Chamonix studio renovation - build thread
Discussion
d Automobiles? I must've bought a few motors from there in the past.
We lifted those beams in ourselves. They're 140x140mm and 3.75m long and not quite as heavy as they look. The ceiling height is only 2.2m and I'm 6'4" so I can lift them above the brackets to drop them in.
I'll be doing this winter in the apartment and then renting it out for the rest of the time, with the occasional week here and there for ourselves. I like the idea of keeping a stash of kit here and then if the snow looks promising and there's nobody booked, just flying out with hand luggage for a cheeky weekend of powder.
Have to say, I'm really enjoying the project and love the fact that I'll have done everything with my own hands. No shortcuts here, either. I'm putting in 10-20% of extra effort to avoid compromises and make it exactly what I want.
I'll be doing this winter in the apartment and then renting it out for the rest of the time, with the occasional week here and there for ourselves. I like the idea of keeping a stash of kit here and then if the snow looks promising and there's nobody booked, just flying out with hand luggage for a cheeky weekend of powder.
Have to say, I'm really enjoying the project and love the fact that I'll have done everything with my own hands. No shortcuts here, either. I'm putting in 10-20% of extra effort to avoid compromises and make it exactly what I want.
DoubleSix said:
Fair play to you, looks a great job. Exactly the sort of place me and Mrs DoubleSix would seek to rent for the annual snow fix...
I assume you are a tradesman to be attempting all this yourself?
Not even close. I'm a glorified graphic designer. The closest I've come to being a tradesman is knocking together some IKEA flatpacks. My accomplice, Maurice, does a bit of DIY during the summer months (and runs a catered chalet during winter), so he knows enough about electrics and plumbing to see us through. The rest is mostly common sense stuff that is easily figured out with the help of my Collins Complete DIY book I assume you are a tradesman to be attempting all this yourself?
I like to think the design is well considered though, so we're not encountering many problems as we go. When we do hit snags I think it's actually helpful that I'm a bit new to everything, because it lets me take a fresh view on problem-solving. Those moments have been quite satisfying so far.
The Moose said:
Get ready for a whole heap of people to start buying places in Chamonix 
There are about 100 apartments over three blocks and there always seems to be some for sale. I'm learning a few tricks and processes that would speed up a second build. I suspect there's enough value in the renovation that it may be worth offering it to other owners next spring/autumn. Once it's done I'm definitely going to float the thought to the local estate agent and the development's caretaker.Here is an identical apartment in the same block, albeit the mirror image. It has had the two-bedroom upstairs conversion that seems popular, but no meaningful work to the rest of the property. That's on the market at €180k, as a guide.
Day 8
More channeling for the electrics.
Treated myself to a dual cutter last night, thinking that'd save a whole heap of time.
That turned out to be a waste of €100 as it wasn't strong enough to cut two discs at the same time. It was skipping around all over the place. Back to using the little one, which does a fine enough job if the blade is fresh enough.
Grinding off the excess extractor pipe so that we can run the conduits where we want them.
I think we're about halfway through with the rewire. Quite a lot of wiring for a small studio apartment but I didn't want to compromise on the switching and electrical layout.
The new workhorse, bought for the renovation and the coming winter season. Very quickly falling for this ugly shed. Best buy I've made since the apartment itself. Argentiere glacier in the background.
More channeling for the electrics.
Treated myself to a dual cutter last night, thinking that'd save a whole heap of time.
That turned out to be a waste of €100 as it wasn't strong enough to cut two discs at the same time. It was skipping around all over the place. Back to using the little one, which does a fine enough job if the blade is fresh enough.
Grinding off the excess extractor pipe so that we can run the conduits where we want them.
I think we're about halfway through with the rewire. Quite a lot of wiring for a small studio apartment but I didn't want to compromise on the switching and electrical layout.
The new workhorse, bought for the renovation and the coming winter season. Very quickly falling for this ugly shed. Best buy I've made since the apartment itself. Argentiere glacier in the background.
Edited by Gruffy on Wednesday 2nd October 12:43
I need a little help from the PH masses please.
The apartment is called Grand Roc (Big Rock) and I'd like to be able to dress the vertical face of the mezzanine floor to make the whole floor look like one giant slab of rock. Only, I've no idea how to achieve that. The joist that would hold it is also holding just under 100kg of glass, so I wouldn't want to do anything too heavy. Otherwise I guess the solution would be to cast something out of concrete and have at it with a chisel before bolting it on.
The obvious default option is to use those stone tiling systems, but that would be quite a cop-out I think. I'm really hoping to make it look like a single slab rather than bits of rock added on afterwards.
In my office back home I have one of these, which I love. Even this kind of symbolic texture could work, but I wouldn't know how best to recreate that either.
Any creative ideas?
The apartment is called Grand Roc (Big Rock) and I'd like to be able to dress the vertical face of the mezzanine floor to make the whole floor look like one giant slab of rock. Only, I've no idea how to achieve that. The joist that would hold it is also holding just under 100kg of glass, so I wouldn't want to do anything too heavy. Otherwise I guess the solution would be to cast something out of concrete and have at it with a chisel before bolting it on.
The obvious default option is to use those stone tiling systems, but that would be quite a cop-out I think. I'm really hoping to make it look like a single slab rather than bits of rock added on afterwards.
In my office back home I have one of these, which I love. Even this kind of symbolic texture could work, but I wouldn't know how best to recreate that either.
Any creative ideas?
I've found a company in the UK who offer stone veneers. This one looks pretty good and I love that it's a real piece of rock.
http://www.naturalstoneveneer.co.uk/stone-veneer-c...
It's a shame I couldn't do the 3m span in a single panel though.
http://www.naturalstoneveneer.co.uk/stone-veneer-c...
It's a shame I couldn't do the 3m span in a single panel though.
Great customer service too. He's just setting off to Brum for the Grand Designs Live show and offered to drop a single sheet of the stuff off in Cannock on his way, so my joiner can bring it with him this weekend. Only £70 including the adhesive. Very pleased with that. Those wallpaper options looked very promising but there's nothing quite like the real thing.
Day 9
Bit of a grind today. More channels in the concrete. Christ they're a ball ache. This one is a double width for the 4m high spots and a switch on the staircase corner.
Started work on breaking down the fireplace. Have to be a bit delicate as there are water pipes inside it for the communal underfloor heating.
Finished with a bit of a tidy up. Grinding out concrete doesn't half create a mess.
I'm looking forward to getting through this stage, to the point where I start to create things and make visible progress.
Bit of a grind today. More channels in the concrete. Christ they're a ball ache. This one is a double width for the 4m high spots and a switch on the staircase corner.
Started work on breaking down the fireplace. Have to be a bit delicate as there are water pipes inside it for the communal underfloor heating.
Finished with a bit of a tidy up. Grinding out concrete doesn't half create a mess.
I'm looking forward to getting through this stage, to the point where I start to create things and make visible progress.
Day 10
I managed to cut through a live wire this morning. It took a bit of head scratching to figure out what it was doing there and why it was live. I eventually realised it was for the apartment next door; the feed to an upstairs spot light. It's literally just underneath the paint on my wall so I reckon it's moved there while they poured the concrete for the walls.
Very fortunately, our neighbours are a very sweet French couple who happened to be there this morning. Also lucky, I caught it early and haven't cut clean through any of them. They flicked the breaker back on and it's working fine, so hopefully we can just tidy it up and insulate it well. Could have been a much bigger problem. I initially thought I'd cut through a main feed to another apartment, most of which are unoccupied most of the time.
I managed to cut through a live wire this morning. It took a bit of head scratching to figure out what it was doing there and why it was live. I eventually realised it was for the apartment next door; the feed to an upstairs spot light. It's literally just underneath the paint on my wall so I reckon it's moved there while they poured the concrete for the walls.
Very fortunately, our neighbours are a very sweet French couple who happened to be there this morning. Also lucky, I caught it early and haven't cut clean through any of them. They flicked the breaker back on and it's working fine, so hopefully we can just tidy it up and insulate it well. Could have been a much bigger problem. I initially thought I'd cut through a main feed to another apartment, most of which are unoccupied most of the time.
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