Perhaps I should not have mentioned "good weather "in the last blog because we've had about 3 months rain in the past week! Needless to say works have been held up to the extent that the roofers have not been able to turn out on some days and then they've had to cover up the ridge to prevent the cement from being washed away. Even worse, the builders have stopped completely due to cement/ water issues & also until the roofers are done and have removed their scaffolding & equipment, space is too tight.
Given the fact that many areas of France are on flood alert, I was just realizing yesterday that we were lucky not to have any leaks when I was alerted by a steady " drip, drip" in the cellar. Given that we are temporarily storing lots of gear in there I immediately checked to see where water was coming in..... at the entrance. Clearly, the fact of the tarpaulin laid on the terrace above to protect it from all the old tiles & insulation debris removed from the roof and now forming into a swimming pool was causing water ingress. Luckily, our meticulous neighbor had just dropped in to help with a lighting issue, so we quickly scrambled up onto the terrace to haul the tarpaulin to one side to allow for evacuation via the terrace drains.. which not surprisingly were blocked. Funny how these things always come to a head when workmen are no where to be seen...
On the other hand, it is not too cold and so far the boiler in it's new " house" along with some homemade internal covers is working well, so fingers crossed that remains the case throughout the works.
Gerrit, who is installing a new bathroom on the 1st floor has definitely scored by having an indoor job at this time of year, even though he has to trail through the muddy " building yard" that our entrance area has become to mix cement and then take it upstairs.... luckily another neighbour has supplied me with a huge pile of thick blankets & sheets for covering up as well as providing me with a parking place in his barn when the white vans, and" engins" arrive en masse.
Incredibly the stove company called again. Having failed to fit the ventilation grills last time around, nearly 2 months on they are in and do allow for extra heat in the lounge.
They also tried very hard to convince me that I did NOT WANT the electrical fan box moved to a more convenient position at the back of the fireplace. The fact that they failed to install it in the correct place during the installation in Nov seems to have completely slipped their minds. Needless to say I insisted that it must be moved so they will be making another appearance this Fri.
The forecasters predict it to be dry for the next 2 days, but rain again on Wednesday, so here's hoping that the roofers can at least complete before then. Meantime, thank goodness for wellies, mops and old blankets to deal with muddy, cement covered feet- human , doggy & catty!
Roofers & Plumbers' Tea Count 55.
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| how NOT to enlarge your gateway |
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| serious load of rubbish |
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| Gerrit makes a start on the bathroom |
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| Builders optimistically mixing cement |
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| Dylan takes a walk |
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| rehousing the boiler |
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| difficult access to terrace |
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| new door frame |
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| Bart looks for dry land |
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| time to get out the kayak |
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| and it rained..... |
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| removal of final section of the old garage roof |
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| new boiler house |
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| no parking |
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| after evacuation of water on the terrace |
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| 15 m of blue sky |
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