Chateau de Firbeix

To fit the downstairs doors in the PMR gîte, we had to take a few steps back and remove the plasterboard around the door openings and fit wooden supports for the doors to attach to. For the upstairs bedroom where the door opening was created (way back), it was simpler as we could add 2cm spacers and it fitted perfectly and secured into the white stone blocks. These pictures are before we repointed the stone in the bedroom (another post today)

Final plasterboard work around the living room window, which was concrete blocks and the arch is a poured concrete lintel. Once we finished repointing all the walls, we'll start jointing the plasterboard with tape and plaster, then paint.

After being on order for 4 months, the doors and windows for the chateau were fitted this week. It is now sealed except for the gaps between the roof and wall tops (in the roof where the B&B rooms will be).  The bats have relocated from the pool equipment room to inside the chateau so hopefully they will vacate soon so I need to leave a door open.

The block wall adjoining the gîte next door was soundproofed and plaster boarded. We will also plaster the blocks around the window (or the original gated entrance to the workshop).

As the electrician finally returned and ran the CAT6 cable from the chateau to the gîtes, we could close up the gap left for the cables and then plaster board the ceiling and wall. Today we finished the plaster boarding. We allowed for a trap door into the loft space and also a small inspection cover for an electrical panel next to the window. The walls and ceiling were insulated for sound and warmth. Also over the last few weeks we had also fitted wooden covers over the spaces left between the roof and the top of the walls. These spaces allowed for various critters to get in so I think we've stopped them entering (assuming there are none hibernating!)

The previous owners had planned to convert the barn into a cottage with a second floor so had put four extra horizontal beams as the floor support. To have two floors the beams had to be quite low which made the ground floor a bit claustrophobic.  The plan was to remove the four redundant beams (added to support the first floor) and raise the three structural beams 50cm. As we had the electrician is the gîte to cable for the wi-fi network, I decided we'd finally get this job done.  Nearly a year ago Dan and I had designed the supports to join the raised beams to the diagonal roof trusses. A local metal works made the custom supports  As the beams are around 5m long and made of oak, we needed a machine to support them as we cut the ends and then raise them again into place while we attached them. As usual with oak, they might look rotten and wood worm ridden but under the first few millimetres it is sold and very hard. We rented a machine to do the job and it was...