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.

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.

Happy news times two

8 September 2013

At last, a cheery email from Tom with the happy news that their baby has arrived safely and that our baby is progressing nicely. The good weather has held and the roof tiling is nearly done.



The roof is looking great! And it's obvious now that replacing those old uneven rafters was a good call.

We have chosen to go with the heavier-duty Spanish slate tiles, which are thick and robust and not dissimilar to the local Ardoise tiles that we had on the old roof. Their edges don't look machine-cut; they look kind of 'nibbled'.

Of course, what makes this kind of tiling different from the original is that the tiles are all the same size and they are attached with hooks, rather than nails, so they are less likely to fly off in a storm. Also, only one-third of each tile is exposed to the elements and Tom is confident that they are there to stay. After the series of roof-smashing violent hailstorms we witnessed this summer, that is reassuring.

And Tom knows his roofs: he is a self-confessed 'tile-geek'.

I love the detail on the gable ends.

The plumber has dug his trenches and has laid the outlet pipes for the shower room and kitchen...although G and I are not too happy with the placement of the kitchen pipe. It looks too far to the left and may have to be altered before the concrete goes down.

OK, so you would really have to have been there to understand that photo. It makes perfect sense to us.  And it's a lovely one of the wheelbarrow, I think we'd all agree.

Next, I gather, is the preparation work for the concrete slab. Watch this space...