We are excited, the construction is starting again!
The masons re-opened the site last week and started again to build where they had stopped just before the winter. They continued the stone work on the two pillars of the large bay window on the South West facade and are getting ready to continue erecting the South East wall, close to the road.
We poured a layer of small gravel (red volcanic stone) on top of the terrasse to protect the concrete from dents and chips that building stones and other heavy equipment may cause.
Merry Christmas from Les Peyriers!
There is not much snow on the ground but low temperatures and fog have created a lot of frost and turned the landscape into a magical winterland.
Here are a few pics of the site under the snow. The temperature was quite low because it snowed throughout the valley which is about 400 meters lower in altitude than Bigorre/Les Maziaux, the hamlets where the house is located.
That’s it, the last work was completed a couple of weeks ago and now everything has been put on hold until next Spring. The weather quickly deteriorated in November making it difficult for the masons to continue any work at all. They finished the North West and North wall all the way to the top and managed to do a few smaller stone works that did not require the use of the lime-based cement.
They covered up the water cistern, built the stone footings of the garage and the small retaining wall between the road and the terrace in front of the entrance door.
They did start building the South East wall which is along the road but did not go far again, due to the weather conditions.
The last couple of weeks of November were spent covering up and protecting the work with tarps, plastic sheets and cleaning up the site for the winter.
On our last visit to France, Ludovic and I stayed in the cottage extension that Michel, Ludovic’s dad, had built as an extension to their house. Michel had sourced the lumber for the cottage from a supplier who had not properly treated the wood for pests. During the night, we could hear the sounds of capricorns slowly eating away at the wood.
What likely happened was that capricorns had already laid their eggs in the wood, and the larvae was eating their way out.
I asked Ludovic how we could avoid this situation with our building, specifically if there was a way to treat the wood in an ecological manner. His response surprised me. He said, as a start, that the trees for the lumber would be cut in accordance to the lunar calendar. Initially I thought he was joking, but he persisted….
As I started my Internet search on this topic, it appears that the practice of farming according to the lunar cycle started with the ancient Romans. Even so, I have not found any source (at least on English websites) how harvesting timber according to the lunar cycle would prevent bug infestations….
Our carpenter, Michel, will be harvesting the timber according to the lunar cycle….
What else are we doing to properly treat the wood? We will be spraying all the lumber with a borax solution. Warm water is used to dilute the borax and increase absorption onto the wood. Some lumber will be treated before installation and some will be treated right after it’s been installed. Typically, two coatings of borax solution will be applied.
The first snow fell last week end. It did not stick to the ground but it marked a clear change in the weather pattern. Temperatures during the day are hovering around 10°C and start falling below zero at night. We may not be able to continue building the stone walls for much longer. Although we switched, three weeks ago, to a cement that was only 90{86faa949d09500cfb2fb8be01edc8582822a5980221f039bd4bbebd1d0646763} lime-based and could withstand slightly lower temperatures, it still cannot be used if the temperatures are consistently below zero at night.
The North facade (the long one with a slanted roof line) is almost done up to the second floor’s ceiling. Once the masons reach that level, they will stop and move on to the South East facade (along the road).
The lintel above the high staircase window has finally been installed. It is hard to see the window on the picture below as it is half hidden by the scaffolding and pallets.
My dad has started closing the windows and doors on the ground floor by installing plywood on the inside of each opening. This will help protect the construction for the winter by blocking as much rain, wind and snow from going inside the house.
