April 2005 after signing the Acte de Vente &, yes , the horse should have gone
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A view across the 'terrain' looking roughly south. note the picturesque 'chicken shed'. Our land ends just beyond the corner of the shed.
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Looking from the far side towards the entrance. The 'talus' on the left belongs to us & needs some attention. We are still trying to ascertain who has ownership of the half-butchered 'talus' behind the houses!
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May 2005. We have conceded defeat over keeping the grass in check &, with the help of several of our kind neighbours enlisted the help of the local farmer & his large tractor.
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First things first. a long line of shrubs to try to disguise the shed which we discover has a demolition order on it!
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May 2006, we finally have a permanent fence dividing us from the other 'terrain'. We have chosen to have a hedge of native plants to encourage wildlife.
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Our surprise on reaching Maël Carhaix. All this for only 8 days work!
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Another day another chunk of wall. The maçons were laying about 600 'parpaings ' a day.
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The end of our second day & it really is beginning to look as if we will have a real house. Here you can see the window openings for the living room & two smaller bedrooms.
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Our bedroom will be double aspect. The whole form is a modern 'take' on a traditional longere with added garage.
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The view from the living room. Stunning views of the chicken shed whose roof collapses more on a daily basis. It has a demolition order but no-one knows when it started! Quick-growing Poplars seem a good disguise option.
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The doorway to the right is the front door & that to the left is access to the garage. The kitchen will be located in the corner to the left beside the door to the garage.
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End of day on Thursday 13 July. Most of the house has now reached roof level. Reinforcing rods & concrete now have to be put in the 'U-shaped'parpaings around the top. In august we hope to see some of the roof structure.
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Watering duty by Chris, otherwise known as 'Farmer Giles'. Unfortunately he lacks the very old fag end & the flat cap as per our very kind local farmer!
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'Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!' Well nearly. yours truly on 'Chardon' & bramble killing duty. Chris has had enough brushcutting to last a lifetime! That backpack isn't half heavy when it's full!!!
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Progress has stopped when we visit in August but it's not bad for about a month's work. Next comes the roof.
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September 2006. Yes I know it's not the house but I thought you'd like to see how we spent 2 days - shifting 8 tonnes of gravel mulch!
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October 2006 and this is the sight that greeted us when we arrived. What a thrill, it's a house now!
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A view of the back of the house where all the main living accommodation is.
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The whole width of the back of the house. Our bedroom is dual aspect and the window on the far right is the one which looks the whole length of the garden.
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We stood & looked at the roof structure for ages. All custom made - no prefabricated roof trusses here!
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Every slate has been carefully shaped at the edge to give a beautiful finish.
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Nice little detail over the front door giving a small 'Auvent' to shelter from the rain.
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The 'couvreur put in the stainless steel'tuyau' ready to receive the flue from our poêle.
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