Our French farmhouse build thread.
Discussion
Neilsfirst said:
citizensm1th said:
Keep plugging away mate,looks like we will be back over in September.
Mrs Smith is fired up about moving so my plan worked
Good work. Is it another touring trip or do you have an area now?Mrs Smith is fired up about moving so my plan worked
I loved La Rochelle.
Neilsfirst said:
You might get a bit wet if you head 2 hours west! See you in September then. How long are you spending over here?
Might have to ask how much they want for Fort Boyard Going to spend another week, the plan is to fly in to La Rochelle and hire a car, I quite fancy thrashing a fiat 500 on those roads.
As it was a nice sunny day today I decided it would be a good day to remove the old ties and overhead power cable from the house to the barn.
With adjustable wrench and mallet in hand up the ladder to try and free off the nuts. Considering they have been exposed to the elements for the last 40 years I didn’t need to soak them with penetrating oil. A few taps and they were loose. If only the cross came off so easily. With the crowbar and mallet they were eventually worked loose.
Onto the cable. Angle grinder was fitted with a new disk and then spent half an hour looking for my bolt croppers to cut the 3 phase cable. Back up the ladder to cut the cable at the barn end. Undid the first bolt, another easy job considering the time it has been outside. At this point being an observant chap it was a pointless bolt as once it had been bolted in place the whole lot had been welded together.
With the dog wandering round underneath me, I found a piece of plastic to tie the bit I was going to cut off to the rest. Made the first cut and thankfully I managed to control it without the assistance of the plastic tie. Plastic tie removed and the upright was thrown on the drive.
A cut was made in between the two horizontals so I could remove them one at a time. Now to stand back and admire the new look frontage. Feeling smug it was time to turn around and deal with the pole on the back of our house.
Same plan of attack but the dog was removed and cargeekswife enlisted to pull the cable attached to the pole when cut so it didn’t fall on me. Being single height on this side the upright was a lot higher. A new disk was put in the angle grinder as doing the barn killed the first one.
Cut being made and pole getting weaker, cargeekswife pulled and combined with the weight of the pole it swung down and snapped off. As it swung down it smashed straight into the ladder. Thankfully my feet and legs were higher up and another bullet dodged. The rest went without a hitch.
Back inside with that job now completed and time to clear up all my mess from where I am working. With a clean area I insulated one bedroom wall and half of one of the bathroom walls. Tools down for the week.
This afternoon I had a pain in the middle of my back and felt something there. When cargeekswife came home I asked her to look at it. Turns out I had a tick clamped into my back. Off to the chemist where they very kindly yanked the little blood sucker out. Not impressed but then I do enjoy walking the dog through the woods. We make sure he has his tick medicine but never really considered it was something I need to worry about.
With adjustable wrench and mallet in hand up the ladder to try and free off the nuts. Considering they have been exposed to the elements for the last 40 years I didn’t need to soak them with penetrating oil. A few taps and they were loose. If only the cross came off so easily. With the crowbar and mallet they were eventually worked loose.
Onto the cable. Angle grinder was fitted with a new disk and then spent half an hour looking for my bolt croppers to cut the 3 phase cable. Back up the ladder to cut the cable at the barn end. Undid the first bolt, another easy job considering the time it has been outside. At this point being an observant chap it was a pointless bolt as once it had been bolted in place the whole lot had been welded together.
With the dog wandering round underneath me, I found a piece of plastic to tie the bit I was going to cut off to the rest. Made the first cut and thankfully I managed to control it without the assistance of the plastic tie. Plastic tie removed and the upright was thrown on the drive.
A cut was made in between the two horizontals so I could remove them one at a time. Now to stand back and admire the new look frontage. Feeling smug it was time to turn around and deal with the pole on the back of our house.
Same plan of attack but the dog was removed and cargeekswife enlisted to pull the cable attached to the pole when cut so it didn’t fall on me. Being single height on this side the upright was a lot higher. A new disk was put in the angle grinder as doing the barn killed the first one.
Cut being made and pole getting weaker, cargeekswife pulled and combined with the weight of the pole it swung down and snapped off. As it swung down it smashed straight into the ladder. Thankfully my feet and legs were higher up and another bullet dodged. The rest went without a hitch.
Back inside with that job now completed and time to clear up all my mess from where I am working. With a clean area I insulated one bedroom wall and half of one of the bathroom walls. Tools down for the week.
This afternoon I had a pain in the middle of my back and felt something there. When cargeekswife came home I asked her to look at it. Turns out I had a tick clamped into my back. Off to the chemist where they very kindly yanked the little blood sucker out. Not impressed but then I do enjoy walking the dog through the woods. We make sure he has his tick medicine but never really considered it was something I need to worry about.
Pheo said:
Friend got lymes from a suspected tick bite - didn't manifest for a couple of weeks whereupon his face stopped working! Into hospital with suspected stroke, turns out its that. Very scary!
Yes, often there are no immediate symptoms. If caught early enough I understand it can be successfully treated with antibiotics. I believe there is also a diagnostic blood test available.IanA2 said:
Yes, often there are no immediate symptoms. If caught early enough I understand it can be successfully treated with antibiotics. I believe there is also a diagnostic blood test available.
I think you have to wait 3 days at least after the bite for the blood test. Free healthcare kicks in on Monday so will make full use of it if necessary!Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff