90% there

I think. Maybe 85%, possible 92% depending on how much I peer in depth at our construction site next door. A quick glance in through the doorway - which now has very beautiful attached oak door - thank you Micheal - gives me the impression of, nah, not really too much to do now, where as a more thorough check though and list made . . . and yes there's still a fair bit to do; mostly finishing details, a bit of searching for old light fittings/remaining second hand furniture, filling a lot of holes with lime mortar (chaux) and a couple of things that neither Mark or I can do properly.

In France, or at least in our area, it seems really difficult to find someone who is a general (and reliable) all rounder DIY-ist, or Bricoleur in French. Every step of the renovating procedure has involved specialists in their own fields: stone mason, electrician, plumber, roofer, etc, and virtually no one who is capable of doing all of it to a certain level. I suppose it avoids mess-ups, and over confidence - 'yep, can do that for you, and the roof? yeah, no probs. I know this great shortcut using cardboard and old tyres.' 

But it would be great to find someone just to help with the last few bits - bit of a kick up our collective backsides to get the project finished.

But it will be finished, and when I look back at what we started with, well, we've come quite a long way in a year.

End in sight

Sort of. 

Over the last year I've been walking into our building site with mixed feelings, but in the last couple weeks positivity is gaining hold as we reach the slightly lighter, and more creative tasks. 

The space is beginning to look like a dwelling rather than dumping ground of tools, discarded building materials and renovation debris. Our fabulous builder friend has finished his time with us, the electricians and plumbers have done their mysterious works and now it's down to the family team to complete the rest, which we can do, I think.

                                                                                before

                                                      after - and not finished, obviously

There are still large gaps in the form of windows and doors and as with everyone else trying to renovate at the current time, there are delays but ours are being constructed and will hopefully be installed this month. I've learned a lot over the months: much new French language especially building vocabulary; tiling, plaster boarding, grouting, jointing, basic masonry; organising the order of the various artisans, making the right strength coffee for them, etc.

Some of the rooms have obvious uses - the kitchen and bathroom, others, less so. The salon really needs a wood burner but due to the height of the main house it's apparently not possible; it also has the staircase taking up a chunk of space. Maybe it won't be the salon, more a dining area, the main room upstairs. It'll gradually become obvious as we pass through the plasterboard-jointing/paint phase and we get to source various rescue bits of furniture from our amazing local charity places.

                                                   The space that became the bathroom 

Today will be continuing the wood ceiling in the kitchen, tiling in the bathroom and preparing for guests while imagining a time I can invite them into the new space and not into the house; it's been fine but building site plus guests has been an interesting cleaning challenge . . .

                                    Ezra's work boots which finally pegged out this morning...

New tricks and revamped sofas

Yep, old dogs and mothers can learn them - tricks. Son and I are continuing work on the gîte project, each day a small challenge as although he has done a year of carpentry at a good level, working with wood, stone and renovation rather than new build . . . well, we've had a few hours of panic and angst.

Various builders and friends have appeared and made suggestions about the correct way of doing things which is ultimately confusing as I want to follow everyone's advice and have almost no experience, but we are both learning, rapidly. Yesterday we managed to fix the support beams for the floor into the wall using scarily long bolts and evil-smelling resin stuff - not very ecologic compared to the stone motoring we were doing before. Today we placed two cross beams and I drilled/hammered out excess stone to prepare for tomorrow's beams.

And the sofa . . . our old second hand kitchen sofa has long had uncomfortable flat seat cushions, the feathers crushed under 70 years or so of various posteriors and more recently, greyhounds. Allowing ourselves a morning off from building we went to the fabulous Saumur Emmaus - veritable department store of donated everything you can imagine - where I bought four very large cushions for a euro and on our return re-stuffed the flagging seat cushions. Result, very happy dog, and me; as the sofa is now hyper comfortable. Next up, the sitting room couch...