Heating matters - Update # 20

23 September 2014

The heating of the barn has been a crucial part of the design from the outset, and warrants its own blog post. We wanted it to be cosy! The idea was to have underfloor heating (UFH) downstairs, under the concrete floor and radiators upstairs; the whole thing driven by the wood pellet stove in the corner of the living room. Apparently, burning wood pellets is very efficient (90-something %), and to retain the heat, we arranged for Tom to put in extra wall and ceiling insulation.

Fast forward to the day before Chas was due to install and commission the stove. Text from him to say that the stove (discussed with him a year ago and ordered by him months ago) would not be suitable for the UFH (installed by him months back), as it could not run below 65 degrees C - way too hot under-foot - and that the solution was both bulky and expensive. But not, we guessed, as expensive as jack-hammering up the concrete floor and resizing the doors and staircase.

The outcome of a very heated exchange (sorry) was an agreement to install outside a 200L buffer tank (charged with anti-freeze and suitably clad to withstand below-freezing winter temperatures), which will allow the hot water to mix with the cooled water returning from the radiators upstairs sufficiently for the UFH system. At the same time, the radiators upstairs will receive water at the higher temperatures. It could even be a more effective heating system than the earlier version. But yes, both bulky and expensive.

While waiting for calculations etc and the appropriate tank to arrive, we insisted that Chas install the stove and commission it during our last days in France. On the last day, literally as we were packing our suitcases and cleaning out the fridge, Chas got the stove to fire up. In the pics it doesn't have its red ceramic 'jacket' on, but you get the idea.

Note feet of barn co-owner and photographer extraordinaire

It's a primitive sort of pleasure, the warmth radiating from a fire. Something about a feeling of security; of hearth and home.

Once the pointing of the gable end wall was complete, Chas got going on the concrete plinth, and he had the tank delivered too. The plan is to build a larch-panelled lean-to shed with tiled roof to house the tank and extra bags of pellets (like the green/yellow bag in the photo). The whole shebang should be finished by mid-October.

But don't hold your breath, now, will you?

Pointing - Update # 19

15 September 2014

In discussions with Tom and Gregg over the summer, it became clear that we would have to bite the bullet and start the lengthy and expensive exercise of pointing the outside walls. Weather damage over the years was simply getting the better of them, and moisture penetration and ultimately, the walls' strength, was a concern. G and I took the reluctant decision to begin the pointing with the gable end that faces the teeth of the weather, the idea being that we will progress to the other walls in due course.

We were reluctant because we knew that we would lose our beloved 'look' of old stone barn. But if it will preserve said barn in the long term, clearly there was really no choice.

Tom sent through photos this morning, of la nouvelle grange. Once over the initial shock, I decided that I love it.

The photos also clearly show Chas' handiwork: the external stainless steel flue, which he fitted in the last week of August.

Stone terrace 101

6 September 2014

The stone terrace began as a pile of stone rubble that was left over from the renovation. We'd had the idea that it would be useful to build up the ground just outside the French doors, since there was quite  a drop down to the garden there and the land slopes away quite steeply.

While daughter-C and boyfriend-M tackled the French newspapers and investigated the back of their eyelids in the double hammock strung between the apple trees...











...son-C got stuck in with a pick axe and spade, and he and his cousin-F brought arm-loads of stones from another stockpile on the far side of the orchard.

But it was hot work and the beers were cold, so we didn't see a huge amount of progress, it has to be said.

Once the family had gone off in all their different directions after five happy days together, I felt as if I'd sat in the bath while the water had drained away; that unpleasant, slightly chilly, high-and-dry sensation. Perhaps that explains why I spent the next several days working like a mad woman on the stone terrace. G indulged me and brought countless wheelbarrow-loads of soil from next door, which I used to help build up the height.

I never really had A Master Plan for the terrace, being a novice, but made it up as I went along. I started out with the most massive stones right next to the French doors, thinking they would make reasonable steps. I even used the niveau Anglais on my smartphone to ensure that they were level. And then I  began to make it in a more organic way, trusting my eye for the level, and just having fun.

The weather continued to be unsettled, blistering heat alternating with cloudbursts, but I was largely oblivious, though dust in my eyes drove me indoors at one stage, where rain and mud did not. Only darkness was the complete kill-joy.

In the end, I decided to plant some rockery plants around the top edge, to provide some height (lavender, rosemary and gaura) or tumble down the slope (portulaca), but of course it remains to be seen whether they survive the neglect which we have in store for them in the coming months. The weed mat is ugly, I think we'd all agree, but will hopefully give the weeds second thoughts.

Neighbour-G suggested that a lime-sand mix spread between the stones would 'cake' and preserve the soil and possibly slow down the growth of les herbes mauvaises, but I ran out of time and had to leave it as-is.

The other thing we are leaving as-is is the meadow, below the terrace. There were so many bees and little beasties in the wildflowers that it seems madness to deprive them of their habitat, and of course, it means less maintenance for us.

Spot the real reason.

C'est ma vie

25 August 2014

Making yoghurt, picking and eating fruit from our orchard, stewing the less-than-perfect apples and peaches, building a stone terrace, planting shrubs, pruning the vines, drinking cold beers in the long summer evening, laughing with family over nothing in particular, watching the mist rise from the valley in the morning and the swallows gathering on the telephone wires at dusk, taking a bath under the stars... These are a few of my favourite things.

Oh, and kittens.

A little piece of heaven

18 August 2014

Well, that's how it seems to me, anyway.

We have spent the last three weeks getting acquainted with La Fromagerie: with every tiny detail of our little barn; with how the light plays on the floor at different times of the day; with the sounds of the hamlet; with the daily routine of our neighbours...

The biggest thrill is to be able to spend the night under her roof after waiting so very long! To go to sleep with the moon and myriad stars overhead, the silence of the valley broken only by the faraway call of an owl or the soft thud of our apples, dropping to the ground outside; to wake to the sounds of the countryside, to church bells and birdsong  - and the rather quirky sounds of the new fridge, which squeals and squeaks and gurns like a wee beastie; to open the shutters upstairs and down to get the full impact of the views from every window...it's simply magic.

We spent day #1 unpacking and cleaning and installing the bits and pieces that we had had delivered here. The place was a mess, dusty and filthy, and we were disappointed to see that our IKEA bed had not been delivered, in spite of the careful choosing and planning etc (not to mention payment, and two trips to Sydney IKEA that we could have well done without). Out with the foot pump and blow-up mattress, then... Then, for the next few days, we dashed about with lists of must-dos and must-gets, so that we could welcome the family with some of the comforts of home. Towels, toilet paper, plates, cutlery, pots and pans, mugs, a rug for the lounge, basic groceries, bedding; you get the picture.

The last week or so has been a revolving door of extended family - parents, aunt, niece and offspring, and it has been just wonderful to be able to welcome them to our home-from-home and share our folly with dear ones.

The weather has been unsettled - huge skies filled with clouds give way either to bursts of warm sunshine or showers; we've even had a couple of electric storms. No canicule this year - thank goodness - and we are able to work in the garden or in the house without suffering the excessive heat of last summer. Of course, the locals are complaining bitterly - No summer, this year! What a catastrophic summer! - and their veggies are not what they should be. The tomato plants, for example, are tall and leggy and, though bearing well, show signs of mildew. The fruit is delicious, though: Jean-Marie (J-M) has kept us supplied with the produce from his field - lettuces, huge beef (coeur de boeuf) tomatoes, haricot beans, poireaux (leeks) - as well as the usual gifts of advice and mild scorn for our foreign ways. He's a good, kind man, though, and would give you the shirt off his back.

His tractor's steering is bust, so one day last week J-M appeared on his small ride-on mower to cut our grass. Muttering darkly about his mechanic younger brother's slovenly ways with machinery, he indicated the missing footplate, below which the blades whirred dangerously close to his feet and delicate parts. The garden became a blur of activity: G and my Dad kept busy lifting the obvious rocks in J-M's path, I was hard at work clearing the weeds from around the bushes we had planted in April (all present and correct; growing happily), while my Mum supplied cold water and tea to the troops. A lovely, content afternoon.

The tractor sans steering (TSS) played a starring rôle in a farce that unfolded in the hamlet last week. A monster truck with a large consignment of ducts and pipes arrived outside on the road, and there ensued much commotion as a neighbour manoeuvred his fancy new tractor so as to remove some of the larger ducts and deliver them to the carpentry workshop on the hillside below the road. Then J-M's son Jean-Michel appeared on J-M's ancient Farmall tractor (TSS), the load of ducts was duly hitched to the back and they set off down the slope. Each time the tractor needed to change direction, J-M would leap into action, wrenching a crowbar into the steering mechanism, et voila! All good, so far. Until the slope got the better of the tractor, its wheels locked up, and the whole shebang started sliding downhill towards the neighbour's wall. Luckily, said neighbour's driveway opens up at a certain point and the runaway tractor slid to a stop just in time, without doing any damage to person or property... Now the truck had to come down the slope, drag the tractor + load back up the hill, and then the two vehicles began the descent again, this time the truck controlling the rate, if not the direction, of the tractor's descent.

You wouldn't read about it.

Lights, camera, inaction

8 July 2014

The power is on, the hot water tank and cooker are connected, and we have lights! Woohoo!

But there is a lot of plumbing work to be done and we're talking just over 3 weeks to go until we are there... Tomorrow the fridge and washing machine will be delivered while Chas is there and hopefully, from now on Chas will be working day and night to make it all happen in time.

Neighbour-Gregg says that all is well at the barn - it's secure and the shutters are doing their job. He also says that the shrubs we planted are thriving, and that on hot days, Laurie has been watering them - by hand - "what are good neighbours for :)".

Amazing neighbours, more like.

Power to the people

2 July 2014

Yesterday, a very brief but welcome update from Brian, the electrician:

"Just to let you know France Telecom installed cable into house but still have to complete outside on pole .... according to engineer today.

Consuel did their visit this afternoon and everything is fine, now I need to arrange EDF to connect will do that tomorrow."

So, we should have hot showers and lights, and maybe, just maybe, internet access in August!

Oh, and apparently Jean-Marie has strimmed the lawn for us once again...

And in other news, Google Earth updated their image on 14 April 2014, so it is more or less as we found it on our last visit in April (we arrived only a few days later). It shows the skylight, the driveway gravel, and trimmed lawn - and Tom's little white van in the driveway. It also shows the apple tree nearest the barn in full leaf, the other two a little less so.

Smile for the camera