Monday 22nd and a bit of a disaster after I posted the blog yesterday. Caught the car's exhaust and damaged the catalytic converter. Looks like it's going to be expensive. Final day of Paul's help for now so we were up & out early & call at the local garage for an estimate to repair the car; Ouch!! With a joist to patch and floorboards to plane and screw into place we make a good start but have to make a quick dash to VDR (nothing new there) for some more screws and to get the chainsaw sharpened again. It's worth it as the saw makes light(ish) work of cutting the joist. Arranged for the electrician to call and give us an estimate for the electric work, he'll call on Thursday. Called at Ian & Vilia's for a little help speaking to the roofer we have organised to replace the roof. Originally he'd said he could do the job in March/April. Hopefully with the good weather we've had recently he may be able to do it earlier. We'll wait and see. Tuesday 23rd and what a change in the weather. Last week we were sitting out for lunch with a high of 17º, today it's down to -6º C and snow is in the air. Only a couple of hours work today as we're taking Paul & Caroll to the airport. By the time we leave at 1:00pm the snow is getting heavier and we make slow progress to Rodez, let's hope the flight's not cancelled. Unfortunately the flight's on time and we have to let P & C go home and continue the project without their expert help. The last 3 weeks have been hectic and we've done a lot of hard work. Thanks for all the help and see you on the piste at the end of February, I'll be ready for a nice relaxing holiday. It's a slow trip back to Najac & with the snow continuing to fall we're looking forward to a nice warm house. Wednesday 24th and never got above -2º C. Is this the same place that was 40º C last July? Well wrapped up & with a flask of hot tea we head off to the house to measure up for the electrics. We've arranged with Sidney, another friend from England who speaks French, to help us out when the electrician calls tomorrow. So it's round to his house to go through things with him and then back to P & C's house to draw up the plans. Not physical work but it takes us two & half hours to plan where the sockets, lights, switches etc. are to go. Thursday 25th and still pretty darn cold. Got on with a few minor jobs this morning; removing the old wiring & nails from the roof joists on the first floor, filling the screws heads in on the floorboards & keeping warm! Good meeting with the electrician, he was really impressed with my drawings! Although he didn't comment on my French translation of electrical terms; a 2 way switch is a 'Interrupter va-et-vient' and a 'Prise De Courant' is a power outlet, not bad eh? With Sidney's help M Regourd said he would have a devis to us by the end of next week. I'm sure that'll make good reading with the help of my dictionary of French building terms. We'd also arranged for a wood burning stove supplier to visit this afternoon and give us an estimate. Barbara had just finished cleaning up when he arrived. He assessed what was required by removing a grill at the bottom of the chimney, it's contents of many years emptying on to the recently cleaned floor. Glad is wasn't me! Anyone know if Dick Van Dyke is still cleaning chimneys & will visit France? Friday 26th and now it's even colder, -7º C, and I don't think this was what Barbara had in mind when we discussed moving to the South of France. It's to cold to work so we check out the local building suppliers for plaster board and stud partitioning then it's back to house, after the obligatory 2 hour lunch, to measure up. We'll collect what we need tomorrow morning and hopefully make a start in the afternoon. Off to a Burns night tonight and a bit of networking. A Burns night in France? Saturday 27th and a bit of a surreal experience last night. Having a haggis cooked by an Irish woman paraded round an English tea room by a Scotsman, in kilt & all the trimmings, and with translations into French for the 6 local residents it all seemed a little un-real. Good night out but not much achieved in the way of networking. Minus 10.5º C at 10:00 this morning so it was a quick dash to VDR to collect the placo (plasterboards). Called in at the chainsaw sharpening man on the way back to see what he wanted for the second-hand strimmer I spotted earlier in the week. Try to ask the price in French only for him to answer in English but with an American accent. Turns out he's Iranian, was taught English by Americans & his brother lives in the USA. He went on to say that a lot of his customers are English & his daughter is studying to become an English teacher. Sure M. Chirac will be impressed! Called to see I & V for help in writing out our first French cheques and ended up helping him paint the landing. Don't feel to bad now asking for help with translations. Sunday 28th and not quite so cold so cleared the barn out, tidied up the house in preparation for building the stud partition wall and spent the afternoon at Gilly's doing some odd jobs.
Have posted a few photographs at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Airbourneuk/LagarrigueProgress Hope the link works this time.
Sunday 28 January 2007
Sunday 21 January 2007
The first 2 weeks
Reading through my first attempt at the blog it came across that not much had happened in the first couple of weeks & that I could probably go in to a bit more detail. So ignore the first posting & here goes.
We started our great adventure from Slaley on Tuesday 2nd January 2007 @ 7:00 am when we set off south. Although wet & windy we made good time and arrived at Folkstone in time to catch an earlier train. Straight through customs with only a few questions about why we had the the kitchen sink in the trailer and we were on the train and leaving English soil. On the road again and on our way to Dunkirk – oops wrong way; what a start! On the right road & despite consistent rain we made good time and managed to get well south of Paris by 10:00. Thanks to Barbara's excellent navigation & Paul's proficiency at towing the trailer we spent our first night at the AS Hotel in Artenay. Another early morning (I'm sure there's going to be a few of these) with Barbara & Paul following on behind I head for Bordeaux at the next road junction. Wrong decision. I really am going to have to look at the road signs a little more carefully if we're ever to get to Lagarrigue. With regular stops for petrol, should have got a diesel, we arrive at Paul & Caroll's house in Najac looking forward to a pizza at the local restaurant. To bad it's closed on Wednesdays. We head for bed early looking forward to our first full day working on the house.
Thursday 4th, Paul's birthday - many happy returns. First job was to collect our cheque book & bank cards, items I'm sure will get plenty of use over the coming months, and then on to purchase joists & tools for the job ahead. After 3 trips back & forth to Villefranche de Rouergue (VDG) we have all the materials on site for the first job; replacing all the joists on the first floor. Friday 5th we empty the cellar, demolish the wall between the kitchen & dining room, pull the ceilings down and start on the joists only to find that we're going to need to replace the floorboards. So off to VDG, trailer in tow, for floorboards and more petrol. Saturday 6th loft cleaned out, Barbara starts hacking out, Paul removes the ceiling in what was the living room & then he & I start work removing the floorboards. Meal out tonight at the local pizza restaurant with Ian & Vilia as a thank you for sorting us a supply of firewood out, thank goodness it's open this time. Sunday 7th a day of rest! We finished removing the floorboards and then struggle to get one of the seven joists out we need to replace. Think it will be a trip to VDG for a chainsaw tomorrow.
Monday 8th and we manage to pick up a second hand chainsaw for 100 Euros; what a bargain. By the end of the day we've got all the joists down been back to VDR to get the chainsaw sharpened & had time for a coffee in McDonalds. Tuesday 9th and we've arranged for the architect to visit this afternoon and discuss what we can do with the barn. In the morning I start making the holes in the cellar to take the new joists and Barbara continues to hack out. Paul heads back to the house in Najac to install the washing machine. It'll be nice to have a change of shirt. Good meeting with M. Collete, the architect, all we need to do is pay him 750 Euros to get him started! Out for dinner tonight at Ian & Vilia's, a couple of originally from Blackburn who moved out here ten years ago. They're a great help when it comes to translation & local gossip. Wednesday 10th holes finished & 3 joists in place. Very heavy work & looking forward to a beer tonight. Thursday 11th & the joists are finished the septic tanks been delivered and Barbara is still hacking out; looks like it's going to be long job. Friday 12th and the joists are now concreted in to place and have to set before we can fit the floorboards so it's lunch out & off to VDR to price staircases. Saturday 13th and it's a day off while the concrete goes off. What shall we do? No lie in as we need to pick up a pair of ladders and roof bars for the car. We're now getting used to the fact that all the shops close for lunch between 12:00 & 14:00 and you have to accommodate this when planning your day. Sunday 14th and it's another day off for the concrete to set. Nice walk up to the village, spent some time tidying up outside Paul & Caroll's house and had a well deserved leisurely afternoon.
Monday 15th and it's time to start laying the floorboards. Have to make a quick dash to the local builders merchants for some very expensive wood glue, 40 Euros for 2.5 litres, but it's worth it 'cause the floor looks fantastic. Tuesday 16th – Plan today was to visit the EDF (electricity company) office in VDR and try to arrange for a temporary supply, then on to Rodez to locate a staircase and collect Caroll from the airport. Instead we call at the EDF office and manage via telephone and a very helpful chap to have the electricity supply re-connected that same morning! Try getting things done that quickly with N-Power. Come to think of it try speaking to someone face to face. So back to the house and while waiting for the electricity engineers we do a little more on the floor. By 12:00 noon they'd been and we were all powered up. Having ripped half of the wiring out and left some exposed wires we're going to have to be very careful. Guess which clumsy fool gets the first shock. In fact two. Me!!!!! The septic tank installation had also began that morning and the equivalent of the local building inspector called to OK the work. Paul went off to Rodez to collect Caroll and Barbara & I continued laying the floorboards. Wednesday 17th Paul & I finish the floorboards closely followed by Caroll & Barbara paint brushes in hand applying a coat of protective varnish. It looks great. The septic tank is sorted so it's off the VDR for some food shopping and what seams like the daily visit to Mr Bricolage, France's version of B&Q. Thursday 18th and back to Rodez. I do so wish I'd bought a diesel car but the trip was worth it as we manage to pick a staircase up for 399 Euros that's going to give us so much more room in the living area. A good lunch as well, so all in all a good day. Friday 19th it's an early start and the challenge of putting together a self assembly staircase looms. Went better than we thought and by 12:00 they're built & Caroll & Barbara have demolished a wall and cleared all the resulting rubble away. Pity that wall wasn't coming down (just kidding). There now follows a serious discussion regarding layout of the bedrooms before we cut the floorboards on the first floor. Sensibly Paul & Caroll leave the two of us to it to finalise how we want the bedrooms laid out. Decision made and we cut the floor and fit the staircase. Another productive day and with the stairs now in place we get the first impression of how large the living area is going to be; massive! Sydney & Gilly, Paul & Caroll's friends arrive from England and are coming round for dinner, could be a late night. Saturday 20th staircase finished, Caroll & Barbara remove the chimney in what will be the kitchen and we're then off to VDR for more tools, Mr Bricolage here we come, and wood to repair a joist in the living area. Struggle to get wood in the right dimension and get a puncture; not one of our better days. Sunday 21st day off and a visit to the market in St. Antonin-Noble-Val & pick up some really fresh veg and a roasted chicken for dinner. On the way there we spot a building reclamation yard in a village called Varen that has joists by the dozen! We'll know where to get one from next time. This afternoon we're calling up at Gilly's new house to see how work has progressed through the winter.
Well that's us up to date with a little more detail than in the last blog. I'm sure everyone's bored with it by now so I'll try & keep next weeks report short and sweet.
We started our great adventure from Slaley on Tuesday 2nd January 2007 @ 7:00 am when we set off south. Although wet & windy we made good time and arrived at Folkstone in time to catch an earlier train. Straight through customs with only a few questions about why we had the the kitchen sink in the trailer and we were on the train and leaving English soil. On the road again and on our way to Dunkirk – oops wrong way; what a start! On the right road & despite consistent rain we made good time and managed to get well south of Paris by 10:00. Thanks to Barbara's excellent navigation & Paul's proficiency at towing the trailer we spent our first night at the AS Hotel in Artenay. Another early morning (I'm sure there's going to be a few of these) with Barbara & Paul following on behind I head for Bordeaux at the next road junction. Wrong decision. I really am going to have to look at the road signs a little more carefully if we're ever to get to Lagarrigue. With regular stops for petrol, should have got a diesel, we arrive at Paul & Caroll's house in Najac looking forward to a pizza at the local restaurant. To bad it's closed on Wednesdays. We head for bed early looking forward to our first full day working on the house.
Thursday 4th, Paul's birthday - many happy returns. First job was to collect our cheque book & bank cards, items I'm sure will get plenty of use over the coming months, and then on to purchase joists & tools for the job ahead. After 3 trips back & forth to Villefranche de Rouergue (VDG) we have all the materials on site for the first job; replacing all the joists on the first floor. Friday 5th we empty the cellar, demolish the wall between the kitchen & dining room, pull the ceilings down and start on the joists only to find that we're going to need to replace the floorboards. So off to VDG, trailer in tow, for floorboards and more petrol. Saturday 6th loft cleaned out, Barbara starts hacking out, Paul removes the ceiling in what was the living room & then he & I start work removing the floorboards. Meal out tonight at the local pizza restaurant with Ian & Vilia as a thank you for sorting us a supply of firewood out, thank goodness it's open this time. Sunday 7th a day of rest! We finished removing the floorboards and then struggle to get one of the seven joists out we need to replace. Think it will be a trip to VDG for a chainsaw tomorrow.
Monday 8th and we manage to pick up a second hand chainsaw for 100 Euros; what a bargain. By the end of the day we've got all the joists down been back to VDR to get the chainsaw sharpened & had time for a coffee in McDonalds. Tuesday 9th and we've arranged for the architect to visit this afternoon and discuss what we can do with the barn. In the morning I start making the holes in the cellar to take the new joists and Barbara continues to hack out. Paul heads back to the house in Najac to install the washing machine. It'll be nice to have a change of shirt. Good meeting with M. Collete, the architect, all we need to do is pay him 750 Euros to get him started! Out for dinner tonight at Ian & Vilia's, a couple of originally from Blackburn who moved out here ten years ago. They're a great help when it comes to translation & local gossip. Wednesday 10th holes finished & 3 joists in place. Very heavy work & looking forward to a beer tonight. Thursday 11th & the joists are finished the septic tanks been delivered and Barbara is still hacking out; looks like it's going to be long job. Friday 12th and the joists are now concreted in to place and have to set before we can fit the floorboards so it's lunch out & off to VDR to price staircases. Saturday 13th and it's a day off while the concrete goes off. What shall we do? No lie in as we need to pick up a pair of ladders and roof bars for the car. We're now getting used to the fact that all the shops close for lunch between 12:00 & 14:00 and you have to accommodate this when planning your day. Sunday 14th and it's another day off for the concrete to set. Nice walk up to the village, spent some time tidying up outside Paul & Caroll's house and had a well deserved leisurely afternoon.
Monday 15th and it's time to start laying the floorboards. Have to make a quick dash to the local builders merchants for some very expensive wood glue, 40 Euros for 2.5 litres, but it's worth it 'cause the floor looks fantastic. Tuesday 16th – Plan today was to visit the EDF (electricity company) office in VDR and try to arrange for a temporary supply, then on to Rodez to locate a staircase and collect Caroll from the airport. Instead we call at the EDF office and manage via telephone and a very helpful chap to have the electricity supply re-connected that same morning! Try getting things done that quickly with N-Power. Come to think of it try speaking to someone face to face. So back to the house and while waiting for the electricity engineers we do a little more on the floor. By 12:00 noon they'd been and we were all powered up. Having ripped half of the wiring out and left some exposed wires we're going to have to be very careful. Guess which clumsy fool gets the first shock. In fact two. Me!!!!! The septic tank installation had also began that morning and the equivalent of the local building inspector called to OK the work. Paul went off to Rodez to collect Caroll and Barbara & I continued laying the floorboards. Wednesday 17th Paul & I finish the floorboards closely followed by Caroll & Barbara paint brushes in hand applying a coat of protective varnish. It looks great. The septic tank is sorted so it's off the VDR for some food shopping and what seams like the daily visit to Mr Bricolage, France's version of B&Q. Thursday 18th and back to Rodez. I do so wish I'd bought a diesel car but the trip was worth it as we manage to pick a staircase up for 399 Euros that's going to give us so much more room in the living area. A good lunch as well, so all in all a good day. Friday 19th it's an early start and the challenge of putting together a self assembly staircase looms. Went better than we thought and by 12:00 they're built & Caroll & Barbara have demolished a wall and cleared all the resulting rubble away. Pity that wall wasn't coming down (just kidding). There now follows a serious discussion regarding layout of the bedrooms before we cut the floorboards on the first floor. Sensibly Paul & Caroll leave the two of us to it to finalise how we want the bedrooms laid out. Decision made and we cut the floor and fit the staircase. Another productive day and with the stairs now in place we get the first impression of how large the living area is going to be; massive! Sydney & Gilly, Paul & Caroll's friends arrive from England and are coming round for dinner, could be a late night. Saturday 20th staircase finished, Caroll & Barbara remove the chimney in what will be the kitchen and we're then off to VDR for more tools, Mr Bricolage here we come, and wood to repair a joist in the living area. Struggle to get wood in the right dimension and get a puncture; not one of our better days. Sunday 21st day off and a visit to the market in St. Antonin-Noble-Val & pick up some really fresh veg and a roasted chicken for dinner. On the way there we spot a building reclamation yard in a village called Varen that has joists by the dozen! We'll know where to get one from next time. This afternoon we're calling up at Gilly's new house to see how work has progressed through the winter.
Well that's us up to date with a little more detail than in the last blog. I'm sure everyone's bored with it by now so I'll try & keep next weeks report short and sweet.
Saturday 13 January 2007
Bonjour and Bon Annnee from sunny (well it's raining really) France.
We had a good journey down and arrived on Thursday 4th and seam to have been working hard since. The house now looks a lot worse than when we started! We've removed a couple of walls, taken up the floorboards and replaced the joists on the first floor we also seam to have never stopped spending money but I guess that was to be expected. Had a day off on Saturday while the concrete dries on the joists but will be back at it tomorrow. Next job is to lay the new floorboards in what will eventually be the living area. Barbara has been busy chipping away at the outside rendering and has exposed some lovely stone work.
The septic tank has been delivered and will hopefully be fitted early next week. We've also been in touch with EDF (the electric company) and it looks like we'll have a temporary supply in the next 10 days. Two services that will definitely make life a lot more convenient! Everyone we've met so far has been very helpful and even the assistant in the local supermarket asked if we could speak in English and not 'Franglaise'! Hope to do another update this time next week so keep checking us out. Check out http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/home for some pics'.
Chris & Barbara
We had a good journey down and arrived on Thursday 4th and seam to have been working hard since. The house now looks a lot worse than when we started! We've removed a couple of walls, taken up the floorboards and replaced the joists on the first floor we also seam to have never stopped spending money but I guess that was to be expected. Had a day off on Saturday while the concrete dries on the joists but will be back at it tomorrow. Next job is to lay the new floorboards in what will eventually be the living area. Barbara has been busy chipping away at the outside rendering and has exposed some lovely stone work.
The septic tank has been delivered and will hopefully be fitted early next week. We've also been in touch with EDF (the electric company) and it looks like we'll have a temporary supply in the next 10 days. Two services that will definitely make life a lot more convenient! Everyone we've met so far has been very helpful and even the assistant in the local supermarket asked if we could speak in English and not 'Franglaise'! Hope to do another update this time next week so keep checking us out. Check out http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/home for some pics'.
Chris & Barbara
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