And now a Date!!

Having waited for what has seemed such a long time all is now progressing apace. I have accepted the Devis from Jean-Claude and today - Thursday 8 November – went with him to a builders’ merchant in Boulogne-sur-Gesse to set up an account. He will draw down the materials which he has identified, and which are therefore part of the account, and on a monthly basis I’ll be billed and have to pay within a month – all very civilised. And Jean-Claude has stated that he will start on site on Monday 26 November. Prior to that materials will be delivered and he now has a key to the padlock on the gate – he’s very concerned about the possibility that some of the material might be stolen and therefore wants the site to be as secure as possible.

I have, whilst all this has been going on, continued to try to clear the site of the rubbish/material that has come out of the house. The pictures above show the way in which I stored this material as it came out of the house and then the situation as it now stands. I’ve made numerous visits to the Dechetterie, almost becoming friends with the men who work there! Not the least reason is that I am still very poor at reversing my trailer into position to tip the material into the skips and they direct me with enormous patience so that I get it right ………… eventually.

I am to meet an electrician, whom I’ve met previously, on Saturday to discuss his involvement in the project. It will help enormously if he can at least get a temporary supply from EDF into the site, and he seems confident that this can happen. Hopefully we can agree an outline Devis for the work, though at this stage it’s difficult to be absolutely precise as decisions on exactly where sockets will go will emerge as the house comes together. But I think it will be possible to agree an outline of what we are to do and therefore the timescale and the costs.

After this meeting I shall return to the UK. And then we shall both return to Arné (leaving the puppy in kennels) to be on site when Jean-Claude starts the work. As I said to him we wish to be here to celebrate the actual commencement of the work which will eventually lead to a habitable dwelling. And we shall return to the UK some time pre-Christmas to have a family celebration of that event.

It should perhaps be noted that although I have been incredibly frustrated with the apparent slowness of the pace at which everything has happened, our experience is actually quite fast. Talking with a number of people here it is evident that there are people who have had to wait up to three years to obtain a Permis, and that hedged around with all sorts of restrictions. So we have been fortunate to have made the progress we have, though it has felt quite different experiencing it!

And now – a builder.

After all the time we’ve waited it now seems as if we might make some rapid progress; let’s not let hopes rise too far too fast! I have pursued some of the leads that I established over summer and have been visited by two of these. The second of whom showed up with a Devis – a quotation – which he had prepared in August, but didn’t pass on. I’ve seen the quality of his work on another house in the village and it is excellent so I would be happy to employ him.

More importantly he can start at the end of November and can cover all aspects of the tasks ahead of us in terms of roofing, masonry and flooring. And with all of this he’s also provided a very thorough Devis which gives a figure significantly cheaper than any we’ve had up to now. So all in all he seems by far the best option so I shall engage with him. And we can expect work to commence pre-Christmas which should mean that some protection will be afforded to the house before the worst of the winter sets in, which seems to happen here in mid-January.

With this progress achieved I shall now return to the UK for a couple of weeks to then return to Arné and be on site when the builder starts. I will also act as his labourer when I can – which offer surprised him. But it will help the work to go forward more quickly with an extra pair of hands and we want to feel directly involved in the whole project.

So, a very positive message at last.

A Permis …………………. at last!

[Three posts written but not put on the site owing to the difficulties of accessing the internet. I wrote them on my laptop and place them here now without alteration to demonstrate how the project has progressed.]

Well, it’s taken an inordinate time but at last we have been granted the Permis de Construire that we’ve been waiting for. We received a letter from the Mairie informing us that the Permis and its “arrêté” are awaiting us when we can collect it. Of course, the Permis is based upon revised plans which take into account the fact that we must not demolish the barn as planned and also that we cannot have four roof-lights at the back but just two dormers. Both of these will add to the costs of the renovation; but hey no matter, now we can start to think in terms of progress on the building.

So, back to Arné to collect the formal notification of the Permis. But life is now complicated by the fact that we have acquired a puppy and she requires rabies injections for her to be able to travel freely between the UK and France. This takes time to come into effect; and so Joanne has to stay in the UK to look after the puppy whilst I have come to Arné to try to engage with builders/roofers with the hope that I can get things moving prior to winter setting in.

And given our luck, or planning, or understanding of France it should come as no surprise that my arrival should coincide with a saint’s day holiday in France. The result of which is that no shops are open – dinner has been a sparse affair – and no one is available to talk to about the possibility of quoting for the work we want to have done.

Despite all of which, delight in the physical situation of the house is such that it doesn’t seem to matter. Take a look at the pictures above which demonstrate some of the beautiful scenery to see why we want to be in this house in this part of the world. Let’s hope that we can indeed persuade builders/roofers to do the work we want and let us start to enjoy the benefits of such a wonderful part of the world.