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My Construction Theory

First it was a scaffold, than hammering/drilling all day and bags of debris being pulled from the building. Than, yesterday, the noise got a lot closer. And today, it was just outside my door.

If you've been following my InstaStories, you know what I'm talking about. Our apartment here in Paris is apparently going through some renovations. And, because my French is limited (and we've gotten no notification from our landlord), I actually don't know what the grand plan is. 

But I've got a theory, based on what I've been able to piece together. 

In the courtyard of our building (which was built in 1903) there is a fire escape/external staircase that goes all the way to the top floor. It's likely the "domestic stairs" used by the maids and cooks who lived in studio-like apartments in the attic of these buildings, and accessed the home they worked in by the kitchen door. Generally, servants were not allowed to use the doors and staircases reserved for their employers. All very interesting ... but our external staircase is hanging off the building and being held up by unsteady iron posts. 

I've walked on it a sum total of one time and I feared for my life. 

Obviously, something needs to be fixed. 

So a few months ago, this scaffold was (very loudly) erected next to it. And there was a lot of work being done on the top floors. And a lot of debris, made obvious by the bags and bags of rubble being removed from the building each day. 

I never went up to investigate. Maybe I should have. 

Because today, they showed up to make an access door to our gas meter, which is only accessible using the outside/courtyard staircase. The one that's about to collapse. 

My theory is once they've finished with all these new access points, the stairway will become no longer necessary and they'll pull that down. 

Adds up, right? 

Now, this all remains to be seen. I'll keep you posted. 

Evidence: 

No. 1: After a morning of very loud drilling, this appeared. That silver wall is the back wall of our kitchen. Before our unit was remodeled, it would have been the door into our kitchen.
A Big Hole In The Wall
No. 2: And then the door was complete. Honestly, I was hoping for something maybe of the period. Modelings, a pretty door handle, etc. They went in a different direction.




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