Mind Your Own Business; or what NOT to say when helping with renovations

As many of you are aware, Steve and I are renovating an old house in the Cote D’Armor region of Brittany. Of course, I use the term, “Steve and I” loosely as it is Steve who is doing the bulk of the work. With years of experience in building, electrics, plumbing, carpentry and a host of other Hard Jobs (Capital H, capital J there) he is without a doubt a man of immense talent and skill in this field. He can put a fitted kitchen together, without so much as a glance as the instructions. He can fix just about anything that requires fixing and has come up with more ingenious ways to get round a seemingly insurmountable problem than I can recall.

Steve putting the kitchen units together - instructions were not required!

The beginning of another Hard Job

Yikes is all I have to say

Yep, the man’s good.

I, on the other hand, have no discernible DIY skills whatsoever. I have no idea how to change a fuse, put on a plug or any other remotely basic household tasks of that nature. I stand in open mouthed awe at Steve’s efforts and am unceasingly amazed at the results he has achieved in a few short months.

My stunning kitchen only a few weeks after Steve made a start on it

THIS is how it looked before Steve got to it




I am however a useful gopher, a cleaner upper, and most importantly, I make excellent egg custards. The fact that an egg custard has, to my knowledge, never been usefully applied in any DIY task is immaterial. They are an integral part of the process and have to be eaten on a regular basis if success is to be attained J Failure in this culinary area might well result in the universe as we know it disappearing down a black hole. 

My little egg custard tarts - yes I know there's one missing, someone has to test them and Mikey wasn't here

What I AM good at is mixing plaster (who knew). Our battles with the French plaster have been documented in a previous blog, so I won’t repeat myself here. Suffice to say, I have conquered the art of mixing French plaster, which affords me a modicum of status and a (slightly) begrudging recognition from Steve as the best person for this particular job.

I AM good at plaster mixing, but tend to end up wearing most of it

Now in any renovation project of this scale, challenges are inevitable, and have to be overcome. What I have discovered is that when Steve hits a problem, there are certain things, which must never be said; suggestions, which must never be offered, and advice, which under NO circumstances needs to be given.

I have written this blog as a guide for others (OK, other women) who may find themselves in a similar position. A kind of quick reference for correct responses if you like. Ladies, take heed, it may save a lot of heartache.

Scenario Number One – The Leaky Tap

“I’ve got a leak” announced Steve one day.

I immediately adopted, what I felt was a suitably downcast expression to demonstrate my solidarity.

“Oh no” I mourned, “Where?”

“Small bathroom” came the terse response. “I’ll have to sort it this morning, so the water will be off for a while”

“Okay” I said in a completely understanding tone, “Not a problem”.

The minutes ticked by. I could hear the sound of tinkering, clattering and the obligatory muttering which always accompanies such Hard Jobs.  After ten minutes, I approached ……..

Pipes pipes and more pipes

Lesson Number One; Offer No Sympathy

When your husband is fixing a tricky leak in the small (or any other) bathroom, DO NOT stand at the door like a sympathetic mother hen and ask, “How’s it going?” No matter how compassionate you sound, and regardless of your well-meaning support, it is absolutely NOT required or welcomed at this point.  It will only result in a sharply and rather crossly spoken, "WHAT?" as he bangs his head coming up to hear what you're trying to ask him. 

You will be advised of “How it’s going” when the job is completed and NOT a moment sooner.

Scenario Number Two – Awkward Wiring

“Right” said Steve with determination.

I knew that tone and immediately felt anxious, knowing that my assistance was required in some capacity.  I secretly hoped it was not plaster. 

“What’s up?” I asked brightly hoping he would just ask for a cup of coffee and leave me out of it.

“See these wires?” he said indicating a mutinous looking tangle of red, green and yellow wires dangling from the ceiling.

“Yes” I affirmed, my anxiety increasing by the minute.

“Well, I need you to hold THIS one, don’t touch THAT one and feed me THESE ones through that hole when I say so”

I eyed the hole and looked back at the wires and made my error ……

Wiring hell - to me anyway

Lesson Number Two; never question his judgement on what will go where

When your husband has given what he feels are clear instructions on what you are required to do to assist him in getting the Job done, do not utter the words,

“Are you sure all those wires will fit through that hole?”

When I made this rookie mistake, Steve adopted a pained expression, shook his head and sighed.

“This is not my first rodeo” he said with what I felt was an unnecessary edge of sarcasm. “Of COURSE they’ll fit”

Questioning his good judgement in such matters is highly improper in terms of DIY etiquette. I might as well have said,

“You’re wrong you know, you have no idea what you’re doing. Those wires aren’t going to fit through that hole”.

They fitted.

He knows EXACTLY what he's doing thank you

Scenario Number Three – The Unfinished Job

Steve is always busy. He might have a dozen or more jobs on the go at any one time. Here’s a bit of useful advice in regard to those unfinished little jobs you might observe around the house.

A hundred and one jobs on the go at any one time

Steve had been working on some really difficult plumbing. He had put an en-suite bathroom in our bedroom, where there had previously been NO bathroom at all. Consequently, he had to create ALL the plumbing necessary for the sink, shower and toilet. I can tell you from having watched him do this, that it is no mean feat and takes a lot of time, effort and thinking. I would see him in the evening sitting staring into space “thinking” about his plumbing Job. Holes were made, pipes were fitted, connections were joined up and slowly, the complex network of plumbing took shape. By necessity, it had to come down through the floor in order to hook up with main drains and away. This meant that a big fat pipe was running along the ceiling in the living room.

I had to do it, I had to open my big mouth ……

Steve's Hard bathroom Job

Lesson Number Three; do NOT ask obvious questions

Casting a critical eye at the fat pipe in the living room I asked,

“Are you boxing that big fat pipe in?”

Sigh

Steve’s response?

“No, I thought I’d leave it like that and have it on display. Of COURSE I’m boxing it in” – there's that sarcasm again.

Me (in small voice) “Sorry”

THE big fat pipe

Big fat pipe now boxed in and being painted over

Scenario Number Four – The Uncooperative Dishwasher

We had purchased a 2^nd hand dishwasher from one of those Facebook sites. The people we bought it from were very nice and assured us that it worked perfectly. Indeed, the inside of it was all wet where the man had given it a test run before we came. 

We bought it.

After a bit of thought, Steve decided to put my washing machine under the stairs, so I could have the dishwasher in the kitchen. Yes of course, that was the practical thing to do. I mean, who wants a dishwasher under the stairs? So, after some wrestling with the washing machine, and some not so strenuous manoeuvring of the dishwasher, Steve went to plumb it in.

It wouldn’t work L 

I bit my lip, looked worried and tried so hard not to speak, but I couldn’t help it; it just came out.

Sorting yet more plumbing

Lesson Number Five; do NOT use a tone of voice usually reserved for four year old children

I could see Steve’s frustration beginning to mount as the dishwasher refused to cooperate.

“Try again” he said tersely after another attempt to rectify the problem.

I tried – it made the right sound, but no water was going in.

“It’s not working” I said unhelpfully stating the obvious.

Steve dragged the reluctant machine out once again and seeing how annoyed he was, I made another clumsy attempt to be helpful. Adopting a soothing tone, which I would normally reserve for children around the age of four who have fallen and bumped their knee I said,

“Never mind, leave it for now. I’m sure you’ll work it out in a bit”

I can almost hear the audible gasps and sharp intakes of breath at this most offensive of faux pas. In my misguided effort to “help” I had committed a cardinal sin, no TWO cardinal sins;

-         I had said “never mind”; not only did Steve mind, he minded so much he was prepared to stay there all week if he had to in order to conquer this Hard dishwasher Job.

-         I suggested he “Leave it for now” – I might as well have said, “Obviously, you can’t fix this, so why not leave it alone and we’ll get someone in who knows what he’s doing”

My transgression was instantly apparent from the look on his face. With only slightly clenched teeth he spoke slowly and quietly,

“I CAN fix it, I know EXACTLY what the problem is, I just don’t have the right fitting”. He then went into a long (unnecessarily long I thought) explanation of how the water pressure was affecting the flow of the water, so it wasn’t reaching the dishwasher, and how he needed a special valve to address this.  Anxious to make amends, I nodded enthusiastically and said “I see” a lot, when I didn’t see at all.

One trip to Bricomarche later to get the valve and hey presto – dishwasher working perfectly, as he always knew it would J

One dishwasher in perfect working order

Scenario Number Six; the busy busy man

It is important to understand that when a man is as busy as Steve, he is focused, he is determined, he has a plan. He does NOT want to be diverted from that plan by non-stop offers of food or drink and he especially does not need to be called away to watch the latest funny video of a cat on Facebook L

On this particular day, Steve had many Hard Jobs on the go. He was knocking a door through from one room to another, raising startling amounts of dust and debris. 

Knocking the door through. I turn a blind eye to the dust!




He was still tinkering with the plumbing, and had the removal of a staircase on his mind. 

The staircase that had to come out was on his mind






The weather here in Brittany was warming up, and I had all the windows flung wide open. This was all well and good, but as is often the case, we had many uninvited flies in the house. I loved to have the back door open too, but being in the kitchen, the flies were too much of a problem. But I was too hot, and so came yet another blunder.

Lesson Number Six; do NOT divert a busy busy man

I collared Steve as he passed through the kitchen.

“I know you’re busy darling, but you couldn’t just fit me that fly screen so I can have the back door open could you? It’s awfully hot”

Now, like most men, Steve likes a challenge. He was busy; so very busy, but his woman had made a request of him and had used the words, “You couldn’t just”……….. The caveman in him took over. He COULD just, and he would do it before she could repeat the words, “It’s awfully hot”.

“Right” he snapped in a Basil Fawlty way; “Get the mesh”.

I scuttled off and got the roll of mesh we had bought for such a purpose. He measured it with steely eyed determination, thrust it back at me and demanded I cut it where he indicated.

I did so, knowing by now that I really shouldn’t have asked him to do this, while he was so busy with other Jobs. I tried to back track.

“If you’re too busy, leave it for now, do it another time, honestly, it doesn’t matter” 

Foolish woman, there you go again saying it doesn’t matter.

All I got was a raised eyebrow and “The look”. 

I kept cutting.

Steve went outside; he hammered, sawed, nailed and muttered. In less than one hour, he had constructed a temporary, yet perfectly functional fly screen. The back door could be open all day – yey.

“It’s only temporary” growled Steve darkly, “I’ll do it properly when I have more time” he added pointedly as he returned to his Hard, and far more important Job of knocking a door through.

I just about got away with it, but it’s never a good idea to disturb an already busy man, especially one who is beginning to resemble a grubby Quaker with that bearded look; which is dirt by the way!

DO NOT disturb

One busy man!

And so ladies, I hope that this short guide might assist you in knowing what not to say or do in your efforts to be helpful. I will leave you with a few more useful tips J Happy renovating everyone.

-   When there is a problem, never ask, “Is there anything I can do to help?” – There won’t be. If HE can’t do it, you certainly can’t. You may ask the question if there is no problem, as you may be required to clean up, make a coffee or mix plaster. This is acceptable. 

-         Do NOT under any circumstances suggest getting someone in to help him. He does not want anyone else’s help. He wants to do it ALL himself and by God he will.

-         You MUST resist the urge to touch him while he is working out a problem. No matter how sympathetic you are feeling, you MUST not touch him, no, no, no. Do not stroke his arm, put a hand on his back or in any way make bodily contact. Now is not the time. If you do, you may as well pat him on the head and say “There there”.

-         Under no circumstance utter the words, “Ahhh don’t worry about it” - these words are futile

-         And my final rule just for me; even in moments of weakness, I must NEVER mention how good I am at mixing plaster J That would just be rude!

www.freyabarrington.com

Freya

If I Had A Hammer

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