So to Renovate !
The one thing I shall not go into on this blog, is the time it took to understand and pay the house tax, the separate land taxes, the setting up of a telephone, the electric, the water (although we did not have any mains water, we apparently were still charged for this as it came onto the edge of our property), the bank account, getting onto the health system and all the things that one does in England with no thought at all, here in France it is something that one allows a lot more time to do. A lot of patience is required together with a good dictionary.
Having now realised we require the services of an electrician and a plumber, to correct the faults that we did not know we had at the time of buying, one makes the necessary telephone calls, and then one waits, and waits and finally a French Artisan turns up and discusses your requirements. Then guess what… one waits and waits and waits, until finally you receive a Divi (quote). Complete the form and return it to them, and guess again…. One waits and waits and waits… if you are lucky the job will be started – about 3 – 6 months after you have accepted. Could be sooner if you are very very lucky. Could be much later if you are unlucky. OK.. well it was all booked and we waited. There was much to do in the house without the plumbing and electricity. We started on the beams – OMG – how does one get years and years of paint off…we sought advice – sandblast, was the answer, and professionals told us… well, you could loose the beams if there is woodworm or if the user misses his aim you could loose the ceiling…you may end up with weird shaped beams, and for this you only pay an arm and a leg (and there is no joke in the cost for this job) – you also have to clear the tons and tons of sand used away after they have finished, and must not enter the property for a week while it all settles !! OK.. must be another option – tried all the industrial strippers, sanders, you name it – not easy so high up ! Of course, having been through this, we now know the answers and could guide someone through with no problem at all. You drop the ceiling, and we are sure glad we did, as there were so many “rat runs” and nests and huge holes, it really surprised us. OK…20 odd large trailer loads of rubble, rubbish, stones, bones, lattes etc we removed. Bought a high working platform and one by one dropped the beams. I stood with an angle grinder (well, actually got through 4 of them) and stripped off every bit of paint, on all four sides, and Iain then took them and sanded them, finished them off and we treated them and put them back. Four months it took, nearly every day and I am not joking when I say we managed to build up some good muscles. Iain lay on his back, high up and cleared the paint of the huge king beams.
Iain up a high ladder at the beams, next minute on the tiled floor……do see my next blog on…why we set up a website about living in France.
Walls needed to be pulled down to make a large kitchen, and the dry lining on all the walls was beyond repair, so dealt with that, another 10 trailers of rubble and Bristol board.
Before we knew it, the house was a shell and a huge pile of rubble in the corner of our field!
We then boarded inbetween the beams, linseed oiled the beams, and painted the ceilings. Six months of real hard work, but the beams look great! Four King Beams and eighty eight beams. Would recommend it to anyone !
OK..time for the plumber and electrician to arrive, had to replace all the electrics and all the plumbing. Cost was phenomenal – but cant criticise the workmanship that was involved, excellent.
Had to have in the electric people to replace the cable to the house, the water people to replace where the mains came in etc etc.
Had to arrange and wait six months for a new septic tank – which we shall not go into as JCBs and lorries all over the land and garden in November is not good –lets just say it took the whole of Summer to move the unwanted soil, re lawn, and landscape the garden.
Now to save another long story, we shall just say we then dry lined every wall, replaced the doors, took up the kitchen quarry tiles and dug out a foot of sand as damp was coming up, and concreted a floor and laid floor tiles. Put in some patio doors and boarded the whole 92 m2 upstairs floor. Fitted a solid Oak staircase (with some labour help as it was so heavy).
I feel sure I must have missed lots of things we had to do since arriving here… but hey ! if I cant remember then that’s a good sign.
Finally stained all windows and doors, and wallpapered, painted etc. put on skirting boards etc etc… and there you have it… our house !
Having now realised we require the services of an electrician and a plumber, to correct the faults that we did not know we had at the time of buying, one makes the necessary telephone calls, and then one waits, and waits and finally a French Artisan turns up and discusses your requirements. Then guess what… one waits and waits and waits, until finally you receive a Divi (quote). Complete the form and return it to them, and guess again…. One waits and waits and waits… if you are lucky the job will be started – about 3 – 6 months after you have accepted. Could be sooner if you are very very lucky. Could be much later if you are unlucky. OK.. well it was all booked and we waited. There was much to do in the house without the plumbing and electricity. We started on the beams – OMG – how does one get years and years of paint off…we sought advice – sandblast, was the answer, and professionals told us… well, you could loose the beams if there is woodworm or if the user misses his aim you could loose the ceiling…you may end up with weird shaped beams, and for this you only pay an arm and a leg (and there is no joke in the cost for this job) – you also have to clear the tons and tons of sand used away after they have finished, and must not enter the property for a week while it all settles !! OK.. must be another option – tried all the industrial strippers, sanders, you name it – not easy so high up ! Of course, having been through this, we now know the answers and could guide someone through with no problem at all. You drop the ceiling, and we are sure glad we did, as there were so many “rat runs” and nests and huge holes, it really surprised us. OK…20 odd large trailer loads of rubble, rubbish, stones, bones, lattes etc we removed. Bought a high working platform and one by one dropped the beams. I stood with an angle grinder (well, actually got through 4 of them) and stripped off every bit of paint, on all four sides, and Iain then took them and sanded them, finished them off and we treated them and put them back. Four months it took, nearly every day and I am not joking when I say we managed to build up some good muscles. Iain lay on his back, high up and cleared the paint of the huge king beams.
Iain up a high ladder at the beams, next minute on the tiled floor……do see my next blog on…why we set up a website about living in France.
Walls needed to be pulled down to make a large kitchen, and the dry lining on all the walls was beyond repair, so dealt with that, another 10 trailers of rubble and Bristol board.
Before we knew it, the house was a shell and a huge pile of rubble in the corner of our field!
We then boarded inbetween the beams, linseed oiled the beams, and painted the ceilings. Six months of real hard work, but the beams look great! Four King Beams and eighty eight beams. Would recommend it to anyone !
OK..time for the plumber and electrician to arrive, had to replace all the electrics and all the plumbing. Cost was phenomenal – but cant criticise the workmanship that was involved, excellent.
Had to have in the electric people to replace the cable to the house, the water people to replace where the mains came in etc etc.
Had to arrange and wait six months for a new septic tank – which we shall not go into as JCBs and lorries all over the land and garden in November is not good –lets just say it took the whole of Summer to move the unwanted soil, re lawn, and landscape the garden.
Now to save another long story, we shall just say we then dry lined every wall, replaced the doors, took up the kitchen quarry tiles and dug out a foot of sand as damp was coming up, and concreted a floor and laid floor tiles. Put in some patio doors and boarded the whole 92 m2 upstairs floor. Fitted a solid Oak staircase (with some labour help as it was so heavy).
I feel sure I must have missed lots of things we had to do since arriving here… but hey ! if I cant remember then that’s a good sign.
Finally stained all windows and doors, and wallpapered, painted etc. put on skirting boards etc etc… and there you have it… our house !
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