.
Actually, loads of bends.
It was interesting to see how much difference the routing itself could make. The underlying purpose of the installation had not changed: the gas still had to reach the same parts of the property. But the way the pipes were positioned made the result much more acceptable aesthetically.
From an engineering perspective, this was also a reminder that even an apparently simple modification can involve more work than expected. Every change in direction must be made correctly, with appropriate fittings, supports and clearances. Gas pipework is certainly not an area where I want somebody improvising merely to make the installation look nicer.
That is why we had qualified technicians doing the job.
My responsibility was to explain the result we wanted. Their responsibility was to determine how to achieve it properly.
An interesting detail about pipe colours
I also learned something interesting about the colours used for gas pipes in Moldova.
My understanding from the information I received is that gas pipes running along the street must have a standard identification colour, such as yellow or red, while there may be more flexibility regarding the colour of certain pipes located within a private property.
This distinction was particularly interesting to us because our intention is to paint the external pipes to match the colour of the house walls.
Once painted, the installation should become considerably less noticeable. The pipes will still be there, but they will no longer visually dominate the walls as much as contrasting pipework would.
There is, however, an important technical consideration. Gas installations remain subject to identification, inspection, corrosion protection and safety requirements, regardless of whether the pipes are on public land or private property.
The applicable Moldovan regulations refer to national standards for pipe identification colours, so I do not want to assume that being inside our property automatically permits any colour whatsoever.
Before proceeding with the final painting, we will confirm that the proposed colour is acceptable for our particular installation and use paint suitable for exposed metal gas pipes. The valves, joints and other components that require inspection must also remain accessible.
There is no point in making the house look better by creating a technical or safety problem.
But assuming the colour is approved, matching the pipes to the walls will be another small improvement towards making the exterior look like a finished home rather than an ongoing construction project.
Meanwhile, we still have a house full of things to move
As if dealing with the gas installation were not enough for one day, we also used Saturday to move more belongings from Vita's parents' house in Dumbrava.
For the last few months, while the renovation was underway, we have been staying with her parents. Now that we have finally moved into our own house, everything we took there has to make its way back to Chișinău.
And this is where I have reached a rather obvious conclusion.
We have far too many things. Lord!
I do not know how we managed to accumulate so much stuff, but moving it certainly makes the quantity impossible to ignore.
When everything is already sitting in cupboards, drawers, shelves and corners, you hardly notice how much you own. It all seems perfectly reasonable. Each object has its place, and most of the time you simply forget it is there.
But the moment you have to collect everything, transport it and find somewhere to put it again, the situation changes completely.
Every object suddenly requires attention.
And every trip reminds me that we still have more things waiting to be moved.
The journey between Dumbrava and our house is long enough to become tiresome when repeated. It takes time to get there, time to load everything, time to return and then even more time to unload and arrange what we have brought.
It is not simply the distance. It is the entire process.
I have moved internationally several times in my life, so I am hardly unfamiliar with the practical difficulties of moving house. Nevertheless, every new move seems to produce the same uncomfortable question: Do we genuinely need all these things?
Of course, asking that question while carrying yet another load of belongings does not make them disappear.
Perhaps this move will eventually motivate us to reduce the amount of unnecessary stuff we keep. For the moment, however, the priority is simply getting everything into our own home and making the place functional.
One trip at a time.
By the end of the day, another milestone
Eventually, the gas pipework was finished, and we had made further progress moving and organising our belongings.
It was a productive Saturday.
Perhaps not particularly relaxing, but productive.
Yesterday's milestone was actually moving into the house. Today's milestone was making that house a little more complete, a little better organised and a little closer to the result we want.
There is a peculiar satisfaction in seeing individual renovation tasks disappear from the list, especially when they have been preventing other work from continuing.
The gas pipes are now rerouted. The outdoor deck can move closer to completion. More of our belongings are back where they belong.
And, gradually, the house is becoming ours in more than just the legal sense.
Now for a bottle of Moldovan wine
After another day of technicians, travelling and organising, a bottle of wine seemed like a perfectly reasonable addition to the evening's plans.
This time, the candidate was a bottle of TOTEM Fetească Regală 2022, produced by the Moldovan winery Château Vartely.
It is a dry white wine made from Fetească Regală grapes, a variety cultivated in Moldova and Romania. Château Vartely describes this wine as fresh, with floral notes, pleasant acidity and a lightly mineral character.
The bottle itself has a rather distinctive label, with a golden, mask-like totem design. Quite an elaborate appearance for a bottle sitting in the middle of our unfinished-house adventure.
But I rather like the contrast.
We are living in Moldova, renovating a Moldovan house and gradually learning more about the local way of life. Enjoying a bottle of locally produced wine seems entirely appropriate.
There is just one small complication with the idea of celebrating the end of another productive day.
The work never actually ends.
Our division of labour
The next item on my agenda is to clean and clear as much of the outdoor area as possible.
There are still remnants from the renovation, materials that need sorting, rubbish that needs removing and areas that simply have not yet received the attention they deserve.
Now that the gas pipework has been moved, it is another opportunity to make progress outside.
So the plan is to enjoy a little wine and continue with the great project of making the property presentable.
I initially described this as something we would do.
Well...
"We" might be a rather generous description. :)
In practice, we have developed a fairly straightforward division of responsibilities.
Vita takes care of the inside. I take care of the outside.
It is not a particularly formal arrangement, but it works for us. Vita is busy getting the interior organised, especially now that she has her new kitchen. I have plenty of work waiting outside, where the unfinished renovation remains considerably more visible.
And frankly, there is enough work in both areas to keep us occupied for quite some time.
I suspect that every time I think I have finally cleared one corner of the property, I will discover something else that needs to be removed, repaired, moved or reorganised.
But that is how the process works. Little by little, one task after another, we continue converting what was a renovation project into a proper home.
Living in a permanent work in progress
Looking back at these first two days in our house, I find the situation rather amusing.
Most people probably imagine moving into a renovated home as the final step of a project. The builders leave, everything is cleaned, the furniture is put in place and normal life resumes.
We have decided to do things differently.
We moved in while the project was still unfinished, and now our everyday lives are happening alongside the remaining renovation work.
It is not the most convenient arrangement, but it has advantages. We no longer have to keep travelling from Dumbrava just to see what has been done or decide what needs attention. We can observe the property as we use it, discover practical issues and resolve them as they arise.
And we are slowly recovering the routines that make a home feel like our own: preparing our tea and coffee, using our kitchen, organising our belongings and enjoying the freedom of living independently again.
Today, the gas pipes were successfully rerouted. Tomorrow, or whenever the next opportunity presents itself, another part of the house will receive attention.
There is still plenty to do. The outdoor deck is not finished. The property still needs cleaning and organising. And apparently, we own enough belongings to make moving them a project in its own right.
But we are making progress.
Unfinished house, unfinished business.
At least now, at the end of another busy day, we can look around, see what has changed and enjoy a bottle of Moldovan wine in our own home.
Well, after I finish cleaning outside, of course. :)
The events, personal observations, humour and conclusions remain my own. Technical and regulatory information is presented with appropriate qualifications where the specific circumstances of our installation have not been independently established.
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