“Destroying the house and building a new one costs about the same as our house conversion,” says Cécile Hirt (38) about the conversion project. It would have been possible because the Walser house, built in 1847, is not under homeland protection. But for Pascal and Cécile Hirt, the demolition of the old wooden house was out of the question. The couple is proud to say that Tschiertschen GR, with its typical Walser houses, was voted the most beautiful village in Graubünden.
Cécile Hirt from Zug moved to the village of Walser 20 years ago. She is there she owns and operates a hairdressing business she. She fell in love not only there, but also with Pascal, who later grew up in Tschiertschen. For three years, their daughters Ursina (7) and Anuk (3) and their small hunting dog Gerro have been living in the completely renovated home of grandfather Anton Hassler.
Hesitation due to high cost
The family embarked on the expensive conversion adventure as they needed more space and the expansion of their small chalet outside of the Tschiertschen building district was not approved.
Grandfather – or Neni as the Graubünden family affectionately called it – bought the Walser house in the 1960s. At that time there was no electricity in the house and only one outbuilding. The trained locksmith transformed the building into a contemporary three-story residential building. As the house eventually became too big for his grandfather, he moved to “Stöckli” next door.
Treasures and lots of trash while cleaning the house
The Hirts bought the empty house from their Neni for around 200,000 francs in September 2017. With the sale of the chalets they were able to almost finance the purchase and conversion.
When the house was cleaned, seven containers of rubbish sorted out and some of which were kept by an antique dealer, as well as several treasures such as spinning wheels, uniforms, antique farm implements and horn sledges were found.
Eviction was not easy for Pascal Hirt, who maintains a close relationship with his late grandparents. “I was a little more radical when I opened it because it was less emotional for me than for my husband,” his wife admits.
About 700,000 francs for conversion
The conversion of the house was planned by local architect Roderick Galantay, who is experienced in old buildings and is now the mayor of Tschiertschen. Care was taken not to lose the charm of the Walser house when planning the conversion.
Wherever possible, Pascal Hirt, a maintenance specialist, helped transform to save costs. In his spare time, the father of the family would spend days with friends sanding the walls, removing the kitchen, bathrooms and pipes. Still, the couple had to invest around 700,000 francs in addition to their own work for the conversion.
The facade of the Walserhaus remained almost unchanged. Only the exterior wall in the kitchen needed to be replaced and the house temporarily supported. House word and blinds freshly painted.
All old windows were renewed. “Each floor in the house had to be removed separately, as the mezzanine provided the house’s stability,” explains Pascal Hirt of the more complex conversion work and challenges.
New room layout on all floors
The ground floor contained the living room, office, old kitchen and adjoining bathroom. On the ground floor there is a bright dining and living area and an open and modern kitchen with a guest toilet.
The family replaced the old tiled stove with a Bündner soapstone stove. The whole house is heated with pellets stored in the barn. Three bedrooms and a bathroom with shower were created from four small rooms and bathrooms on the upper floor.
In order for Pascal Hirt, who is 1.89 m tall, to take a standing shower, the low ceiling in the bathroom had to be raised 30 cm by the carpenter.
There is a holiday apartment on the top floor, as in the time of the grandfathers. There are two bedrooms with a new kitchen, living room and bathroom. «The holiday flat is included in the calculation by the bank. We got the bank’s approval for the financing in the first place thanks to the rental income,” explains Cécile Hirt.
Moving shortly before the birth of the second child
In April 2019, the complete renovation was completed and the family was able to move into their dream home. A short time ago, her second daughter, Anuk, was born in June. Although limited finances require some courage to purchase and convert, young parents are happy with a new freshness in their old home.
The duo hopes that one of their daughters will later take over Nenis Walserhaus and stay in the family. “We are proud to have a modern home with old-world charm that still fits so well in our beautiful village of Walser, Tschiertschen.”