Despite having had the plans approved for the barn we've still be undecided as to how we should configure the accommodation. We'd made the decision last week to reduce the floors to two & this week we decided to turn everything on it's head...literally. It would be such a shame to lose a lot of the barns character & height by putting in a false ceiling, something I think we'd have had to do if the bedrooms had remained on the first floor. So it's the bedrooms on the ground floor & one large living space on the first floor opening on to a balcony. This will also help to keep things within budget and will mean that we will save money in not having to enlarge a couple of the existing windows. It always brightens the day when we find a way to save a bit of money. Fortunately we don't need to re-submit the plans so we can get on with the preliminary work right away. The first job was to clean the first floor and, with P's help, mark out the levels in preparation for laying the lightweight (no sign of the Land Rover yet) concrete floor. We'd visited a couple of builders merchants to source the materials we needed for the floor and were about to order them from a company called Gedimat but P remembered there was a new company in VDR and we headed off there to see if we could get them to better the prices we had been quoted. It was very quiet when we walked in and the manager was very helpful and after a few shrugs and sighs we managed to get the overall price down. Delivery was arranged for Friday with payment, by cheque, on delivery. Friday at 9:30 the lorry pulls up with all our goodies on and I'm a little disappointed that the lorry isn't full. I'd thought that with the amount of money we were spending we'd at least get a lorry full! As with all delivery drivers we've experienced he was very helpful. Really could have done with him in a previous life but that's another story. Using the lorry's Hiab he's able to place the timber and 'Perlibeton' inside the barn through the doors. Turns out we should have had a full lorry as he only has 14 bags of the Perlibeton. We'd ordered 60 but due to a supplier error the balance wouldn't be delivered until next Thursday which was really disappointing as we'd hoped to have the floor finished by Tuesday night. The driver, who as I said was very helpful, was full of apologies as he handed us a sheet of paper with an explanation of what was going on in English. We complemented him on the English but with a big smile on his face he explained that it had been done on the
ordinateur using Google translate.
Before we can lay the lightweight concrete we need to reduce the dip in the middle of the floor. P had suggested we fill the gap with stirling boards supported on 4 x 2 joists so Friday afternoon it's on with laying the floor. It ends up looking like a dance floor and I'm in two mind as to whether to invite everyone round for a barn dance. We were also able to get the plastic sheeting and steel reinforcement in place ready for laying our first concrete floor on Saturday. While we're working away Thierry turns up to cut the grass at the house he has for sale next door and comes across to have a nosey at what we're up to. He's surprised at what we're doing because if it was his job he would remove all the old wood beams and replace them with lovely new concrete ones. Despite this he tells us off for buying a concrete mixer when we could have borrowed his.
He also offers to lend us a laser level & a gadget for securing the steel reinforcement together. Saturday morning it's an early start working out the exact quantities we'll need for each batch of concrete & with the laser set we began our first attempt at laying a concrete floor.
With a couple of phone calls to P and the the laser making light work of getting a good level by
lunch time (admittedly a little late at 2:15) things were progressing well. After a very quick lunch it was back to it and we worked through until we'd run out of Perlibeton. A good days work, lets hope I've got the levels correct!
It's only been three weeks since we had the satellite system installed but it feels like we've never been without it. The only problem we've had with the system has been when it rains and boy has it rained this week (nothing new there). The picture breaks up & we have to talk to each other again. Having the radio & TV easily available is great but it's a bit surreal watching North West Tonight with Gordon Burns in south west France. The one thing we forget is the hour difference and have ended up heading for bed at 12:30 thinking it's only 11:30. No good when you have to be up laying floors in the morning.
Before we can lay the lightweight concrete we need to reduce the dip in the middle of the floor. P had suggested we fill the gap with stirling boards supported on 4 x 2 joists so Friday afternoon it's on with laying the floor. It ends up looking like a dance floor and I'm in two mind as to whether to invite everyone round for a barn dance. We were also able to get the plastic sheeting and steel reinforcement in place ready for laying our first concrete floor on Saturday. While we're working away Thierry turns up to cut the grass at the house he has for sale next door and comes across to have a nosey at what we're up to. He's surprised at what we're doing because if it was his job he would remove all the old wood beams and replace them with lovely new concrete ones. Despite this he tells us off for buying a concrete mixer when we could have borrowed his. He also offers to lend us a laser level & a gadget for securing the steel reinforcement together. Saturday morning it's an early start working out the exact quantities we'll need for each batch of concrete & with the laser set we began our first attempt at laying a concrete floor. 
With a couple of phone calls to P and the the laser making light work of getting a good level by lunch time (admittedly a little late at 2:15) things were progressing well. After a very quick lunch it was back to it and we worked through until we'd run out of Perlibeton. A good days work, lets hope I've got the levels correct!
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