How to renovate a house in France in under six months
We finally got the loan from the bank to upgrade the energy efficiency of our house and they did the work an entire month earlier than planned! We hired the company Colombeau Alu who did a fabulous job. The salesman came to our door with samples and his bottom line price; something I honestly appreciate when…
After 4 1/2 years in southern France, it is a monumental moment when you qualify for a loan. Loans are extremely hard to get. In France the banks do not look at your equity, your bank account balance, assets, or anything of that sort. They only look at your weekly income, the paycheque. You can…
Oh, have you ever woke up and knew it was going to be a really good day? Bounding out of bed with intense energy, you take on the day with such capacity, that you feel nothing can go wrong? If happiness were a rainbow, we have reached our pot of gold! Today was this day!…
The pool is finished. Now it is time for the landscaping, a big job to say the least. Alfonz and Adrian work their asses off trying to get it all done. First, they built the wall with blocks. Buying concrete blocks from Bricoman, they dig down and ensure it is level, and place the blocks…
Beton is the word for concrete in French, at least in the south of France. We learned this word all too well after waiting for weeks for the cement truck, a truck or any truck to arrive with the right equipment to reach the site, with the right consistency of mix to work over the…
Le Petit Platane Our little French rental apartment is up and running! After 2 coats of primer, plaster and sanding and 2 coats of matte Silver Sage paint and 2 coats of semi gloss Silver Sage paint to cover that darn yellow summer kitchen, I have finished the painting. After years of the…
Pool The guys used a bobcat to take out the big trees from the front yard to make way of our pool and leveled the majority of the grounds. They dug the whole deep enough for a 20 cm concrete slab 6X4.5 metres wide that our 5X3.5 metre pool would sit on. Then went…
We have our first Canadian visitors! Our family friend Adrian came before the weekend to stay with us to help us through the last of the renovations on our rental apartment and to dig and assemble the pool for the front yard. Alfonz was so happy to pick him up from Montpellier after his best…
Our house came with a name. Les Platanes translated means the Plane trees, a fitting name for a home where the distinctive plane trees with its pale grey-green bark line the roads as well as the Canal du Midi. These trees could be a symbol of French life; strong against the elements and a people…
When I was just a little girl growing up in Duncan British Columbia Canada, my mom showed me how to dig a whole with a little shovel and lovingly place my first marigold in to it. From there she taught me how to take care of our family garden. Our family memories in the garden have a…