[vc_row][vc_column][postgallery_grid id=”Grid_20170811″ data_source=”data-4″ null=”” slidesetid=”SS_G3_20170811″ content_type=”image” height=”200px” align=”aligncenter” lightbox=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have been busy with Jean-Luc, our Maître d’Oeuvre (a sort of construction project manager), planning the renovations. This was going quite well, if slowly, when the UK election came upon us. The pound since then has plummeted to a new low point.

When we bought the property last year it was just after Brexit which caused a drop in the exchange rate; this we, and others, thought to be a temporary thing and the pound would recover, so we waited leaving the bulk of our capital in the UK. Then it was Trump, and the general uncertainty surrounding Brexit negotiations, so we waited. Things didn’t look good but still one has to be optimistic, we also tried to be realistic and thought any recovery would take some time, so we waited. The election was the final straw, the pound is almost at parity with the euro and it is hard to see when it will recover if it does at all. Meantime we need some funds to live on, not such a problem, but we need a great deal more to start paying for work, and with larger amounts a percentage point drop can have a disastrous effect.

The upshot of this rather gloomy and serious tale is that we have reconsidered the sequence of our renovations.  The logic of our original plan was sound: convert the barn into two gîtes; move into one gîte, let the other stor our belonging in the gîte and the open barn; renovate the house; move back into the house and have two gîtes to let. However logic and Brexit with it’s attendant sterling performance have nothing to do with each other. Time for a serious rethink.

We now plan to renovate the house first, this is our home and also will offer the possibility, if we want it, of two income streams. So we have had to restart the planning process and now it’s August and France is ‘closed’ so, except for shops and tourist-related businesses, we have come to a halt till September. It looks like building work won’t start till January at the earliest. This allows for the plans and the two month permit process plus Xmas. In preparation for this and because we have to re-catalogue some of our belongings we are planning to use the larger side of the barn to sort and store all our belongings that are currently in the cellar, the open barn and the house; also there is the contents of the attic to sort out, this has a lot of junk but some usable objects that we found when we moved in. Eventually the entire contents of the house, the furniture and our everyday living items will also need to be catalogued and stored.

As we have noticed before, in France il faut du temps![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][postgallery_grid id=”Grid_20170811_03″ data_source=”data-4″ null=”” slidesetid=”SS_G4_20170811_03″ content_type=”image” columns=”4″ height=”200px” align=”aligncenter” lightbox=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The upshot of this rather gloomy and serious tale is that we have reconsidered the sequence of our renovations. We now plan to renovate the house first, this is our home and also will offer the possibility, if we want it, of two income streams. So we have had to restart the planning process and now it’s August and France is ‘closed’ so, except for shops and tourist-related businesses, we have come to a halt till September. It looks like building work won’t start till January – well, that is the ‘no-later-than’ start date we have set. This allows for the plans and the two month permit process plus Xmas. In preparation for this and because we have to re-catalogue some of our belongings we are planning to use the larger side of the barn to sort and store all our belongings that are currently in the cellar, the open barn and the house; also there is the contents of the attic to sort out, this has a lot of junk but some usable objects that we found when we moved in. Eventually the entire contents of the house, the furniture and our everyday living items will also need to be catalogued and stored.

However, before any of this is possible we need to fix the floor such that it is level and safe. So, this week Jean-Luc arranged for Francis to come and fix it. It took a whole day with two men, several machines (much to Margie’s delight) and 18 tonnes of small chippings. They did an excellent job and now we have a completely level floor that, after 3 or 4 days of drying out, we will lay pallets on topped with ply to make a floor that air can circulate around. We have some industrial racking we can use and slowly we will move everything into the barn. We need to start now as it will take some time and we want to repack various items.

So sometimes in France il ne faut toujours du temps![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][postgallery_grid id=”Grid_20170811_02″ data_source=”data-4″ null=”” slidesetid=”SS_G4_20170811_02″ content_type=”image” columns=”4″ height=”200px” align=”aligncenter” lightbox=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#deead0″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Perhaps you would like to know…
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