A Pavement Collapse

At about 7 pm last Tuesday evening I entered the market place in Preuilly to discover a group of concerned neighbours leaning over a barrier and peering into a large hole in the pavement. The man from Véolia, the water company, was there with his van too. He was phlegmatically munching on a sandwich -- an act of desperation by a French man who can see he is going to miss his dinner.

The pavement had been noticeably sinking for over a week, and according to Catherine, who lives in the house next to collapse, it just suddenly crashed into the void underneath, making a huge racket and breaking the town water pipe, which was still spraying water everywhere. It may have been leaking before too, but more likely is that the recent heavy rain was the last straw. Catherine thinks the pipe which runs under the pavement to connect her house's downpipe to an outlet in the gutter has probably been blocked and leaking. It is an inadequate looking rectangular profile and it wouldn't take much to block it up. Luckily there doesn't seem to be any water seeping in to Catherine's cellar.

This has been a problem point for years, with a big leak under the pavement some years ago that emptied the town water tower (Fr. chateau d'eau), which contains four hundred cubic metres (so less than the swimming pool, which contains a couple of thousand cubic metres) of water.

Luckily there was no one walking on that section of pavement when it collapsed.

Farewell to the Former Mayor

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli, officiating at the marriage of our friends Jean-Michel and Martine.

Last week the inhabitants of our small town were shocked and saddened to learn that our former mayor, Gilles Bertucelli, had died. He had lived all his life here and everyone knew him. Here is a translation of his obituary in the local paper.

 

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli officiating at the town New Year's best wishes ceremony. Also present a government Minister, a member of parliament and the President of the Communauté des communes (super shire).

"Gilles Bertucelli, former mayor of Preuilly-sur-Claise, is no more. He died of pleural cancer on Saturday, March 26, perhaps due in part to the asbestos he often handled professionally in his youth, at a time when the harmfulness of the material was not known. He was 69 years old.

In September 1952 his father Norbert came to settle as an electrician plumber in the municipality, where Gilles was born on 7 October. After Grade 10, he entered the family business as an apprentice and then acquired a master craftsman qualification.

In 1976 he married Françoise, and two children were born, Romain and Marie. In 1985, the couple took over his father's company, which had six employees, and continued its development. Gilles was passionate about innovation and invested in new technologies: renewable energies, geothermal energy, biomass, heat pumps. In 2014, when he reached retirement age, it was one of the principal employers in the municipality, with 43 employees.

Gilles Bertucelli was also been involved in the development of the town for thirty-seven years, as a municipal councillor from 1982 to 2008, including a term as deputy mayor and as mayor from 2008 to 2020. He participated in the development of leisure, sports and culture. In 1983, as a young councillor, he and some friends created the MCJ (Maison communale de jeunes -- Community Youth Centre), whose activities are still flourishing forty years later.

Among the main achievements of his mandates are the housing estate of La Saulaie, the heating of the communal buildings, the renovation of the town hall square, and the guinguette (outdoor dinner dance space). A strong defender of small village life, he helped the installation and maintenance of local businesses in the center of the village.

Several Preuillaciens recall with emotion a council meeting where the mayor impressed by his courage. In 2015, sensitized to the fate of migrants perishing in the Mediterranean, he had imagined making available vacant housing in the municipality. At this relatively stormy meeting, with a large audience, partly unfavorable, the mayor managed to turn the opinion around. In response to a mistrustful question, he replied, "I was moved by the terrible images seen on television and I am ready to welcome suffering human beings, regardless of race or religion." The public was won over and embraced the mayor's humanitarian approach."

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli officiating at the memorial ceremony for the World War Two deportees.

You can read the original in French here [link].

The police were controlling traffic because of the large crowd at the church for the funeral.

Gilles Bertucelli dancing in the street during a village festival.

Picking up a lapsed project

We have been living in this house for 12 years and a month. When we moved in it was a shell, and over a couple of years we transformed it into a home. Sort of...

The problem with moving into an old building and trying to restore it around yourself is that your life is in contant upheaval. Furniture is constantly being moved from room to room as work progresses, and you get used to living in a bit of a mess until energy and money runs out. Then you stop noticing the mess.

Just recently we received a grant to finish the insulation of our house, and make it more energy efficient. The first step was to replace the water heater in the laundry (which had died) and that was done on last Friday. We are now finishing the laundry with tiles and paint and a real light fitting (rather than the temporary light fitting we have had for 10 years.

Progress!!

The new water heater (and "temporary" light fitting)

Preuilly Pool Opens Tomorrow

All going well with the annual maintenance, the swimming pool in Preuilly sur Claise should open tomorrow at 10:30 am. I'll be there.

It will be open on the weekends in June, then every day except Thursdays in July and August.

Tuesday morning when I popped down there to check all was well, the pool was full of water and the local plumbers were in checking the big community pellet burner (Fr. chaudière) which heats it.

They were both men I knew and who have worked on our house. Pascal has appeared on the blog a number of times and remembers well supporting our newly installed Italian custom made sink with a Traction Avant jack. The other guy, whose name I can't remember, is the one who did the gas connection for Big Berta.

I mentioned I had a photo of Pascal sitting on the floor doing  some braising, and his colleague promptly whipped out his phone and said 'Yes but do you have a photo of him looking like that?!' , showing me an image of Pascal wearing a house coat and bonnet and striking an attitude. When I enquired why Pascal had been dressed like that he was slightly sheepish and informed me that it was just a bit of workplace silliness...

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

How Chateaux Manage Fire Risk

You can't fool around with fire safety on large sites like the chateaux of Amboise and Chenonceau. Your equipment and training has to be up to date and meeting current best practice codes. The fire in Notre-Dame de Paris has made everyone nervous and all the Loire chateaux are reviewing their procedures and equipment.

Local firefighters on exercises.

Like Notre-Dame de Paris, the big heritage sites follow strict rules in the matter of security, overseen by the State regulatory body whether the property is State or privately owned. The safety of people on site is paramount, and there must be sufficient equipment on site to enable the containment of the flames in the most rapid way possible. The Chateau of Amboise, for example, organises one or two fire exercises per year.

A local exercise to rescue an unconscious person from a smoke filled workshop.

Whether it is fire risk or terrorist attack risk, the procedures are similar and highly orchestrated. The sites are insured and the insurance companies monitor the chateaux's adherence to the rules. In addition to the regulations there is a written risk assessment done in conjuction with the fire brigade for each of the chateaux, with a very precise analysis of the potential risks and the equipment on site.

A fire damaged chateau roof is repaired.

Staff are trained for the event of a fire and each has their alloted tasks and role to play. The written evacuation protocol, for a chateau such as Amboise, also includes the priority works of art and artefacts. In these old listed buildings, protocols for maintenance work are also strictly laid out and adherence is monitored.

The remains of a fire damaged roof at the Chateau of Rivau, now turned into a memorial.

At Chenonceau, a chateau that receives 800 000 visitors a year, they must put in place the means to prevent risks. Like any other monument it comes under the 2005 fire prevention regulations and these days has even gone above and beyond what it is legally obliged to do. They have appointed a chief fire officer and two assistants to the staff, whose role is to conduct fire drills on a monthly basis and do daily checks of the alarm system and security lights, all of which is recorded in the safety register. Chambord has a team of nine fire safety staff, plus access to all the mounted police based there.

Braising copper pipes would require a permit, and most likely would not be allowed at all.

The building has automatic detectors and sprinklers plus additional means of extinguishing a fire such as armed fire valves. Extinguishers are dotted about everywhere, there are fire hydrants and the site is equipped with a dry riser (a rigid pipe to which you can attach a fire hose), which allows the fire brigade to pump directly from the Cher. Chateaux and cathedrals pose particular technical problems for fire fighters and dry risers allow hoses to be fitted at different levels without having to run hoses up staircases or ladders.

Small spaces fire engine at Paris Montparnasse railway station 

-- the sort of thing required for cathedral fires in old city centres.

In March last year Chenonceau conducted a major exercise with the fire brigade, simulating a fire in the attic, with an injured person. A month earlier, the chateau of Blois had done a similar exercise. In October it was Chambord's turn.

Any external cleaning or building company doing work on site must be logged in and out, and must keep their own fire safety register. The chief security officer developed and manages the procedures. Companies are monitored before and after their work by the security officers and the work is certified on site three hours after it is finished. Any hot work eg soldering, requires a permit.

In the case of a fire the priority is the evacuation of people. From the sound of the alarm the staff at Chenonceau have three minutes to be in their positions and ready to act. The whole of the chateau personnel, which includes a lot of seasonal staff, is trained in evacuation procedures. This has to be particularly well rehearsed in these large old buildings where emergency exits may not be obvious to visitors. At Chenonceau the aim is to evacuate before the fire brigade arrive to fight the fire, but at Chambord, with more personnel, the aim is to simultaneously evacuate visitors and begin fighting the fire with extinguishers whilst waiting for the fire brigade to get there. The second priority is the removal of works of art, and there also, a written salvage plan is enacted. 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Bertu Bows Out

Norbert Bertucelli, ably assisted by his wife Raymonde, set up as a plumber in rue de cygne, Preuilly sur Claise, in September 1952. He just had a single van as his work vehicle. His son Gilles, who started as an apprentice in 1967, took over in 1985. By then the business employed 6 people and was based in rue Léon Berthier (where the farm supply shop is now, opposite the Claise restaurant). They expanded by buying a business in nearby La Roche Posay and an agency was soon opened in Chatellerault. In 1998 the business started to specialise in renewable energies such as geothermal, heat exchange and wood heating. In 2008 the business moved to the new industrial zone Le Rond, on the outskirts of Preuilly. In October 2014, having reached retirement age, Gilles Bertucelli sold the business to Sylvain and Christelle David.

 SARL Bertucelli headquarters on the outskirts of Preuilly.

They've taken over the business in its entirety, in particular retaining all 35 employees and even recruiting. A new business manager will join the team at the beginning of 2015. The Davids have spent the past few months observing the operation and developing their plans for the future. They intend setting up a training programme, networking with the existing partners of the business and doing some advertising. They will retain the four principal activities of the business -- heating, electricity, plumbing and air conditioning, whilst adding a focus on the latest technology such as wood pellet heating. One of their first jobs was installing a pellet burner in the neighbouring business on the idustrial zone, DTM (who manufacture plastic packaging and moulds.)

 Bertu in fiesta mode...

Françoise Bertucelli, Gilles' wife, will continue to run the office for another month during the transition and after that they will both take retirement.

 Mayor Bertucelli officiating at last year's Victory in Europe remembrance ceremony.

The above information has been gleaned from the local newspaper. Gilles Bertucelli is also mayor of Preuilly so it will be interesting to see what impact his retirement has on his political activities. His sale of the business is not unexpected. He announced a year ago that this was his plan.

To read about our plumbing adventures click here. Bertucelli's replumbed our house, supplying two hot water systems and installing our bath, shower, sink and toilets as well as the gas for the kitchen stove top. They also clean our chimney annually.

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Les Voeux du maire: Yesterday evening we attended the cérémonie des voeux in the salle des fêtes in Preuilly. The gathering began with a minutes silence for those killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack. It was a serious silence too, with no shuffling or whispering. The mayor, Gilles Bertucelli and the President of the Communauté des communes de la Touraine du sud, Gérald Henault, then gave overviews of 2014, bemoaning the tight finances which required cutbacks and economies yet again. One bright spot was the success of a grant programme which provided funds to assist people to insulate their houses or make alterations to help the aged or handicapped. It was so successful that it ran out of money in October, but all grants submitted but outstanding would be processed this month as the new financial year means new funds are available.

The mayor announced that a remembrance ceremony for the Charlie Hebdo dead will be held at 15h (3pm) on Sunday 11 January. Gather out the front of the Hôtel de Ville for a march to avenue 11 novembre.

Getting the Chimney Swept

Earlier this month I made an appointment for Pascal the plumber to come and sweep our chimney. We are obliged to get the chimney swept by a professional once a year in order to ensure our house insurance is valid. The professional group entrusted with chimney sweeping in France are the plumbers. Pascal commented that we didn't have a lot of material accumulated in the chimney and was surprised to learn we use the wood stove every day in the winter.

Curiously, in the spring right at the end of the firelighting season, we had a couple of instances of something catching fire in the flue (at least, that's what we assume was happening -- there was a lot of noise of rushing air, and a few sparks and flakes of black material coming out the top). Probably birds dropping twigs down the chimney which then catch fire according to our neighbour.

We asked Pascal about the possibility of fitting a self-regulating trap on the flue, to slow down the draw. He said we could install such a thing, but the payoff is that they rattle.

Bugs in the Plumbing

Earlier this year a PhD student working on a project in the Forestry Department for the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) posted a request on an entomology list server that I am a member of. He is studying whether the introduced Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis has the potential to become a serious pest in Europe. His request was to those entomologists based in North America who could provide him with samples from the bug's native territory. He wanted to compare the DNA of these specimens to specimens collected in France, to determine exactly where the French ones had come from.

He received helpful responses from many of the list members based in the US and Canada. Several people said they had studied the species themselves and outlined their conclusions about its potential as an economic pest. It seemed that it was just considered a nuisance pest, as it has a habit of overwintering in domestic dwellings, but doesn't cause commercial damage, even in high value seed orchards (plantations where the crop is tree seeds for propogation).

Photo courtesy of Tim from Aigronne Valley Wildlife.

That is, until a Canadian scientist mentioned that she had written a paper about the bug's ability to pierce plastic plumbing pipe! Everyone was fascinated, and the Canadian entomologist provided a link to her paper so we could read all the details.

She was invited to study the bugs after a manufacturer of plastic plumbing pipes started getting reports of weeping pipes. From the beginning there was a suspicion that it was the bugs causing microscopic holes, as they were always present when this problem was reported and when examined under magnification it was clear that the holes were being made from the outside.

Photo courtesy of Tim from Aigronne Valley Wildlife

Bugs were collected and put in boxes with various sorts of plumbing materials. Examination of the material showed that they had attempted to pierce everything -- all types of plastic and even copper. However, the only material they were capable of actually getting all the way through and causing a hole that leaked was PEX, an elastic polyethelene. These PEX pipes are 2mm thick and come in several colours. The bugs were not attracted to one colour over another, and there is no indication that they can sense the water inside. It seems that they instinctively try to pierce everything under their feet.

So, if you discover mysteriously weeping pipes in your home, search for Western Conifer Seed Bugs inside. We've had them in our house, in the spare bedroom (which is alarmingly close to the small bathroom, as Tim pointed out to me when I emailed him to ask for the photos). The species is quite common now in France -- but don't worry too much, their pipe puncturing activities seem to be fairly rare.

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A la cuisine hier: Mussels, cooked in white wine with leeks, celery, garlic, parsley and thyme.

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Nature News: I've had an email from Carolyn, a contact in Amboise, who tells me she has just been involved in some hunt monitoring on the weekend. Apparently there was a battue (beat style hunt) of Cormorants planned on the Loire near Langeais. The League Pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) got wind of this and arranged for its supporters to be prepared to be there and record the activities of the hunt. At the last minute, probably because there were going to be television cameras there, the hunt was cancelled. The LPO has sent a strongly worded letter to the Préfecture pointing out that the Loire is a nature reserve which acts as a wildlife highway and dormitory for all sorts of species, especially migrants. The high numbers of Cormorants in the area at the moment are due to birds that have nested in Scandinavia making their way back south for the winter. The nearest fish farm to Langeais is 11 km away, so there was no justification for the hunt, even if one disregards the fact that the species is protected. Carolyn clearly rather enjoyed the experience and said it "Ended up being a good chance to meet some interesting people and in a beautiful setting." UPDATE: Here is a link to the TVTours video of the event.

I attended yesterday's fungi foray in the Forêt de Preuilly (fortunately the weather calmed down during the afternoon and we weren't rained on or at risk of being squashed by falling trees). Once I've catalogued my photos I'll write a post about the outing.

Everything

A couple of weeks ago we had a small gas leak which meant we had to call the plumber. When he arrived, the gas leak turned out to be a quick and easy fix, so Simon asked if he could install our sink, which we've only been waiting 20 months to use.

Things to do with a Traction Avant jack #59 -- propping up a newly glued in sink.

Pascal, bless him, agreed quite happily and has done a beautiful job. It's another great milestone in our house renovations.

Pascal constructing the neatest possible evacuation drainpipe.

He told me I needed to have kept phoning the office at Bertucelli's where he works. For small jobs like this the plumber only turns up if you are persistent. I said I'd phoned, emailed and gone up there numerous times and had given up reminding them. I think he was a bit shocked we had been left waiting more than a year and a half all the same. While the glue on the drain pipes was drying he asked to see our attic bathroom because he had only seen it before the bath went in and wanted to see it finished (it isn't quite, as we need to get a cabinet made for the wash basin, but you can see how it is supposed to look). He was suitably impressed.

Voilà ! A fully functioning kitchen sink! No more washing up or scrubbing vegetables in the laundry.

The Portuguese guys who installed the granite bench tops would have done it, but because there was a mistake with the hole size, the replacement custom made sink was delivered after they left.

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Produits de terroir:  The conditions on Ile de Ré are responsible for 3 special products for which the island is famous -- potatoes, sea salt and oysters. Several of the oyster producers offer dégustations (tasting sessions). We went to one with an attractive set up where you sat on a stool to a high rustic table overlooking the bay and partook of a selection of seafood and wine. We chose the €14 mix of 6 prawns (crevettes) and 6 of their #3 oysters with a muscadet from Sèvre et Maine (across the bay to the north, around Nantes). The prawns weren't from the island, but had been caught somewhere dans le coin (unspecified but nearby) according to the young woman who served us. Number 3 oysters are the middle size (they range from 1 to 5 -- see my previous post on oysters). It was a very, very pleasant experience. The next day we bought a dozen #2 for €6.90 from a producer with a stall at the market at Ars en Ré, which were superb. We could have gone out and harvested our own, had we but known when we visited the Grouin, where individuals can go at low tide and gather oysters above the line where they are farmed. This is called pêche à pied and you are allowed to take 5kg of oysters bigger than 4cm for personal use according to a woman I spoke to on the beach.

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Another Convivial Lunch: Yesterday we had lunch with about a dozen of the Archaeological Society members, hosted by the President, Bernard and his wife Christine at their wonderful late medieval farmhouse. I made a Greekish salad with some superb lettuce given to me the day before by Tim. My vinaigrette got the nod of approval and questions about what oil and vinegar and what proportions (olive, walnut, sherry, 5:1:1 with a pinch of salt, if you are interested). Sprinkling toasted mixed seeds on the salad was less successful, and I saw at least one person picking them off. Whilst my outfit of flowing white linen was rated très chic, I was also informed that I have a Belgian accent (I don't pronounce words like puits correctly). Simon was designated Monsieur Drôle by the hosts' 4 year old grand-daughter. The meal was cold meats and salads followed by clafoutis and apricot tart. Everything was delicious and we enjoyed chatting with everyone.

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In Our Kitchen Yesterday: I put 600g of sour cherries to clafoutis and Simon made pasties for a picnic today.

Bathroomingtoo

In addition to chosing a bronzy/metallic/rust coloured tile for the bathroom (better than I describe them) we decided we needed a highlight on the floor. We chose some small glass tiles which are a combination of flat mirror, patterned mirror and dark glass which are meant for walls and come in a gauze backed square. We cut the square up into strips of two tiles, and laid them in a line from the door. Sounds easy, but glass tiles dont snap they shatter, so we had to cut them with a diamond blade.

As a picture paints a thousands words....

Once that was done it was time to call the plumber again. There was some confusion and tribulations as he didn't turn up the first day, turned up the second day in the 10 minutes between the end of lunch and us getting back from lunch, then arrived at the third time lucky, but with only the hot water ballon rather than with the ballon and instructions to fit it and plumb in the bath. This meant time was getting short as my parents were due to arrive last Thursday and we wanted the bathroom usable.

As the plumbing hadn't been done by Wednesday we sorted out temporary plumbings (a plastic basin, electric kettle, and 20 litre water carrier. I went off to Paris on Thursday to collect the AP's (see Coot Club) and then the plumber rang to ask if we were in. Mickael - who did the first lot of plumbing - arrived and fitted the hotwater ballon (under Susan's supervision)

and the bath!!!

Exciting isn't the word for it, I tell you.

Simon

Two Oops', One Hurrah, and another Oops (or two)

One thing that has made life really bearable during the last twelve months has been the dishwasher. Because we have not had running water (and more pertinently no hot running water) the dishwasher has been essential. The first time we stayed in the house in winter we brought the dishwasher with us because standing in an unheated house washing dishes by hand in lukewarm water held no appeal. Until last Saturday we have had no problems with the dishwasher. We had one call out under warrantee while we were still in London, but it has been trouble free for almost 5 years.

Last Friday I noticed a pool of water on the laundry floor. This didn't worry me over much, as we have been moving the dishwasher out of the laundry every morning, working on the insulation in the laundry during the day, and putting the dishwasher back at night. Dishwashers never empty completely and a little water always gets spilt when you carry them from room to room.

The Catalpa tree on the verger/potager. The
bumblebees loved this tree while it was blossoming,
but now the tree is in leaf and the flowers finished

On Saturday Morning I turned the diswasher on and left it. For some reason I went in to the laundry 30 minutes later and was surprised to see a large pool of water on the floor. Even more alarming, due to lack of space I had put the dishwasher on top of the washing machine and the top of the washing machine was now awash.

Fixing the dishwasher was frustrating, but ultimately a simple task: over the years the internal pipes had got dirty and various pipes were blocked. In addition, all dishwashers have a float valve, which acts to turn off the flow when there is enough water in the machine, and also to turn on the pump . This had gritted up and was staying open, so water was being let into the machine and pumped out at the same time. A couple of hours of exploring and opening things up and that problem was fixed.

The next day when we turned the washing machine on, nothing happened. "Water in the guts", I thought, so I left it for a couple of hours. When I turned it back on still nothing: some of the lights came on, but none of the controls (and there are a lot of controls) worked. This is peeving, because it is a very good (and quite expensive) washing machine that we bought in London after our previous machine died a year early. (I should explain that - our previous machine was on its last legs, but we hoped that it would last until we moved here and then we would buy a new machine in France.)

Ever since then I have been plugging the washing machine in, then turning it on, only to get nothing. I took the back plate off and considered taking the front plate off (but that's complicated) just so that it would dry out faster - I was convinced that it was just wet circuits and nothing major. Just in case, though, I went to the insurance offie to make sure we were covered (we are - inondations are claimable). In the meantime, all the towels we had used to clear up the flood were starting to smell a bit.

Then, yesterday lunchtime, I plugged the washing machine in, turned it on... And it was just like it had never been away. Result! I quickly put all the towels into the machine, pressed the button - and away it went. I was so excited that I didn't even bother unclipping the drainage hose from the back of the machine and putting it in the drain.

I bet you thought you had escaped without
getting a photo of the washing machine.
Here is is, all ready to go.

Oops! Still - at least this time I have clean towels to dry the resulting flood. Then I can wash them again....

...or use them when the new shower cubicle overflows...OH NO!!

Simon

The Noo Loo

We aren't in the habit of putting pictures of toilets on the blog (which you might or might not believe, depending if you saw this or this).

However: our second toilet is in place and plumbed in, even if we haven't yet turned the water on. This is exciting enough, but even more exciting (to my mind, anyway) is the fact that the toilet is made by one of the most fashionable (not to mention stylish and trendy) of dinnerware makers.

Yup. We have a Villeroy et Boch toilet. The first time I saw a Villeroy et Boch toilet was five years ago at Charles de Galle airport, and I knew immediately that I would have to have one to call my own.

I am all class!

Simon

Last Week's Works

The plumber has been here the last week, electricity has started to flow (experimentally), walls have been insulated, plasterboard fitted, demolition done and furniture "built".

Where to start?

The plumber arrived Monday, and got down to some serious thinking. Of course this meant we had to change our answers to questions like "where will the washing machine go" and "do you want a handbasin in the toilet" from "over there somewhere" and "probably" to something less nebulous. Still, we came through that undamaged, and week later we are still happy with our answers (we think), so we didn't do too badly.

The hot water ballon and laundry tub.
Susan is really pleased with the tub!

This is where all our hot and cold water branches off.
All this will be hidden behind (above) the ceiling

We have a water filter to reduce the calcaire level.
All our water (even for the garden) will be filtered

Once the pipework was installed in the bathroom we had to fit the insulation and close the walls, which was a relatively painless job, and would have been totally painless if I hadn't dropped a sheet of board, breaking off a corner. Tomorrow Patrick arrives to put the bandes on the plasterboard joints and paper the ceiling (a plain white glass paper, which will just look like plaster), then we can start painting the walls and cleaning, sanding and coating the floor. Then the plumber can fit the toilet, shower and wash basin.

The bathroom lined with plasterboard. The cardboard on
the floor is me working out exactly where the shower will go

Yesterday afternoon we fitted a light switch and lightbulbs to the wiring for the bathroom lights, just to make sure we had wired it right. We flicked a switch, and Lo! A light! That was exciting, but of course only temporary, as we have to remove the switch and bulbs while the plasterboard joints are taped.

The furniture we "built" was two flatpacks of bathroom furniture we bought at BricoDepot. Amazingly, we had all the pieces, it all went together properly, everything fitted, and I have nothing left over. What's more, the doors close properly!

As well as doing all this, I have been looking for a stainless steel exhaust system for a 1953 Citroën Traction Avant, which has been frustrating. Monsieur Musseau is worried that Célestine is sounding a bit antisocial, and we have decided rather than replacing the exhaust with an authentic (but rust prone) system, we will go for stainless steel, which should last 10 years. We know there are people who make such an item, but at the moment we can't find them.

All this has meant we are both a bit tired and brain frazzled, but the progress that is happening before our eyes is making it all worthwhile

Simon

Goodbye hood...

...hello water heater.

When we bought the house the kitchen was "blessed" with a quite nasty fake antique oven hood.

Add one bloke with a wrecking bar,

and sooner (rather than later) you have a clear, if extremely grotty, wall so you can start insulating.

In the meantime, the plumber has been hard at work, and although it isn't yet plugged in, we have a ballon de chauffe-eau. In addition to that we have the plumbing for the upstairs toilet, and the pipes and drains for the shower and handbasin.

Today the temperature is supposed to reach 28°C. That is very hot for this time of year, so I am assuming we will get the hot water installed and running just in time to start taking cooling showers.

Simon

All Change on the Plumbing Front

It has been a while since bathrooms were last mentioned on this blog. This is mainly because plumbing brings out the more colourful aspect of my Anglo Saxon linguistic skills, and these days you can't have bathrooms without plumbing.

We think we have reached our final decision about bathrooms and plumbing and associated excitements. Monseiur Bertucelli (yup, no less than the Maire himself, but wearing his other hat) came last week to listen to our plans, and then sent us a devis for plumbing we feel we can live with. We have decided that the old bathroom, the floor of which I so skilfully replaced last year with the intention of it becoming a shower room, will instead be an enlarged landing for the staircase. This means we will not have a wall at the top of the stairs blocking all the light.

The small room adjoining the guest bedroom, which was to have had a bath, toilet and handbasin, will instead have a shower, toilet and handbasin. The bath will go into a soon to be newly amenaged attic, along with a second handbasin and a huge airing/drying cupboard. We don't get a lot of guests so not having access to the shower won't be a problem most for of the year. (Maybe having bathing facilities will encourage guests to visit. We will wait and see.)

One day all this will be bathroom

Over the last couple of weeks we seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time looking at bathroom furniture and fittings, both online and in various shops. On Wednesday it was the turn of bathroom showrooms and the like in the Poitiers area, Tours having been visited two weeks ago.

Simon

Civilisation pops its head over the Parapet.

We have bathing.

Proper, grown up "I'm going for a shower" type bathing. I will be the first to admit that the silycon didn't get everywhere it should have and the cubicle leaks at one* corner, but that is easy fixed; and that the shower doesn't pump out huge amounts of hot water, but it is sufficient for our needs, and cheap to run

The things is though, we can now do clean.

As well as doing the plumbing, I had to add a 25Amp fuse to the fuseboard and run cable from the fuseboard to the water heater. This proved simpler than I was fearing (a big thanks to Alex for the advice) and it all came together with a minimum of fuss.

I was slightly concerned about the plumbing, because I experimented with using a push in joint to see how they go - it was slightly more expensive, but Tectite plumbing fitting seem to work without leaking. This means that for plumbing you don't even need a spanner any more!

I then sacrificed my 4 weeks old collection of dirt to test the shower so Susan could feel confident in using it. I remain unfried.

Simon

*after Susan showered, we will make that two corners...

Olives

Sometimes Susan and I, completely by coincidence and without consultation, end up doing similar things in different parts of the house.

Take Monday for example: we were both dealing with olives. Susan was taking them out of jars and repacking them with olive oil, chili, wild oregano and Ducros 5 baies. I was doing plumbing.

It makes a change from cherries.

And talking of plumbing: I fitted the waste water pipes to the shower base yesterday, after buying quite a few wrong bits of 40 and 50mm plastic piping and using language. It's just as well half the people who live near here are old and wouldn't hear anything over the noise their TVs make, and the other half (including those who speak English) work during the day.

We now have water to the shower, water from the shower, a shower and a water heater. We put the shower cabinet together yesterday after dinner and are waiting for the silycon to set before trying it out, I bought a 25Amp fusible and will be fitting that this afternoon, and then we can have a shower.

Not that I could wait: yesterday was so warm (and I was so glowing) that I put a watering can full of water in the sun for a couple of hours, then before dinner I stood in the back garden in my swimming shorts while Susan poured it over me. I think the neighours were all out...

Simon

The Coarse Guide to: Plumbing

Plumbing is easy, assuming you have a shifting spanner, the necessary vocabulary, and infinite patience.

The best spanner to use is a really big one. This means you can tighten stuff up so tight no water can escape. This is a desirable thing.

The best vocabulary for the job is basic Anglo Saxon. This is put to best effect when you run out of:

Patience. This is important, because everything that can go wrong will (twice), and it can get really tiring retrieving your spanner every time you thrown it away in disgust.

First thing to do when planning some plumbing is to plan. Planning means that you only have to return to the hardware shop twice after having bought the wrong stuff. Not planning means that you use so much petrol returning to the hardware shop that getting a man in would have been cheaper. The best way to plan is on the back of a beer coaster with a pen that runs out half way through, but any scrap of paper and unreliable scribing instrument will suffice.

A Plan. Invent your own code, and try
to remember what stuff means.

Once you have a plan write a list of what you need on a piece of paper. It is best to get in the car and then ask your spouse if they have the list (repeat process as required). If the paper is small enough and gets lost between home and the hardware store you can be creative when you get there.

When in the hardware store, your vocabulary will come in useful, but only if spoken under your breath. Assuming you have any breath after seeing the prices. Walking around muttering and looking perplexed is de rigeur in the plumbing aisle, so don't worry.

Once you get your bits home, they are best sorted by spreading them out all over the kitchen floor. This shows everyone in the house that you are working and a man not to be messed with. Return to the hardware store and exchange the bits you have bought that are the wrong size (you can do this if you haven't been a coarse plumber and opened up all the packets), then lay your plumbing bits (angle pieces and T-pieces and all that caper) out so you are sure you have what you need. Return to the hardware store and buy the one piece you forgot about, then start work.

Bits. Don't get 12Ø and 14Ø mixed up.

Next, turn the water off where it comes into the house. An impromptu cold shower will not improve things.

Once you start work, it's a piece of cake. Vocabulary will help, as will not throwing your spanner too far. If you must throw the spanner, don't hit a window, because glazing is even more finickity than plumbing and you don't want to go there.

Once all the bits are connected turn the water on slowly. Joints will leak, so turn the mains tap off again and REALLY give them a tighten. Repeat the last two steps until you can flush the toilet without every pipe in the place making like the Versailles fountains.

If you're really clever (like what I am) you too can achieve something like this:
Yesterday was a busy day: Alex and Nicole came over to have a look at our back garden with a view to Alex amenagement'ing it (terraces are needed); then we went to bricomarche for my first return to the hardware shop to buy the rest of the plumbing bits for the shower; then I did some plumbing, then we picked 5Kg of cherries to go with the 3Kg we picked yesterday, making 29Kg so far with 2 of the 7 trees picked; then Bengt arrived and donated us his old portable electric hotplates (he now has a proper cuisinier); then I did some more plumbing; then I made cherry cordial.

Phew!

Simon