Our French farmhouse build thread.
Discussion
Very little visible progress this week. I have got the other side of the buildings plumbing all cut and ready to seal up once I have finished moving the water heater in and out.
We have found a bargain this week. Another set of gates that span 5m along with 19m of metal railings for the princely sum of 50€ the lot. They need a bit of work to get them gleaming and a little cutting and welding but overall they are perfect for this place. Hopefully will collect it next week and get some photos up.
Last thing that is very exciting if you are a 3 year old, we have bought a new toilet seat that has a smaller seat built in so Millie can use it without falling in. Plus side for me is when it is up it stays up! Magooagain it is now safe to use.
A reminder to anyone in the vicinity that we will be having another meeting on the 26th here. Hope some of you can make it as really enjoyed the last one.
We have found a bargain this week. Another set of gates that span 5m along with 19m of metal railings for the princely sum of 50€ the lot. They need a bit of work to get them gleaming and a little cutting and welding but overall they are perfect for this place. Hopefully will collect it next week and get some photos up.
Last thing that is very exciting if you are a 3 year old, we have bought a new toilet seat that has a smaller seat built in so Millie can use it without falling in. Plus side for me is when it is up it stays up! Magooagain it is now safe to use.
A reminder to anyone in the vicinity that we will be having another meeting on the 26th here. Hope some of you can make it as really enjoyed the last one.
Had a great evening last night meeting friends in Saint Jean D’Angely to enjoy the Fête de la Musique while drinking beer. Millie had a great time dancing on the edge of the stage. Not sure the bands playing are used to 3 year old groupies.
On the renovation front, cargeekswife has finished another bathroom table so the plumbing has now been done for the second ensuite. With this now sorted I have been able to plasterboard the bedroom behind. I am left with one small section today that needs cut-outs done for the main support beam.
We have done a trial fit of the final bathroom table and only had to make one additional cut to get it to fit in the corner. This should be ready next week for getting the height for the waste pipe and completing all the plumbing upstairs except for the water heaters which I now have all the parts to complete. We are still on the lookout for the last tap for the bathroom.
The driveway has had the concrete plinth laid between the posts and can’t be driven over for 3 weeks so we are back to using our original entrance that has a wall making it a 3 metre gap to squeeze through. I will keep using the field in the Ranger as its turning circle is not really up to tight manoeuvres.
Today is due to hit 32°C so what better day to cut the field in readiness for our Sunday Service this weekend. Looking like it should be a dry day this month and Wilfrid the electrician is coming. Hope some people can make it but will be avoiding using the bread oven while my singed hair recovers.
On the renovation front, cargeekswife has finished another bathroom table so the plumbing has now been done for the second ensuite. With this now sorted I have been able to plasterboard the bedroom behind. I am left with one small section today that needs cut-outs done for the main support beam.
We have done a trial fit of the final bathroom table and only had to make one additional cut to get it to fit in the corner. This should be ready next week for getting the height for the waste pipe and completing all the plumbing upstairs except for the water heaters which I now have all the parts to complete. We are still on the lookout for the last tap for the bathroom.
The driveway has had the concrete plinth laid between the posts and can’t be driven over for 3 weeks so we are back to using our original entrance that has a wall making it a 3 metre gap to squeeze through. I will keep using the field in the Ranger as its turning circle is not really up to tight manoeuvres.
Today is due to hit 32°C so what better day to cut the field in readiness for our Sunday Service this weekend. Looking like it should be a dry day this month and Wilfrid the electrician is coming. Hope some people can make it but will be avoiding using the bread oven while my singed hair recovers.
It's nice to see a few other people that are as daft as I am doing projects in France . It looks like you've broken the back of the renovation and from previous experience every little thing you do will make a noticeable difference and give a lot of satisfaction , just keep ticking the jobs off the list .
Good luck with the grass cutting , I've just got back home from 5 weeks down in France and it's rained a lot recently to say the least !
Good luck with the grass cutting , I've just got back home from 5 weeks down in France and it's rained a lot recently to say the least !
paulwirral said:
It's nice to see a few other people that are as daft as I am doing projects in France . It looks like you've broken the back of the renovation and from previous experience every little thing you do will make a noticeable difference and give a lot of satisfaction , just keep ticking the jobs off the list .
Good luck with the grass cutting , I've just got back home from 5 weeks down in France and it's rained a lot recently to say the least !
I think there are loads of daft people about just a few take it a step too far like us!Good luck with the grass cutting , I've just got back home from 5 weeks down in France and it's rained a lot recently to say the least !
Grass cutting went well thanks to our first proper dry period.
2 updates in a week. Yesterday we went to collect 2 gates to span a 5m gap and 19m of railings for the princely sum of 50€. As it is a matching set our old gate that we bought some time ago is to be cut smaller to fill the gap on the other entrance.
Wilfrid connected up the downstairs air-con unit yesterday so if it gets too hot we can go and work in there with that churning away. His parting shot was can I get the other 2 mounting stones up on the outside walls so he can do the outside lights. That has been my job this morning and now completed.
Cargeekswife has been working on shutters for the barn and finishing off the last bathroom table and the one she is making for the bathroom in our house.
This afternoon we are off for a 2 hour drive to collect some stairs for our house and then 2 hours back. Hoping we don’t see any rain to keep them dry. Then the weekend can start. Have cancelled the meet here on Sunday as most people have visitors so a lazy Sunday morning in store for us.
Wilfrid connected up the downstairs air-con unit yesterday so if it gets too hot we can go and work in there with that churning away. His parting shot was can I get the other 2 mounting stones up on the outside walls so he can do the outside lights. That has been my job this morning and now completed.
Cargeekswife has been working on shutters for the barn and finishing off the last bathroom table and the one she is making for the bathroom in our house.
This afternoon we are off for a 2 hour drive to collect some stairs for our house and then 2 hours back. Hoping we don’t see any rain to keep them dry. Then the weekend can start. Have cancelled the meet here on Sunday as most people have visitors so a lazy Sunday morning in store for us.
The stairs were collected with very little incident! The only problem we did have was due to borrowing a wholly unsuitable box trailer that we strapped the stairs to and about 12 miles from home we hit a bumpy section of road that broke one of the stringers that was hanging off the back. Loosened all the ratchet straps off and shunted it forward 10cms so the snapped element wasn’t dangling in mid-air! They are now safely stowed away in our garage.
Monday morning was taken up by shopping and getting some more plumbing supplies, plus returning a load of stuff to them that we bought a year ago and haven’t used! Then Monday afternoon I spent the whole time putting up 2 bits of plasterboard. One was to fit around 2 beams and the other was the bathroom ceiling. We had also ordered a pull-cord switch from the UK for the bathroom light that I fitted to the ceiling board. Last week I took the measurements and angles for this piece of board so it would slot into place easily. This would have worked perfectly except I didn’t make the 3rd cut so it didn’t fit as it had 3cms too much on one corner. This is very difficult to see when it is behind you and the board is resting on your head!
After 2 failed attempts at filing a small amount off I was a little peeved. At this point I noticed a pencil mark near the corner and the lightbulb went off that I hadn’t cut it all. Cut made and board was up 5 minutes later. New switch is wired in and awaiting Wilfrid to shake his head and say he is not happy with it!
With that out of the way it was on to plumbing up the water heaters and all the manifolds joints needed to be connected properly. To make access easier at the back I was going to pull one of the heaters out but while getting ready to do it I noticed that Wilfrid had already wired them in. So the past couple of days I have been lying on my back to get overflows and mains water connected and flowing to the correct areas. I am leaving it tomorrow and will test its water-tightness on Friday for the first few connections, but as we have no taps connected I shall leave the rest. Or perhaps I shall wait a little longer to test.
Monday morning was taken up by shopping and getting some more plumbing supplies, plus returning a load of stuff to them that we bought a year ago and haven’t used! Then Monday afternoon I spent the whole time putting up 2 bits of plasterboard. One was to fit around 2 beams and the other was the bathroom ceiling. We had also ordered a pull-cord switch from the UK for the bathroom light that I fitted to the ceiling board. Last week I took the measurements and angles for this piece of board so it would slot into place easily. This would have worked perfectly except I didn’t make the 3rd cut so it didn’t fit as it had 3cms too much on one corner. This is very difficult to see when it is behind you and the board is resting on your head!
After 2 failed attempts at filing a small amount off I was a little peeved. At this point I noticed a pencil mark near the corner and the lightbulb went off that I hadn’t cut it all. Cut made and board was up 5 minutes later. New switch is wired in and awaiting Wilfrid to shake his head and say he is not happy with it!
With that out of the way it was on to plumbing up the water heaters and all the manifolds joints needed to be connected properly. To make access easier at the back I was going to pull one of the heaters out but while getting ready to do it I noticed that Wilfrid had already wired them in. So the past couple of days I have been lying on my back to get overflows and mains water connected and flowing to the correct areas. I am leaving it tomorrow and will test its water-tightness on Friday for the first few connections, but as we have no taps connected I shall leave the rest. Or perhaps I shall wait a little longer to test.
So far I have not switched the water on to test my plumbing but will be next week as need to get it done before it holds up other progress as I am running out of other work that doesn’t involve it.
On Saturday evening I was just heading out the back door with the dog when I saw a goat and what looked like a lions main in the long grass at the end of our field. The dog spotted this at the same time as me and went over to investigate. Fortunately for the dog it wasn’t a line but a small pony. He promptly rounded them up and herded them over to me. So I was presented with a pony and a goat with no bridle and not a clue what to do with them. So in any situation like that I called the wife outside!
They are a friend of ours that had been let out from their field and bridle and collar removed by someone and luckily had found their way to us which is about ½ mile away. Now the landlord of their field is a bit of an ass so we now have them living in our field. Result for me as I now only have half the field to mow in future!
Now on to this week’s work. I started out boxing in the VMC “elephant trunk” that starts half way along the hallway. The decision was taken for continuity sake to just box the whole length of the hallway. I attached battens to the beam all the way along and then started working out the angle for the other side as it was to be pitched. I cut my first piece of wood and then ran into the snag of not having screws the right length to secure it to the wall. Plan B was decided by me of just attaching ceiling rails all the way along. Much quicker and easier, just a shame I went to all the bother of setting up the table saw to cut wood at the correct angle.
With the supports both sides setup I could go ahead and cut my plaster board and attach it. In relative terms I was motoring along until I came to the 2nd support beam where my space between that and the rail didn’t leave enough room for me to push the plasterboard through. With 2 choices of either removing all the boards and raising their position or chiselling out some of the beam I took the 2nd option.
Once past this point we had not boarded all the way up so I put the last 2 boards in place and completed the boxing in.
Back now to my water heaters. They are going to be behind a couple of Persian shutters to differentiate between that and bedroom doors. The only problem is they weigh a hell of a lot more than doors so I would not get away with mounting them on the metal framing system. Time to find and collect some proper framing wood. With this collected along with bolts to secure it to the stone wall I started my working out and cutting the 2 uprights. Starting on the right hand side I marked on the wood where I could drill into full stones and then drilled the wood. With the wood as a template against the wall I then drilled the holes for the bolts. Once enlarged to the correct size I commenced with the easy job of smacking them into the wall through the wood. Having drilled all the holes at the same time it was very strange that the back ones lined up perfectly but the front ones were about half a cm to low.
A couple more holes were done with the wood bolted firmly in place and now I had a very solidly mounted support for the shutter. The other side went without a hitch and the ceiling too. I did have to make a cut out on this side though for the plumbing manifold.
With this in place I decided to scribe a piece of plasterboard for the ceiling where it will join the stone wall. This is the last piece of stone wall that hasn’t been re-pointed. I mixed a small amount up and did this very final bit of lime render in the barn. So glad to see the back of it and managed to complete it without burning myself.
With this dry I could now scribe the plasterboard and then with that mounted our elephant trunk is only visible behind where the Persian shutters will be.
Onto a bit more plumbing and finalised the pipes for the bath. Put the bath in place and attached the taps to see how it would look. As the taps are going in the middle of the bath and I assume the tap is designed to go at the end it protrudes a long way into the bath. Neither of us are happy about this so I offered up 3 solutions, A we create a recess and mount the tap in that, B we move the bath out 8m from the wall and have a shelf all the way along or C involves me moving the tap to the end.
A has been quickly dismissed as not possible so B and C are under consideration. B involves the least work for me but I have a feeling C will be the winner.
On Saturday evening I was just heading out the back door with the dog when I saw a goat and what looked like a lions main in the long grass at the end of our field. The dog spotted this at the same time as me and went over to investigate. Fortunately for the dog it wasn’t a line but a small pony. He promptly rounded them up and herded them over to me. So I was presented with a pony and a goat with no bridle and not a clue what to do with them. So in any situation like that I called the wife outside!
They are a friend of ours that had been let out from their field and bridle and collar removed by someone and luckily had found their way to us which is about ½ mile away. Now the landlord of their field is a bit of an ass so we now have them living in our field. Result for me as I now only have half the field to mow in future!
Now on to this week’s work. I started out boxing in the VMC “elephant trunk” that starts half way along the hallway. The decision was taken for continuity sake to just box the whole length of the hallway. I attached battens to the beam all the way along and then started working out the angle for the other side as it was to be pitched. I cut my first piece of wood and then ran into the snag of not having screws the right length to secure it to the wall. Plan B was decided by me of just attaching ceiling rails all the way along. Much quicker and easier, just a shame I went to all the bother of setting up the table saw to cut wood at the correct angle.
With the supports both sides setup I could go ahead and cut my plaster board and attach it. In relative terms I was motoring along until I came to the 2nd support beam where my space between that and the rail didn’t leave enough room for me to push the plasterboard through. With 2 choices of either removing all the boards and raising their position or chiselling out some of the beam I took the 2nd option.
Once past this point we had not boarded all the way up so I put the last 2 boards in place and completed the boxing in.
Back now to my water heaters. They are going to be behind a couple of Persian shutters to differentiate between that and bedroom doors. The only problem is they weigh a hell of a lot more than doors so I would not get away with mounting them on the metal framing system. Time to find and collect some proper framing wood. With this collected along with bolts to secure it to the stone wall I started my working out and cutting the 2 uprights. Starting on the right hand side I marked on the wood where I could drill into full stones and then drilled the wood. With the wood as a template against the wall I then drilled the holes for the bolts. Once enlarged to the correct size I commenced with the easy job of smacking them into the wall through the wood. Having drilled all the holes at the same time it was very strange that the back ones lined up perfectly but the front ones were about half a cm to low.
A couple more holes were done with the wood bolted firmly in place and now I had a very solidly mounted support for the shutter. The other side went without a hitch and the ceiling too. I did have to make a cut out on this side though for the plumbing manifold.
With this in place I decided to scribe a piece of plasterboard for the ceiling where it will join the stone wall. This is the last piece of stone wall that hasn’t been re-pointed. I mixed a small amount up and did this very final bit of lime render in the barn. So glad to see the back of it and managed to complete it without burning myself.
With this dry I could now scribe the plasterboard and then with that mounted our elephant trunk is only visible behind where the Persian shutters will be.
Onto a bit more plumbing and finalised the pipes for the bath. Put the bath in place and attached the taps to see how it would look. As the taps are going in the middle of the bath and I assume the tap is designed to go at the end it protrudes a long way into the bath. Neither of us are happy about this so I offered up 3 solutions, A we create a recess and mount the tap in that, B we move the bath out 8m from the wall and have a shelf all the way along or C involves me moving the tap to the end.
A has been quickly dismissed as not possible so B and C are under consideration. B involves the least work for me but I have a feeling C will be the winner.
Looks like you had to use those width adjusting couplings in order to get the tap set to fit. If you adjust the pipe work behind the plasterboard to the correct tap width then not using those couplings should get you back about an inch or more.
What's that metal back plate for Neil?
Is it something you made up for support?
What's that metal back plate for Neil?
Is it something you made up for support?
Metal backplate is part of a kit that spaces it perfectly. Just used the adapters as came with the tap and anything shorter will mean the chrome trim at the back doesn't fit. I am not a fan of them either but they won't resolve the problem by taking them away. Decision has been made to move them to the end. Another lesson learned!
magooagain said:
I see. That plate maybe should have been behind the pb. Giving the right space for the taps to be mounted without those other cam couplings. It not obligatory to use them.
Typically you'd tile over the top of it. Bristan amongst others do a quick and easy mounting kit for these bar showers, meaning you can go straight into copper tube rather than the annoying threaded fittings. That's in the UK though.
Gingerbread Man said:
Typically you'd tile over the top of it.
Bristan amongst others do a quick and easy mounting kit for these bar showers, meaning you can go straight into copper tube rather than the annoying threaded fittings. That's in the UK though.
I will be tiling over the top of it once it is moved around the corner to the end of the bath. That's Monday taken care of!Bristan amongst others do a quick and easy mounting kit for these bar showers, meaning you can go straight into copper tube rather than the annoying threaded fittings. That's in the UK though.
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