We got a "Lotta" again!

Putting the final coat of "stuff" on the walls

mixing up the "stuff"

Mstr bath vanity

The past couple of weeks the only thing going on at the Ruin is Kevin, the electrician, getting his electrics ready so David can close up the walls.  Seeing all that conduit run along the floor and thru the walls and up to the box is amazing.  I don't think they use that much wire in the States.  Or maybe it is just strung all thru the frame so it doesn't seem as massive.  At any rate we will be "well wired" when Kevin is finished.   David and his crew have completed the final coat on the walls in the kitchen and all but a half wall in the sejour.  Wayne has completed the repairs on the Salon and I have painted the master bathroom ceiling.  Jerry has framed out the library (finally getting to work with wood an he knows what to do with it!!).  Paul, the plumber has installed the toilets, the tub and the shower and he has fitted the meubles with the lavabos.  We have bought the paint for the master bathhroom....it is a respectable gray... unlike that Sorbet Peach Jerry insisted on for the new bathroom! 
The tile person will be coming about the middle of December to tile the bathrooms.
There was a problem with ordering the kitchen but we finally got that worked out yesterday and as far as I know the kitchen was ordered yesterday.  The BUT Store wouldn't order the cabinets until their installer told them it was ok to order because he couldn't measure until David finished the wall in the kitchen...Lord, what a whoohaa!

Per David....wall are FINI!

The heating and air guys showed up Monday with a lot of OH LALAing while trying to figure out how to dispose of the condensation that will come off of the heating and air units.  Apparently they have figured it all out and are now running plastic pipe and conduit everywhere.  I hope they get everything installed by 1 Jan 2012.....that is when we are moving in....OH LALALALALA!!!
Our new windows have arrived but we can't get them installed until after 18 Dec 2011.   The Batement du France has to object or be silent on the issue.  If they are silent (and it has been nearly two months since we filed our paperwork for the repair for the outside of the ruin) we can go ahead with our plans.   Jerry has called Patrice, our window person, to get on their schedule for window installation.  It has started to cool off here and we do have that lovely WIND from time to time so windows and heat will be welcome 2 Jan 2012 I am sure!!! 
Jerry did a little more work on clearing out the garage and he found the original black marble mantle for one of the fireplaces...either the original fireplace in the Sejours or the original fireplace in the blue bedroom.  He also found a shovel made from one piece of wood...kinda like the rake I found back in September. 
On a more pleasant note two Christmas markets were held this past weekend.  One was at Chateau Cassan on Saturday and Sunday was the Noel Fete in Tourbes.  It was wonderful to see the Chateau...but the items the vendors had for sale didn't inspire me at all.  On Sunday I did spend a little money on a Christmas cover for the table (if I ever get a table).  We also enjoyed carols sung by our friends in Tourbes and a few friends who live in the surrounding villages.  It was a wonderful way to spend a few relaxing hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Random Photos

have no idea--maybe an oil lamp?

Since the work at the Ruin is "more of the same"  I decided to post some photos that didn't make it to the earlier posts. 

Faux Wainscoting on stairs

the advertising thermometer

chairs in the Attic

vélos in the attic

Let me OUT!

and between work days we play!

Slowly, but surely .... bla,bla,bla------

Paul, the Plumber

Wayne cutting wallboard for shower 

The week of 21 of November, 2011 showed work progressing but since it was more of the same work, ie, electrics, plumbing, and wall preparation and coating I couldn't tell how much was really new and how much was old being finished.  Kevin is continuing on the electrical matters of the Ruin, Paul is installing sinks and such in the bathrooms and continuing on with plumbing matters of the Ruin, and David is continuing on with the wall repair in the Ruin.  Wayne has moved on from the library to the Salon and has started more demolition so we can repair the cracks left from settling and a chimney falling sometime over the past years, and holes left by the electrician.  I think when all is said and done my Ruin will be held together with massive amounts of a product called MAP.  I am not sure what it is but it seems every artisan here can't live without it.  It is slathered over cracks, stuffed into holes, and globbed over electrical conduit to hold it in place on the sand and rock walls.  I have been told caulk is the wonder of wonders in the States....well here it is MAP. 

No sink...just a vanity

Friday, Jerry and I bought light fixtures for the Salle a Manger.  I also bought two sconces (wall lighting) for one of the bedrooms or perhaps the Sejours. I haven't decided where they will go yet.  The fixtures for the Salle a Manger are new but the other fixtures I have purchased are older.  I am polishing brass even as I write this and Jerry will be rewring them prior to them being installed.  Kevin already knows he must "check Jerry's work".   We also found the furniture for the bathroom sinks.  For the small new bath we found a table with two basket type containers on an open shelf below the top.  It is the perfect size for the bathroom and it will look wonderful in there.  The square sink we bought will sit on top of the table.  At the last antique shop we stopped at we found an old victrola cabinet.  That will be the sink base for the master bath.  We also found an old "wash table" for the dry vanity I will use. All it needs is a little cleaning up and a mirror.  We had to take the piece on top of it off so it would fit in the car.  When the top came off an old Franc dropped to the ground.  It was a close call to see who would come up with it the fastest....Jerry or the Antique Vendor.  Jerry won...money is money you know.  Turns out the Franc wasn't THAT old, it was dated 1943. The reason we spent so much time looking for something unsual for the bathroom sink bases and vanity is because the "meubles" (furniture) for the bath here is all very contemporary looking..slick finishes (mostly bright white ) or what I call "Miami" finishes.  There are also contemporary teak pieces.  All of  it is very expensive and most of it I wouldn't have on a bet. 

sand & adhesive on walls

David mixing the sand &adhesive for walls

The work continues in the sejours and salle a manger.  I am thinking this work will never be finished!  Ask me again in a couple of weeks.


Another side note about this past week is we enjoyed an American Thanksgiving with Ken and Alison.  They are Americans who live in this area and they have a catering business.  They also have several theme dinners in their home throughout the year.  We have enjoyed several meals with them over the past three years...Thai night, Mexican night, North Italian night, and a Barbeque ribs night to name a few.  Anyway there is usually about 45 or 50 people in attendance and Thursday was no exception. I am still wondering how Ken got mesquite wood to smoke one of the turkeys...he is pretty mum on the subject.  Jerry and several of the folks from Tourbes enjoyed American Football on the RV.  It was a wonderful evening even though I could hear all the moaning and groaning coming over the "pond" from Georgia cause Mom and Dad weren't home for the holiday.  It was the first Thanksgiving in about 35 years (maybe more) that I have not cooked Thanksgiving dinner.....a girl could get used to that you know!   

The rest of the week of 14 Nov 2011

The rest of the week of 14 Nov 2011

New Water Main "fini" 

As the week dragged along we saw more electrics installed, more placo put up (that is plasterboard to all those studying French), rubble toted away (3 trips to the dechetterie) and the Dept of Herault finish the water main pipe just down from us.  I suppose “dragged along” is a bit morose since there has been work going on all week in the Ruin on two floors…it is just the weather has been des pluies and I am anxious to see more progress!  “If wishes and buts were candy and nuts oh what a party it would be” as Jerry continually reminds me! 

Kevin finishing electricals

All of the electrical runs are finished.  That means the walls can be covered up. Kevin Quinn, the Irish electrician, still has a bit of wall chasing to do,  but it is getting very close on all the destruction to the walls to get wires in.  He worked Saturday and will only need to pull the wires through. He lacks one room on the back and then its on to the mains work with the breaker box. He probably has 3 solid days of work left until he trims it out after the builder is finished.

The walls are up in the new bathroom and the walls are up in the remodeled bathroom just waiting for the person to come do all the tiling.  The Roman shower in the remodeled bathroom is HUGE!  Can’t wait to get it finished!  The first paint has been applied in the new bathroom….Sorbet Peche….it was Jerry’s pick…trust me there will be a little calming “faux finish” applied!  The color is sort of a Peachy Pumpkin…if you can envision that (without throwing up!). LOL   Actually, with a little faux and the new tile up it might surprise me!

The library is finally framed up and they are in the process of finishing the taping and bedding of the placo. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to work with walls that are not remotely square, bow inward sometime and bulge outward all within a meter up and down. Every measurement you take is different.  Jerry has learned to scribe a wall however.   I even learned some British profanity!  I get to paint the shelves…a nice respectable “Taupe”!  Wayne, British,  is coming again tomorrow to hopefully finish the taping and bedding of the new placo.

Rubble gone from Cuisine

Sand delivered

All the rubble has been cleaned up from the ground level in preparation for the application of the 1^st coat of whatever it is that David, our French builder, is applying to the walls.  A big load of sand and adhesive was delivered Thursday so I am hoping they will start Monday. David promised last Wednesday but as you can see things aren't they seem.

The plumber, Paul Thomas, British, is coming Monday to finish up most of his job since the walls are up in the bathrooms. He must finish the drains work before David puts in the new plafonds on the ground floor. when he leaves we should have two toilet and one bathtub (untiled) and a shower with no faucets or tile. We can't seem to find vanity cabinets we like and that will fit the space available.

Justin Gosling, British, is coming back this coming week to finish the placard (closet) across from the new bath.  He is also offering a devis for the room we are adding in the garage. That room will house the closet for the water heater and a room that is known here as a water closet and in the states as a Powder room.  Anyway, it will be a small, ground floor toilet room since there is not one on that level now.

wagon #1

Wagon #2 & sprayer

Also, Monday the brand new owners of those wagons and that spray rig are coming to pick them up!  We sold them to Anne and Cristian, French Vigernons who own the Mont Plezy Domaine. Their wine fetches about 8 euro per bottle (versus the usual market price about 4 euro) so it must be excellent. They are bringing cash and 4 cases of wine from their domaine….Jerry is excited about the cash, I am excited about the wine and we are both excited to get a third of the garage reclaimed!!  

Besides all the hard work this week our play time was exhausting as well.  We were too tired to go for Aperos on Monday, but Tuesday Jerry went to the Gentleman’s lunch, Wednesday we went to Tourbes for pizza night, Thursday was Beaujolais Nouveu and we left before the buffet was served because we were both worn to a frazzle.  The Beaujolais was really good this year by the way!  Friday was dinner at the Auberge with friends.  WHEW!  It is difficult to work all day and play every night … hope the Ruin is finished soon!  When you are too tired to play it is a big problem!  LOL   

Taking a break

Holes on the wall, rubble in the floor, unsquare wall & other trials

16 Nov2011

electrician rubble

electrical & plumbing

Progress is being made but the electrician’s progress isn’t very visible after the first two days.   Kevin worked all last week (except Friday which was a holiday) but he did work Saturday all day.  His first work is done and we are waiting on the devis from the Clim guys.  They better hurry because by the end of the week we have to decide on Clim or electric wall mounted heaters.  Jerry has said the heaters may go downstairs on the ground level and Clim on the 1^st and 2^nd levels.  There is a problem getting rid of the condensation with units on the ground level…..I really did not understand what the problem was cause it seemed logical to me to run the condensation line thru the ditch Kevin had David dig in the foyer for the electrics and then run the condensation on out the back of the garage.  Even Jerry thought that was a good idea, but the French Clim guys were “Oh LALALALALALAL NO NO NO. 

kitchen conduit

tidy electrics in sejours

Wayne, the plumber, Paul’s, helper, is helping Jerry with the green board, wall board and ceiling in the bathrooms.  Wayne is also going to build the library….Jerry cried “UNCLE” on both those jobs.   Those unsquare corners, out of plumb walls and dirt and rock walls were his undoing!  The new bathroom is ready for the plumber to set the tub and toilet and stub out the sink.  Tomorrow the old remodeled bathroom will be ready for the plumber as well.  The new ceiling and the floor for the shower as well as the shower walls will be up.  The remodeled bath will have a Roman shower…..can’t wait!!!

getting ready to square the walls in new bath

David and his crew are coming this afternoon to clean up all the rubble and hopefully tomorrow they put the first coat of the new finish on.   I think it will have to set for a few days and sometime during that time Kevin will finish his second part of the job.  Sometime during this time a new fireplace will be built where the huge 1930 or 40’s fireplace was torn down.  (I hope… more on that latter.)

up goes the wall in the new bath

new bath wall ready for tile

Jerry and I worked Saturday too.  We sanded and put the sous couche on the walls of the stairwell.  There were several places to repair so we will have sand those places again but for the most part it is ready to paint.  When David and his crew are finished I will get the walls painted.  They are redoing the wall on the stairs coming up from the ground floor.  I have sanded and primed the wall from the landing to the 1^st level.  The wall to the next landing and the 2^nd level is still not quite ready….because I am vertically challenged I can’t get the wallpaper completely off that wall and none of the ladders or scaffolding are right for the stairs.  May have to hire someone to do that…..and as Scarlett said “I will think about that tomorrow”.

electrics in bedroom...."sigh"

Yesterday I FINALLY got that dratted bedroom wall finished with the sous couche!! Well, except where Kevin had drilled and gouged holes and grooves. (Sigh)

Jerry and I continued cleaning out the garage today.  I spent most of the morning on top of the wine caves throwing down sulfur bags, wood, wire, odd pieces of iron and what we think was the zip on cab covers for tractors. I also found some decorative end irons for the fireplace.  Hope those clean up cause they are not going to the dechetterie!  Jerry filled up the Hooptie and will carry it off to the dechetterie today (after lunch of course).  If we could get rid of the two trailers the garage would look pretty good.  All that would be left is wood but I think Wayne is going to take it.  If he does he won’t have to buy any wood this winter and maybe next!  The other side of that coin would be we would be grateful to have the garage space reclaimed!    

French electricians have big drills

conduit run amuck

conduit in dining room

9 Nov 2011

closing the bathroom floor holes 

This week the only worker we have had at the Ruin is the Electrician, Kevin.  David and his crew worked part of a day on Monday pouring concrete on the hole in the bathroom floor.  It is now ready for the shower collone to be set then we can start to tile in there.

Jerry is struggling to “birth” the bookcase.  I think he is about to turn it over to someone who knows how to work with out of plumb, not square walls and metal rails for framing material.  He is learning to cuss in French and he is practicing his English cussin’ too!  I am not bothering learning to cuss in French…I do a really good job in English.  I have been using my good English cussin’ on the dirty job of  sanding the ceilings!

the bookcase

Kevin, the electrican 

 Kitchen Conduit(black hoses)

Kevin has been busy.  He has drilled holes in every wall and I now have conduit sticking out of the walls, and floors and running up the walls.  We have never seen electric conduit set like this.  He drills the holes in the dirt and rock. Then he put a dollop of cement here and there to hold the conduit in place.    He has also drilled thru my tile floors and then the conduit runs first one way then the next.  In the houses we have built the wires are threaded thru the 2 X 4s or the 2 X 6s and the wire is stapled to the boards then holes are cut in the drywall.  Anyway, here are the photos of the first two days of Kevin’s work.   

conduit in bedroom

Kevin's drill

the wall I just sanded

4 Nov 2011

What is left of chimney in Sejour

discovered door that will become a niche 

Propping up the kitchen ceiling

chipping away at icky plaster

"Hot Mess" in the Foyer

"*%# Metal Rails..where's the lumber!"

"soft" timber from bathroom floor 

Good Grief!  What a Day!!  At the Ruin this morning it looked like Grand Central Station!  David and his crew were there working when Jerry and I arrived at 8:00AM.  Kevin, the electrician, showed up about 9:00 to go over the placement of every electrical outlet, switch, extractor, light, and whatever else we needed him to do.  Poor David was trying to work around us standing in his way…he finally asked us to “Move It”! in his very pleasant French!   In the middle of our conversation with Kevin, Paul, the Plumber, showed up.  Jerry wandered off with him to firm up what he was to do when he comes back.  We now have to get a “demi” tub, a toilet and a vanity for the new bathroom.  He will set the shower, tub, toilet and vanity in both the baths when he comes back….after David finishes this round of work.  Paul left promising to be back when David was out.   Kevin left about 10:45 promising to come back Monday, Tuesday at the latest.  Wendy and John, a pair of our friends from Tourbes, showed up about 11:00 with their clim (“climatisation” can you say HVAC?) man.  We need a devis.  Evan and his helper speak no English so Wendy and John came to translate.  Right in the middle of all their musing about where to hang the clim units and where to put the inside wall units, Daniel, the cabinet guy, came to measure the kitchen.  When he saw the walls stripped all the way back to the stone and dirt I thought he was going to faint!  He started jabbering in French and David was trying to explain how the walls would be finished and David just kept shaking his head no.  Needless to say I was getting worried.  We have already paid for the cabinets you see….  David’s helper, I can’t remember his name, came over and tried to tell me what they were saying which didn’t make me feel any better since I had already gotten the jest of the conversation.  Daniel wouldn’t do anything until the wall was finished even though David was telling him the measurements we gave the cabinet store would be correct.  We had told David how wide and long the finished wall had to be and he said there would be no problem.  I finally went to find Wendy to help translate and sure enough Daniel wouldn’t do a thing until the walls were finished.  In the end, David will call Daniel when the walls are fini…..about 1 month if all goes well.  Finally, the electrician, the plumber, the cabinet man, our friends and the clim guy left…..David’s helper grinned at me and asked “Whiskey?”  I started laughing and said “Oui!!”  At the same time all this muttering, planning and wringing of hands was going on David’s crew of Merry Men were building my niche, demolishing the icky stuff off the walls and ceiling in the Foyer and David was repairing the bathroom floor and shoring up the kitchen ceiling. Jerry and I wandered upstairs to try to work on our little projects but by 2:30 we were wrapping up and saying “bon weekend” to David and his crew.  David said he would return on Lundi and they may finish up this stage of their work.  Kevin told Jerry it would take him 3 weeks to get everything done and the plumber can finish up as soon as David is through with this stage of the work, my cabinets are due December 12, 13, 14 or 15 and I have no idea if we are even going to use the clim guy or just get some type of wall heaters.  So the plumber will be finished and the builder will be finished and the electrician will be finished and the chambers should be finished by 15 December. Will we make it into the Ruin by 17 December……stay tuned! 

Kitchen ceiling all propped up

buying cabinets is hard work!

2 Nov 2011

As I stumbled into the kitchen this morning Jerry was muttering over the But Store Devis.  He announced we have to order cabinets today because time is short and we have to have them by December.  He is convinced the Ruin will be ready by December…I am still waiting to see construction progress not just demolition progress!  We had to go over every piece of “furniture” (cabinets) and make sure nothing had been left off or too much added.  By the time we left the house it was 10:30.  Jerry and I dropped the boards for the library off at the Ruin today and parked the Hooptie in the garage.  Tomorrow more trips to the déchetterie will commence ASAP.  After dropping off the boards and checking on the workers it was 11:30…The But Store closes for lunch from 12:00 to 14:00 so we came back to Pezenas to wait til they opened.  We arrived at the But Store at about 14:30 and I thought Stephan was going to high tail it out the back door when he saw us coming!  He “cowboyed up”, however, and helped us with the changes we wanted and we placed the order…finally!  It was 17:00 when we left the store.  I was extremely happy this is Wednesday …… aperos des amis in Tourbes!  YEAH!  

How to spend a French Holiday

1 Nov 2011

Even though today is a Holiday in France (All Saints Day) David showed up to continue the work on the salle a manger and kitchen.  Jerry and I were there for only a few minutes re-measuring the kitchen walls and the height the boards for the library.  We had devis to seek out for cabinets.  It is past time to order them.  It will be the middle of December or later if we order them this week!

 Our first stop was The BUT Store.  Remember the “soft” sound of u….use it now when you say BUT Store.  Anyway, one of our friends suggested we visit their cabinet department to see if they had anything I liked.  Well, boy did they!!  I have found my cabinets!!!!!  They are wood and they are called Navarre Authentique.  The cabinets look like they would have been in the Ruin at sometime during its lifetime.  It took a long time to get the Devis because the store was having computer trouble.  It was very interesting to see Stephan build my kitchen via 3D.  He spoke very good English, but he would sometimes get lost in my slang and Jerry’s “builder lingo”.  We would get lost when he would start muttering French when his computer sputtered!  Finally, we have the devis…….it is more than Jerry expected so we are “thinking” about it.  As soon as we left the But Store we headed to Castorama to get another devis.  After wandering around trying to find someone to help us we were told to come back after 14:00, she had gone to lunch.  Because we had time to kill, Jerry, Jake and I headed to KFC for a quick lunch.  After lunch, we headed back to Castorama, only to find out we would have to come back tomorrow because the person who would do the devis was gone for the day!  Off we went to Conforama to pick up the devis we were promised last Saturday.    When we arrived at Conforama our contact, Marion, was off for the day.  The department manager came to help us and he also built my kitchen in 3D.  The cabinets at Conforama are not wood, they are “wood products” as is much of the cabinetry here.  Solid wood is not used much and the wood that is most common is pine.  After the manager built my kitchen with the “faux” wood and added it all up…….it was more than the But Store!!!  Jerry is still “thinking about it” but I have decided!  Jerry was muttering “the devis are so close I bet the BUT Store called ahead to Conforama to warn them we were coming!”  LOL

The kitchen

On our way home we dropped by the Ruin to see what progress had been made.  All the old plaster is off the walls in the kitchen and salle a manger, only the rocks and dirt are showing.  Most of the debris has been removed from that area as well.  Since David was the only one who worked today I would say he worked pretty hard!