Chateau de Firbeix

While Dan and I were cleaning around the gîte windows so the installers could work, we came across a hibernating hedgehog curled in a ball, he's quite a big one. It's a little hard to see it as it's mixed up with moss, it's left and above the brown leaf in the centre. We relocated him in the same moss and protected it from the elements with an off-cut piece of board. Let's hope he makes it through the winter as he didn't seem to stir with our disturbance.

Since Dan and I finished the greenhouse in early September, we've not really used it so Luke took on the project to build staging, essentially a work bench for potting plants, etc. The frame was built with 50mm x 50mm wood attached to the greenhouse frame and also the legs into 20cm diameter concrete footings. The top level is the waist height workbench and the low level is for storing flower pots, compost, etc. On top of the main frame, Luke will be fixing close spaced batons so soil and water can drain through. We'll then paint it to protect the wood, probably a green colour to match the aluminium frame of the greenhouse.

After 10 weeks on order, the doors and windows for the PMR gîte and events barn are ready to be installed and the guys started today on the gîte.  Although wooden windows would have been beautiful and more in keeping with the history of the chateau, a lot of them have already been replaced with white PVC so it made sense to keep them consistent, plus wood is over 3 times the cost of PVC and needs maintenance.  Lounge window Small kitchen window Kitchen door which will have a ramp for wheelchair access Ground floor PMR bedroom, leading onto the terrace Small window next to staircase

The masons finished the enlargement of the gable end doorway of the events barn. The pictures don't give a good perspective of big it is now so I threw one with Luke in the shot. It will let in so much more light not to mention make it a space where we can work as the wind rattles through the barn with no windows or doors to speak of. The lower opening is 2m x 2m and the top opening is 2m x 1.2m. The door/window installers are onsite working on the gite so they will install these next week probably.

When the ground around the barn was excavated back in the summer, they discovered the walls had no actual foundations! It was not uncommon to build directly on bedrock, which we've loads of. The same masons working on the doorways are also working to correct this by retrofitting foundations. They started last week by creating a concrete base for the supporting wall to be built on. As the priority is to have the openings for the doors and windows ready for them to be fitted next week, they'll come back to this next week.

The doorway at the eastern end of the barn was a single door size with a secondary opening above it, same width. We're extending this to a 2m wide double doorway and a similar sized window above it to maximise the light into the barn. The masons started work today More photos to come in the next few days

The door for the entrance to the stairway leading to the former games room on the first floor was low before we raised the floor level so the masons are back to widen (for wheelchair access) and heightening the door opening in readiness for the new doors and windows arriving next week. and the finished doorway with beautiful oak surround and three oak lintels (the walls are thick!)...