Chamonix studio renovation - build thread

[Gruffy]

Sounds like under-appreciated the benefit of a ground floor renovation.

[Gruffy]

I haven't noticed the difference but I personally would much rather have ground floor to avoid lugging skis, boots and suitcases up stairs or lifts.

What does make a difference, in Chamonix at least, is having a view of Mont-Blanc. That commands a premium of around €30k on an apartment of this size. Madness in my opinion. I'd rather have it than not but then whenever I'm in Chamonix I spend all day in the mountains looking at it anyway. I'd rather drop my 'saved' €30k on heli time!

[Gruffy]

dontfollowme said:

Gruffy, where did you get that sofa? It looks nice. Great job on the apartment.

IKEA. Freihaten, I think it was called. One of the best bargains in the whole place at about £300. I looked long and hard trying to better it and couldn't come close for less than a couple of grand. It's really comfy and absolutely enormous when unfolded into a bed, which takes all of 2 seconds.

[Gruffy]

I found mine via Agence Montagne in Chamonix, who seem to have a monopoly on apartments in my residence. They're a nice bunch though and were very helpful before and after my purchase, despite it probably being the smallest transaction they'd put through that year.
http://www.agence-montagne.com

[Gruffy]

jon- said:

I'd really like some pictures of the tree once it's in if possible? I've been trying to work out how to have a tree in my front room, it never struck me to try a dried one. I've just been looking at live ones, then getting annoyed they obviously won't get enough light.

Also, more pictures of the beard.

I'll definitely post photos as and when I get it installed. Probably the spring now.

[Gruffy]

The wall tiles (both types) always look clean. If you get any water pooling next to the screen or in the grout lines that can leave a chalky residue but it cleans away easily enough. It just means you need a quick squeegee after use if you want it to look absolutely spotless between cleans.

[Gruffy]

My own brief was that it still needed to look 'day one' fresh after five years as that's broadly when I intend to sell. One year in and I think that's looking very promising, even for a hard-working place in the mountains.

[Gruffy]

A couple of PHers have asked about availability for the apartment. The easiest way for me to reliably answer that question is to post the airbnb link. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/4120521

[Gruffy]

No. I lowered it last week.

[Gruffy]

Could you be comparing different weeks? Obviously half-term and Easter week are premium weeks.

[Gruffy]

That's what the balcony is for.

[Gruffy]

DoubleSix said:

Apols. Been looking at loads of places recently so have myself all mixed up

Is the price shown per night regardless of how many people stay? i.e. A couple staying would pay that amount between them.

Yes, the price is the whole apartment, whether that's for one person or shared between four.

[Gruffy]

Du1point8 said:

got any pictures of the tree that was installed?

Want to see how that panned out.

Unfortunately my helper had a change of plans at the last minute and I wasn't able to install it on my own. It's earmarked for the end of the season now.

[Gruffy]

It depends what you'd class as learner slopes. There is a small network of blues at the top of the first lift and a kids bunny slope network at the bottom but generally speaking Grands-Montets is the steepest place in the valley.

I would recommend Le Tour for beginners. It has the largest network of bunny slopes and the largest network of beginner-friendly slopes for more confident beginners. Mostly shallow blues. Le Tour is the most easterly of the five ski areas, just after Argentiere and its where we did about half of our skiing last year. It's about 10 minutes on the free bus or 5-10 by car. There are a few places to stay in Le Tour but it's not really set up for that. I'm obviously biased but I'd definitely recommend staying in Argentiere rather than Le Tour.

[Gruffy]

DoubleSix said:

Is the free bus walking distance (in ski gear) from the apartment?

It's about 250m.

[Gruffy]

Leithen said:

Perhaps the area is better for beginners these days, but back then it had a reputation as being intermediate and above.

It's definitely considered intermediate and above. There's a good mix of blues (shallow to steep) that make a good playground for intermediates and more confident beginners to progress, but Le Tour is easily the pick of the bunch for proper beginners or nervous rusty skiers finding their feet again.

[Gruffy]

It's also worth pointing out that Le Tour has some of my favourite off-piste in the valley, which makes it a great place for a mixed group. The off-piste is wide, relatively shallow and packed with features. It's also quite secluded and needs a bit of local knowledge to access, which keeps it in great condition while everybody and their dog smashes Grands-Montets to pieces. Plus the Café Comptoir at the bottom of Vallorcine is one of the best restaurants in the whole valley, especially their bargain prix fixe lunch menus.

[Gruffy]

It's possible to ski from Chamonix to Courmayeur but it's backcountry lines using the Midi and Helbronner lifts for access. There are no pistes between. It's only 20 minutes through the tunnel though. I often ski Courmayeur. Mostly for tree runs and italian lunches.

The apartment is doing very well on Airbnb too. 70% occupancy in January, which is awesome given that Jan is the quietest month of the season, and the poor snow we had. Feb is already pretty full and now that the snow is awesome I think demand should go up further still. It looks like our assumptions about rental yield and appeal were accurate, much to my relief.

[Gruffy]

We've blocked some dates for ourselves but we're mostly renting it out. I'm typing this from Chamonix but we're only here for the weekend. Next visit is a week at the end of Feb.

Amazing snow right now. Yesterday was bluebird and deep with no wind at all.

[Gruffy]

V1 was simply tanked using a kit. It didn't work, despite doubling up on the layers. The plumber who helped with V2 reckoned you would need to do 3-4 times as much ranking as recommended to be confident. V2 was using preformed wedi boards, which dramatically reduce the time, offsetting their extra cost. The seams were then tanked really thoroughly and the job is really well done.

I would only use this method if I was doing another.