Moving In

After the special blog on the building of the Preau, we return to our timeline.

       It begins in March when:

• Michael returned after having a break in Manly Vale where he enjoyed summer sun and surf.  
• Dylan and Michael worked together for a few weeks before Dylan returned to Oz (and Indonesia) for a short holiday.
• Deb finally retired and joined Michael about 6 weeks later (yipee!!!).

... as always, click on the pictures to enlarge ...

 There is still lots of snow on the mountains when  Michael returns.

He was excited to find that Dylan's hard work over winter meant they could move into the house, but it was still basic living.

 Typical dinner in front of the fire with wine and bikes.
Not sure if the bike is there for company or is being worked on.

Not all was smooth sailing.  Michael had to rip up and re-lay some of the bathroom tiles due to poor levels – drainage a bit better now but still not perfect.

First pieces of furniture – an armoire and chest of drawers.

Dylan using his new plastering skills in the kitchen.

Where would we be without skype?

Michael is excited.  
Now that the Preau has a roof, his woodworking machines are finally delivered …

and he is quick to put them to good use building stud walls to 
enclose the building and separate the rooms.

 The master bedroom and master are looking good.

  

                Our friend Anibal shows us how to build the stone facade onto 

Michael's cedar stud walls.

Fran and Whitney dropped in to visit Dylan and put in a few bike rides in the hills.  
They visited Carcassonne where  Fran tested the arrow slots in the castle walls.

View of the ramparts in Carcassonne.

The boys enjoying a drink.

Local forest in morning mist (copyright Fran)

An early morning selfie as Michael does an overnight 400 km-bike ride.
The final qualifying ride for the 1200km Paris-Brest-Paris ride in August.

Changing of the workers: 
Dylan returns to Oz for a holiday and Deb comes to France as a retiree (on paper only).

When Deb first arrived, we had a couple of days being tourists in the area around Lourdes.  

This is the scene from our bedroom window.

La Cirque de Gavarnie - amazing scenery and walk.

Native bear patiently waiting to be fed at the local zoo.
Bears are being reintroduced into the Pyrennes but the farmers aren't happy.

Deb arrives in Campgast and our 'boules de neige' (snowballs) plant is still in flower.

Yeah! a salon and semi-functioning kitchen - fridge, oven and washing machine
(temporarily hooked up to dishwasher taps)!

We never tire of the view of outside our upstairs windows. While the chateau doesn't change, the foreground does.
It has often been windy and the wheat field shimmers in the sun, giving a good impression of Van Gogh's inspiration.

Deb is soon back into work removing the concrete and plaster from the stone wall which will be a feature in the Preau bathroom.

Spring time around Campgast – beautiful time of year!

The boys (Annibal, Alain and Michael) moving our latest find.
We were hoping to find another well in this concrete pipe section.
No such luck, but will use it as a planter box.

One of 6 cherries from a new cherry tree.

Dick, our plasterer, who survives on ciggies and tea (he keeps up with Michael's tea drinking).

The stairwell after Dick's plastering.

Sunday markets at Esperaza is a weekly excursion – buying the local produce, chatting to the sellers and having coffee with friends.
Michael buying cheese and saucisson from his favourite stall.

The patisserie is where we meet up with friends for coffee and croissants at the market.

Adele, our lovely French neighbour, organised a Fete de Voisin (neighbourhood party).
Lots of great food and wine and a some eau de vie to end a long afternoon in the sun.

THE END (middle of June)

Preau Construction.. Enfin

Preau:
Partie couverte d'une cour d'école.  
The covered part of a school courtyard.

A time lapse of the construction and roofing of our timber framed workshop.



A large part of the attraction in purchasing l'école was the covered play area, or preau,
that we could convert into a workshop to complement the actual schoolhouse.

  As is so often the case with these projects, as you get stuck in, things quickly become more complicated as they are not always as they seemed at first glance...

... as always, click on the pictures to enlarge ...

Of course, the initial plan to simply install a wall along the front of the preau to enclose the building, went out the window when a closer inspection of the structure the revealed the amount of rot and woodworm in the timber beams. So down she came (last year), to be rebuilt.. someday.

Apart from the extra work now required to rebuild the preau, pulling the structure down was a great shame due to the great timber and joinery work we were losing. Fortunately, our local roofer is also a carpenter specialising in timber frame construction, and could replicate the style and woodwork.

With the destruction complete, a new plan was hatched that included increasing the size of the preau to make the interior more useful, including the addition of guest bedrooms and bathroom. This, however, required planning permission....

With expectations of a fast turnaround, the concrete slab for the new build was laid, ready for construction to commence. All that was required now was approval on our planning permission...

Passing the winter at l'école Dylan came to pre-empt the question when skyping Michael:
Has the planning permission arrived yet?
The answer didn't change but at least it was a good storage area.

Michael returns with perfect timing, the permission arrives in the mail
 and the construction is underway!!
... after a celebratory bike ride!

 The frames were pre-fabricated, by Dylan's football team mate
 and driven the 10 km from the neighbouring village.

The first frame being craned and caressed into position.

Schoolhouse, crane, preau and mountains!

Solid timber structure!

Angles, angles. Angles everywhere.

The roof panels are foam-sandwich with plasterboard one side
and ply the other, with 15 cm of foam between. 
They are load-bearing at over five metres long,  pre–made and hoisted into place.

Tiles from the old preau roof are reused for the new roof.  
We are so glad we used the old tiles as they are much nicer
(greater variety of colour and many covered in lichen).

Even as the guttering was still being installed, work commenced on the exterior walls of the preau..

Check in next time to see how it turned out!!

Also, Deborah arrives (for summer of course) and the house is habitable!