Link to todays posts Sunday, September 02, 2007

Some progress on the new openings

I've finally started rebuilding some of the demolition work from the last week or two.
The rotten lintel that I discovered earlier in the week has been removed along with the stonework above. The concrete window sill above is also due for removal and replacement. The bad news is that the interior lintel is also rotten so thats also got to go. I've only taken the front half of the stone out which will be built back up first before removing the inside stonework.
Removal of old rotten lintel
In with the new oak lintel. It's actually a 'spare' 1.5m piece that was ordered for the window surrounds.
Before placing the new beam I had to work out the new floor level and ensure that beam was at the correct height. The current opening was only 194cm above the existing floor, so with a little packing it has been raised to 205cm. According to the catalogue the replacement doors are either 200cm or 215cm high. I am going to use the 200cm doors, so the extra few centimeters allows me to raise the floor slightly and ensures that floor in the room next door is on the same level.
Not having a laser level handy I had to revert to a good old fashioned length of tube filled with water.
New oak beam as lintel
Once the oak had set for a day or two I've built up the front face of the building over the lintel with stone recovered from bashing out another opening.
Finding nice bits of stone the correct shape and size took absolutely ages. I must have spent several hours rumaging through piles of stone looking for suitable bits.
Once this stone has set I can remove the inside stone and then cast a new interior lintel with shuttering and concrete. Because the outside lintel height has been raised I also have to raise the interior lintel otherwise once the door is fixed to the inside face of the oak the door cannot be lifted on and off the hinges.
Stonework over new lintel
|   3:35:06 PM  Use this to link to this item Some progress on the new openings   
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These are my experiences of renovation and running a gite business in Brittany, France. A gite is the French equivalent of a country holiday cottage. French culture, language, taxes and bureaucracy. Find out about our gites using the links on the LHS. Stories about the road to this point will be added in due course. Renovation nightmares, builders, stress, etc. Stay tuned.



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