Just Like the Seaside . . . Plenty of Sun and Sand ;~)

Timeline: 20 mars: Since starting the barn roof last week, the weather decided to have a game with us and see just how much rain and hail it could get through the roof while it was uncovered. We decided that we could win this game by making sure everything was sheeted up every night, which proved such a good ploy that the weather lost interest in playing and it’s been mild and sunny ever since. The roof necessitated scaffolding out the entire front façade, so ever keen to save a euro or three, I decided to ask my friend Eric, if he could utilise the scaffold and sand blast and re-point the stonework.

Kev and I popped out to Bricoman very first thing for more timber and on our return, the blasting process was well underway, with a willing volunteer from the maçons crew, suited up and leaning into the task of putting the whole site through a sandstorm!

The result of just three hours sand blasting is amazing. Two hundred years of dirt has disappeared, making the stonework looking newly built and the maçons immediately set to work with traditional lime mortar in the rather longer and skilful process of re-pointing.

At the other end of the courtyard, another highly skilled artisan is restoring the stone support wall to the external staircase of our beautiful pre-revolutionary cottage. The tools he uses are exactly the same as his predecessors who originally build the house and the heavily weathered soft tuffeau has been scrapped back to a uniform flat surface, salvaged stones from alteration works incorporated as necessary, including the blocking up of a redundant opening. The only concession to modernity in the process is the use of a chain saw for cutting the larger blocks to shape.

Up on the roof, Kev has fitted the zinc gutters and will be ready to start putting the new slates in place tomorrow morning. He’ll have a roofer’s mate to start carrying several thousand slates up onto the scaffold, to keep Kev going non-stop with laying and no, my feet are stating firmly on the ground for that particular task!

With many hands on site, progress is rapid, so more soon.

A bientôt,

LC

All clean, battened and ready for pointing and slates

Well on the way

Four Seasons in One Day !

Timeline: 14 mars: February last year was really cold, just a look back in this blog will show you what I mean. It’s been reassuring to know that last year’s extremely cold winter was not the norm and late February 2013 saw me sunbathing on the terrace in just a pair of shorts. It was 15 deg in the shade but a barmy 25 deg in direct sunshine and we had temperatures in the mid-teens for a whole week, followed by rain, hail and general cold and dampness, then snow, although only very little and now it’s fortunately warming up again. The weather forecast however, varies depending which website you look at, but the consensus indicates a steady rise now and I’ve today declared official springtime in the village. Just as well, as we started taking the roof off the barn this week and I don’t want it full of snow or people sliding down a slippery slope.

Work is proceeding on several fronts, with the Maison d’Amis  really looking lovely inside now with its new paint scheme and just some wall panelling and skirting boards to finish. Besides the work to the barn roof and chimney, as soon as the ground is a little softer, we’ll start preparing he gardens for sowing grass seed and put in some roses and a few other plants and look to create some peaceful rest areas.

After looking at several letting websites, we registered with Owners Direct a couple of weeks ago and have received a steady stream of enquiries and have just taken our first new booking of the year. Our maçon and friend, Eric, called in yesterday to look at some more work for us and told me about his own gites being fully booked from May until September, mainly from repeat clients. I like the sound of repeat clients, as it makes the marketing tariff so much lower!

I hope to bring our old Citroen here next month, it having received a full medical and some minor procedures from a specialist recently and I’ll then have the challenge of the notorious French system of red tape to negotiate in getting Andre (all our cars have always had names) registered here. It will be grand to see him wearing a French 49 registration again after 20 plus years under the DVLA.

I’ve just noticed that more than a trace of the maison d’amis colour scheme is still decorating my hands, so I’d better give them a scrub a’dub when I go and get my overalls out of the wash, ready for tomorrows exciting exploits.

Enjoys yourselves everyone, a bientôt,

LC

Oh, how could I forget that great big truck which was reversed skilfully into the courtyard yesterday to discharge some goodies:

Just a couple of photos of Le Grenier, our large upstairs suite above the Maison d'Amis, nearing completion.More photos to follow.

 

Much sanding of beams !

Paint coming soon