OUR LIFE IN CHALABRE:

An American Expat in
the South of France

THE RENOVATION OF OUR HOUSE

(MAY-SEPTEMBER 2005)

A ROUGH SCHEMATIC OF OUR HOUSE



DOWNSTAIRS (DINING-ROOM / KITCHEN)

In December '04, the room looked like this:


Towards the Front


Towards the Back


Fireplace wall


Hidden Beams

We undertook the restoration of the stone walls in the dining room downstairs. This involved removing the outer plaster walls, using a jackhammer to bring out the original stones beneath, then doing the same to the ceiling's wooden beams (oak and poplar), then using a powerful electric sander to polish them.

The artisans responsible for the work were:
Emmanuel "Manu" Montoro, mason extraordinaire and jackhammer artist; Arnaud Molini, electrician and local rugby champion; (& partner-in-electricity Stephane Montoro, Manu's cousin)


THE DINING ROOM:


Manu (left, white t-shirt) explains something to JM (rather clueless)
while Arnaud looks on skeptically


JM (left), Manu and Arnaud fixing the phone connection


Arnaud looking at the
Cours Colbert outside the front door.


Towards the Front (left)
(Manu center, Arnaud right)


Under the Window Sill of the Dining Room 1
Towards the Front (right)
Plaster wall - no stones behind it, since that was once a coal chute for the cellar beneath.


Under the Window Sill of the Dining Room 2
Now, a new stone wall built by Manu to match the other walls.


Manu wearing a mask while doing the beams


Ceiling Beams
(poplar in front
oak in back, above the front door)


Another Poplar Beam before Sanding


Close-Up of Poplar Beam after Sanding


Close-Up of Oak Beam after Sanding


Wall opposite the Fireplace
(towards Front)
(Note future floor-to-ceiling
vaulted Niche where cupboard was)


Same Wall opposite direction
(Towards the Back)
a floor-to-ceiling
vaulted niche where a cupboard stood.
(Note electric cable to be hidden between stones for future spotlights)


Manu has now built the arching vault.


Shelves have been installed by local artisan Charlie; the wood will eventually be tinted to match the beams.

   

KITCHEN:


After the restauration of the dining room walls had begun, the kitchen, however, was still closet-sized.
(with Arnaud)


Towards the Back (left)
(with Arnaud front, Manu back;
Also note Small Niche in the Wall)


The walls to the right and left of the door (you can still see the door frame standing) have been knocked down; now Manu needs to find a way to support the wall above, as well as the large beam to the right that now rests on nothing.


A closer view: Manu is putting the temporary supports in place; you can see that the plaster ceiling has been removed, restoring the beams beneath; the space to the right (with the hole at the end) is where the sink and appliances will go.


Closer view of the restored ceiling, with its apparent beams.


Success: the door frame is gone. New beams (made of ancient oak) now stand on the left side of the opening and on top (lintel); to the right, two new diagonal supports have been erected. A counter (also made of ancient oak) links the two diagonal beams; the open space at the bottom will be filled-in with stones and masonry to match the wall. Stone steps will be built to access the now-opened up kitchen space.



BEFORE

AFTER


Side facing the Cours Colbert

 
new tiled floors, restored stone walls


Side facing the kitchen

 
new waxed plaster walls,
new kitchen opening, painted buffet (right)


Fireplace

 
new wood mantelpiece


Ceiling

 
Restored stone walls and exposed beam


Kitchen

 
new kitchen, enlarged opening,
exposed beams,
waxed plater walls,
painted buffet (right)



THE STAIRS (LEADING UP)

BEFORE

AFTER

 


THE LIVING/TV ROOM

BEFORE

AFTER


From Inside, towards the Door

 
"waxed plaster" walls, fireplace redone,
floors restored, flatscreen TV

  NO PHOTO

 
reverse angle: couch, bookshelves


THE LIBRARY/RANDY'S OFFICE

BEFORE

AFTER


Fireplace (view right)

 
new paint (lavender), restored floors,
Randy's chair/workstation,
new shelves


Opposite Wall (view left)

 
couch and mystery bookshelf

 NO PHOTO


reverse view: towards the antechamber,
library corner (right)



THE GUEST BATHROOM


BEFORE, clockwise,
left to right from door.
You can't see the (low) ceiling on the photo, but it was boards + plaster, painted whitish.


As was the case in the kitchen, the boards and plaster were removed to expose the beams underneath, thereby also raising the headroom.


Towards the (low) door; raising its lintel would have meant raising the entire room, floor above, beams, etc; in the end, we decided not to do that, as our experience with the kitchen shows that you never know WHAT you will find once you start demolishing ceilings and walls.


Reverse view.
The big tube (previously ventilation for the kitchen) will be removed.

 

 
AFTER:
shower/bathtub along opposite wall;
new sink now facing the door


THE MASTER BEDROOM


BEFORE
Former Room #1 (entering)

 
No new paint yet, nor carpet,
but the separating wall (right)
is gone

 
New paint, new curtains.

 
BEFORE
Former Room #2 (towards master bathroom)

 
Ditto


AFTER


MASTER BATHROOM EN SUITE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER


Toilet, bidet and sink, but no shower, all in black linoleum and pink walls.

 
Cream-colored walls with new insulation, sea grass floor and new appliances.

 
Brand new shower next to the door from the bedroom.



TOP OF THE STAIRS

BEFORE

AFTER


Towards the attic (right)
& JM's offices (left)

 
fresh paint, new art,
new light fixtures


The skylight

 
New glass, fresh paint to achieve
the "loft" look



JM'S OFFICES

BEFORE

AFTER


Office #1 (entering)

 
Fresh paint, bookshelves, glass window replaced to let the light through

NO PHOTO


reverse view: comics and
French SF bookshelves


Office #2 (towards Cours Colbert)

 
Desks and computer,
files still being sorted out

 NO PHOTO

 
reverse view: desk, filing cabinets


THE ATTIC

 
The Presbytere side of the attic, presently storage, with new insulation, window with view, eventually to be turned into a living space with its own shower.

 
The Cours Colbert side of the Attic; eventually to be turned into a mezzanine bedroom wiuth futon.


Supervising the work from afar: