We are lucky to have a huge basement the same size as the house (over 100 sq metres) so there is no need to store anything . . . → Read More: Loft insulation.]]> Loft insulation, not a very exciting subject I realise, but if it helps save the planet and a few Euros for us then I suppose it will all help.

We are lucky to have a huge basement the same size as the house (over 100 sq metres) so there is no need to store anything in the loft. It’s not boarded nor does it have any lighting apart from natural light through some of the ventilation tiles on the roof. So it is also about 100 sq metres, quite big I suppose. There is a loft hatch over the stair case going down in to the basement; remember we live effectively on the first floor in this house.

So on investigation there was already some loft insulation in the loft, although I wasn’t sure how much. On closer inspection there was  about 100 mm(4 inches) in two layers laid at 90 degrees to each other, better than nothing.

Whilst collecting our shower bits and bathroom bits from Leroy Merlin in the van we noticed they had a sale offer on for insulation, this was way back in September (ok it took me a while to get around to laying it!) So we bought enough to do the whole loft with another 200mm(8 inches) So the loft now has about 250-300mm(10-12 inches) of insulation, which should keep us warm in winter and cool in summer.

The rolls of insulation where quite huge, 1.2 metres in width and nearly 6 metres in length, so they were a bit bulky to get up the ladder, we managed a couple, but we came up with a better solution using a pulley, some rope and a big luggage strap.

So suitably dressed with face mask and gloves I started work at one end of the loft and worked back towards the hatch and then did the same from the other end and then spent a while working out how to do the hatch itself.  In the end took the hatch down and stapled a layer of insulation to the top of it and then with a bit of heaving and cursing I got it back up the ladder and everything finished off.  It was tiring work and it took me about 3 or 4 sessions of a couple hours each to get the whole loft done, but it does look good now. Sorry I didn’t think to pop a camera up there! Not much to see really!

So another job is ticked off the ‘long term’ to do list…. next!!

We are very pleased with the fit and finish of the new bathroom.

The cupboard which was in the bathroom has been reversed . . . → Read More: Bathroom refurbishment]]> Work got under way in early November to pull our bathroom apart and rebuild it totally. We’d decided to rearrange the room so that the layout could include a separate shower enclosure as well as a bath and a pair of basins and more storage.

The cupboard which was in the bathroom has been reversed so that the doors will open on to the hallway instead of in to the bathroom. Once some slatted shelves have been added this cupboard will serve as our airing cupboard. There will be a thermostatically controlled electric tubular heater on the floor of the cupboard which should be more than enough for such a small enclosed area.

We decided on a shower enclosure from Leroy Merlin and a bath from Lapeyre, the basins and cupboards came from IKEA. The floor tiles are the same as the ones we had in our bathroom in Pembury, we were able to get some more from their supplier in UK. We bought some light wall tiles from a Mr Bricolage and lighting from IKEA and Screwfix. So, quite a mixed bunch of suppliers, but it’s all come together quite well.

Location of the old bath

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There are still a few things to do to finish off such as papering above the tiles,  painting and grouting between the floor tiles. But we hope to be finished and tidied up by Christmas.

If you are in our part of France I can put you in touch with the excellent builder we used for this project.

We have a couple of projects running at the moment both . . . → Read More: The day the wall came down…]]> It’s been a few weeks since our last update. We haven’t been sitting around enjoying the sun sipping cool white wine, although I have to admit it’s tempting!  The weather has started to get a bit variable although I’ve been wearing shorts most days.

We have a couple of projects running at the moment both in their early stages really. The first one is the bathroom, if you remember from the pictures it is in delightful brown tiles, well we have waited 5 years for brown tiles to become fashionable again and nope it didn’t happen! Being on the north side of the house it makes the room feel darker than and smaller than it actually is. We also have to use a shower that is over the bath and the taps are well past their best now.

So we intend to refurbish the whole bathroom. The cupboard that opens in to the bathroom will be blocked up and some new doors added in the corridor outside. This will then give us a corner in which we can install a shower enclosure. Where the bath currently is will be a double basin with drawers below and wall cupboards above.  A new slightly longer but contoured bath will be installed on the opposite wall to where it is now. We will lose the bidet, we don’t use it and it just takes up space.

The bathroom is quite large in area but quite long and narrow, so it’s been quite a challenge to design and find the units that will work in the bathroom. Every last centimetre is accounted for.

So progress this month… We have the double basin unit from Ikea. And we have identified the bath and shower enclosure. We just need to identify and purchase taps for everything. We have got the floor tiles… the same ones as we had in Pembury (blue with silver specks in them) and we have got the new tall tiles which we found in our local DiY store (so many different sizes to choose from). We decided on some white tiles with a sheen finish to help make the room look bigger and lighter.

The other project we are working on is the garden it’s fairly blank in terms of what is in it! So to make a start we have started work on our new parking area which will be by the gate. To do this we had to remove a section of the driveway wall, then take the rubble to the tip, which was a mornings job! The next part of this job will be to start profiling the edge of the garden down to the driveway so we can come through the gate and then swing left up on to that area of the garden. Judging by the number of stones in the ground which you might be able to see, I don’t think we need to worry about reinforcing the ground for a car to be able to park on it!

Other small jobs I’ve been doing include moving our Wifi router to the top of the stairs, this is where the phone line comes in to the house and it will also give us better Wifi coverage around the house and garden. I’ve also been able to put in a network cable to the router for my work bench as well.

That’s about it for now… until next time…