Les choses qui fachent

As the works are nearing the end, I am on a high to see the end of this project. But there are things a little less nice to deal with: ie the invoice from the main contractor Mr M.
Mr M is a nice man, very obliging but now that he gave his final bill, I am not very happy with a number of items and the end cost.
Dispute about final cost is often a problem with buildings works and I hoped to avoid it this time but I did not, once again.

The carpenter

As with painters, carpenters are usually the last on a "chantier". And the carpenter is doing loads of tweeking: boxed some pipes, created a little bookshelf area by the stairs, "baguette" around the doors, made sure the doors closed properly, etc and many other bits and bobs. I was really pleased with his work (and he worked on saturday) and it makes a difference when the "artisan" works well and fast.

Photos

This is something of a pet hate for me. When you want to rent out your property as "gite", it is vital to have good photos and plenty of them (but not too many). Of course, not everyone is a photographer at heart but their are a few things that can help.
For instance, when you take exterior shots, it is best to do it when there is a blue sky, preferably during the summer (when the garden is green). Also make sure the subject is straight... Vive photoshop!
So this summer, I took some photos but a. no blue sky b. there was plenty of crap in front of the house since the works were not finished. Still I did my best with some "framing" with the trees.
Once again I realised that the whole process of taking photos take a while and really I should have picked a day with blue sky. Oh well....

Deer

I regularly see deers around and for once I had my camera. They often come out "en famille" at the end of the day to eat and enjoy the sun in the field . Oh the joy of nature!

Painting has started...

I love this part because it is the begining of the end, hopefully. And also I am in admiration of their work. As an amateur painter myself (15 years of poor quality DIY under my belt), I cannot but be amazed at the dexterity and their steady hands. They have a young guy with them "en apprentissage" who is so slow motioned and witted that you can only appreciate the professionalism of the older guys. Anyways, the house is started to ressemble something!

Tiling

The tiler who i shall call Mr Grumpy from now on (because that what he is) came over to finish the tiling in the kitchen area. In the word "artisan" (self employed workman) there is the word "art" which i think Mr Grumpy does know about. The job is okay but certainly not beautiful! In the end, i don't mind since we are in keep with the "rustic" feel of the house... The other thing is " my clever" money saving way to tile the kitchen: you see that the tiles haven't been put all the way down to the floor. I might regret it but when you chose a tile at 90 euros/m2, i couldn't justify tiling the whole wall....

Holidays are over

Works have started again: the last phase with painting and a few (quite a few) tweeking. I am hoping we should be done by early november. That is only 5 months delay on the original timetable. Despite all of this, I am happy because I have kept to my original budget plus 12% extra which all thing considered in not too bad....
At this stage and after a long summer break here are my latest thoughts:
Global warming: 9th october and it 24 degree celcius in Burgundy. Very pleasant but something is not right. This is beyond the "ete indien". Still it will be pleasant weather to pick up walnuts and apples in the garden.
France is expensive: not only the euros is pretty much on a new par with the pound but also everything in expensive. No wonder everyone is grumbling with their salary here. I would have laughed at my builders bill a few years ago now i am crying...
The cats are hungry: la minette and scabby are hooked on whiskas and are fatting up before the winter. They can't stop eating...
I am not an interior decorator: I am very happy with all the building side of things but as soon as i have to chose color scheme for painting I am losing it. So it took me forever to pick colors well the color: it is going to be eggshell. That was worth me going though 20 back copies of "Maisons et Travaux"....
Digital camera: what's the point to having a good and big digital camera if I don't take it with me???

Electricity & EDF & Solar panels rant

You can cath a sideway view of my beautiful bay window... but also the montain of electrical cables. Electricity is something that I have difficutly understanding and no wish to understand but I had to be able to understand a minimum to chat to the electrician. Should have paid attention to those lessons in physics at school....nevermind.
Anyways, so the place was more or less rewired wherever necessary and now it is up to standard. We went from a EDF TRI-phased to MONO-phased contract... that was a long and painful conversation with EDF and the electrician for me. Still not sure how it works but the upshot is that now you can use all the electrical point (washing machine + toaster+ kettle+ lights+ heating etc) without having the lot cutting off which can happen when you use TRI-phased system (not good for holiday rental accommodation). This also means that your Kw contract in Mono should be be less than in TRI. And therefore your contract should cost a bit less. However, EDF just annonced that they are gonna raise the cost of electricity by 20% over the next 3 years. Oh dear.... Maybe should have gone with solar panels... Solar panels would have been good but:
1. The cost is really high. I know it should be looked at as an investement but I did not have the budget to invest... 15000 to 20000 euros (minimum) would give you about 2.2 kw which would have been just enough to power a toaster and the hot water system. That is an expensive shower! So it was out of the question.
2. The use of the house is seasonal so what to do with the electricity not used. You can sell it back to EDF. I think they buy it at a preferential rate now but only for the next few years. Also I understnad that it is considered as a revenue and therefore taxed and VAT- ed. So a bit more paper work...
3. You can get some financial help and tax credit with solar pannel installation. But I am not a french resident so a bit pointless for me.
4. A lot of eco-friendly solution is cost on self- built basis. So it is fine if you are a builder yourself but when like me you have to pay for installation, it become costly....
5. You have to factor in the region you live in. Great for anyone living south of Aix en Provence but not sure about Burgundy where the summer is quite short....(but still very nice don't get me wrong, potential renters!)
6. It is ugly! What is the point of having charming reclaimed hand made local roof tiles if you are going to cover it with metres of dark metallic pannels. It is possible to stick them on the ground but you need the space, and built trenches for the cables etc....

In the end, I think solar energy is great but it has to fit your purpose. If you live all year round in a house where you collect rain water, self recycle, resuse, where you have a huge garden (to hide your panels somewhere), where you are happy with maximum 17 degre living temperature in winter, where you use low volatage bulbs (and become blind) and where the sun shines 300 days/365; and where you have 20.000 euros plus to invest: well, fine. But I am sorry but for our project it really did not make sense financially, pratically and esthetically....