Design Update

As is often the case now we are getting some prices in for the work there are one or two things that have caused us to have a re-think on the layout particularly with regards to cost and practicality. Also, as the design has developed and we have got into the detailing side of the scheme a few compromises needed to be made to the first floor layout that we now don't feel comfortable with. So we have decided to go back to an earlier design and with a few tweaks.




 
 We intend hiding the staircase behind a wall that supports the trimmed out floor joists. I have some interesting ideas on the design of the stairs as I don't want to simply throw in a standard of the shelf flight that creaks and sounds hollow when walked up. I will make this a subject of a further post in the near future.

White out

The last two days in North East Lincolnshire has seen snow fall which has all but brought the region to a standstill.  On waking this morning and looking out the bedroom window at 7.30 it looked like a winter wonderland. I was going no where today and neither was anyone else.

I had to dig the car into the driveway last night and it was going to stay there. The roads were completely impassable other than by 4x4 vehicle. I would estimate that there had been at least 30cm of snowfall which isn't alot but in the UK it is usually gone within a couple of days and everything is back to normal for another year.

Not this year though and we are in for more snow and with the weather not set to improve for the next two days my temporary hibernation will continue.

We have just been sent this photograph of our house and the little lane. Snow has also started to fall in France in the Charente which is very early indeed.

Dry wall partition solution

When we built our house in the UK nearly 25 years ago the first floor walls were constructed from timber studding with a plasterboard finish that gave us greater flexibility in the layout of the first floor bedroom wall positions but on the downside they are rather lightweight and have given very poor sound performance.

This time around we will be using a metal stud wall system which is lightweight, flexible and can be constructed to give an acoustic performance and a 30 minute fire resistance. One such product is produced by Knaufdrywall.By choosing  1 layer of 12.5mm Knauf Wallboard each side of 50mm Knauf  'C' studs at 600 centres with 25 Knauf Crown Acoustic Partition Roll within the cavity. This will give us a good sound insulation, impact resistance and versatility.

 

http://www.knaufdrywall.co.uk/home/index.html 

Water Water Everywhere

Our builder called us last week from France to say that the twelve continuous days of rain they have suffered has started to take its toll on our petite maison and that it is flooded out with rainwater because of the gaping hole in the roof, as can be seen from the photograph.

The worry being that the chestnut floor boarding will need to replaced if the water continues to penetrate the structure. Also the timber kingpost roof truss is being stained by the weather. We took the decision to carry out a repair on the roof even though at this point in time we aren't the legal owners of the house. However, we needed to protect our investment as our Compromis de Vente clearly states that the vendor cant be held liable for any deterioration of the property during the period that the Contract is being prepared .

As a matter of courtesy we obtained the permission of the owner through our agent Christophe. Unfortunately the work to repair the roof has been half completed as the heavens opened during the morning of the work. So once the rain stops, probably next week, the work will be completed and just maybe the flooring will have been saved.

 On the upside our builder told us that the views over the of the countryside is "stunning" when viewed from the tower scaffold, something we haven't seen as the grenier doesn't have windows at the moment. The builder said he would take some photos for us when he goes back up to complete the work. So when we get these we will post them on here. But for now we have posted what we have taken of the garden area

Building Jargon

I thought it was about time that I started to learn some French technical terms. I started to scratch around in the English/French dictionaries scattered around in the house but sadly found that common building terms such as damp proof course and chipboard just can't be found. Using on-line translation sites was equally frustrating. So I have compiled a list of sites that covers the majority of the words that I expect to come across.

http://www.livingfrance.com/france-property-building-and-renovation-in-france-building-and-renovation-in-france-useful-french-renovation-words-and-phrases--4533

http://riviera.angloinfo.com/countries/france/buildingjargon.asp


http://www.sextantproperties.com/buying-process/housing-building-terms

If anybody wishes to listen to french radio to brush up on their french & listen to some music and catch up on news there is an online station you can 'Listen Live' to.

www.frenchradiolondon.com

Fosse Septique Pt2

I have been talking to a Artisan that is looking at installing the fosse septique in our French Property. Things have become a little clearer in that I now know that the filter bed for a 4000litre tans needs to be 6m x 5m  ie 30msqm in plan (3m x 10m or 7.5m x 4m will just not do!). The filter bed needs to drain to water course or alternatively a 25m length of land drainage pipework. The filter bed must be covered in topsoil and cannot be trafficked over. Apparently the quality of inspection and interpretation of the rules governing installation of a fosse varies from region to region. Fortunately in the Charente the inspectors are strict. These installations are cheap so it has to be right and perform correctly so that's fine by me.

I hope to get some photographs of the actual  installation work so will post again soon

Non monsieur !

Little did I know that the French way of wiring up a property is totally different to how we wire a house in the UK. With the exchange rate with the Euro being lower than expected I had thought of buying all the cabling and fittings in the UK and then taking everything across to France for fixing saving a penny or two.No said the Artisan builder, it is not possible as we wire switches and fittings differently here and so your twin and earth cabling just isn't good enough.

In France the cables are always either single core or sheathed and have to be fitted in conduits for safety reasons and also so that they look presentable.In the UK we use a ring main system  but the French use a system of spurs known as a radial circuits. Wires come from the distribution box and each of these mains spurs is able to carry a maximum of 16 amps at 220 volts. An electrical plug does not have a fuse in it as the power outlet is protected at the fuse board.

Appliances such as washing machines, cookers, dish washers, water heaters are run on separate circuits. With wiring in France you’ll generally find that most buildings use a multi-junction-boxes and you must always make sure that the junction boxes that are used are accessible if needs be.

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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.