Remodelling the Cellar for a Library

BEFORE

Under the rectory we had a storage cellar. In order to free up a room in the house, we have transformed it so that it now serves as the library. Thus we have a fourth cell in the house, so that we can lodge Brother Ansgar who is returning to be with us for the summer.

AFTER

As for the cellar, it underwent an astonishing transformation in the space of a few months. After the addition of a wall in the middle, the right side now serves as both library and chapter room. The left half includes a laundry room and a work area for household tinkering or repairs.

Before taking a more detailed look at all this, here are three photographs from the beginning of the labor, which had to be a bit furious and relentless. The ground was too high: the hardest and longest part of the work was removing 60 cm of earth and rock. .

A big power drill, and a lot of energy, got the job done, little by little.

In order to break up chunks of rock without dynamite, one must first find their weak points. A well-placed tool then allows one to blow up the big rocks which had appeared invincible..

And as the days pass, a pile of smaller stones accumulates, slowly but surely.

Unfortunately we didn't take any more photos than what you see here of the work while in progress. But you can see the final result:

The left side and the wall separating the two new rooms.

And the right side turned into a library and chapter room.

So we now have buildings for the common life (church, chapter room, refectory, library) which will be sufficient to welcome a few vocations which are currently foreseen.

On the other hand, we will soon need more than four cells. Several parts of houses adjacent to the rectory should be available for us to buy, and which we would then turn into new cells. Thank you for your generosity in helping us to acquire them.