Plans

We have decided on a layout for the renovation works at long last. Although the property is two storey the first floor has always been used as Grenier accessible only through a door in the gable end of the house from a steel ladder. Unfortunately there is only 1.6m head room in Grenier so we are going to lift the roof to give 2.0m clearance.

This isn't a problem though as the roof needs overhauling and so it will be removed and rebuilt. We shall just build up the stonework at the wall plate level and adjust the gables to suit.

The ground floor will be open plan and shall have new door and window openings to take in the rear view of the open countryside. As there are no windows in the Grenier we shall insert roof lights where necessary. However the gable end door will be changed to a window and we shall form a new window in the rear wall for the Master Bedroom.

Hot Water Boiler

A new range of unvented and vented hot water cylinders have been introduced by Megaflow. These are constructed in stainless steel for maximum strength and corrosion resistance. With outputs from 15.4kw to 24.5kw and high efficiency transfer with the Eco giving fast heat recovery time they are sure to become a popular choice with specifiers.

Unlike traditional vented systems, there is no requirement for a cistern tank in the loft, giving users a quiet hot water system. Installation locations are also flexible, so the cylinder can be installed in an airing cupboard, loft, cellar, utility room or even in a garage.

For detailed information go to http://www.megaflo.com

Going Green

There are many buildings around having living green walls attached to their facades.This isn't merely to make the building blend into its environment but is to make a strong statement about sustainability, care for the environment and the need for heat efficient buildings.

The first obvious benefit is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the building in that the planting actually reduces the amount of CO2 in our environment. It also helps to control the heat in the building,

Something that is less obvious is the
amount of rainwater that is harvested from the roof and taken to storage for automatic watering of the wall from hidden pipework embedded in the green wall. This is not done merely to keep the wall alive but also to reduce the amount of water that is sent down the sewers for disposal. So its win win all the way. Oh and they look good as well

Fire Place

The Charantais fireplace in our French property is a little worse for wear as you might be able to see from the photograph. The stone corbel on the right hand side of the picture has crumbled away and requires replacement. I guess that it shouldn't be too difficult for a stone mason to put right and don't think getting the stone to match will be a problem. I think then the whole fireplace and mantel piece may want a light sand blasting but not quite sure about these things so we will have to seek advice from somewhere. The fire bricks definitely need replacing to the back of the hearth. We hope to fit a log burning stove into the hearth for the winter evenings. Hope to show you how we get on with this in a few months time.

Learn to speak French !!

Having taken holidays in France for almost 25 years it was only 3 years ago that we decided to take French lessons. We wish now that we had not waited so long.  It has made such a difference to our holiday experience and has broken down that last barrier to moving over to France on a more permanent basis.

For us visiting France in the past has meant not doing things that you might have done because of the fear of the language barrier.

Now we don't think twice about going into a restaurant or cafe even if it it looks busy and we may embarass ourselves because we cant speak the language

This year we had a small car accident and managed to sort the situation out quite calmly with the very agitated French driver. Nothing really phases us anymore and the more time we spend over there the more confident we become with the language.

Heat Losses

U values just the thing for stimulating the old grey matter. I have not worked out any of these since my college days and somehow they seemed rather alien and unnecessary back then. In a strange way I rather enjoyed the exercise and I now have some values for my brother Bob whom I have "commissioned" to work out the hot water and heating requirements for the project. I think he is up to especially as he has done this sort of thing for nearly forty years.
I have decided to insulate the existing ground floor and also the first floor walls and of course the roof space. I am not going to insulate the ground floor walls as these have stone quoins, lintels and cills and would be hidden with insulated board. The two timber windows are the best thing in the property and they look brand new. I can change the glass to double glazed units. So hopefully I think we will end up with quite energy efficient property.

Rooflight

An excellent alternative to the loved and much used Velux rooflight is the range offered by The Rooflight Company http://www.therooflightcompany.co.uk/

They feature  a sleek, contemporary design and boast  flush edge-to-edge glazing, and are frameless giving them minimalist appearance that complement modern architecture and interiors perfectly. The clean lines merge unobtrusively with the roof and provide unobscured views from the interior.

Job in Leeds

Through a good friend in Leeds I have been successful in securing a commission to detail a detached dwelling and submitting the drawings for Building Regulations Approval. The job has a few challenges with adjacent trees and a Leylandii hedgerow close to the boundary of the wall together with a very shallow drainage connection.

Klar Wwtp

Researching Fosse Septiques and came across this tank made by Klar-Environmental based in france. I believe that this company are known as Klargester in the UK. Details can be found on:

http://www.klar-environment.com/Septic_Tanks_wastewater_treatment_plants_France.aspx


If you are wondering what Wwtp means its waste water treatment plant.

 

Planning our house

We have been working on designing the layout for our house in France. You would have thought having done this sort of thing for 36 years it would be a breeze. Not at all. The kitchen has been at each end of the house, the new staircase to Grenier has been on opposing walls and slid along here there and everywhere. It has been a straight flight, dog legged and had kites and winders.

The first floor bedrooms have been in  front of the house, back of the house, designed with and without en-suites and handed and rotated. We are now on scheme 8 and counting. Luckily all this has been without cost so no harm done. Anyone know a good Architect ?

Fosse septique

Most houses in rural France are not connected to mains sewerage so they are drained to rather crude fosse septiques (or as we call them septiic tanks) that have been causing a bit of a stink lately due to the fact that they just didn't process the waste effectively !

New EC laws have forced France to take a much tougher attitude towards disposing of waste water safely. The French have decided that the responsibility for regulating, enforcement and periodic inspection has been passed down to the Marie. Fosse Septiques now have to process all of  the waste from homes with flows from the tank being passed through a filtration system before being released into the land or watercourse.

I have found out that there are few of rules and regulations regarding positioning of these Fosse Septiques in relation to building and boundaries. There is a lot of information on the internet most of which is contradictory so hopefully when I have figured everything out I may do another post.

Bedroom extension

I have just learnt that I have been awarded a  project  to design and detail a first floor bedroom extension on a large semi detached property. Not huge but a most welcome commission.

Builders rush to beat Part L

Reports are that there had been a rush with house builders in putting in Building Regulations applications  to avoid the more stringent Part L of the Approved Documents including many not having been approved by Planning.

Many builders have registered their intention to start work on a site before Part L 2010 which took effect on the  1st October and have therefore gained an extra year before they need to build to the upgraded greener regulations.

Once work has started, the entire scheme will be allowed to comply with Part L 2006, regardless of how long it takes to complete.

Compromis

Just today we have received the Compromis de Vente signed by the vendor. This is the first bit of legally binding document we have signed but not before we had it altered and added to.

Again this is where our French Estate Agent came in handy as he translated every part of the document back into English. Also our friends whom have been through this all ready with their purchase gave us a few good pointers. So now with the Notaire engaged its down to the French end again

Electric Boiler

lI recently had a problem working out the best way to provide domestic hot water and how to heat our rural property in France. There are of course any number of ways but one by one for various reasons I either dismissed them completely or wasn't convinced that it was quite the right solution. I got to thinking electric boilers and this is what I turned up. Its small, its efficient and can be connected to a piped radiator system and indirect hot cylinder just like any gas or oiled fired boiler. I thought with cheaper than UK electricity in France and like the UK off peak tariffs I could be onto a winner. There are many manufactures of these. Has anyone had any experience of these heaters?

http://www.dealec.co.uk/acatalog/Heatrae_Sadia_Amptec_Electric_Boilers.html

http://www.gasapplianceguide.co.uk/amptec_electric_boiler.htm

Finding a good Agent

Engaging a reliable and excellent English speaking Estate Agent in France has made the  purchase of a house no more difficult than purchasing a property over here. We would go as far as to say it's probably more straightforward. Luck played a part in this as we walked into yet another Immobilier during June to look through more property portfolios. We were greeted by Christophe Guay the Manager of  the Agency who sat us down and loaded our table with a pile of books to look through for property he had for sale. Again we walked out from yet another Immobilier but not before asking Christophe to contact the owner of the little house we had details for back home. An email to Christophe a week later and things were set in motion.

http://www.tic-immo-ruffec.com/agence-immobiliere-ruffec-en.php

At last!

At last after many years of searching the internet, sifting through countless emails from property agents we have found the perfect property in France. Like many things in life the property was the very first one we saw several years ago as a potential purchase but moved on  in the pursuit of something else. Had we only taken the time to see beyond the ivy covered facade and the overgrown Baytree covering the front of the property we would have saved a huge amount of frustration, disappointment and self-inflicted mental torture. The silly thing being that the house had not been lived in for 25 years and some time ago we actually  managed to find out the contact details of the French family that owned the property. This we scribbled on a piece of paper and  stowed it away in the kitchen drawer for the last three years. Why we waited so long before engaging an agent to value the property for us especially when friends of ours live the house opposite heavens knows.