Uncategorized leisure, maintenenca, pool, refyrbishment, swimming 7:23 pm
The maintenance of the pool has now been included into the weekly work schedule. The surrounding landscaping is still in the progress srage but the pool is fully operational and to date has afforded quite a few happy wallowing hours in the water. A heating system of sorts has been added but the benefit of such has yet to be determined.
Uncategorized gardening, landscaping, leisure, pool, refurbishment, swimmong 6:43 pm
Now that the pool has almost been completed, the process of landscaping the surrounding area has begun. The removal of an elderberry tree to limit the damamge caused by leaves and the effects of bird droppings around the pool. The creation of a concreted slab base on which to erect a gazebo tent is well underway with the incursion of weeds and other uninvited vegitation being curtailed through concreted ditches and dividing fences.
The main area around the pool outside of the flagstones wil be gravelled with walkways of tiles and duckboards to break up the scene and to make the transition from pool to seat without foot protection a relatively painless experience.
Uncategorized 9:42 am
This is one of the delightful scenes in the Marais
Uncategorized 11:13 am
Given that the reason for moving to the south of France was for the pleasures and enjoyment achievable by clement weather there appears to be some communication breakdown along the way. We are entering another 4/5 days of incessant rain having had a couple of dry days in between. Normally such would not be a problem but with the roof lying bare, untiled and the pool in the middle of a mudbath, all is not as it should be or as it was supposed to be.
Tags: weather, refurbishment
Uncategorized 7:37 pm
The milestone of the boiler being connected to the gas tank and to the water supply must have proved too much for the plumber!!! We now have no cylinder and direct hot water and cold to all the taps, which. without any other benefit is a miracle!!!.
Two (2) radiators now work from the boiler as they are the only 2 that have been connected either to each other or the circuit. Not bad for about 3 months work!!!.
As to when the remainder will be done is anybodies guess as the problem of the incompatible tool with the tubing and fittings is still the main stumbling block after 3 months, the period of time during which this job has been going on and the need for such fittings known at the outset.
People are renowned for blinkered actions along a straight not digressing line and only see problems when they occur never looking in advance nor looking for solutions or the fall back position. This plumber must be the best example of such thinking and action that I have ever come across. He seems incapable of movement for ,ore that a few mins at a time and the moment a hitch or glitch occurs it totally throws him for the duration and it is ages before he can get back onto a trackeither the original or a new one.
My patience is exhausted and my usual long temper is rapidly reducing or becoming very apparent in the forefront.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: plumbing, work, inefficiency, tools, planning
Uncategorized development, insulation, project, refurbishing, roof 10:33 am
A year ago saw the hectic arrangements being made for our transfer and transference to France. Since then it has been a continual journey of discovery and learning as we have embarked on the new path that we had mapped out. Schedules slip now and then, in my experience, always so we continue as best we can to work within and around various restraints and parameters that beset the smooth running of the project.
The scheduling glitches can all be laid at the door of external artisans, at least that is what they call themselves, being churlish and far fro professionally motivated in their respective disciplines. The weather has added to the schedule fall back as roofing work has been held up by incessant rainy days and very few dry days intervening.
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The resultant vector of these two factors has meant that the inside and outside work that we had hoped to finish is held in limbo with only small jobs and activities being undertaken till the heating system has been installed by a new artisan and the roofing has been completed in such a way that it is safe to work underneath the roof and without the leaks that are apparent whilst the tiling is all over the place.
Uncategorized development, fields, planning, recreation., refurbishment 2:49 pm
It happened on Monday afternoon, we signed the transfer documentation for the new house/business in France. To our delight we had in fact purchased more land that we had originally been told by the agent. The potential utilisation of this land was now another variable to be inserted into the matricised equation that we were disseminating rapidly.
There was a field of about an acre that was being currently used on a FOC basis by a neighbouring farmer as is the general custom in France. At least fro the first, if not the second and third years of our possession the status quo would probably remain in situ as there would be enough work and planning with the buildings and close proximity land that we had at our disposal for reintegration .
