This and that - Autumn 2015

9 November 2015

John has been back to tidy up the garden and orchard, and has sent through a couple of photos. It's gratifying to see that the plants we put in around the base of the stone terrace - and then had to leave to fend for themselves - have thrived in the Indian summer this part of France has enjoyed during September and October. Apparently, it's still T-shirt weather as I type...

OK, before you point it out, yes, that is indeed John's thumb top left. Clearly not his green one.

Tom has been away on holiday, but on his return sent a photo of the new oak door we've had custom-made for the dépendance. It had to be made sur mesure because, of course, the doorway opening is non-standard. The menuisier's brief was to create a style consistent with that of the front door and bathroom door of the barn, and we are delighted with his interpretation.

A section of the A-frame double glazing can be seen behind the door frame on the left.

It will be a relief when the A-frame is glazed and the door is hung. The dépendance will then be weather-proof in time for winter, and work can begin on the wooden flooring.

The dépendance is the centre of attention - Update # 28

17 June 2015

Once G and I had booked flights for our next holiday at La Fromagerie, we began to consider the little dépendance and what we could achieve with it. G wrote to Tom to ask him for some internal dimensions, so that we could begin to design and plan the space.

Tom wrote back to say that he was between jobs, and would be able to start right away with the floor, at least. So, within 24 hours, he and Gregg had begun digging down, to give us the best volume possible.

They dug out about a cubic metre of soil and slate.

This is not going to be the Ritz, you understand, but merely an extra bedroom for guests/family. It won't be big enough to have a toilet, but it will have electricity, and there'll be room for a bed and tiny living space.

We have asked Tom to join the internal walls and lay a concrete floor, which will be overlaid with a wooden floor. He is also going to construct a bed platform - above head height as you enter the building - which we think will have ladder access. The design means that if you're upstairs, sitting with your back to the road-side gable end, you would be able to look through the glazed A-frame towards the barn itself.  The bed platform should leave enough space below for a small sofa or a couple of little chairs and a reading lamp. You get the picture.

This is going to be our Stone Tent; the one we envisaged when this adventure began.

There's a new kid on the block - Update # 25

15 January 2015

We have been waiting with bated breath to see our little dépendance transformed from ruin to safe-as-houses cutie.

Tom's photos don't disappoint. He clearly knows what he is about, that man! He and Gregg have been flat out on the little building since getting back to work after the New Year, and it shows.

In Tom's words:

The weather here has been quite pleasant considering the time of year, so we have been going flat out to get the dependence done while the going is good. 

The masonry needs to dry out and will benefit a lot from a bit of weathering. 

Safe under glowering skies.

So happy that we have preserved this teeny window, which will be double glazed, though won't open.

This window will be double glazed, and will open.

Don'tcha just love those stones peeking through...and the splayed back wall?!

I think this is an example of what Kevin McCloud would approvingly call an 'honest restoration' - where you can clearly see the old and the new, and they work very beautifully together. In my humble opinion!

Once again, Tom has done a stunning roof in Spanish slate, and he has managed to gain us a bit of head-height along the way....

Tom is still to fit the double-glazed window to the gable end closest to the barn, and after that, we will have to consider digging down the inner floor level, to get maximum head-height, and to accommodate a good-size door.

Our plan is to involve Jean-Marie's son, the menuisier, to help us with the other (opening) window, the glazing of the A frame, and the door...but all in good time. For now, she is safe and sound, and sitting pretty avec sa grande soeur au sommet de leur petite colline :)

The elevation from the road is largely unchanged, apart from that magic roof!

Finally (handing the microphone back to Tom):

Greg and I really enjoyed working on the dependence.

Yes, thank you, guys: we can see that.

Forging ahead - Update # 24

21 December 2014

It's been all quiet on the French front in recent weeks, while Tom and Gregg (and we) waited for the concrete to dry. In the meantime, the unseasonably mild weather gave way to proper wintry conditions.  But the guys have now made some serious progress on the dépendance, as this latest series of photos will attest.

The king post truss goes up and the roof beams follow, as the sky glowers overhead. Part of the newly-strengthened walls has been pointed.

(A little, well-deserved advert...)

They've managed to raise the roof a bit, as you can see here, so as to maximise the internal head height.

Poor Gregg working away in the gloom, doing his stone-work magic and extending the 'good' gable end.

Getting there...

The king post truss faces the barn, and the gaps will be glazed in time, to bring light into the interior. We have managed to retain the original windows and the door (although it will have a higher lintel than the original). 

The new pointing is clear in this photo and you can imagine the final effect, but the stone work and concrete is 'messy' at the moment, as Tom himself admits, so he is keen to get going on it  and tidy it up in the first week of the New Year.

The photo above shows the 'concrete ladder' technique that Tom described to us in the summer.

Tom and Gregg got the roof insulation up and the counter battens completed before Christmas, so the  little building is more or less water-tight, safe, and sound. 

Looks like a happy New Year indeed. 

Hotting up - Update # 21

6 November 2014

Not really. Chas has been characteristically silent and, only after various prompts, admitted that he is behind schedule. Tell us something new, Chas.

Anyway, he is in the process of sourcing materials (slate and larch) to match those used on the barn, and should be able to finish this week.

In the meantime, here's a photo of the little structure he has built for the expansion tank and pellets storage. Unfortunately, he had to destroy a grape vine that was happily climbing the back left corner. We discussed this in August, so we were well prepared.

And in other, happier news, things are starting to happen for the dépendance. In an email from Tom yesterday:

"...things are now moving with the dependence. I am picking up the A-frame on Monday the 10^th November, photo’s (sic) of A-frame/Demolition work/masonry work will be on their way to you by the middle of next week..."

And, as we know, Tom is a man of his word.

Little cutie

15 October 2014

During the summer, we were in discussion with Tom about the saving of the dépendance, or outbuilding, which sits close to the main barn and is starting to fail. Our tarpaulin has kept the worst excesses of the weather from getting in through the roof, but the external oak beams are rotten and the walls are in very bad shape, after years of assault by an invasive creeper and the weather.

Gingerbread house

The barn's little sister...

...gets a tarpaulin cover for protection

All wrapped up, safe and sound - for now

Tom says that if he has ever seen a sudden collapse of a stone building, it has been one with this kind of structure; one with external wooden posts at the corners, which, when rotten, give way and bring the whole structure down. Hmm, and we have a LOT of gardening stuff stored in there and G and I go in and out of the little building all the time. Hard hat time? No, I thought not - that would be very un-French.

After a lot of head scratching and to-ing and fro-ing of ideas and costings etc, it was decided that the project could be done in three phases. In Tom's words:

1. Take down all unstable masonry and remove from site the existing roof structure, and the rotten timber frame that makes up two of the four wall corners.

Cast steel reinforced concrete to rebuild the two unstable corners, and cast new wall plate on tops of walls, this will tie the whole building together. The next stage is to prepare the old stonework and point up the stone work. This serves the purpose of stabilizing the untouched stonework, and aesthetically it would hide the new concrete.

-Stage one would also involve digging along the side of the wall where the ground is high, putting in drainage pipe and putting a delta membrane against wall before backfilling.

2. Stage two consists of building a new roof on the newly consolidated walls. Slates and roofing style would be to match the barn. Roof structure would be designed to have as much useable space as possible inside.  Open gable facing the barn - a feature Oak A-frame to make up this gable - which can be glazed at a later date.   The best design for an A-frame with regards to the pitch of the roof, the span, and the intention to glaze it at a future date, is a king post truss.

An example of a king post truss

With this design roof there would be maximum head height inside, we would not need to put in collar beams or purlins on such a small roof, so there would be no restrictive timbers inside, just the rafters and the ridge beam.

3.Final stage is turning the inside into a useable space, concreting the floor, perhaps putting in a partial upper floor? Doors and windows etc. 

G and I envisage a small studio/bedroom, with a bed platform and space beneath for a sofa and/or desk. No room for a toilet or shower, but then, this isn't the Ritz, people.

Random images

6 May 2014

Call me weird, but I rather like the view through the side window of the rusty cabine next door.

Misty morning #1

Misty morning #2

These wooden structures were used traditionally to extend a wagon's load capacity. 

Aunt + apple tree

Room for growth, then.

Happy camper #1

Happy camper #2

This old nest perched precariously under the eaves of the dépendance.

The walnut tree stump. Gregg suggested we auction this image of (SpongeBobSquarePants/Mother Theresa/your preferred significant icon here) on EBay...

Always a style trendsetter, I fashioned an apron from rags to save my jeans.

Little red cutie and camera-shy occupant

Full steam ahead

10 March 2014

Tom is back on site with a vengeance and has sent through photos of his first few days on site.

As he puts it, he's 'had a good clean up' of beams, windows and floors. Note the oak pegs in the A-frame.

The down lighters are in place, thanks to Brian.

This is the kitchen window. Power points and switches are making an appearance...

Tom: 'The screed is drying out nicely and I’m very pleased with it.' Looks good from where I'm standing too, Tom.

This is the pair of windows overlooking the stairwell. We love them! They recall the fact that the wall of the barn stopped short of the roof along  this side of the barn.

And we are delighted that Tom has preserved the fragment of stone wall...

The guys have been working on the external bardage boarding (Larch wood) and managed to finish that by Friday. What d'you think? Rather a nice quirky detail, isn't it? 

Tom expects the window shutters to be delivered to site at the beginning of this week, when they will be all set to start fitting them, having got 'all the fiddly bits' completed last week.

It's all go chez nous.