| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| BahamaMama |
My dream come trueCan anyone advise on the following... last summer I had the best luck in the world and was able to buy a tiny holiday home in France which was the realisation of a 20 year dream - 12 months on and the grin is still stuck very firmly on my face.The place I bought is a tower in the ramparts of a walled town and supposed to be 800 years old - the walls are 1m thick and solid stone. The tower is a listed building so comes with a list of regulations as to what you can and cannot do on the outside (largely cannots) but the inside is free reign. ( http://www.davidvickers.co.uk/photo_1198495.html ) The previous owner lived there for at least 40 years and in that time did not look after the place so there is a lot to do, which will include removing all the old blown plaster (sand held together with paint) from a room about 6m high, with a vaulted ceiling. This will expose the stonework which looks like it might be ok on the small patch we have done so far. Does anyone have any experience of a project like this and can you offer any advice and traps to avoid? We are currently exploring whether to replaster, leave exposed and cleaned up or clean up and paint rough surface. What about vaulted ceilings - that looks like specialist work to me - any thoughts? I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks |
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| MarkS |
Lucky You!
We keep looking but havent found the right thing yet. Which city out of interest ? I like Domfront and Fougere. You need to talk to Gervase. Also look at madmonk's 'Lime Finishing' thread Dont/Dont/Dont slap modern plasters and paints on it. The plaster should be lime and sand, |
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| BahamaMama |
I am lucky beyond my wildest dreams - it is in a little place called Ruoms in the Ardeche. We are hoping to be as sympathetic as possible. It clearly needs to breathe and is blistering hot in summer and arctic in winter - fantastic 
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| Treacodactyl |
Looks great, I've just amended your post to make the link clickable. | ||
| Mary-Jane |
Gervase will be getting home later this afternoon. I'll direct him to your post... | ||
| BahamaMama |
Thanks all - how do you insert a hyperlink? I could not get it to work.
MJ - looking forward to seeing Gervase's comments when he has time. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Just past it in like you did but don't put any other characters in front or behind. I just added a space between your brackets. |
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| Mary-Jane |
I'm sure he'll be able to help. In the meantime, could you show me where the property is in France please? Is it South West-ish? |
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| BahamaMama |
The Ardeche is South East - about an hour west from the motorway that goes to Montelimar. The town is on the Ardeche river.
http://www.ot-pays-ruomsois.com/geo.htm It takes a full day in the car to get there, leave home at 8am and arrive about midnight. |
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| Mary-Jane |
Gotcha. (I meant to say East actually...honestly I did). |
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| Cho-ku-ri |
You are so brave. I wish you well with your project. | ||
| BahamaMama |
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| dougal |
Fabulous.
Surprised about the baking/freezing bit. With 1m of stone around, I'd have expected it to be coolish all the time! What's the roof like? I'd expect that things would be much better all year round if it was well insulated. And if you have or can fit any sort of opening skylight in the roof, together with a (secure, adjustable) vent in the front door, you'd have the whole place as a chimney in summer, air conditioning itself... hot air rises nicely, and give it the chance, and it'll escape out at the top... In winter, if you can arrange a system to recycle the air from high up, (where the warmth collects), down to the bottom (where the cold stuff gathers), you'll make it much more comfortable. |
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| Mr BlueSky |
Nice. Well done you. Not too far from the french riviera either, 
Hope it goes well with the restoration. S |
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| BahamaMama |
Baking and freezing was referring to the air temperature - most parts of the tower are ok but the bedroom is a bit of an oven - it has the traditional old provencal tiles and there is nothing else between us and the weather! Insulation is a very high priority - there is a glass skylight which opens but you need a ladder to get to it. Can you get those automatic louver opener thingies for proper windows like the ones you get for a greenhouse? The skylight is way too heavy for a greenhouse one.
There are many aspects to this project...... |
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| tahir |
Re: My dream come true
Shouldn't be too hard to find someone in France/Italy/Spain, it's quite straightforward. |
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| Gervase |
Thankfully the French are much better than the Brits at using appropriate methods on old buildings, and the materials are cheaper and easier to find across the Channel.
If you engage a local, make sure s/he is au fait with 'la chaux' and doesn't use 'ciment' at all. Stone buildings need to be able to breathe and they need the flexibility in structure that cement cannot give. Cementitious and modern gypsum plaster will crack - guaranteed. It is also not as good at insulating and has poorer accoustic qualities compared with lime. See if you can get hold of a copy of "Les Materiaux Naturels - decorer, restaurer et construire" by Jean-Francois Bertoncello and Julien Fouin, published last year by Editions du Rouergue at 20 Euros - and make sure your builder reads it too! Vaulted ceilings should present no problem to a competent plasterer/joiner, and will give you plenty of scope to install insulation. You can use wooden laths or - more cheaply - reed matting to provide the structure. The main cause of the huge fluctuations in temperature will be the roof, so the more you can insulate the better, both in summer and winter. It does look fabulous - lucky you! |
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| BahamaMama |
Thanks very much for the hints and tips - I was hoping that this type of work would not be too much of a challenge to the locals - I will have a quick mooch around Amazon for the book. | ||
| dougal |
Here you go http://www.amazon.fr/mat%C3%A9riaux-naturels-D%C3%A9corer-restaurer-construire/dp/2841566498/ Wonder if Gervase has any thoughts on Fouin's other book (as paired by Amazon)? It looks as though the earlier, smaller, purely lime and more expensive book's content might have been subsumed into a newer book with a wider scope - and a lower price! |