2021 - progress
2021 - progress
2021, January/February
Two months of back and forth to Limoges for treatment, so not as much progress as I would have liked. Nevertheless, much plastering, sanding, wallpapering done with huge amounts of help from Isa. Also installed the upstairs bedroom windows and surrounds which allowed the decorating to be completed.
2021, March 4th
BIG DAY !!! The roofers arrived exactly on time. They installed the scaffolding and started stripping the roof the same day. By the end of the second day it was gone. All stripped, loaded into their truck and cleaned up. They installed a tarp for the weekend but it stayed fine anyway.
By the end of the following week it was finished. They also removed the old chimney just down to attic level, so that will stay dry now. All in all a lovely job,
I'm delighted.
2021, March 13th
Roofers gone, Isa and I started papering the stairwell. Fiendishly awkward as the small ladder was not tall enough and the big ladder was too wide for the stairs, so much moving of ladders and working at awkward angles.
The fibreglass paper and associated glue was brilliant. Covers all, even quite big irregularities.
Also made and fitted reinforcement mouldings on outside corners. .
2021, March 18th 
Started on decorating the downstairs bedroom - sanding plaster, painting etc. Bought end of line paper for next to nothing, looks very nice !
We decided the the floor was too awful (the previous owner's old tiles) so bought and laid floating parquet, clip together type. Fitted it on a buffer layer of insulation and vapour barrier. Took about 6 hrs. Tough on the knees.
During the end of march and in early April did lots of small decorating job, fitting out the laundry room etc.
2021, April and May
Still waiting for the insulation for the exterior cladding to arrive. Delivery rescheduled twice now and two months late. In the meantime, did a host of other jobs inside. Finalised some plumbing jobs, tiled the shower, Isa did a lot of painting at weekends, I fitted the plastic "lambris" in the bathroom, installed the electric towel and ceiling fan, painted the hall and stairs etc etc.
Then, at the end of May the insulation finally arrived.
June 9th
Started on the external insulation and cladding. The uprights that support the cladding and frame the insulation were already fitted, so the next job was to fit the horizontal members that close off the insulation from above and below and around the door and window openings. Once this was done it was time to fit the insulation. Because the insulation has to be kept dry, it was essential to find a week or so of dry weather to enable the insulation and the covering waterproof membrane to be fitted before any rain. This was the week ! 
Fitting the insulation was fairly simple, the panels are held to the wall by mushroom shaped plastic fittings that are tapped into 10mm holes in the brickwork. One day was enough to see it done. Very uncomfortable working on a south facing wall in full sun, but I am pleased with the result.
Then it was a race against time and the weather to fit the membrane. What I had not foreseen was that you cant lean a ladder against the insulation without damaging it, so for the upper parts of the wall I had to work from a step ladder on uneven ground while manipulating and stapling a large roll of membrane. A good thing there were no health and safety people present. Two days to complete it, mostly fairly simple with a few tricky bits around the windows and at the corners.
That done I could relax before tackling the vertical spacer laths and the cladding.
2021, June 15th
Started fitting the wood cladding. A fairly easy but very long job as It has to be screwed to avoid damaging the quite fragile fixings into the hollow bricks. 
It was also blisteringly hot, temperatures in the high 30's. I started at 6am each day and stopped after lunch to avoid the worst of the heat.
The main long runs etc were done in a week, then quite a bit of fiddly work to fit the cladding inside the window and door apertures. I had foreseen the need to do this and had made the frames with 10mm wide slots running up the sides to take the ends of the cladding. Lots of little bits to fit though...
During this time the water was also connected, all plain sailing.
2021, July
On days when it was too hot to work outside I made the attic windows in the workshop, 4 of them as there are two at the front as well as the two seen here. Fitted these end july.
During a rather hot and humid day there were some quite bad condensation problems in the cellar and laundry room below ground at the back of the house. I decided to fit a VMC powered and ducted ventilator to combat this - another few days taken up. works well though.
More work on the kitchen too - gas hob bought and fitted, also the extractor hood with outfeed under the eaves.
2021, August/September
Holidays, but also final decorating jobs in various parts of the house and a concerted attack on the laundry room and corridor at the back. Also fitted the shower door - removed from the main house as it was entirely redundant for a walk in shower.
Big effort to complete the cellar and laundry areas, crepi on the corridor walls, lambris ceiling fitted in cellar, balon installed with help from Isa, wiring tidied up, second coats on walls here and there. It's looking OK.
End August Enedis connected power - all went smoothly. Fitted new smart meter to replace very old one.
2021, October/November
Time to attack the front exterior - before the bad weather. Made and fitted oak profiles around the edges of the window and door apertures. Rendered up to them. Then burned off the old paint where needed, sanded and painted all the front woodwork. Three coats of brown, plus a bit of tidying up of the white on the edges of the windows.
Also finalized installation of heaters and started on flooring in the main living area. This was left to last to avoid damage to it during work on the rest of the house. Planed down the worst irregularities, laid MDF to cover the gaps in the floorboards, then laid adhesive vinyl tiles on the MDF. Not 100% flat, but looks OK. Fitted plinths that had been painted by Isa in the meantime.
1001 odd jobs in between, mainly aimed at appearance - shelves in cupboards, handles and catches on cupboard doors, paint touch up etc.
2021, December
Finishing the stairs in the first few days of December - left to last like the flooring to minimize damage. Isa cleaned the woodwork thoroughly, then I lightly sanded and applied first coat of finish - looks good. Subsequent days one coat per day, including a day when I took my shoes off to avoid leaving marks, painted from top to bottom on the stairs, then realised my shoes were upstairs - no way to get to them - had to go out of the front door and walk round the corner in my socks.
What's left ? Mainly outdoors : backdoor step, fence, rainwater drain, plus removing all the tools and materials and giving all a good clean up before contacting agents in the new year.