Chateau de Firbeix

We woke up this morning to snow! Hence very little work got done today 😉

Part of converting the back barn/workshop/storage rooms into a gîte (Les Oiseaux), a concrete block wall had been put up to separate the staircase to the games room upstairs from the barn which needed removing. What seemed like a relatively straight forward job turned into something much harder as for some reason they'd used very heavy duty blocks despite it not being a load bearing wall.  The rubble will come in handy as land fill for the adjoining room as the floor level is low. We will also add hardcore on top then insulation and finally concrete slab before tiling.

Our neighbour, Monsieur François who is the mayor of Firbeix and also runs a bio produce shop, owns the apple orchard up next to the chicken house. The same trees, albeit smaller versions, as those in front of the chateau had also not been maintained for many years so at the end of a long day but in beautiful evening sunshine I decided to pollard them. 

The tiled space around the swimming pool is large but not big enough for sun loungers at 90º to the pool so we are expanding the available space by adding a deck which will be 8m x 4m, enclosed in the protective fencing. Rough plan to calculate fence panels Keeping the top grass to repair other areas A rare pic of me doing something At this time we had to stop work as the second wheel barrow got a puncture and we can't get it repaired or a replacement due to coronavirus restrictions. The additional fencing and posts are ordered but no idea when they'll be available or how we'll get them.

The horizontal roof joists are too low to allow adequate headroom. The previous owners planned to convert the barn into a gîte and use the roof space for a bedroom but they put in a concrete slab floor only allowing headroom (between the slab and the bottom the beams) of 1.9m which is way too low. We plan to move the horizontal beams up 35cm so the finished clearance is slightly more than 2.20m. You can see the problem as I'm 1.85m and there is no more than 10cm clearance.  The following pic is not from us but shows the type of metal support (the one connecting the horizontal beam to diagonal beam) We contacted a metal workers in the town of Sereilhac (about 20 minutes from us), and they can custom make the supports but they're closed due to the restrictions. This is the design that Dan created using SketchUp. It will be made of 4mm steel in black with 200mm black bolts, washers and nuts. We need 12 supports and 24 bolts. More from this post once the...

We always wanted to enhance our new life in France by growing our own vegetables. The previous owners had some chickens above the barn and had built a shed for them but we weren't ready for this so we're sticking to vegetable, for now anyway! We will initially reuse the chicken space for vegetables and then knock down the chicken shed and build a sturdy greenhouse. Mark started planting with one bed of garlic and a few onions, and they seem to be growing very nicely. Dan is continuing the job by digging out more beds for potatoes, onions and eventually tomatoes but we're going to see what grows in this soil (we can't test it). Loads of Acacia roots are making the digging slow work. A big fig tree right in the middle of the veg patch Dan has made great progress planting potatoes and onions in the last few days. Red Onions Potatoes The garlic Mark planted a few weeks ago growing nicely (some onions in there as well) As a ...

A sad day today as Mark is heading back to the UK after nearly 6 weeks in France. He has endured some really rough weather, worked really hard and made a huge difference to the appearance of the chateau; power cleaning all the terraces, paths, balconies, making a great start on clearing the overgrown gardens, keeping the birdlife fed, digging, wall demolishing, bonfires. It has not all been work work, we did discover the Tourte Limousine (a delicious local potato, meat and garlic pie), many cheeses, pâtés, rillettes, etc. Sad to see you leave but hopefully you'll come back and see the chateau and region when the weather improves! Thanks for everything Mark!

As you come up the drive, there is a block wall (rendered with lime plaster) which forms one side of the swimming pool perimeter. White metal fencing forms the other 3 sides as it is a regulation in France to provide protection if any of the properties are rented, to prevent children accidentally falling into the pool.  Before Dan at work with a sledge hammer Mark clearing up the mess Wall down and taken to the dechetterie Improved view as you come up the drive We have ordered new white metal fencing to fill the gap but as-of the end of March it has not arrived yet. See also the posts on adding a deck for sun loungers (and tiki bar according to Dan).

As the weather starts to improve, and it has been a very wet winter, the garden has started to flower in a spectacular way, these are Camellia's Mark told me, including the white one.