Our Wood Burner

Posted by Rosie

Our wood burner heating, drying and cooking

I love our wood burner and whilst I never relish the thought of colder days I always look forward to lighting it again after it's summer of inactivity. It somehow gives a heart to to the whole house because it is so much more than just a box to burn logs and keep us warm. For a start it keeps the pets warm and it only took the dogs approximately 2 minutes to realise when we first lit it! It also warms all of the house and thanks to the heat exchange unit Simon and Ady put in over the summer, its warm air is now even better circulated around the colder rooms of the house, namely Tom's bedroom and the loft.  

When we chose our wood burner we made sure we had one with a hot plate on the top - now it's heat also cooks many a supper, pots of jam, pans of stock etc etc. It boils water for hot drinks and washing up and keeps cooked food warm. Oh and not forgetting clothes. Trying to dry clothes on airers with dirty wet dogs around is not always entirely successful so Simon built an overhear airer and now we can dry clothes really quickly and pretty much out of the way.

Winter may be creeping up on us but outside, thanks to our wood burner, inside we are all warm, cosy, dry and well fed.

I know - it needs a door!

New Shower

We now are the proud owners of an upstairs bathroom, with full working shower, hand basin and loo.  I have already used the shower and had a very pleasant 'cleaning experience'!  In fact I'm off in there after I've posted this.

New Toilet

And those early morning trips to the loo will be much shorter.  In winter, a blessing as it will be quickly back to a nice snug bed.

I've just got one or two finishing touches and must admit one of these is to fit the door - so not altogether private at the moment!

Compact: See Bijou, then divide by two.

Wardrobe Alcove

Estate Agent Speak  - Bijou: Would suit contortionist with growth hormone deficiency. 

Ady and I have been constructing an upstairs 'bijou' bathroom - well more a shower room, with WC and hand basin.  I must add at this stage that it has been mainly Ady doing the work, whilst I have got on with other things.

The bathroom is being constructed at one end of our bedroom, but we didn't want to loose too much space. So we designed the space with an alcove for a wardrobe in the bedroom. We had already had a window put in when the windows for the gite were done.  Now we (Ady) has divided the rooms and insulated it all, put the electrics in, and the first phase of the plumbing.  I've tiled the floor and we have also put in ducting for the heat exchange unit.

Our 'Bijou' Bathroom

Tomorrow the 2nd phase of plumbing starts, tiling the walls and then finishing the installation of shower doors, basin, toilet etc. and of course all those finishing bits and pieces we all love will start.

And hopefully very soon I will not have to be traipsing all the way downstairs at three in the morning for a wee. I also thought the estate agent speak summed up our 'petite bathroom'!

Another Epic!

Posted by Simon

One of the outbuildings has been a little bit of a worry for us, as the gable end had a lean which did not look too healthy. Then a delivery lorry just caught it and maybe it was our imagination but this unhealthy lean took on the appearance of a Pisa Tower in the making. So we decided to prop it up and cordon the area off until repairs could be made.

And how one small(ish) job is now becoming a huge epic. I took all the stone off the gable end. I bought new oak lintels to replace the rotting ones, I got sand and lime to start the rebuild and was ready to go.

Yea right - the side wall has been hit by a vehicle at some time in the past and had an amazing repair that all good stone masons would die for - rotting cardboard, old plastic bags, chunks of woods, a dustbin lid, an old garden fork and a plastic flower pot and of course a few handfuls of straw. Something John Noakes would have been proud of.

Therefore, not taking anything away from this marvellous affair, I do think it is time to bring it in to the 21st century and needs to be rebuilt. The roof is on it's last supports, the ceiling is beyond belief (as my leg can testify as it disappeared through the floorboards) and as Rosie said 'it's had one botch too many' (not my leg the building). Anyway apart from all that everything is fine! Except we had to find somewhere for all the stuff stored in this building.

Well at least it gives me something to do now the gite is finished and once we have undertaken these 'minor' repairs it will give us a place to store all the other stuff when we carry out the other works on the house.

Digger - Out of Action

Posted by Simon

Due to continuing problems with the digger the works on the 'fosse septique' has ground to a halt and the digger taken away by a local garage for tests on the wiring. I'm hoping it will not be too long before I have it back as the weather is changing and I really do not want to work in a quagmire.

Whilst these works are on hold I have been doing some stone work in the gite. This included filling a gap between our attic and that of the gite - an old doorway. This meant many trips up and down the ladder with buckets of stone, mortar mix and tools. It was not long before I rigged up a pulley system, which did speed up the job. It still took me all day though but I'm pleased with the results.

I have also started work on the fireplace and chimney - I have every intention of getting a wood burner in before the cold weather comes. This is primarily to keep the building warm for some of the jobs. Lime cannot be worked if the weather is too cold. Secondarily it is to keep me warm - ahhh!

And my stone work cannot be too bad as the builder, who came to collect his cheque, was very impressed and took all the credit for his teaching techniques. Then complained I was putting him out of work (correct - I'm a lot cheaper)!!!!

Busy Doing Nothing

Posted by Simon

This was a week that wasn't. I have achieved absolutely nothing and apart from this afternoon I don't feel as if I've stopped. Having broken the water main the water company then decided to replace our water meter whilst they carried out the repair. They also relocated the meter to our boundary so I have had to replace pipes and fitting from the meter into the house. We were only without water for less than 24 hours so it was not too bad. But I still have to bury the pipes AND then the digger broke down again. Fortunately I had dug out the area where the meter was going.

This time it's something to do with the electrics. So I have, with a friend, been trying to sort that out - with no joy. A new battery and re-doing the wiring has not worked. It is possibly the alternator and a mechanic is coming here to check it out soon. Really frustrating. It's not just the repairing things, it's the chasing around getting the bits and pieces you need that takes the time.

So my new Septic Tanks are still sitting here waiting to be dug in. Having the water meter moved has helped through - apart from I now know where the pipes are - it also is better for connecting up the water to the other buildings without having to take the pipes under the house and they will get better pressure as well. Breaking the pipe maybe a blessing in disguise - I say hopefully.

We also managed to order the doors and windows and some other materials I need for future works but it was definitely a case of ONE STEP FORWARD TWO BACK.

Two Tanks and a Digger

Posted by Simon

Today I planned to get the 'fosse septiques' installation started, but the starting part seems to be taking a bit of time. This was not helped by the gravel for the filter beds turning up - four 10 tonne lorry loads throughout the day. Also a neighbour wanted to borrow my ladders so I had to sort that out. Then due to the chickens being confined at the moment and having to get the digger through their enclosure I had to get everything across to the work area before we could let the chickens out. All this took some time.

Then I had to plan where the tanks and pipes are going. Easier said than done. I had an outline plan but this went to pot because of all the old systems and pipes that are all over the place. Although I had some idea where most of these old works are I have not been able to find the all essential toilet waste - and I do not want to end up a certain creek without a paddle! Well after digging around I find an old cesspit and in true French style the manhole cover was under the ground by 40cms - at least it was covered by an old plastic fertiliser bag and a bit of rusty corrugated iron. And it definitely needs emptying!

So I then spent the rest of the day planning where everything could go, but each idea I had would not quite work or there was a problem with the old system being in the way. And I did have to spend half the afternoon repairing the dishwasher which had blocked up. Anyway, eventually I came up with something which I hope will work. I checked out my plan with the person who did the initial report on what we can or cannot do and after a couple of tweaks I'm finally ready to start - well tomorrow maybe.

In For A Blowy Night?

Posted by Simon

The builders have made the final break through on the window at the back of our bedroom. It was not the choicest of days as the wind decided to make it's presence known. Just as they took the last few stones out the wind blew a really strong gust and all the plastic covers flew off. Having kept the main part of our bedroom sealed off and dust free we now are the proud owners of a first floor interior vegetable patch. My now, not so white, towelling dressing gown taking the brunt.

Now the winds are blowing from the north (on to the back of the house) and the black clouds are gathering over Lenault. As there are only two flimsy sheets of tarpaulin covering the hole the prospects of a quiet night is highly unlikely. So we have decided that the sofa bed in the living room will be a better option. Well it beats sleeping in a 'veg patch'!

Roof. Windows and Walls

Posted by Simon

Work has been moving forward on the gite. The builders have completed the work on the roof and nearly finished the two new window openings for the gite. They have made a start on the opening in our bedroom and will hopefully be finished by the middle of next week - well to a point. The point being that the window units are not available until the 15th October, so we could be in for a draughty time.

As the French workers can only do so many hours per week they were not here today. This gives me three clear days and so I have started on the centre wall. . This is slowly going up - not helped by builders/my tools and rubbish in the way. Nor having to help my neighbour whose car had broken down and needed moving. Anyway I'm quite pleased with the result so far especially as this is my first attempt.

Once the builders are gone I think we'll need a mega tidy up. Everything seems to be in the wrong place or covered in dust. And I also conquered a fear. Roofs are not my favourite of places but a urgent repair was needed on our future house. So I borrowed the builders ladders and made good. Another one of those little jobs I have been putting off can now be crossed off my list

Gite Progress

Posted by Simon

We are having a very hot spell at the moment which has meant the builders have been able to get on - although by late afternoon they were flagging due to the heat. The roof has virtually been finished today and they have now started installing the granite surrounds to the windows. I managed to get the foundation done, at the weekend, for the wall on the split level ground floor. Otherwise I have not been able to get much else done in the gite as it is impossible to get in there whilst the builders are here.

I have managed to get one or two other jobs done in the mean time. We acquired some concrete rabbit hutches which needed putting up. We have no intention of keeping rabbits, but the hutches are very useful to house hens with chickens or to isolate sick animals. Hopefully they will not have to be used for the latter. I have also been meaning to finish making a gate for a sheep pen in our other field and this afternoon managed to get that done. Tomorrow I'll get the gate hung.

Well it's off to heat the BBQ up as we are taking advantage of this lovely evening to dine outside.

Rain Stops Play

Posted by Simon

Unfortunately the rain did not stay away and the builders made frantic efforts to keep everything covered. It was one those days where it would stop, so they carried on, then it suddenly rained again and they covered up again. At lunch time they eventually stopped work on the roof, covered any gaps, and started work on making new holes for the windows. I'm surprised they stayed on the roof for so long as it must have been very slippery and with the wind very unpleasant.

Anyway they are progressing very well despite the weather, although I seem to be getting nowhere fast. When they started work in the gite I was in the way but did get a bit done in there. I think it will be easier for me to work at the weekend rather than get in the way of the builders.

And last night I did not sleep that well as I was concerned about the covers being blown off in the wind and could hear them flapping around. I had visions of me at three in the morning up on the roof trying to get it covered again. The covers did stay put but I'm now a little tired.

But getting to bed to night could be interesting because apart from new windows for the gite we are having one put in at the rear of our bedroom, for a future bathroom. So there is plastic sheeting and dust covers everywhere so finding my way in may be an adventure!

Typical Labrador Pose

Posted by Simon


Well the weather is changing. The rain is on it's way and the wind is gusting. This is what we really need whilst the roof is being worked on. The builders are taking great care and are only removing a section of tiles at a time. This evening, before they left, they covered the gap with tarpaulins but I'm not sure they are going to last the night, as some of the gusts have been quite strong. We'll wait and see.

I've, eventually, finished helping the neighbour fill in their pond, a week later than planned. The digger ended up needing the Hydraulic Ram completely rebuilt - all ending up rather expensive - but is at least fully operational again. So I'm hoping I can progress with the gite again.

And we have assured the builders that we fed dogs - honest.

It's all go - nearly - (at the moment)

Posted by Simon

I was going to do a post on our lovely weekend but first...........

........the washing machine is now whizzing around on the spin cycle and I've never seen anyone so pleased to hear that sound again as Rosie. Very kind friends and neighbours have helped us out with the washing, getting the spares and repairing the machine, but you do feel as if you are being a nuisance after a while.

The mini digger is back in action too. We took the part into the repair shop this morning at 9:15 - the man looked at the part and said he would be unable to repair it immediately. 'Quand?' we asked, expecting a french shrug and a couple of weeks - the reply instead took us totally by surprise - 'by midday today!' So we waited in town, did some shopping, got some flowers for our neighbour for helping with the washing and enjoyed a relaxing cup of coffee. After picking up the repair we then dropped the flowers off and, of course, had to have the obligatory aperitif! But I did get the digger up and running before lunch. (A late lunch admittedly!)

After lunch I did a couple of other little repair jobs before changing the bucket on the digger to carry out another job. This is when I noticed steam rising out of the engine compartment. Oh great. The fan belt had split and needed replacing. Oh great - not the easiest of jobs on a mini digger.

The job I had needed the other bucket for was to find out why the bath/shower water was over flowing by the corner of the house. I hoped that we would have a new septic tank in by now so had been ignoring this problem, but it was getting too bad to leave any longer. I started to dig it out by hand but soon got bored of that, so I rushed out, managed to get a new fan belt and got the digger going again. Digging by machine was much quicker and I soon discovered that the drainage pipe was blocked solid. Tomorrow I'm going to have to do a temporary job until I get the new septic tank in.

Now I smell like an old sewer, the mower still needs fixing and I haven't done my french homework!!!!!! Oh, and a post on our lovely weekend. Sorry but it's shower time now and then a Kir or (and) a beer. Bit of good news through - whilst digging out the blocked pipes I found my rods which I lost down the network of pipes nearly 2 years ago!

Time Flies

Posted by Simon

I've just seen that it is two weeks since I've done a blog. Well I'm still here and now wondering where the time has gone.

Well I have been plodding on with the gite and have finished the beams and joists. Today I finished digging out the lower ground floor. I found it was easier, on the poor old muscles, to do a little each day rather than in one one hit - I know 'poor old boy'! This area is for the proposed living/dining room. The next stage is for the hempcrete floor, which I'll explain as we go along.

I have put in the timber for the stud wall for the bedrooms. It may be a little early but it does give us a good idea of exactly what we want and will help in planning the location of the wiring. It has also helped with the placing of the window openings and in fact by marking the proposed window openings on the walls we have decided that one in the living/dining room would not look right and, therefore, now not required.

Speed of work has not been helped by the weather. Either extremely hot or heavy rain. I think the heat really slows me down the most though. There again the rain has been so heavy all of us have been soaked through at some time. Tom and I took up tree hugging the other day when the heavens opened whilst walking the dogs -it was the only shelter we could find and both of us ended up having to have a complete change of clothes. Rosie went to check the sheep today and came back dripping. She did try and share the sheep's shelter but they would not let her in - well they were there first!

My last blog was about getting the other field cleared, ready for the sheep. Well moving them to it turned into an Oscar winning performance. One of the ewes definitely getting the Oscar for Being the Best Pain in the Backside. I built a field pen that I could reverse the vehicle up to. Would the sheep go into the pen - would they hell. After they gave as a major run around I made another pen in the middle of the field which we managed to get them into. One by one we pushed and pulled them over to the other pen and into the vehicle. Rosie and I were absolutely exhausted by the end. The sheep were not much better but have settled into their new field now. The ram must be happy - he's back to ramming me again. That's gratitude for you.

We also have two pigs arriving Saturday and I had to cut the thistles down, in their pen, before they get here. As I strimmed away I saw something flutter up. Well the massive man eating butterfly turned out to be a rather large grasshopper. I've never seen one that big. Fantastic. And we did leave an area of thistles for him. Oh, and the pen marks on Ben's face well he's being a tiger - obvious surely?

A Game at Last

Posted by Simon

Yesterday we at long last had our first proper game of Boules on our own Boules area - is it a pitch or what? I had spent the morning (nearly) finishing the top surface - though it's needs a tad more work (especially after last night's storm and heavy rain). So as the weather was glorious yesterday we a BBQ in the afternoon and than played Boules and I'm afraid to say I was beaten by Rosie - twice!

I then later had a game with Tom, Ben and a neighbouring 12 year old lad, Guillaume. Tom partnered G, whilst Ben and I teamed up. All the boys did really well. G has played before whereas Tom and Ben had not. Tom played some impressive winning shots which made for an entertaining game. Apart from one or two rather wild shots Ben had a good game, considering he was playing right handed (he is left handed) and found the balls a bit heavy after a while. Tom and G eventually won the game 13-11. It started off very close and then Tom and G went ahead to 9-4. Ben and I made a good come back and to make it 11-11, but in the final game the others won by two points and were the worthy winners. So I think I need to get some practice in before the weekend as Sally is coming over and she plays in her local pub league.

Our lamb is settling in well and we are pleased to say he HAD discovered the sheep shelter in the heavy rain last night - we decided to check at 5am this morning and getting very wet in the process plus we had to shut both cars windows! The two ducks having looked nervous in their new surrounding now, today, definitely look more relaxed. Unfortunately we think a fox caught one of our hens.

I have progressed a small amount with the gite today after first having another clear up as tools and rubbish had mounted up last week. This afternoon I had to order some timber and whilst out got some other bits I needed - including dried milk powder for the lamb - and here's another ahhh picture......

Gradual progress and a rather late delivery

Posted by Simon

Work on the gite is slowly moving forward, but I can only do so much whilst we are still waiting on prices from builders. Plus I am learning things as I go along. It is also very noticeable that doing the actual work does not seem to take long, but it is the moving everything around that takes the time or going to the builders merchants to get things. I'm sure I'll get into a routine soon.

Anyway I have started putting the beams in for the first floor but have found that the existing beams are not level so that will take some sorting out. Also I have dug up the old stone ground floor on one half of the barn. The other part is just a mud floor so I will not feel so bad digging that out.

This evening I began taking up the old floor boards and was hoping they would be re-usable for something but they are absolutely riddled with wood worm so will have to be burnt instead. I did not realise that they were so bad.

We also had delivery of the top surface sand for the boule area. Now I mention this because it was supposed to be delivered two and half weeks ago. I hadn't paid for the sand and assumed that the builders merchant (not my usual one) had decided not to deliver. Anyway early Thursday morning we got a call apologising, saying they had forgotten to deliver it and did we still want it. Well as I had not had time to order from elsewhere we said we would have it. "Okay it will be with you between 10:30 and 11:00". Fine - so at 3:45pm it turned up. Must be a French 10:30 to 11:00! I have got it sort of levelled and will try (weather permitting) to get that finished over the weekend. And weather permitting I might try have a game - or time permitting or gite permitting.

So next week I'll continue doing the flooring in the gite. Part of the roof needs repairing before I can do much else and with this in mind, hopefully, we'll have some news back from builders. If not I'll have to look at getting the septic tank or rainwater harvesting tanks in. If I can get them in.

It's Official - Work on Gite Started

Posted by Simon

Yesterday I started work on the gite. The first part was to clear out anything stored or dumped there. Although we had sorted it out previously it had been used to put things that we couldn't find a home for. I did have a bit of a surprise at this stage - but more about that later.

We had also used the barn as a place for the dogs. If we were out for a long time and there is food about in the house we put them in the barn (see previous post re Sarri). We had given them bales of hay to lay on but we think they had had great fun pulling these apart and playing in them. This took awhile to tidy up too.

I then gave the whole barn a good sweeping down. I know it is going to get dirty and dusty as we do the restoration works but it is much more pleasant working in an environment not full of hanging spider's webs and old hay and dust. I also started to rip out some of the old timbers.

Today I started digging up the old stone floor and now have a large pile of rocks outside. I want to re-use these for a patio area outside and a friend suggested we use them inside the gite doorways and fireplaces. I would love to re-lay them but they only covered two-thirds of the area but by doing the above is a good solution.

I felt a little sad pulling out these old timbers and stones -it's part of the history of the house. But having ideas of saving some of the timber, worn by the cattle over the years, were soon dispelled when they just fell apart, due to rot, in my hands.

I have timber coming later in the week to do the beams and joists for the upper floors. I am also looking for a local supplier of hemp which I'll mix with lime to make a lime/hempcrete for the ground floors. This will help with the insulation as well.

And the surprise I mentioned earlier - well I found rather a lot of the boys toys up on the first floor. Now I was a little hacked off by the extra work having to clear to these up, especially as they were scattered all around. Then it occurred to me, and later verified by Rosie, in their own way Tom and Ben had already started building. Most of the toys were for them to carry out the work. They had the trolley as a wheelbarrow, their tools, old bits of wood to build things, the quarry to get sand and stone from and the sand pit to mix it all up. Plus they had swept one of the upstairs floors and what a grand job they had done. I obviously didn't stay hacked off for long - in fact I was a bit proud.

Short post - Big message

Posted by Rosie

Just a very short post to say the Mayor popped up today with a piece of paper for us. Namely:

Planning Permission for the gites and our house conversion!!!

It takes us one giant step closer to realising our dream of living a much greener life. Let the construction work begin.

Let there be light ..... and vegetables

Posted by Rosie

Simon has been very busy over the last two days putting electricity in the old bakery. Now we have a light in there and proper plugs for the freezers and fridge rather than an extension lead from the workshop. So no more fumbling in the dark to find the freezer door or using "But it's dark" as an excuse for not taking the recycling to the bins that are also stored in there.

And as the thaw slowly progresses I have at last managed to get some fresh vegetables out of the garden. Tonight we feasted on neck of lamb stewed with parsnip, swede, turnip and pumpkins all simmered slowly in half a bottle of rather rough red wine we won't be buying again for drinking. And there was cabbage to accompany - a very nice change from frozen beans and bought carrots.

Rats and Regulations

Posted by Rosie

"What's that noise?" I asked, woken up by some noise in the loft.

"A mouse wearing clogs," muttered Simon before turning over and going back to sleep.

Well some type of rodent is living in the loft, so yesterday I went up and set a couple of traps. Today I went up to check the traps but only found ONE trap. Simon and I spent the next hour searching the loft for a mousetrap - and we had taken up the dogs and a stick each taken in case we met an irate rat with a mousetrap attached to some part of it's anatomy. We searched the barn next door and all the boxes, bags and assorted paraphernalia that we have accumulated up there but there was no sign of the trap. I have to admit it is one of the reasons I don't like traps but then poison can be a worse death for the animal and you run the risk of a decaying rodent trapped in some inaccessible place. So now we have re-set the mousetrap and put a rat-trap up there and we will see what the result is tomorrow.

On a more positive note we have cleared another hurdle with regards to getting our planning permission. Before Christmas we had received a letter from the Planning Department asking for information on our proposed modifications regarding disabled access. We had been advised that new regulations state that gites with more than 5 bedrooms must have disabled access so we have planned for a downstairs bedroom and wheelchair accessible bathroom. But apparently this may not be enough. I rang the architect who sent us some information which implied that we would have to make the WHOLE downstairs accessible for people with all disabilities i.e. dropped work surfaces, correct lighting, handrails etc etc. This was not good news. We are planning to be an eco-gites, not a disabled access complex and if we had to implement these new regulations they would cost a lot and be difficult to do.

An Internet search only led me to the site saying what ALL the modifications are, not which one we would have to implement. So I went to the Mayor's Office to see if they could help. The secretary found no more information online than me so she phoned the Planning Office. After 2 phone calls she got through to the right office but no-one was in.

Ho hum - this is all too often how things happen in France as I went home clutching a phone number and wondering how I would manage to get the information with my not too brilliant French. To cut a rather long story short and thanks to help from a French lady we have been told the new regulations are only for new builds, not conversions. All that work was a complete waste of time and our plans are fine. But we need to re-submit the plans with some additional outside drawings and now our architect is away until mid January. One step forward 2 steps back.