Bathroom, feature wall and a bit of paint

We have been here over a month now and the bathroom is nearly finished. In fact just a few finishing touches required. We have left it for a while in order to a) get a change of scenery and b) get on with our bedroom otherwise we won't ever make it back to the UK. Pictures below. The shower took a bit of playing with as we had a small leak from the door, but phil seems to have sorted it now.

 

Plasterboarding is taking ages, as is the repointing of the feature wall. 

We are mixing one portion of lime with three of red sand which is the regional finish required for the honey walls. Having to be a bit careful with the lime as it can burn but a pair of rubber gloves seems to do it. (Some photos here)

 

It's a high wall and is coming together but quite tedious to do so I keep popping off to do other jobs. I have cleared the path that leads to the church a little. Also pushed back a neighbour's chicken wire fence that had fallen on the path. Then I have primed and undercoated the gate that is opposite the church. This is in the hope that the neighbour may now see fit to mend his fence. 

This afternoon the sun was out so I have given the yucky brown front door a coat of undercoat. I have also bought the paint I am going to use but I'll leave that as a surprise. I think it may be for me too as the colour on the tin doesn't match the colour on the charts by a long way.

Yesterday Phil had his first French haircut and very nice it looks too.

Our neighbour is one of the three hairdressers in Villefagnan and it was all of 15 feet to walk.

My turn next week perhaps. We were waiting for the hairdresser to get around to Phil when a truck pulls up outside and it was a couple of guys from the local builders merchants had arrived to give us a quote, so I left Phil to use his ever increasing French vocabulary and went to talk to the builders.

I have this idea of opening up the area just inside the entrance by knocking down some of a 2 foot thick wall. Just an idea I had and we mentioned it to M. Plisson yesterday when we went to get some plasterboard. Within hours these guys had shown up to give me a quote. It does seem that we may not be able to open up as much as I had hoped as there is danger of the house falling down. Not an option I choose so we will have a little think about it. They were great chaps but I have yet to receive the quote so we will see.

I returned to the hairdresser to find Phil in the chair with a great haircut ad clean washed hair. (Not for long though, today it's full of plaster again).

Tomorrow will bring more work with plasterboard and repointing but every little helps.

Painting and tiling and other stuff

The last few days we have been hard at it, trying to finish one room completely. We're not there yet but it's getting closer.

The ceiling has been plastered, painted and the tiles are going up. I have grouted the shower area so that the cubicle can go I tomorrow and we can at last have a shower. I am so looking forward to that.

 

We bought some purple mosaic tiles to have a couple of vertical lines running down but have twice forgotten to leave space for them and once we tried to fix them but as they are a different depth and a bit tricky we are leaving the gap to do afterwards.

Yesterday we emptied the van totally and then filled it with stuff to take to the tip. This was our first tip to the dechetterie. It took ages to unload everything especially as I started talking to an English couple who have been in the area since July. She originated from Stonehouse, not a million miles away and very close to Phil's daughter. They lived in Montpelier (south of France, not Bristol) previously and said it is just so hot there. The winters though are just as cold as here albeit a little bit shorter but the climate here is just right so we have so much to look forward to. I had heard before that the south can be just too hot and humid too so hopefully we have made a good choice.

After a bit of tiling yesterday we loaded up the van again, this time destined for a charity depot in Ruffec. It's called Emmaus and is a great place. They have sales most Saturdays and sometimes onWednesdays  and there are sections where you can buy tiles, cookers, retro, clothing etc etc. it will be worth a trip once we have got rid of all the crap we have inherited. The chap there helped us unload the van which was brilliant. We emptied the middle room where all the charity stuff was being stored so we now have space to move around outside and in the house. It automatically feels better having cleared so much clutter. Then after a supermarket run we went and filled the now empty van with flooring. Very exciting buying new stuff. We're not ready for it yet but we are making headway and it won't be too long now. It has to be laid in our 'bedroom' to be before we come back to the UK.

By way of celebration we went to the pizza man in the square who makes wonderful pizzas in a wood oven in his van. He is apparently at the lake throughout the summer season and has tables and chairs there with an extended menu. something else to look forward to. We visited the lake area back in September. its a beautiful outside area people can fish and in the summer can bathe.

 Whilst pizza was cooking we went to Chez David for a couple of glasses of rosé before picking up our pizza and taking it back to the house. We are on our way to getting our 13th pizza free! 

The last few days

Well, after a slow start to the week we were making progress and then brought to our knees by a dreadful French strain of a cold.

We managed to work through it Thursday but Friday we were unable to move. I managed to visit the bank to so some stuff out and the chemist to get drugs to alleviate our symptoms. It's a rare occasion when Phil stays in bed! So a subdued Valentines day for us.

Yesterday we got up and Phil was on a mission. How he got as much done I really don't know. At lunchtime after some more (and almost finishing) Celotexing our bedroom to be I went for a lie down. Phil carried on for as long as he could then we both crashed out. However this morning I woke up and we both felt we had turned a corner. So, still sniffing and coughing we have managed to get some work done. Without resisting the urge to crack a corny one, here is a photo of Phil getting plastered at 10am on a Sunday morning. 

So the ceiling in the en suite is all plastered and after yesterday's efforts the towel heater is in.

A last we can dry towels.

Today has been beautiful. Blue sky and sunshine urged me to go to the boulangerie for pain and croissants. I always seem to get there too late for croissants and I mentioned this to the lady Boulanger. She told me I had to order them! Doh. So I have ordered two chocolatines for tomorrow morning.

The whole day has been beautiful with just a couple of showers but we have been sitting outside in warm sunshine - this is more like our picture!

Tomorrow we plan to attack the wall and remove the mortar and then sand blast it.

Here is a before view and also the compressor and sand blaster we are going to use. We decided against using soda in the end as we were told that a compressor this size would only power it for about one minute, as it requires a lot more air. The alternative was to spend thousands on an industrial compressor and even then the power in the house may not stand up to it. More news on this after we have tried it.

 

Hopefully now we are on the mend we will start to make some headway. 

As Phil says we expect to see a significant difference in the next week. Watch this space.

Love to you all - our thoughts especially with anyone that has been affected by the atrocious weather and flooding that the South West is being batted with at the moment.

Xx

1 + 1 =

Sunday was going so well. The aim was to finish plaster boarding the  bathroom. Allbeit fiddle things were going well till about 4.30pm.

 +

= 

Phil slipped with the Stanley knife and made a hole in his hand. To keep it safe we called iit a day and to avoid onset of further bleeding took yesterday off. We have yet to see exactly what he has done as it has been covered up since Sunday. Tonight we shall see.....

So we went supermarket shopping in the pouring rain and had a nice easy day. The beginnings of a cold have materialised so it was probably a good thing to have a quiet day.

Also I made my first purchase on Amazon France. A bathroom shelf to go under the mirror which should arrive Thursday.

Prior to the 'incident' I had started screwing plasterboard on to the framework which has continued today.

The plasterboard has received a coat of diluted PVA as a base for the tiles so we are making progress. Shower has been plumbed in and shower waste fitted. 

It's been a good day!

Much love as always xx

Phil lights up my life

Just so you don't think I sit back and let Phil do all the work, here is a photo of me preparing a stone wall for repointing. At this rate it'll take about 2 weeks just to channel out the old mortar. It's going to be a feature wall so it will be worth it. Just using a wire brush on a couple of the stones has made all the difference.

Meanwhile, Phil is truly wired. He has been continuing with the electrics and what is making my heart flutter today you can see here. 

My first new switch and plug socket.

The weather today has been torrential rain followed by sun followed by hail showers. Still about 10 degrees though and much warmer than when we first arrived. I guess just living in the house is warming her up too.

And Phil is the light if my life - literally.

I have a working new light!

Time to call it a day and celebrate.

Much love

Xx

Day 14 - Friday 7th February 2014

The first piece of plasterboard has just gone in so a bit if a milestone has been reached. Pretty soon it will look like a real room. 

The plumber came yesterday and finished off the drain. It's beautifully concreted in but in spite of him saying leave it be for 3 days Phil was desperate to bring the van into the courtyard so he could start unloading the plasterboard. The van and my car have been parked across the road in a disused garage (as in car dealer / petrol station) and the plasterboard was just so heavy to bring across. 

So we brought my car and parkedh then the van came. It made 6 inch deep ruts and has had to be filled in, the courtyard does look like a mud bath. It WILL look different by summer.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I got some washing done, out on the line and dry. The washing machine is old and not like one I have ever used before. It loads from the top and the drum has to be openedcseparetly. A lot of guesswork has gone into getting the right programme.

Yesterday I spent most of the day sorting through the middle room in the 2nd house. Mothballs have been falling out of every cupboard I have been in. Mothballs and dried lavender. I have set aside a room for stuff to go to the charity shop and this is filling nicely. We also have a huge pile to go to the tip  but we can only do this once the van is emptied. I expect that joy will be next week.

Phil is delighted as we had to get some more battening this morning and popped around to our local builders merchants in the village. When M. Plisson ws loading it into our van he saw our plasterboard. I admitted that we had bought elsewhere and he asked how much we paid. Phil reckoned about 7 Euros a board and when I asked him his price he said about the same. We hadn't even been able to find plasterboard here and now we have a local supplier. He seems to be keeping his prices down to get the business which could be great for us. He'll even deliver! 

We looked at gravel for the courtyard and it seems he only has 'blue' at the moment. The construction work on the new high speed train line down the road is using up all the 'white' and I think there is a shortage. Blue by the way is actually grey and the white is more honey coloured. Guess which I would like.

This afternoon has also been a wiring exercise for Phil. In France 3 pieces of cable have to go through a hose that doesn't look dissimilar to a hose at the back of your washing machine. There have to be three sets of wires going into the attic/our new bedroom. One for the lights, one for the switches and be for the immersion heater. To try and make this less ugly and difficult to cover up we bought some individual red, blue and green/yellow wiring and attempted to thread it through the hose alongside the existing three wires. Several attempts were made but it just wasn't  going to happen, so this is what we will have to box in.

This is the point we decided to have a bath and call it a day. Perhaps tomorrow we may have a light in our bathroom..... Stay tuned to find out if we do.

For most of you I hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend. For one friend in particular I hope you manage to have some great birthday celebrations. We will raise a glass to you tomorrow.

With love

Xx

Bath time!

Sunday night Phil botched the thermostat so that there was enough hot water for a bath. The bath was sitting in a very drafts large space (for those that know Evergreen, about the size of our lounge there. As he had been doing the most physical work he went first. After a few minutes he returned clean but blue. The water wasn't really hot enough and the room temperature probably wasn't much more than freezing. He said that I wouldn't even want to try so I had a strip wash instead. At this point he had worked out how to fix the thermostat and that was to be the first job in the morning. The instructions were poor and there were electricians forums on the internet where the professionals complained about the difficulty. Sadly the answers were hidden from us as we had to register as an electrician and be accepted before we were allowed to join that particular club. 

As promised Phil fixed the problem on Monday morning and the huge cylinder had the whole day to heat up. We Celotexed the rest of the bathroom area; walls and roof and Phil was determined to provide a cosy area for me to have a steaming hot bath by the end of the day. We had been out and bought a 2000watt fan heater and found an extension lead outside by the work bench. Phil put a little light on another extension  and set both up by the bath. I hear you shout 'Health and Safety' but we didn't care. To keep out the drafts Phil stapled blankets to the stud partitions and even fixed an old door in the doorway. Wanting things to be just right he even shaved it down so it would fit and proudly shut the door. There wasn't however a handle to be able to pull it open. Undetected a nail was banged in and abracadabra, we had a handle.

The bath was run and bubbles duly poured into the steamy water.

I have to say I think it was the best bath I have ever had. The blankets gave the feeling of being in a Bedouin tent but I came out smelling wonderful. Clean hair, all the cobwebs, Celotex, dust and grime washed away. Pictures if our makeshift bathroom from both sides below.

We decided that we deserved a day off so woke up Tuesday morning to pelting rain which dispersed fairly quickly and gave way to blue skies and sunshine. We hopped in my car and headed into Ruffec to get some diesel for my car. at 1.27 a litre an absolute bargain. I dug in my bag and realised i had forgotten my purse.. Fortunately Phil had enough Euros for my now full tank. We then headed for the Charente at Ruffec, where canoeing and kayaking take place. The river was high and two men were removing tape that had been put up to stop people walking over a series of little foot bridges   As the river must have covered them. I'd love to show you photos but I realised the camera was still sitting on the bed. A few minutes later i looked in my bag and found the camera. Fantastic, until I turned it on and a message stated 'battery depleted'. 

We then went to  a village not far away that we had heard was beautiful called Verteuil.  We got out of the car  and headed down the street where a huge chateau took up a large part of the skyline. A restaurant there had been recommended to us called the Porte Bleu but sadly it was shut. We wandered around for a while then drove on to Nanteuil. This is a beautiful old village with a silver coloured river running through it. We parked the car and wandered around the old streets. I should imagine it will be heaving in the summer. There is an abbey there that we will return to when it is open  after the end of March. There was a a lovely walk along a small 'canal' - actually only about 3 feet wide with the river flowing on the other side. It leads to a small arboretum and we found a seat and just sat in the sun for a while. There was definitely some warmth in it and all along the banks of the canal were signs of Spring; primroses, bergenia and even a rose in flower. We will definitely return here.

In the way home we stopped for a proper supermarket shop and then back here to prune the vine (which Phil did) whilst I lit a bonfire. That got rid of a load of cardboard and wood so we have cleared a bit of space now.

Whilst we were in the courtyard Phil spotted a man by our gate and shouted out Bonjour. It was a neighbour from about 20 metres away called Ian. He and his wife Marion moved here about 6 years ago although they bought the house in 2002. We were invited for an aperitif at 6 so it was great that it was one of our clean days! Their house is gorgeous and they were such a lovely couple. What a great welcome to the village. They were both so interesting. Ian is a wine buff and worked in software before anyone knew the word existed. Marion is so full of get up and go and great advice. Apparently the English meet up in a pub on Wednesdays a few kilometres away. We have declined this week but have said we will join them another time. Also there is a regular quiz that we can go to. Anyone who knows Phil will know how overjoyed he is at the mention of a quiz. Oh well we'll see.

As I write this the sun has gone in and the skies have darkened. The wind is blowing the little bell in our gate and it is dinging away and the rain has returned. Not as bad as the UK have it. Our thoughts go out to you. How much more rain can there be. Hope everyone is safe and sound - and dry.

Phil has just got the sink working so we can now wash hands and teeth upstairs. I had better go as there is more of my favourite job to be done. (Celotex has become a swear word here). 

Love to you all.

X