Still, I keep talking to Monsieur Larressat the master builder and his sidekick Guillhaume on the house plans. The planning application is now in, complete with photographs of the house and graphics superimposed showing how it will look once the balcony has been added and so on. It's a bit comic and has a Heidi comes home look about it. But planning rules demand this graphic representation and it calls for the architect to get creative with photoshop. I've chosen all the taps, tiles and trinkets that need to go in and if all things are blessed, building starts in January.
Can I recommend this essential booklet. French Glossary of Construction Industry Terms. ISBN 874678 50 1 and the publisher is: Impact Books. Essential reading and saves on a lot of hand waving and drawing in mid-air.
Another clue to safe living. Don't build a temporary barbecue on concrete covering the cow slurry pit. That's the bit of concrete outside a cow shed under which is a big hole and is where all the previously washed down cow slurry collects. My son recently came back from the house practically minus hair, let alone eyebrows. He and his mates, fired with tequila, built such a barbecue in what they thought was a nice safe place, one that would not set alight all the lengthy grass that had accumulated over the summer. The heat from the fire caused a crack in the concrete and this was followed by a fire-ball ignited from the lurking gasses that had built up in the cow pit. Could have been nasty that one.
I go back to France in December and that should be the time when I start placing an order for tiles, sinks, kitchen cabinets and so on. I am looking to achieve a Contrat de Construction with Monsieur Larressat - that secures a start and finish date for building and the stages at which I have to hand over money. Then we all know where we are.
posted by French Deal @ 7:45 am
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