Delais, what delais?

I signed all the devis on 6th February 09. Went back home on 8th. Returned on 26th. So in 3 weeks, what was done?? NOT MUCH. This is why if anyone who is reading this blog is thinking about renovation/building a house in France, I suggest you stay on site as much as you can. In 3 weeks, only a large hole was done in the wall. That is it. I had a chat with Mr D. and Mr. M. Made sure they knew I wasn't impressed and that things need to be a bit fasted despite the white van problems of Mr. M. Ain't my problem...To make matters worst, found out Mr D. was a scientologue for 6 months: oh dear. And that Mr M. is a total chatterbox. Found out he used to work in clothes manufacturing so he should know about delay. However 6 weeks from now to do all the work before the painter can come along, I don't think so....I am planning to return there in 3 weeks and this time, things better have come along....

Roof & Windows

Oh Dear! this is the kind of damages that a tree planted too close to a house can do to a roof (see Trees paragraph) below. Moss, gutter problem etc... Nothing major but it need to be addressed. There is no point doing up the inside if rain water is going though the roof and the walls!

Tomettes/Floors

This is the current flooring in the living room/kitchen area. I thought I should carry on using this flooring which is popular and widely used in this region as in many other parts of France. I have also look at something called Pierre de Bougogne which is a lovely cream coloured stone originating from....Burgundy. I have visited two suppliers and they both have great stuff. La Belle Province is the stone mason with the Pierre de Bourgogne www.nicolas-bonnet.com. And the tomettes can be found at www.terres-cuites-de-courboissy.fr. I am also looking at using the tomettes in the new bathroom in place of tiling. Although the tomettes are porous, it can be treated with some good water repellent product and it should work just fine in a bathroom.

Trees

R.I.P tree. It gave wonderful shade and looked majestic after so many years. But it also destroyed the roof and the floor of the house (roots). So it got cut! And it is without regrets in the end before we found out that it was eaten up from the inside by 5 cm wood worm! Eughghghgh
And we are planting 2 new trees: a oak and a gleditsia (honey locust).

Heating & Radiators

Heating is a problem. There are so many options from central heating (powed by gaz or petrol), geothermal, hot air etc. In the end, I am replacing the electric heating system with....an new electric system. I am trying to save EDF! I know it is not green but it fits the use (i.e occasional) and the main room has a large fireplace. I am going for some modern heat retaining steel ones as opposed to the fan one lovingly known in France as "Grille-Pain" (toaster).

Crack

Umm. The crack on the floor appeared a couple of years ago. After some investigation, turns out it is due to a serie of hot & dry summers. The ground is mainly clay and therefore quite sensitive to dry vs wet weather. Might not have help that a tree was cut down near by. Who knows....

Ca commence avec les surprises

I met the team on Thursday 28th January: Mr D, Mr M and his son who is doing the electric (M&M) and the painter and the plumber. We shook hands, went over quotes, over the schedule, cracked a few jokes about the general strike in France on that day (hahaha), and I rounded off this merry meeting by signing a few deposit cheques. The next day, M&M and Mr D. came by again and we got a nice surprise. There is no need to redo the insulation of the house! What we found was two thick layers of polysterene (complete with cavity). Now it is not the "greenest" material and possibly not the best insulant however it would be silly to destroy something that is in good condition and works satisfactorily. Although i am saving a substantial amount, it is disappointing to abandon the idea of the super insulation of hemp (Laine de Chanvre)...

WE ARE ON!

This is with trepidation that I am packing today to be at the house tomorrow. We are more or less in agreement on quotes and have a general meeting (reunion de chantier) on Thursday. The French media have announced a general strike for thursday. Oh dear! Hopefully this shouldn't affect the project on day 1. Anyway, Thursday is the first day of almost 5 months of work. I cannot wait to transform this poor barn into a welcoming holiday home. It deserves it. I should enjoy the feeling since I know from experience that frustration, rising cost and general annoyance will challenge my enthusiasm. More about this later. Sarkoland, here I come.