At the moment we have helpers here from Argentina helping us do a roof. The pair of them have worked in construction and have been amazing help.
It's been said that it's cheaper to knock an old house down and just build a new one. Honestly they are right. The money we have spent or not spent I have lost track of.
Le Chataigner is massive. In the great scheme of things it's not the biggest farm in the world 2.2 hector which is fine for our needs. However consider that most people live in three bedroom houses with a small garden and this place is big and the buildings are remembering and built over 400 years ago. You can not just knock them down and start again. We would not have bought the place if it was not for the history and the space any way.
We came to Le Chataignier not realizing John would struggle more with his bipolar and the financials crash was on the way. Added with other complications of tenets that felt once we had left the UK they did not need to pay there rent. Me having to give up work to take care of John and well cash flow is always a worry. As such we don't have any. It comes in one hand and go's out in the other as the saying go's.
So how have we done what we have with the roof.
Well for a start I will not pay out 50 odd euros for someone to deliver a beam 11 klm from the shop to our home. So it was walked back to the house. You may have seen the video a couple of years ago on the face book page. The shop staff came out and watched us, walk of down the road and laughed at us. Yes we are crazy. However when you don't have the money you think outside the box.
Then we have been blessed with the kindness of some ones disaster turning into our gain. Some one we knew had there barn fall down. We were told if we salvaged the roof tiles / slates we could have them. So thats what we did each day. Off we went in the car and filled it up and brought them home. They are now going on the roof. Three years after we salvaged them. Along with 3000 tiles I found on an internet site for €80 and we will have just about enough.
This is the fourth roof we have done and I am pleased to say that our next door neighbour who was a roofer is very kind, pops his head across the fence when needed and say your doing Ok. I am also pleased to say that so far what we have done on other buildings has not leaked. In all we have kept the cost down to under a thousand euros due to salvage and allot of helpers working so hard with us.
All of which I think is amazing and at times I can not believe. Once this is done we are headed to do the barn !
Have a great week every one love and blessings Karen xx
It's been said that it's cheaper to knock an old house down and just build a new one. Honestly they are right. The money we have spent or not spent I have lost track of.
Le Chataigner is massive. In the great scheme of things it's not the biggest farm in the world 2.2 hector which is fine for our needs. However consider that most people live in three bedroom houses with a small garden and this place is big and the buildings are remembering and built over 400 years ago. You can not just knock them down and start again. We would not have bought the place if it was not for the history and the space any way.
We came to Le Chataignier not realizing John would struggle more with his bipolar and the financials crash was on the way. Added with other complications of tenets that felt once we had left the UK they did not need to pay there rent. Me having to give up work to take care of John and well cash flow is always a worry. As such we don't have any. It comes in one hand and go's out in the other as the saying go's.
So how have we done what we have with the roof.
Well for a start I will not pay out 50 odd euros for someone to deliver a beam 11 klm from the shop to our home. So it was walked back to the house. You may have seen the video a couple of years ago on the face book page. The shop staff came out and watched us, walk of down the road and laughed at us. Yes we are crazy. However when you don't have the money you think outside the box.
Then we have been blessed with the kindness of some ones disaster turning into our gain. Some one we knew had there barn fall down. We were told if we salvaged the roof tiles / slates we could have them. So thats what we did each day. Off we went in the car and filled it up and brought them home. They are now going on the roof. Three years after we salvaged them. Along with 3000 tiles I found on an internet site for €80 and we will have just about enough.
This is the fourth roof we have done and I am pleased to say that our next door neighbour who was a roofer is very kind, pops his head across the fence when needed and say your doing Ok. I am also pleased to say that so far what we have done on other buildings has not leaked. In all we have kept the cost down to under a thousand euros due to salvage and allot of helpers working so hard with us.
All of which I think is amazing and at times I can not believe. Once this is done we are headed to do the barn !
Have a great week every one love and blessings Karen xx