We Continue to Grow.........

We are on the move - well, the building is......the plans are starting to come together and the new extensions are growing. As the house is on a slope, the extension for the Utility room has to be at one level and that for the lounge at another. The ground at the lounge end of the house, is in fact about a metre lower than the rest of the house, so there was a lot of measuring and head scratching in order to build the extensions to the same level as the rest of the house. I'm glad Craig knows what he is doing, and that we have a son who is a Quantity Surveyor who can verify the amounts of concrete needed etc. Craig was correct in his measurements, but it gave him a bit of security to have them confirmed.

Once this level was reached, we needed to have it backfilled and then wait for the concrete for the floors to be poured.

 

All the while this work was going on, we were continuing with other 'projects' around the house and garden.

 

We bought the first of our animals (well, after Arthur the dog of course), and those of you who are a little squeamish may want to skip the next bit ! - which are to be used for breeding and eating. The first additions were two little rabbits - very cute, but NOT PETS !

 

 

 

Arthur was fascinated by the new rabbits, and would have sat and watched them all day. He has been the same with all the new additions we have had - chickens, rabbits and ducks, although we have never let him near the sheep. We are well aware that he is not to be trusted though, and he is never unsupervised near them. He did chase one of the chickens once - our mistake - but never caught her, which as those of you who know Arthur, probably just about sums him up !

 

We also had some window grills made to replace the original broken ones, that had parts missing etc. In fact, they were so bad, that one day when the lock on the front door seized up, Craig managed to climb through to let me out - yes, we were locked in ! It was something that we had to list in our Planning Application too. Some houses have wooden shutters on the windows, some have electric roller blinds, and others grills. I think that the two former ideas must help with heat loss as well as security, which is not a bad idea. However, we had grills originally, so that was what they needed to be replaced with.

 

 

The days fly by, and the jobs pile up. Sometimes it's difficult to see the wood for the trees, and its a question of prioritising what needs to be done on a particular day. I know that people wonder how we manage to fill our days, but believe me, it's not difficult !

We Have a Visitor and Footings!

The weather here is so variable - it's just like the UK - of course we are not that far away, but the Summer of 2011, our first full Summer here gave us all sorts that we needed to work in and through. We had such hot days that we just sat, or dozed, trying to get things done before it got too hot, or as it cooled down, and then days when the rain cascaded down the road, so much so that we thought about buying a canoe.

Our first 'proper' visitor was Tom, one of our sons, who flew into Dinard to stay for a week. That's one of the problems now that Ryanair no longer fly into Brest - the journey time to Dinard ! It takes just over two hours from here, and it's not the most exciting drive either. Brest was a lot more accessible, with a drive of about 45 mins or so. Never mind - it's lovely that people want to visit us, so we are of course very pleased to see them.

I'm not sure what Tom was expecting though - I'm not sure that he was expecting a blow-up bed and a toilet in a huge open room ! Never mind - he is very placid and easy going, although he would probably be the first to admit, not much use with the DIY !

We took Tom out to show him the local area, being mindful of the fact that we had to continue with the on going work here too. We went to the local market in Huelgoat, walked round the lake, and sat drinking coffee on the pavement (not literally of course !). We went to the beach and to Carhaix, the nearest town, and Tom even came to my weekly French lesson - I'm not sure whether I asked him what he thought of my French, but maybe that's because I didn't want to know the answer !

Meanwhile, we measured out the footings for the extensions and had them dug out.

I took Tom back to the airport on the day the concrete was poured for the footings, so that was a busy day for us all, but we were out of the way I suppose, which is often a good thing. We left Craig loading out three pallets of blocks ready for the new walls.

I think that it's visits like this from close family, that have made us realise from early on that this isn't our 'forever' home. It's an adventure for NOW, while we are still young enough and fit enough to be here, but in another year or two, or maybe longer, we will be looking to be nearer the family.

A New Loo !!

We were delighted to discover that we had people wanting to visit us, but it brought another pressing issue ! At this point we had no flushing loo !!!

Now, I'm not saying that we had NO loo AT ALL, but only a chemical port-a-loo type, that was suitable for the two of us, for a short period of time, but definitely not for visitors. It was even embarrassing if anyone popped here for a coffee, and asked to use the 'facilities', and now we had a septic tank, there was no stopping us.

It's very easy now looking back on it to say, that Craig fitted a new toilet, and that was it, but of course it wasn't an easy, or a quick job - Craig would say that nothing ever is here !

Firstly, Craig needed to make a hole through the wall from the proposed bathroom to the outside - OK ?  Well, the walls are about a metre - yes, a metre - thick to start with, and are granite - one of the hardest stones, and the hole needs to be at such a height from the floor that Craig needed to be sitting or lying prone to make it, which is not an ideal position to work at. After several hours of blood, sweat and swear words, Craig broke through the wall. What an occasion ! We celebrated with a nice cup of tea !!

The next stage was to connect pipes from the toilet to the septic tank, all at the correct gradient to ensure a good flow - I'll leave that bit to your imagination. I lost count of the number of times we were up and down the ladders, and then the stairs. It's all better than a work out at the gym - no more 'step' exercises needed !

Don't worry, the pipes won't be on show for ever - they will be hidden by the new extension on the side of the house - but that's another thing - we had to ensure that they were at the correct height to be hidden and not be in the way of the any of the new structure !

Once everything was in place, pipe-wise, Craig fitted and connected the toilet.....

The chair provided a useful 'side table', but we never 'sat side by side'.

It may not seem much to you reading this, with your comfortable clean modern bathroom, but after a while without one, this moment seemed the best moment ever, and I felt very lucky to have the luxury of a fully functioning flushing loo !

Looking back it all looks very primitive now, and I can't believe how quickly one gets used to things as they improve, but its true, and it's good to remember so that you know how far you've come.

New Windows - New Look....

We needed new windows !! No doubt about it - they were rotten, cracked and looking very sad, and of course, being on the front of the house, very obvious to see. Here - I can't say, here in France as I don't know about elsewhere - but locally, the windows on the houses are very unlikely to be on the north facing walls, and are often quite small for the size of the rooms inside. There was at one point, a Window Tax too, which precluded the poorer habitants from opening up the spaces or adding extra. It does mean though, that the rooms are often quite dark and gloomy, which in the Summer is not a bad thing, but in the Winter months, means that the lights are often on all day.

However, we had to ask to replace the windows as part of the 'Planning Permission' process. Any work on the front/visible part of the house appears to need authorisation - from demolition to renovation to construction, even a 'like for like' swap. To help with the light inside too, we asked to have extra windows on the back, which in time, when complete, will make a huge difference to us.

Before we were here full time, it was easy to contemplate decisions like style etc, based on the choices we had in the UK. Once here though, we find that choices are much more limited. The windows open inwards too, which did appear very strange to us, but I have got used to them like this now, and actually find it very useful. It is so much easier to clean them - no hanging out of the window, or climbing ladders ! The draw back though, is that you can't put too much on the windowsills, and you have to make sure that the curtains allow for the opening inwards too. We have been told that they open inwards to make it easier for the Emergency Services to gain access if necessary, but I'm not sure if that is right, as most houses have security grills, shutters or external blinds. The other occupied houses in our hamlet have shutters/blinds, which means that when you are out in the evening, there is no visible light from the houses (and no street lamps either!), and it appears very very dark !

BEFORE......

Anyway, once the style was chosen, the windows sourced, and Craig had varnished the frames, the work needed to be started. Craig decided that he would change the two downstairs first as he could practice on them without balancing up a ladder at the same time !


ON OUR WAY..........

 

 

The downstairs windows were replaced in one day, and the top three took another couple of days. None of the openings were exactly the same size, and in parts, chunks of granite had to be chiselled out to allow the new frames in !

 

Never mind, all done and dusted, and what a huge difference it makes to the frontage.

 

 

AFTER..........

 

Next stage......a flushing toilet.............

Septic Tank Installation

After the initial excitement of the demolition, we had the unenviable task of clearing the site. Several friends asked for some of the metal sheeting, and we took the remainder that we were not able to reuse to the local Scrap Merchants. We offered free firewood to anyone who wanted to collect, and had three people take us up on that offer, which was a big help. We needed a bonfire for the rest, which here is easier said than done, as there are times of the year when you are not allowed to have a fire, and in some communes, you are banned all year round.

The next big project on the agenda was the installation of the septic tank. It amazes me that in this day and age, there are people living here with no plumbing facilities. Our house had not been empty for that long, and previously had been lived in by a elderly man, who had managed with one electric light, a single socket and cold water - no hot water, no toilet - and an open fire.

The installation is a relatively specialised job, and we had to obtain permission, and various reports to show the potential site, the local water courses, the general lie of the land in relation to the neighbours, the placing of the bathroom, sinks, washing machine etc. It also involves different types of sand for filtration, which took some sourcing too.

The first stage was to dig a huge hole..........

 

 

Then have sand and gravel delivered, and for those who know our house, you'll know that we don't have the easiest access, or the biggest road for this type of lorry.....

 

 

Prepare to drop the tank in..................

 

 

Then watch it disappear............

 

Once everything was in place, and all the pipes in situ......

 

 

............... we had to arrange for the 'Water Board' to inspect before we could complete and connect. They needed to sign off and issue the appropriate certificate.

 

The inspector arrived while it was raining heavily, and after a cursory glance at the work, asked to come inside, where he ticked all the boxes and crossed all the t's, and announced that it had passed, and the certificate would arrive in the post ! We had been told that this inspection was crucial, and that we could expect him to test the depth of the sand, ask for photos, and receipts...but nothing ! What a relief.....and as expected the certificate arrived within a few days, and we were legal !

 

The French love their bureaucracy, and at each stage of this renovation, we have had to jump through hoops, but saying that, we have found that if you ask them for help with this, they are only too willing

to help. We had heard from other Ex - Pats how awkward the various authorities can be, but we have not found that at all. If they see that you are trying to help yourself, and trying to comply, then fine, but I think if you expect them to speak English to you, and expect that the rules and regulations are the same here as in England, then you won't get very far.

 

Rant over.......we have a new Septic Tank....so we are happy !!!!!