The Screed

9 February 2014

On Sunday night, a brief update on La Fromagerie.

Chas left on Thursday at noon, allowing Tom to get in and set up for the screed, which was scheduled for Friday. Tom had decided to use the plasterer's labourers ("getting the screed mix right is quite tricky, they have more experience at mixing traditional screeds (... and also...) that allows me to help level and float-finish the floor with the plasterer). 

"... all the heights worked out exactly how I wanted them to. Four of us screeded all day on Friday, it was hard work but all went according to plan. I’m looking forward to going onto the screed and sweeping it down and tidying up the edges."

Tom is now off on a two-week holiday. In the meantime, Phil will be in to measure up for the stairs and will begin their construction, Brian will return for second electrical fix, and Gregg will get on with making the shutters.

Perfect timing for my little holiday in Brisbane and Bribie Island!

Plastering? Check. UFH? Check.

6 February 2014

The plastering was duly finished on Monday night, allowing 2 days for the UFH. Predictably, Chas was delayed and was only half-way through on Wed evening, just hours before the team was due to arrive on site to lay the screed.

Tom had to make a round of uncomfortable phone calls to call off the various parties (including the electrician, who in turn had to postpone the digger) and call in some favours regarding rescheduling. Needless to say, Tom was not a happy camper.

Despite this, he says:

"The barn is really starting to come together now, I’m really pleased with how its all looking."

And we can see why.

First, the UFH. I rather like it. Cancel the concrete floor.

This is the shower room, and the pipes all emerge from a boxing-in arrangement which will sit behind the toilet. The unaltered area to the right is the shower wall, which will be tiled. The cubby above the toilet is built in front of an existing niche in the stone, which we asked Tom to preserve. In the end, the wall depth became so thick that he has had to build out from the niche. That means it will be an extra deep space, at the back of which will be original stone.

 Er...we somehow have to fit some stairs in there on the left.

This is the corner of the room where the wood pellet stove will go, and this mess of pipes will be organised into 4 attractive manifolds :)

Now, the upstairs. Of course, the beams still need to be cleaned up, and the plaster needs to dry out.

The Juliet balcony is done!

And the other one too. No falling from the top floor windows now. Here's a photo of the one at the front of the barn.

The last pic shows the cladding that will go over the area of wall overlooking Monsieur's cabine - this  was, if you recall, open to the air, which is why we decided to put in two windows there, and have the rest clad in wood. We had envisaged lapped oak, but Tom has suggested larch (at this thickness, less inclined to warp), which is what these sample pieces are, I gather.

Next stop: The Screed. Mind the gap.

Front door - ta da!

5 February 2014

On Monday, Phil sent us these pics of the front door, which has finally been installed in its frame. We are delighted! Of course, there's still some tidying up to do ... and a witch hunt to organise, to find the the owner of the muddy boots. Makes the house look like a building site.

In other news, Tom et al. have been working hard over the last week and during the weekend, to make sure the barn is spotless and ready for Chas to begin UFH on Tuesday. We await the latest pics with interest.

Décalage horaire and Decision Making 101

2 February 2014

It's been quite a week. G away on business, and still the emails kept on coming (or not coming), depending on whether you were the builder, the electrician - just about anybody, really - or the plumber.

To be fair, though, Chas has been working hard and even over the weekend to get the plumbing out of the way before the plasterers began on Monday. He sent through a few photos on Monday, as well as a drawing of the flue design.

We have made clear our wishes for the stove and flue but they keep getting blocked by Chas, who quotes regs and negative practicalities in his by-now-familiar 'can't-do' way. We now expect a fairly complex flue design within the barn - a T bar allowing easy cleaning - and the stove can't sit as close to the wall as we would like, because of the flue that will have to connect and then turn vertically in the gap. There's also the small air vent (a never-before-mentioned last-minute surprise), so now Tom must make not one but two holes in the gable wall. Hmm.

The other minor character (no dialogue but more than a walk-on part) is the exhaust vent, required by French regs if you want to cook with gas. We made a decision to go with provision for a propane gas bottle outside the barn, because of space constraints, but apparently we still need a 50 mm vent at high level, in the same room as the cooker. With the plastering already under way, there was a flurry of emails between Sydney and France as I tried to establish a) whether it would be feasible (i.e. not too late) to put one in and b) whether high up in the stairwell near the two oblong windows would be an acceptable site (no stone to penetrate). A time difference of 10 hours meant that after sending off my emails, I had to wait all day for a reply from Tom and Chas-the-communicative.

By early evening, I had an agreement in principle (hint of clenched teeth) from the former; nada, zilch, diddly-squat from the latter. Tom - very decidedly not interested in contacting the plumber - making it clear that today or latest tomorrow (France time) was the last chance to interfere with the walls. Also, that my proposed site for the vent was, by chance, not yet plastered, but time was of the essence to make a decision and then DO it. Another email off to Chas. And a text. Everything cc'd to Tom and to G. Deafening silence. Finally, at nearly 11 pm Sydney time, a phone call to Chas. No answer.

That night, I took forever to get to sleep and then woke at 3 am to find a chatty communiqué responding to my queries and suggestions: 'Tom has it in hand.'

So.

The plastering is going ahead as planned, and Tom expects to have everything 'neat as a pin' by the end of Monday, ready for Chas to begin laying the UFH. He has two days for this and then, on Thursday, the screed is due to be laid.

Phil has been in and has fitted the front door, so the barn is now lockable. He will wait until the screed is down before starting on the stairs.

Ellie (Tom's very efficient other half, who drew up our plans and submitted them for us) has been making enquiries on our behalf regarding the telephone connection and which telephone pole would be the one to aim for with our cabling. Armed with that info, Brian has organised a digger to come and dig trenches for the EDF and telephone cables; Chas will make use of the same digger for his trench. This will require co-ordination and communication, so good luck with that, people.

Brian has helped us source outside lights that we are pleased with: very simple and traditional, and kind of rustic.

In other news, we sent off Bonne Année cards to our French neighbours, new friends and contacts and have been chuffed to receive several warm replies. And Ellie has invited herself to our housewarming party.

Better get the invites out.