Kick-off meetings

April/May 2013

G here. After Dave's difficult news, we realised that with Dave out of action, the floor of the barn couldn't go in because we had no-one to set out the drainage pipes in the concrete, let alone someone to set up our water and heating systems! It was dire news for the project and the weeks were marching by. 

We asked Tom his thoughts, and between him and Brian our Electrician they pulled a few names out of the hat, one of whom was English and had done some good work with Tom's Dad's place in France. So I made a tentative contact with Roy, our Plumber 2, who was interested in taking on the project. An enormous relief.

I was going to visit Macau for work in about May, so why not extend the trip just a little and head off to France for the week beforehand. I set up meetings with Roy (the new plumber), Tom (the builder), Brian (the electrician), and Phil (the carpenter/joiner doing the front door) I also arranged to meet with Eparco, who were going to install the septic tank, to meet them there and do a final inspection and payment for the tank.
Eparco gulped a bit and agreed that of course this was a good idea and then went out to start the diggers. Nothing like being 'on the ground' to get people to jump around a bit, I discovered!

When I arrived in France the meetings went like clockwork - one thing I'll say for the French work ethic - when they plan to meet on site you can set your watch by their punctuality. Unlike the large majority of local 'tradies' in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. Eparco had managed to finish off the septic tank installation and had even asked the government SPANC rep to come to site to meet with us so that she could do the final sign-off! And then Eparco took me over the entire installation and gave me careful guidance and a full photo-journal to illustrate how the project had progressed. Since they'd had to put in two more gutter-drain pipes to meet SPANC's requirements, they said they'd revise their quote and send me the bill for the whole project when they were ready. What a pleaseure it was to deal with them. That was two months ago and they've still not got hold of me for payment -  I need to drop them a line one day...

I spent hours with all the other contractors running over details on site, and I think they're just delighted that I've now left them alone again. They do tend to go very very very quiet once I leave the country.

I also managed to get a deposit to the water board to get the water line laid to the property. The other half of the payment was required once they started the work (which was completed within a month or so).

During this week the public holiday of 1 May (and insanely silent time in France where nothing moves for 24 hours) I found myself nervously going to our neighbours with some muguet ('la porteur de bonheur') and being offered lunch and food, but I guess I find speaking French just too hard for any sustained length of time without J nearby to dilute the pressure. So I cried off and retreated to my motel room for the slow afternoon. Soup and slightly stale bread for supper was a decent compromise for me!

During the visit I also visited our Lawyer who I believe has the Title Deed, but because I'd given no warning they asked if I could revisit later once they'd dome some scratching around. I said I could do that during the summer, when J and I would be around for a holiday. Smiles all round...

Finally, I popped in to the tax office in Juillac to pay a smallish bill for processing the septic tank paperwork. It's a silent solitary office in a quiet town, with one car parked outside the office and the sun streaming onto the single guy inside clicking away on a computer. The charming guy behind his desk invited me to come in and have a look at his computer screen as he did some reserach into the Tax Fonciere that has been causing us some concern. And I watched as a screen popped up showing that no tax was owed. I'm sure this must be wrong but I'm not going to argue with the Tax Office and a Computer!

Once I'd got back to Australia, Tom kept us updated with progress news on the barn which essentially amounted to delays and more delays as the rain pelted down in France. One of the wettest Springs in years, it was to emerge. With the soil sodden there was no way that the groundworks could take place, let alone any other trades.

So now we wait...