Oh Andy
Always check your IKEA bits
Here we are in France, 3 weeks of putting the (hopefully) finishing touches to the house. So much had happened since I last the house that I was very excited to see it. The week before we were there, my sister and her family stayed for a week. They had to do a bit of indoor camping because unfortunately the kitchen hadn’t been fitted in time for their arrival. I hope they still enjoyed themselves though – at least they were able to have a hot shower! Sadly for them, the kitchen started to go in just as they were about to leave and was ready to use by the time that we arrived. The kitchen may be have been delayed, but it is well worth the wait. It is much nicer than the kitchen we have at home and is great fun to use. We were lucky to find our kitchen fitter because he was able to help out with a lot of the other jobs that we needed to do. There was no way that we would have been able to work on the flooring, skirting, wall cladding and other bits and bobs if he hadn’t helped us out. We are very grateful to Matt for all his hard work.
During our first week, Tom spent a lot of time fixing lighting in the rooms. It is all well and good having a shower or going to the loo with the door open when it is just the two of you, but when there are a lot of builders around, it is a good idea to have the door shut! My DIY skills amount to painting and fixing towel rails and it was a little too early for that, so I was on Supermarket runs and Lego building with Molly. Neither of these things are particular hardships, although letting me loose in a French supermarket may not necessarily be the best idea.
I was able to help Tom with the storage for the living area. He had worked this all out very precisely on IKEAs design page which then kindly gave him a list of all the bits he needed. All of this was included on his mammoth ‘three trolley’ trip to Bordeaux IKEA, but something went wrong and a few bits were missing and a few bits were left over (a door rather than the vital screw we had forgotten to use). Off we popped to IKEA once again, but got round in record time and didn’t even stop for meatballs.
We also went to the Mairie to talk about bins and rubbish collections. I know that even though the translation of Mairie is Mayor, he isn’t the same as our Mayor in Lewisham, I still found it funny that we had to talk to him about our bins when at home residents have to ring a big call centre in a Council building somewhere. I work in the same office as the people whose role includes dealing with problems of missed collections and missing bins and I know that they like me would find it amusing. I can never imagine a situation where Tom and I would walk in to Lewisham’s Town Council Chambers to talk to the Mayor about getting a bin.
We have just started the second week and things have moved on massively. It was a flurry of excitement and activity here on Monday (yesterday). Thromas – our plumbers and electricians – came to install shower screens, heated towel rails and some of the lighting. This was the lighting that needed scaffolding to install so Tom wasn’t able to do it. It is amazing what a bit of lighting can do to a room. With these major jobs done there would be a lot less dust being created. This meant we could put furniture together and remove plastic coverings from the windows – the later of these activities certainly made the place feel a little less like a building site. Flapping plastic in never a good look. With the furniture in place we were finally one the way to having a home.
On Thursday, Fred (French Fred), the man doing our earthworks is starting. Hopefully, by the middle of next week we will have a driveway, footpath and some useable garden at the back of the house. This will make a huge difference to the look of the house. Removing plastic from the windows does help stopping the place look like a building site, but the piles of earth and stone all over the place do nothing for the look of the house.
I’m off to do some more cleaning now, we’ve got guests coming in a couple of days, so we need to get things a little more tidy – I think you put up with a lot more when you’ve been living with it for a while. I’ll report back soon on our progress…., but it really is all coming together….!
The finished facade with shutters
At the end of July, Tom, his dad and his brother drove down to Montemboeuf for a week. Luckily they were not too delayed with the ongoing problems in Calais and made it in time for a lovely meal at the Lavender House. Over the next week they had a very busy time of it including a mammoth trip to IKEA, putting together flat pack furniture and getting the house cleaned up. They were also able to get a good look at what had been happening in the house in the month since we had last visited the house. One of the most exciting developments was the installation of the bathrooms. It was so great to finally see something installed that we chose just after Christmas. I am just pleased that we still like our choices!
The other big development was the fixing of the shutters. The ‘envelope’ of the wooden cladding can really be seen now. Not only that but it made it much cooler for the builders that were working inside the house. July was a very hot month in Montemboeuf, so I think they were relieved for anything that would cool the house down.
The first job for the boy was cleaning the house as much as possible. The builder had done his best, but with all the furniture that would be arriving over the next couple of days they needed the place, not quite gleaming, but as dust free as possible. The boys had a tough time of it, but I think it was probably worth it in the end!
The next day they travelled to IKEA to do quite a large shop. Fortunately, IKEA Bordeaux do a click and collect service, so we were able to pre-order and pay for a few items. It may have just been a few, but every little helps when it comes to IKEA. Tom was very lucky that he had the help because they had 3 trolleys worth of goods. I don’t think much can be said about an IKEA shop, other than the fact it took them a long time and they deserved their pineau once they got back!
The next day more furniture was delivered including a bed and sofa. Tom assures me that this is still covered in its protective plastic covering. Nether of us are particularly keen for it to get covered in builder’s dust or paint.
In the month between Tom’s visits our kitchen also arrived, so Tom and his family made a start putting this together. There were quite a few cupboards to assemble and shelves to go in, but they managed to get all this done. All that needs to happen now is for our builder to attach all of this to the wall and install all the electrical goods. We really hope that this can be done by 11th August because this is when my sister and her family will be staying in the house!
Work on the kitchen begins
The Kyle men worked really hard over their week in France and managed to get a huge amount done. Part of me wishes I had been there to see how much progress had been made, but I think Molly and I would have been in the way. Until we get her using a screwdriver it is best that she stays having fun at home!
There’s a party going on Bobby
Sanding man
As the wall was going up on the outside, on the inside work started on the painting the walls on the inside. First things first, the whole are had to be sanded to make the surface ready to paint. The poor chap above was given this task and it looks like he did it on a very warm day. Luckily he still seemed to have a smile on his face!
I will not post lots of photos of paint drying, but it is an important step in the build process, so in needed blogging about! We still haven’t quite decided on all the colours, but we are getting there. We even roped in our neighbours and lodger to help us choose our colours, but we only got as far as the grey and orange! We do not have that long to decide because our decorator needs to order the paint from the UK. Paint colours are quite important for the feel and look of the house, so although we don’t have long, ew can’t rush these things either….
The thing about finding songs to match the title of the blog post, or vise versa is that you come across some crackers (and some not so much). I will leave you to decide which this is.
Take it away Tracy
This is where our kitchen will be
Although I have been quiet on the blogging front recently, things in Montemboeuf have been moving forward at a pace. Unfortunately, plaster boarding, and taping and jointing are not the most exciting things to be writing about or to show in images. They may be an important part of the whole build process, but they don’t get the proverbial juices flowing! There is quite a lot of house to plaster board so it is not surprising that it has taken a while.
We hope that the plaster boarding will be finished by the end of the month and then work can start on the painting and tiling. This has meant that we have been trying to chose colours for the house. Fortunately, a lot of the house will be painted grey or white, but with a few splashes of colour. We have a rough idea of the colours we would like, but when it comes to tones – there is a lot to chose from. We have also been warned that French paint is not as good as English paint, so we’ve been going through swatches from Dulux, Little Green and a few others. There really are 50 Shades of Grey! Grey may sound dull to some people, but if used well and with the correct contrasting colours, it can be very effective.
Tom is also planning to contact our kitchen supplier to arrange for them to come out in July. Hopefully, they can install it in time for our visit in August/September. In the meantime, Tom and I will be not only be choosing paint, but also furniture and kitchen equipment. Our first guests (my sister and her family) are booked in for late August, we need to be ready for then. Hopefully, there isn’t a classic ‘Grand Designs’ moment coming up! Still at least there is a nice Chambre d’Hotes in Montemboeuf if things are not ready!
Over to you Mystery Jets
Kitchen wires
Apologies for the lack of posting recently, but life sort of took over. Molly started nursery, but was then sick and I was due to go back to work, but then also became ill. I have just about recovered now and I am recuperating in France! Sadly not in Cannes where most people seem to go for that sort of thing, but La Rochefoucauld is very lovely!
We are also a little behind schedule, but inevitably these things happen. Unfortunately, not having been on site for six weeks has meant that things have moved more slowly than expected. Even though we are behind on the program that the builders had given us, the site had changed considerably in 6 weeks. Externally, the site is looking a lot tidier for a start which makes the approach to the house a lot more welcoming. This is further helped with the very beginnings of the landscaping. We’d contracted ‘An English Nursery in France’ to plant a hedge for us and to do some tree pruning and the work they did has made a big difference to the front of the house. Hedging plants seem to be very expensive in France. We were very keen to use our local pépinière, but it would have been cheaper to buy the plants in the UK and drive them over. This of course, would have not been very good for the plants!
The pergola had also been finished and we were now able to see Tom’s design of a seamless continuation of cladding of the house and pergola in action. I can’t wait to be sitting there with a glass of pineau watching the sun go down. I am sure some of you would like to join me!?
However, it is on the inside of the house that the biggest changes have happened. We now have some walls, ceilings, the beginnings of a staircase and lots and lots of wires, pipes and ducts everywhere. As I have mentioned before, it is difficult to imagine how the layout of the house will look or gauge the sizes of the rooms from the architect’s drawings. When we were last in the house, before the partitions went up, I could not visualise the space and wondered how we would fit two en-suite bedrooms downstairs. Visiting the site again, with the partitions up, I can’t believe how large the areas are. It just goes to show that you really need to see a house with internal walls before you worry about the space!
The walls that have been put up enabled us to see that all important framed view that I had wanted Tom to design right from the beginning of the project. It was very exciting to finally see it. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks all the walls will be up!
We now have a bit of careful time and project management to work on. It is also vital that the interaction between our mason, plumber, electrician and main builder works as smoothly as possible. We have to time the delivery of our kitchen correctly because there was no way our mason, who is doing the tiling can do a good job on the tiling with big kitchen boxes in the way! It is therefore important therefore that the tiling is finished before we take delivery of the kitchen, but this meant that first fix plumbing and electrics had to be finished before the tiling can start. This organisation of the trades was going to be difficult once back in the UK, so we will have to keep our fingers crossed that until Tom can get back to site things run smoothly with all the trades!
Over to you Franz Ferdinand
Air tightness test
The results are in….
At the end of February we had an air tightness test. Achieving a good level of air tightness is important for the energy efficiency of the building. The benefits of improved insulation and more energy efficient heating systems such as the ones was have installed would be lost if warm air leaked out of the building and cold air leaked in. Too much air leakage can lead to unnecessary heat loss and possible discomfort, which anyone in the house would feel as draughts. To carry out this test, the company arrived and fitted a temporary airtight screen to our front door. They then mounted a big fan to the screen which blew air in to and out of our house so that they could create a pressure difference between the inside and outside of 50 Pascals. To pass an air leakage test in England and Wales, a home must achieve an air permeability result of 10 m3/(h.m2). By the end of our build we will hope to achieve 0.6 m3/(h.m2) which is far in excess of UK building regulations and is almost Passivhaus standard which is 0.2 m3/(h.m2.). At the end of this interim test we would not expect to achieve our desired result, but doing a test at this stage would allow us to seal up any major leakages through the construction. It was all quite exciting on the day and as we waited for the results. The results came in and….we achieved 0.8 m3/(h.m2). I think this far exceeded what Tom expected to achieve at this stage, so he was very pleased that when they ran the test again they attained the same results!
It’s all yours, The Hollies….
View from the master bedroom, before the windows went in
A lovely view hopefully! It was a big week this week on site with a lot happening. Our 3 Velux windows were installed, the ‘crinkly tin’ finally started going up, flooring went down upstairs and the big sliding doors in the living room also went in. With flooring down upstairs I was finally able to go up and have a look myself. I am not a lover of heights and ladders at the best of times so the thought of wandering around up there, balancing on timber beams was not my idea of fun!
View from master bathroom, before the windows went in!
Anyway, now I have been up there, I was really able to appreciate the views across to the other side of the plot. It wasn’t the best of days to see it from, but I can just imagine lying in bed with the sunshine streaming in – bliss!
The living room windows
As I mentioned in our last post, we thought we should celebrate the closing of the roof. So on, Thursday, we took some champagne along with us to site and raised a glass to all our builders. Drinking champagne on a building site, in the cold on a Thursday afternoon is not something I ever thought I’d do. I think the builders appreciated it anyway and even complimented us on our choice of champagne! Now if a Frenchman compliments you on your champagne choice, then you must be doing something right.
There are still a couple of windows to fit upstairs, but even with the downstairs windows fitted the difference in the temperature in the house is very noticeable. We also no longer have the wind howling through which makes being on site a lot more pleasant. Hopefully, the windows will be complete on Monday and then work can continue on the roof. Unfortunately, a lot of rain is forecast for next week and rather unsurprisingly the builders can’t work on fitting a metal roof when it is wet!
Windows in
Another important stage was that we were connected to mains drainage! The Mairie has been promising this for a while, and in the end they came a day earlier than we were expecting! We now have water, drainage and electricity – we could almost move in.
Over to The Hollies….
The roof is almost there!
Well, not quite on fire thank goodness, but it is on! Finally, we can stand in the house and not get rained on. There is still a way to go with all the different layers, but it is one step closer. There was talk of using scaffolding to get the roof on to the South side, but fortunately they found a way as it was not an expense that we wanted. We are still hopeful that the windows will be put in by the end of the month, making the building watertight!
Tom is hoping that the carpenters will join us for a ‘Topping Out‘ ceremony In building construction topping out is a builder’s rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its erection. According to Wikipedia (that fountain of knowledge) the practice of “topping out” a new building can be traced to an ancient Scandinavian religious rite. A tree was placed on top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. Long an important component of timber frame building, it migrated initially to England and Northern Europe, thence to the Americas. Hopefully, it will be Champagne all round, well when in France….
While we were on site today, Tom even took the chance to explain to Molly the insulating properties of Pavatex. As you can see, she was very excited.
Molly learns about Pavatex
We have also be spending a lot of time in Leroy Merlin, Cedeo and Dupont looking at bathrooms and fencing. Some big decisions need to be made over the next week and we can’t make these without seeing the type of bath, loo, taps and sinks that we will have. As always it is hard not to get carried away! Slightly less exciting, but just as important is the dry lining and door packages. Tom is doing his best to get me enthused about this, but compare this to choosing baths and there is no contest.
Rain is forecast for the next couple of days, so I think a trip to Ikea in Bordeaux might be on the cards. I wonder how the French Ikea experience will compare to that of the one in Croydon?
Kitchen hunting
We’ve been kitchen hunting in France and for some people (as you can tell from the photo above) it was more exciting than others. Wandering around kitchen showrooms, it is very hard to keep in mind that we will not necessarily be living in this house and it is very easy to get swayed by the shiny taps (again) and gloss white cupboards with the soft-close hinges. I have to remind myself that we can’t go for a very high end kitchen (but soft close hinges would be nice). It seems, however, we have been looking at kitchens at the right time of year because there are a lot of bargains to be had. So much so, that we actually bought one…..yes reader, we bought one- and it had soft close hinges. It will be delivered in April 2015, I just hope there is a house built to put it in. I think we will be putting the kitchen together ourselves, so if anyone fancies a holiday in France putting together flat pack furniture, just let me know. Hopefully, the kitchen will be so nice that people will want to spend time in it, at parties or otherwise.
lespetitesgarennes 