It’s been
2 months since we moved into our new home in the Cote D’Armor region of
Brittany and our renovations continue apace. Steve is somewhat of a machine
when it comes to getting the work done. Up at half 5 or 6 o’clock at the
latest, he soldiers on day after day, hardly stopping for a break. He’s usually
exhausted by 6 or 7 in the evening, and will predictably fall fast asleep on
the settee by 8pm, missing the latest happenings in our favourite TV shows,
namely, Nashville, NCIS and even Game of Thrones! When it comes to watching the
next one, and they do the “Previously, on Game of Thrones” he will inevitably
say, “Hang on, we’ve not seen that one yet”, while I assure him that we most
certainly have seen it, but remind him that he fell asleep precisely 30 seconds
into it. Poor man L
Shhhhh don't wake him
When we
first moved into the house, a host of differing needs clamoured for attention;
the first task for Steve was to prioritise what had to be tackled first. Thankfully,
the house did have electricity, albeit of the antique variety, which required replacing as soon as possible. We were also thankful to have mains drainage,
which did work of a fashion. For me, getting the kitchen in working order was top
of the list and thankfully Steve agreed.The old kitchen consisted of a sink, a
cooker, a dresser and a couple of manky old work surfaces.
The kitchen "before"
"Before"
Also taking up space
in one corner was an enormous old radiator, which Steve discovered weighed a
ton!
Old and very very heavy!
He spent
the next couple of weeks, replacing all the worn plumbing fittings, ripping out
the nasty bits and gradually I saw a real kitchen emerging.
Plumbing things in
I DID help!
Bright tiles, new
sockets, units and cupboards all appeared. The old cooker and sink were steam
cleaned, scrubbed, disinfected and restored to useful working order.
Slowly slowly everything got done
It
received a coat of paint, some new appliances, and then the finishing touches
like the lampshades, blinds and accessories brought it all together into what I’m
sure you will agree is nothing short of amazing J
Ta Da!
My stunning new kitchen. I love it!
We bought
the main bulk of kitchen units, wiring, plumbing supplies, tiles, lighting,
wood etc at a huge store called Leroy Merlin in Saint Brieuc, which is roughly
40 minutes away from us – they have stores in many other places too. Stocking
pretty much everything you would ever need for home and garden, Steve was like
a kid in a sweet shop. We made sure we had a store card as Leroy Merlin offer
one of the best discounts we have found here. We paid €9 for a store card for
three years, but the benefits are huge. With a one off discount of 15% we chose
to use this at a time when we had spent almost €2000 on kitchen units, a
heating system and much much more. It was a discount well worth having. You
also get the chance of a free home delivery and regular discounts on all
purchases. Their after sales service is excellent – returns do not require a
receipt as long as you have your store card, and are hassle free. If you have
to order something, which is not in stock, they will write to you to let you
know it has arrived. We can highly recommend this store as one of the best AND
in our opinion, one of the most reasonable in price.
After a typical trip to the DIY store
I speak
reasonable French, Steve speaks none. However, the vocabulary required for a
renovation project is way beyond my capabilities and I soon discovered that my
French English dictionary was absolutely essential when we went to the store.
On one occasion I forgot to bring it and we spent a frustrating hour trying to
work out which product was wood preserver, and which was simply wood varnish. Our
discussion went something like this;
Steve;
So, which one is it?
Me; (Reaching
into my bag only to discover I don’t have my dictionary) Oh damn, I’m not sure –
I’ve forgotten the dictionary.
Steve;
Why have you forgotten it? You know we need it.
Me
(sulkily) I KNOW we need it, I didn’t forget it deliberately. Let me try and
work it out – peers at the dozens of products on display
Steve;
Well? Which one?
Me; No
idea
Steve;
This is no good, I mean we have to remember the dictionary next time
Me; We?
We have to remember it? You mean I have to remember it, you don’t remember
anything
Steve;
You know what I mean
Sigh, you
get the idea.
Thankfully
we found a helpful member of staff who spoke English and could help us, but I
never left my dictionary at home again – I, not we J
As well
as working on the kitchen, Steve was also busy doing a million other jobs
alongside. He was rewiring, refitting plumbing fixtures, putting up stud walls
to make 2 of the bedrooms into en-suites, knocking massive holes through to
make a new doorway and on and on.
New doorway in progress
Yikes, the DUST!
The other
main DIY store we used is Bricomarche; we have one close by in a place called
Rostrenen, and have become regulars! I think we might be invited to the staff
Christmas party at this rate J Again,
we got the store card to qualify for 10% discount and have found staff to be
helpful and polite. Bricomarche stocks most of what we require for day to day
renovations. We managed to place an order for a home delivery of sand, ballast,
cement and wood, which was another big step in learning how things work here. Bricomarche
also sell a smaller selection of home furnishings, curtains, blinds, wallpaper,
paint etc, which is useful for me as when Steve is off spending an hour
perusing plumbing fittings, I can disappear to find floaty curtains J
One thing
we have found invaluable is our walkie talkies, and the staff have become
accustomed to the mad English who go round their store communicating with each
other in this way. It’s great as I can wander off and find even more red
kitchen accessories, and Steve can find me if he needs me to translate
something. We get some funny looks though J
Bricomarche
has the added bonus of having Intermarche next door – a massive supermarket
with the best strawberry tarts we have found anywhere. They also have a decent café
for snacks, coffee or a full blown sit down lunch, so loved by the French.
Mmm treats
One of
Steve’s biggest tasks has been rewiring the whole house. This is a Hard Job
(capital H, capital J there) and at times, I have been called upon to assist in;
Wire
holding
Wire
passing
Wire
pulling
Wire poking
The dreaded rewiring
These are
important Jobs for which I am given detailed instructions, but at times, the
rolls of wire take on a life force of their own and behave in a way, which
makes Steve’s life a misery. Snagging, kinking and generally badly behaved wire
results in a lot of strong armed pulling and comments such as, “For goodness sake
it’s your job” as he tries to make the wire go where it’s supposed to go. The
wiring on the stairs was particularly irksome – feeding all the way around the
kitchen, up the stairs and into the living room, it looked like spaghetti junction
and I was called upon to help.
Steve;
Can you just give me a hand here
Me;
(Pleased to be needed) Of course, what shall I do?
Steve;
Right (any job which starts with right, is a serious one) I need you to hold
this wire and when I say, let it feed through. Don’t let this one (indicates
another wire) come through as well, and watch that the trunking (black pipe
which the wire lives in) stays where it is.
Me; (a
bit daunted) Okay
Steve;
And don’t be touching any wires you’re not supposed to be touching
Me; Eh?
How can I not touch any wires I’m not supposed to be touching? How can I possibly
know which wires I’m not supposed to be touching?
Steve;
Just do what I said
Don't touch what you're not supposed to be touching! Err okay then
All under control now
And so it
goes on J Like a lot of men, Steve
thinks that because he knows what he means in his head, then everyone else
should also understand. I dread being asked to go fetch tools or other things from the
room where such things are kept.
It's in there somewhere doesn't really help!
Steve;
Can you fetch me my pliers with the yellow handles please? Not the red ones, oh
and my 4” drill bit as well.
Me;
(nervously) where might I find them (knowing that all tools and metal bits of
drill look the same to me)
Steve;
They’re all in there somewhere
See what
I mean? All in there somewhere, that’s
not helpful at all.
So far,
it’s been great fun; we’ve learned a lot – I’ve learned what a 4” drill bit
looks like for a start and I can thread a wire like nobody’s business J
Ha! I've got this wiring business sorted
We know which stores are the best ones for us and
which ones are not so great. As well as Bricomarche and Leroy Merlin, we have
used Conforama, which is another big home furnishing store, which sells white
goods, furniture and bigger items. Their delivery charges are pretty steep, but
you can hire a van from them at a reasonable cost. Leclerc is another good
supermarket to rival Intermarche and of course we have good old Lidl for those
unbeatable offers they have on all the time, which keeps us going back for
more.
What we
did find was that a trailer is pretty essential when tackling a renovation
project. We only wish we had bought it immediately as we have paid out several
hundred euros in store charges for bigger items such as the sofa, fridge
freezer etc, when we could have done it ourselves with the trailer.
Delivery comes at a price
The decider
came when we had cleared the garden and had so much rubbish to move, it would
have required paying someone to take it away. We bit the bullet, got the
trailer and took it to the dechetterie (rubbish tip) ourselves. Every town has
its own dechetterie which is a real bonus when you have as much rubble and rubbish
to get rid of as we have!
The all essential trailer loaded up for the tip
And so we
press on; Steve has achieved truly astonishing results in the few weeks we’ve
been here. He is making a home for us to be proud of. We love the village we
live in. I particularly enjoy my daily walks to the boulangerie for their
unbeatable fresh baked bread and pastries.
Our delightful boulangerie
Easy to see why I am a daily visitor here!
Here is the little bar/cafe, which we
frequent when we get a minute,
The cafe/bar, the hub of any French village
There is also the beautiful countryside where I now spend
so much of my time as we now have a rescue dog – oh yes, did I not mention
Merlin? Sigh, just what you need in the middle of renovations – a dog! Not just
any dog of course, but a highly strung, nervous wreck of a Grand Basset Griffon
Vendeen. More about that madness in another blog J
Steve and I collecting the lovely Merlin from the SPA refuge in Quimper
Please visit my website at www.freyabarrington.com for more details about me and my writing. Many thanks
Bye for now.
Freya
It's amazing how much Steve has done in such a short time! I feel jealous of you having a Patisserie nearby. I love French bread and fruit tarts. I'm enjoying your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi there Julia, many thanks for your encouragement and Yes, Steve is a wonder! As for the French bread etc, It's a good job I have Merlin to walk to keep the pounds off! xx
DeleteBeen there and done a lot of what you say. Even now after our renovations are finished, I get confused with tools. My motto is a place for everything and everything in it's place. That does not apply to his work shed but, funnily enough, he can put his hand on whatever I've spent minutes hunting for in seconds!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! I can search for ages and Steve will walk straight in and say, "It's there" and just pick it up and yet, can he find his socks or shirt? Ha ha
DeleteYour kitchen looks amazing - and your breakfast basket at the top of the page is making me salivate!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne - I love my bright kitchen. The breakfast basket was in a lovely B&B we stayed at when house hunting and for the life of me I cannot recall where it was as we stayed in so many!
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