Here is our little village called Chard we live at the top of the hill at Le Chassaing. There is nothing finer than walking in the sunshine to the local market and sampling yummy homemade delicacies. Feels like heaven here. I can’t believe that it’s so sunny and warm in mid-October (26 degrees this weekend).
On Monday the weather changed with a noticeably cool breeze. Still managed to find time for a cuppa in the sunshine a little bit of vitamin D and Tea. (It’s a good job my sister in law Louise is visiting soon with a new batch of Yorkshire tea!). We also foraged in our little bit of woodland for our very own chestnuts to roast! Fashionable right now foraging weekends in France, very ‘insta’. One to remember when our guest accommodation is up and running. (You see what I did there? I made an Instagram link – you know who you are ; )
But it’s not all country walks mingling with the French community and sipping tea in the sunshine.
I’m on Wall detail and have been for some time – read on:
WALLS
I don’t mind rustic but there has to be some uniformity to a wall. The current mix of materials is quite an eclectic mix one might say. A fabulous mixture of lime plaster scratch coat, saltpeter crumbling, flakey old paint, badly rendered concrete, average rendered concrete, just slapped on concrete, wooden lintels with pins and barely-there filler.
As I can’t really attempt plumbing or electrics as well or as quickly as Simon, walls are my job. I’m now on to week three of preparing, chiseling, removing, sweeping dusting, creating chicken wire moldings, filling, sanding and painting walls and lintels including in between beams. It’s dull work and doesn’t make for an exciting photo opportunity so here is my progress so far in pictures.
The wall to the right of the door has many repairs and ideally needs all of the plaster to be removed and updated. This will be a very messy affair and my plastering is acceptable for an old farmhouse in small sections and repairs only. The thought of one huge wall is not a great plan.
Before we remove all of the plaster and call in a professional to commence a perfect finish that won’t really suit the old place. For now, we’re going to try some rustic panelling. It will cover the ugly wall and will provide a perfect cover for wall light cables. We’ll also pop in a TV cable (a great suggestion from Louise)
We looked for a suitable large tongue and groove paneling this is what we found. Not quite as expected but certainly an option to consider as you can see. Bertie and Coco approve.
