Horizons Vendeens

You should need explanations about the delay in the restoration works for these gites, especially for the gite 2, and this leads consequently to postpone the “launch” of the gites and their common swimming pool to the tourists from May to June 2008.

For those, who from now on want to have the exact dates for the launch on preview or/and to receive further details on the gites & swimming pool and/or book right now your holiday in these gites,
please send us your contact details and your requirements with this following link: contact@horizons-vendeens.fr
and we will be pleased to answer you asap.

Before the launch for the gites and the swimming pool to the public, any details on the hazards around the gites, that are unavoidable for all retoration, and on all hitches and unexpected events encountered since the beginning of restoration works for these gites and swimming pool:

• Since January, bad weathers, which were numerous, make the carpenters and stoneworkers waste their time, so wasted time for the following trades. Solution: waiting for better weather…

• For the lambourdage -wood support used for fixing the flat ceilings- in the gite 2, we should have no water leak in the roof; but as tiles have not been put down, the masons had to put down a tarpaulin on the roof and then tiles, after having ended the creation and extension of doors and windows.

• In the swimming pool place, we should ”cheat” with walls that are really straight: example with the large door located in the back side of the pool place, this door was put in the 2nd beam -starting from outside.

• “The ridge sheathing” -tiles on top of the roof-  was not finished when “placo” began, so there was a risk of water leak in the roof of the gite 2. But the masons had put well down the tarpaulin on the roof and the weather was not so bad, so the risk has been quickly averted and the ridge sheathing ended.

• A too low pressure has prevented the trades to clean out the stones of the gite 1; this worry was quickly solved with the plumber, otherwise these persons should have gone to another site.

• In the gite 2, the 1st bedroom has been reduced widthwise, whereas the 2nd increased in the same proportion. Reason: the window has been “moved” when it has been created in the wall and as the partition is in the middle of the window – as explained in some previous posts like works in the gite 1, there was not any other solution, except incresing one bedroom by reducing the other, the partition between the 2nd bedroom and the living-room has not been altered.

• Even in the gite 2, the bathroom has been also reduced, on one hand because stones of the wall could not be removed, risking to weaken more the wall and on the other hand, in order to respect the alignment with doors between bedrooms, bathroom and toilets. To be confirmed but I prefer having a single sink but with a large worktop, instead of 2 sinks without worktop… Do not hesitate to come and see in Pouzauges and let us your advices about that room of the gite, your comments will be always welcome!

• Still in this gite, as already explained in the post Walls inside the gite 2, the wall of the front façade of the gite will not be hidden by placo, otherwise we should have lost too much space -at least 30 cm-. This unexpected event, for this once, is not so disastrous because the finishing touch with coating will be more esthetic than a paintwork on the placo. Moreover, the advantage of this coating is to be tougher with time.

• A false level of the screed in the gite 2: before having put down the heating floor and the screed for the tiles, a big surprise of 2,5 cm was waiting for us in the living-romm of this gite. In order to lessen the impact of this level, the plumber had to ”find” insulating sheets -to put down underneath the tubes of the heating floor- with a lower thickness but with an equal -at least- insulation index.

• Consequence of this false level : delay in laying of the heating floor and so for the screed. At that stage, we have no solution to catch up with delay.

• Water infiltrations in the breez blocks, stood on the front façade of the gite 2. Indeed, the ground in front of the stone buildings is sloping and the works are not finished yet, the earthworks cannot come and finish its work. Coating has been projected on this wall in order to “waterproof” at the most and a trench has been dug to turn water towards outside, not inside the gite. When stoneworkers will be cover these breeze blocks with stones and then these stones will be clened out and coated, this problem of water infiltration will diappear.

Styl’façades goes on cleaning out the stones and face-lifting the walls with the back of the stone buildings, starting with the gite 1, then on the swimming pool plac and at last on the gite 2.

the whole stone buildings -the 2 gites and the swimming pool:

 

the whole stone buildings: the 2 gites and the swimming pool -opposite view:

 

the gite 1:

 

the swimming pool place:

 

the gite 2:

 

At first, sorry for these annoyances on the Internet, which delayed the publishing of the posts, like this one concerning walls inside the gite 2.

As you have seen inside the swimming pool place and as stones are beautiful and walls thick enough, we have decided to make stones in the gite 2 in face-lifting.

As result, 2 walls have been cleaned out and bring out now the best ol stones. This coating is the same colour as this put on the outside walls, even if we get the feeling that the colour is deeper, but the living-room of this gite is quite enough bright with the 2 large picture windows.

When you will come into this gite, you see:

the wall in front of the front door of the gite:

the wall on the gable end of the gite 2:

Then, for reasons of strenghtening the front wall of the gite, this wall will not show its beautiful stones but contrary to what it was said previously, it will not be hidden neither with a placo; indeed, having a placo and insulation at that place would lead to a big loss of space, at least 30 cm. As walls are thick enough -1 m-, the insulation is quite “natural”, isn’t it? Consequently, on the ”grey coating” -to strenghten the wall-, there will be a coating as finishing touch. Advantage: this coating will be the same as the other living-room walls of the gite and the colour will be the same.

Before seeing you the finishing touch coating on the front wall of the gite, you can see hereafter photos before and after the renovation for this wall:

Before restoration of the gite:

After the post concerning the Ended picture window on the gable end of the gite 2, detailing the work of the stoneworkers, hereafter you can find photos of the picture window on the gable end of the gite 2, put in by the joiners:

Outside view of the picture window onthe gable end of the gite 2:

Inside view of the picture window on the gable end of the gite 2:

You can find enclosed photos of the hanging ceiling below the swimming pool of gites.

For further details, this ceiling is of white strips in aluminium, in order to get a better stability of the color and an  optimum resistance to corrosion, as this space will be ”humid”.

Before the hanging ceiling:

After:

Complementary photos:

This finished hanging ceiling in the swimming pool place give to this “room”, which has been already brightened by the face-lift of stone walls, more lightness. Come and see in Pouzauges, and visit this swimming pool space and the gites so that you give us your comments.

As you have probably noticed, doors & windows have been put in in the gite 2, all except the picture window on the gable end, which has much delay because of bad weather. Yesterday, the threshold has been poured and it just remains the put the picture window on it in the beginning of next week…

Picture window on the gable end of the gite 2 before restoration works;

Picture window on the gable end of the gite 2 at the end of the stoneworks:

As you can notice, we have a unobstructed view on the magnificient panorama of Pouzauges and its surroundings… once more, do not hesite coming and seen to the gites in Pouzauges, and letting us your comments and reactions about that view.

After the face-lift of the 1st gite -on the front façade and on the gable end- and because of the forcasted and effective bad weather, walls inside the swimming pool place -located between the 2 gites- have been cleaned out and now bring out the best old stones.

In order to show this place with stones, it would be good to have an overview film with 360°, taken from “the bottom of the swimming pool“, the ones who could do it, I thank him/her by advance to come and see in Pouzauges and show me how to do. Meanwhile, see below pictures of this swimming pool place:

This part of restoration concerning the face-lift and bringing out the stones on the gite 1, inside the swimming pool place, inside the living room and all outside wall of the gite 2 need weeks of works. As far the outside walls of the gite 1 are concerned -which began to be cleaned this week- photos below give you details of this work step by step.

Front façade of the gite 1 before restoration

Preparation for cleaning out

Coating begins

The finished façade of the gite 1

Further photos of stones on the gable end of the gite (sight from the road coming from Pouzauges)