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We are pleased to announce that our third gîte, Le Fenil, has received 3 stars from Sarlat Tourisme.

Le Fenil, our third gite, is now complete and can be booked from August 8th. It has a spacious living/kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. It is equipped with a dishwasher, air conditioning, a washing machine, a private covered terrace and access to a large communal swimming pool.

We've been really busy this month getting into the renovations and as a result my blog is a little behind schedule. As I write I am currently back in the UK. Our visas finally arrived, allowing us to reside in France, so we had to return to the French consulate in London to collect them. As it's almost Christmas, we'll be staying until the new year.

In our last blog, Graham had started knocking on a door between the two rooms of our little barn and I was still pointing at the front wall of the house. Both works are now complete. Graham was ready to dig the floor of the little barn. It meant he could finally get his hands on a mini digger. Therefore, we hired the mini excavator and a tipper. As he dug the dirt floor, he filled my dump bed and I then dropped it off in front of our large shed barn. I was unhappy with this arrangement as there were old shoes and all sorts of trash among the dirt. It seemed like we were just moving the trash around rather than getting rid of it. Graham ignored my protests and said everything would be fine. Another job we started doing while we had the mini digger was trying to clean up the mountain of straw left in the wooden shed. It was difficult because the slope from the barn into the field was too steep for the tipper. We ended up adding straw to the trash heap.

The newly pointed front wall. The contrast to the floor upper that wasn't pointed shows how much the pointing has improved the wall.

Graham on the mini digger.

Now that the ground had been dug, Graham had to build walls. One was to support the beams where the stairs were going to be. The other was at the front of the barn where he had removed the wooden wall. The first wall was relatively simple and soon completed. However, the second wall had some obstacles in the way; a wine press with a large concrete base, a rainwater drain and a support beam supporting the roof. After some consideration, we decided to move the wall back a little further, which meant the beam was in front of the wall. The juicer was not so easy to solve. First, he removed the press, setting it aside as we intend to use it as a feature. The concrete base was the biggest challenge Graham had faced so far. We were hoping it was hollow, but it turned out solid. Luckily, we were having the septic tanks installed that week and one of the workers lent him a jig pick. It was still extremely hard work and created dust that got into the house. He was unable to remove the entire base as it contained large pieces of metal. The remaining piece isn't in the way of the wall, so we'll make a bench out of it later.

Graham with the jigger pick removing the wine press.

The rainwater drain also became a challenge. As Graham was digging for the foundations of the wall, he discovered the clay pipe that removed rainwater from the roof of the house and the yard. As it was raining at the time, we realized it was broken and water was leaking out. He decided the best thing to do was to replace the hose. However, local DIY stores have been closed. He found a pipe in one of the barns so he could make a temporary repair. He built a dam to keep water from reaching the broken pipe while he was fixing it. He had just finished cementing the smaller pipe when suddenly his dam broke, water surged towards him and whoosh! The pipe had disappeared. He had no choice but to leave it until the DIY stores opened the next day.

The dam before it was broken and washed away by the pipe.

While Graham was dealing with these challenges, I also started working in the little barn.This was a relief as the weather was much colder and wetter than it had been. I sanded down the beams that would support the bedroom floor because we're going to keep them exposed. Many of them have already been infested with the Capricorn beetle and the wood was soft in places. We intend to spray them with a woodworm treatment before oiling them. Another job that I started was the pointing of the central wall that will divide the living room and the kitchen. As this is an interior wall, it does not require insulation so we can keep the stone exposed.

The newly sanded beams, a pointing plot and the new door.

In France, the distances between places are too great to allow public sewers. Only if you live in the city will you be connected to the city sewer system. If you live outside of town, such as Les Granges, you must have your own septic tank.When we bought the house a report had been made which stated that the current septic tank was not up to code. As part of our planning request, a government agency, known as SPANC, conducted a survey to inform us of the system we should install. As we will eventually have four or five apartments, we had to have three septic tanks. The guys came in one morning with their big diggers and started tearing up my garden and yard. Of course, this was the week when the dry weather we had had since arriving in France ended. There was mud everywhere. When they had finished all the work, they had knocked down a large part of the garden and part of our field. However, they put the earth where we had put garbage and pressed it. This left us with a flatter surface. It's ideal because this area will be a parking lot, so they buried all the trash.

One of three septic tanks.

When we arrived at Les Granges the yard was green with grass and weeds. Underneath, there were limestone gravels. It was good to hike at first as it was dry. As we experienced wetter conditions the yard got more and more muddy. With two dogs, it was not ideal. So, I started to make my way. I scraped the ground and the weeds. On the side of the house was a pile of limestone gravel. I put them in my path which gave us a better surface to walk on. However, it was slow as I only walked a little bit each day. Eventually I created a path that went from the house to each door of the van and to the hot tub. The following week the septic tank guys arrived and my path was history. It was also the wine press base's rainy and dusty week. The house was dirty (again) and I was surrounded by mud. However, the house was cleaned and Graham ordered six tons of limestone chippings. It was hard work to move all that gravel in a day, but we transformed the yard.

The path I created.

Our courtyard looks much better with 6 tons of limestone chippings.

Once Graham had built his wall foundation, we were ready to do the concrete floor of the little barn. We used the wacker to press the limestone chips, then the sand. We now needed insulation, but as we had problems getting it before we got back to the UK, we left the floor and moved on to another job.

Preparation of the ground in the small barn.

The new job was to remove the first floor of the large barn as it was rotten. Many more trips to the chetterie were required. For the first time, we could see up to the roof of this barn. The beams are very attractive, which leads me to rethink the layout so that more of them are exposed. The soil we removed was completely covered in straw – yes, more straw! Luckily we found an old pitchfork and I started rolling it to where I was going to have my vegetable garden. It took all day, and you couldn't tell I had moved on. That night we thought about how we could move the straw faster. Then I had the idea to fill the back of the van and drive around the field. It moved a lot more chaff, but we're still not done.

The attractive beams revealed after removing the barn floor.

The next few weeks of our renovation will (hopefully) start to see our little gite take shape and I can't wait to get back and keep going.

One of our straw mounds.

After a month back in the UK, we finally returned to Les Granges. Had the spiders enjoyed their time while we were gone? Of course they had, but I had come equipped. A chair and a handheld vacuum were my weapons, so I got to work. I think I won this battle, but it wasn't over yet. A week later, the feather duster was out. A much shorter battle which I won again.

It wasn't just cobwebs we had to contend with the bathroom was filthy, the windows looked like they had never been cleaned and we lacked a kitchen. So before we could even think about starting the renovations, we had to make ourselves a home.

I started in the bathroom where I managed to bring a level of cleanliness in which I could wash myself. The bathroom window was covered by a cardboard card. I pulled it down to find other spiders hiding with some of their half-dead prey. On the window itself, there were a few small animal prints. A cat maybe? I'm afraid we'll never know.

Who was trying to enter?

The only parts of the kitchen that remained were a sink and a wall unit. Graham had spent a few hours cleaning both, but I still wasn't enthusiastic. I looked on Facebook market to see if anyone was selling used kitchens. I found one complete with a sink and hob for free! However, we had to dismantle the kitchen. With my translator at the ready, I managed to communicate with the French seller (or donor) and we arranged to pick up the kitchen a few days later. However this was not the case, the seller sent a message the next day saying to leave it until the following week. I asked what day but never heard from her again. At that point, I was ready to compromise. The sink and wall unit could stay, but I needed a new faucet, worktop and shelf underneath. It's not pretty, but it's functional. We're still short of a stove, and I'

The kitchen is not pretty but it is functional, just.

It took us a few days to sort out our house and I'm still making blinds for the windows, but eventually we started cleaning the barns. Graham started with the two cabinets in the open barn. They were full of garbage, and we were concerned about what was in them. We were right to be concerned. In a wooden box he found what we both thought were explosives. He dragged them away from home and we discussed what to do with them. Graham went to ask the lady we bought the house from because she lives next door to us. She told us that they were ""paragreles"". As she does not speak English, she could not tell us more but managed to make us understand that we had to inform the town hall.We googled ""parahail"" and learned that the explosives were used to create a chemical cloud in the sky that would prevent hail from falling on the vines and damaging them. Graham went to the town hall office to inform them. He comes back with Cyril, the gardener who works for the Town Hall. Cyril was worried and called the gendarmerie, the French police, who arrived within the hour. Three guys, who looked too young to go out without their parents, carrying guns, watched the explosives. They told us not to touch anything else we could find and cordoned off part of the land with red and white tape. They said someone would arrive to take them away and took our details. Two weeks later, they are still there.

The explosives found in the barn

The police arrive

Restricted zone

Graham continued with the clearing of the barn, which resulted in him removing one of the cabinets as it was rotting.Now we had to get rid of the garbage. We drove on a Sunday to find the dump which was only ten minutes away. The next day, we filled the van with chemical bottles, rotting wood and piles of twenty-year-old newspapers. They took it all! That week we came back almost every day with more trash. Imagine how much that would have cost us in tippers in the UK. Waste disposal in France is very good compared to the UK. We do not have bins outside our property, they are at the end of the lane. As we come across them every day, it is not complicated to take our garbage. These are huge garbage cans shared with our neighbors. Non-recyclable waste goes in black bags in one bin while recyclable waste goes in a yellow bag in another bin. Card, plastic and metal all go in the same bag, making it much easier to throw away. The glass is a little more complicated because there is no bin for the glass. However, there is a glass bin at the lake where we walk our dogs.

Some of the rubbish we had to clean up

The cabinet is not only cleared of garbage, it has been disassembled

While Graham was cleaning the barns, I started clocking in on the house. He gave me a big hammer drill and told me to get the cement out of the walls. We owned a stone house in North Yorkshire that had been pointed with cement. When we were selling, a surveyor pointed out that the cottage was damp in places. We had a report made and discovered that the dampness was caused by the cement preventing the stone from ""breathing"". It was therefore essential to remove the cement which not only filled the joints but completely covered the stone in places. As I removed the old pointing, I chipped away some of the cement that surrounded the arched window. We then had a decision to make if we should fix it or remove it and reveal the stone. We decided to remove it because we could always override the rendering. My dream was for a yellow stone property with blue shutters. Our house looked grey and horrible. However, I overlooked that and focused on the impressive stonework around the arched door and window. So my mission was to create the dream house. One problem – I'm terrified of heights. I started on the ground floor and was just about ready to start punching when Graham came across a cheap scaffolding tower. I made it to the top of the gate with this, but I don't know who will go above because it won't be me.

The house looks messy although the doorway is impressive and the arch gives character

Under the arched window, the wall had been covered with cement

After cleaning the open barn, Graham moved on to the small barn attached to the house. This was going to be our first project. He cleared it of trash, including several pairs of shoes. No more trips to the kennel. Then he completely removed the floors as they were rotten. We could now see the first floor of this barn, which we had never done before. In the second room, which was to be the living room, we decided to remove the entire floor. As the roof is not very high there, the first floor is not really useful, so we thought it would be better to have a high ceiling in the living room. He has removed the wooden 'wall' from the front of this room and has now started to remove part of the stone dividing wall where the stairs will fit. Therefore, we are now left with a shell. It can only get better from here. I hope!

The wooden wall of the small barn has been removed.

Removal of part of the wall to adapt the stairs

Finally, we decided to add some luxury to our new home. Once the open barn was cleared, we put our hot tub, outdoor sofa, and patio heaters in place. I added fairy lights, and now we have an outdoor chill-out area. We really enjoyed the rooftop as the first time we decided to use the area we had heavy rain.

Our outdoor space where we can relax even in the rain.

We don't feel like we've done much in our first three weeks at Les Granges, but the only thing we've done is make a home for ourselves. Now, let's focus on the renovations.

Our brand new gîte La Laiterie has received 3 stars from Sarlat Tourisme. For more information and to book, visit lesgrangesmarquay.com.

This blog will follow our journey as we begin our new life in France. Above all, it will tell how we will transform an old farmhouse and dilapidated barns into a welcoming holiday complex and a comfortable home.

The story began fifteen years ago after watching a television program about a young couple who started a new life in France. They bought an abandoned barn, turned it into a comfortable home, and made a living from the adjoining fishing lake. I was fascinated by the affordability and beauty of French ownership. Our new dream life took shape in the following weeks. We could retire early, run a few gites and just enjoy life – with better weather as a bonus. A few issues held us back. First of all, I had never been to Disneyland Paris and I didn't know where I would like to be in France. Second, we had three teenage children.No question of me dragging them to France. Five days at Center Parcs was bad enough. Don't worry, the dream could wait. The children would grow up and leave the house. While waiting for this to happen, we were able to visit different regions of France.

Sarlat-la-Canada with its medieval streets is only 15 minutes from Les Granges

The Dordogne has always been at the top of our list, but it's a big area, so we kept coming back until we found the exact spot. Sarlat-la-Canada has always been my favorite city. Its medieval center bustles with tourists during the summer, but that means it has plenty of restaurants and shops. It always reminded me of York. In the summer of 2020, we finally found our property just fifteen minutes from Sarlat. It was over a year ago, but despite Brexit, the pandemic and French farmers, we have finally completed our new home.

Les Granges is located in a small village called Marquay.Situated on a hill with views in all directions, Marquay is ideally located for exploring the region. The Vézère valley, with its many caves and attractions, is fifteen minutes away in one direction, while the Dordogne valley, with its canoes and castles, is only twenty minutes in another direction.

The beautiful Dordogne valley

The main house of Les Granges is habitable on the ground floor with a new recent heating system and double glazing. It currently consists of a living room/kitchen, a bedroom and a shower room. This is where we will live while we renovate. The electrics need a full rewiring and the skeptic tank is not up to standard. The first and second floors need a complete renovation. However, what you see on a first visit and even on a second visit is not necessarily what you see when the vendor's furniture is gone, and you have the key.

We finally got the key to our new house.

When we signed up for the house, it was late on a Friday night, so we had a quick look around the house before going to dinner. Oh my God! I was very happy that we had alternative accommodation in France as I would not have wanted to stay that night. The place was filthy with cobwebs everywhere. I'm not talking in the barns, or the upper floors, but downstairs where we were going to live. Also, there was no stove! As we were planning to move the kitchen, we didn't really want to buy a cooker yet, so we were hoping the previous owner would move on. Looks like it's a camping stove to us.

Our kitchen not so well equipped

We came back the next day armed with rubber gloves and various cleaning products. My first task was to remove cobwebs from the ceiling and walls of the bedroom.Shortly after I completed this, the builder arrived to give us a quote. I returned to the bedroom about an hour later to find about six spiders sitting on the ceiling staring at me. I think they were waiting for me to leave so they could start doing web again. We had to return to the UK to wait for our visa the next day. I am certain that when we return to Les Granges the canvases will have to be removed again.

Our new room once the spiders were kicked out.

We left France and our newly acquired home the next day. The large bedroom and bedroom were clean, but we still had to tackle the bathroom. We left the furniture and other items we had taken from our van inside. They had just been put in, but already it felt more like home. I can't wait to arrange the furniture when we finally get back.The first job we will have to do is to create a functional kitchen because all we have is a sink unit, a wall cabinet and a hood. Then we can get to the real work.

Attached to the house is a kind of lean-to barn. It consists of a room with an earthen floor which also houses the water tank for heating. Above, there is a loft which can only be accessed by an exterior door and probably a ladder. None of us saw up there. Next to it is another room, although it's not fully enclosed as one side is just a fence with a locked door. Opposite this is a covered open area. This will be our first project. We intend to make this a one bedroom gite with a covered terrace. Once done, we'll move on to that and then start on the house.

If you want to see more of Les Granges watch our video of the property, the day we bought it.

I was really hoping this was the blog where I announced the completion of our one bed gite. Unfortunately, many of the required works took much longer than expected. As of this writing, the plumbing is almost complete and the walls and ceiling are ready for the installation of the drywall. So what have we been up to since our last blog?

I finished pointing in the gite of a bed. Both sides of the interior wall and half of the wall in the bedroom. Then I had to sand the beams. I had already sanded the ceiling beams in the kitchen, but now I had to do the roof beams. I hate sanding. I also hate heights. In the end, Graham had to take over because they were just too high for me. However, he did a very good job and I'm happy with them.

The wall is now pointed and the beams sanded

Graham finished the upstairs window and began installing the riser. This is a metal rail system used in France to install insulation and plasterboard to create interior walls. He formed the shape of the bathroom and the dividing wall on half of the mezzanine. We can now install the insulation, but we cannot finish the work with the plasterboard, because we need plumbing and electricity now. This means we have to wait for the electrician.

The stud forms the frame of the interior wall

Even with the new upstairs window, there was still not enough light in the living room. There were holes in the exterior wall where the beams had been removed. This gave Graham the idea of filling the holes with glass blocks, so that more light floods in. At the end, he knocked out a long slot and set up five glass blocks. We think that makes for a nice feature.

We used glass blocks to create more light

Once the beams were sanded, we had to spray them to protect them from woodworms – or even worse in this part of France – termites. It was dangerous. I had purchased a mask for this purpose in the UK. It looked like a gas mask. I refused to have a photo of me with the swimming mask and goggles. Although, I have to admit it could have been anyone. The chemical was put in a large garden sprayer and then sprayed onto the wood. Just two coats and it was done. The hardest part was wearing that uncomfortable mask.

Graham had to finish the glass blocks and cladding atop the wall he had built. There was nothing for me to do until he started the isolation, so I focused on shopping. I visited a barter in a nearby town (about an hour away) to find some antique furniture. I love visiting barters, brocantes and markets in France, they always have interesting furniture and curiosities. Once I saw a branding iron with my initials on it.I was tempted but couldn't bring myself to pay ninety euros. This barter was the best I have visited. We came back with the van and bought four beds, a sink and an old scale with two brass saucepans.

One of the beds I bought.

Graham also made an interesting purchase when he became the proud owner of a lawn mower. It had been promised to him years ago when we started planning our move to France. He also bought a trailer to fit it on the back. This will be useful when we transport materials and furniture from one barn to another. However, he was disappointed when he first cut the lawn. It took four hours and he was bored. Novelty completed.

Proud new owner, the dogs are very happy too

As spring approached, the garden woke up and showed me some of the plants I had inherited. In the back garden, daffodils, hellebores and primroses appeared. All this will have to be saved because the garden will be completely redone. I started by taking cuttings from the cut fig tree and some vines. I planted them directly in pots so that if they do grow roots I can plant them somewhere more convenient later. Then my thoughts turned to a vegetable garden. I had intended to wait until next year when we would have finished some gites and hopefully less renovations to do. Two things made me change my mind. The first was the price of vegetables in France and the lack of availability for some such as peppers and sweet corn. Second, I read about the no-dig gardening system. The idea is that you place cardboard on the ground with compost on top. This kills the weeds below and creates a weed-free garden without having to dig at all. The lack of digging and weeding means a much less labour intensive garden. I have decided to start my vegetable garden this year.The first step was picking up a free compost bin so I could start making my own compost and picking up cardboard. Then I started planning what to grow and bought some seeds. Graham made me two frames for my beds. He then helped me reposition part of the fence to surround my garden. This was important because we have a rabbit that resides in our field. Unfortunately, I had only collected enough cardboard for one of the beds, so the other would have to wait until I had more. So far I have planted garlic in the garden, but I have also started spinach and onions in seed trays.

The beginning of my vegetable garden

Meanwhile, Graham has been busy in the lodge. Once the insulation was in, the electrician came and did his first repair. Then he had to put the studs on the insulation. The plasterboard will then be screwed to the stud. However, the plumbing had to be done first. I usually walk away when Graham is a plumber because it's not a comfortable environment.Lots of screaming, grumpy, and trips to the hardware store. So I was pleasantly surprised when things went well. Although there were many trips to the hardware store, there was no screaming.

Another major purchase this month was our caravan. This is for volunteers to stay there. There are websites where you can ask volunteers to come and stay. In exchange for room and board, they give you twenty-five hours of work a week. Our first volunteer was Froyja from Norway. She stayed with us for six days and was really helpful. Together, Froyja and I cleaned and painted two of the upstairs bedrooms in the house. They aren't perfect but at least they are clean and now we can have family to stay.

The caravan for volunteers

The rooms came in handy when our next volunteers arrived a day earlier than expected. Juan and Christian, two guys from Colombia, had to stay in the newly decorated rooms because Froyja was still in the trailer.Just for one night, our house felt like a hostel, but we said goodbye to Froyja the next day.

The guys first job was to clean the hay out of our wooden barn so the trailer could be moved there. However, when it came to moving the caravan, she became very stubborn. It took Graham and the Colombians several hours to move him into the barn.

The other work I did was to try to prepare the covered terrace of the gite. I washed the beams and the wood clad wall and applied the woodworm treatment. I also painted two old lawn chairs that I had bought on barter. My next task was to render the wall that Graham had built. I had never done this before so I watched a YouTube video a few times and then got to work. I applied the first coat to one half of the wall, and thought I did well in the end. I had a few tough times, but I got used to it eventually.I couldn't finish the render because we suddenly had cold weather with freezing starts, so I had to put it on hold until the weather warmed up again.

The first coat of plaster

I think things are looking good for the next few weeks as it is now April and the days are longer. The weather should resume and we have more volunteers scheduled. Fingers crossed that in my next blog I announce the completion of the gite.