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Ask
the expert:
PRE-PLANNING
A RENOVATION PROJECT
By James Latter
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James
Latter is a professionally-qualified British surveyor
who lives and works in France.
This
article appeared in French Property News, June 2002 |
The Acte
de Vente has been signed and you can't wait to get to grips
with the renovation work. The majority of French properties
purchased by British buyers are built of stone and the majority
of renovation works are actually aménagements
(conversions) of combles or greniers (attics)
or caves attenantes (adjoining barns). If you are about
to convert a building previously used for agricultural or non-habitable
use, you will need a permis de construire. Or if you
are aiming to convert the attic into a couple of extra bedrooms,
you will probably need to submit a déclaration de
travaux. These formalities will be explained in more detail
in a future article.
There is nothing to stop you doing the preparatory clearance
work prior to these consents being received, as long as you
don’t knock any new openings into walls or roofs.
Good preparation is the key to a successful renovation. You
need to draw up a specification of the works required and then
put them into an order of batting. If you are doing all the
work yourself, the order of work is sequential. But if you are
intending to do some of the work yourself and leave certain
aspects (e.g. roofing and electricity) to local artisans, some
of it can be concurrent.
Even the most experienced DIY enthusiast might balk at the thought
of a French electrical installation. But as ring mains are not
permitted in new work in France, your electrical renovation
or extension need not entail total refit. Even if you want to
do it yourself, speak to an electrician and get a devis
(quote). His work will be at 5.5% VAT if he supplies the materials,
whereas your purchases will attract 19.6 % VAT. And he knows
the rules, whereas you might not.
Before you “attack” your new acquisition, research
the local déchetterie (waste disposal facility).
French environmental regulations are much stricter than they
were three or four years ago: Waste debris now has to be sorted
into recyclable and non-recyclable materials and bennes
(skips) containing mixed debris might be refused. Hiring skips
is a very expensive pastime, and the purchase of a trailer could
be worthwhile. Bonfires in certain communes at certain times
of year are outlawed - possibly with heavy fines. So it’s
worth considering beforehand what means of disposal are available.
So now you have planned your schedule, but did you check your
insurance? Have you bought a pair of protective goggles? Or
even a yellow hat! And what about a mask? Whilst your house
might not have been required to be asbestos-tested, it was common
practice in France in the 30's to use asbestos in certain plaster
and paintwork, and more recently for drainage pipes, so it’s
not worth taking risks when working with this material.
You will also need to consider scaffolding or a tower. Safety
is paramount. If you did succumb to an accident, and you “contributed”
to it through negligence or inadequate safety measures, your
insurance claim could be hard work.
With four acro-props, two sturdy planks and two solid oak bars
(1 metre long), you can open up doorways and windows without
a problem; you will just need another pair of hands from time
to time.
Conserving is actually a big part of the process. Most original
materials in your house will be “green”, and if
not rotten or diminished you should consider keeping them. For
instance, rather than demolishing a terre battu ceiling/attic
floor, consider its properties. It is a good natural insulator
and, with some modification, can form the base of a new floor
covering of perhaps béton léger, which
is a lightweight cement containing tiny polystyrene balls.
At all costs you really should resist the temptation of removing
that “rotten” beam, especially if it is a tie-beam.
If it is oak and has not snapped, it is probably not rotten
to the core. The heart (core) of oak becomes stronger with age.
Carefully sand blast or scrape the external decay; you will
probably find it is not more than three centimetres deep and
the centre is as hard as iron. If you have a cracked lathe and
plaster ceiling, it is often a simpler solution to attend just
to the cracked section, and then bond a covering of toile de
verre (a woven glass-fibre material sold in 1 metre wide rolls
in DIY stores) to the underside of the whole ceiling and then
apply an enduit de lissage (acrylic skim), which adheres well
to the woven material. Hey presto, a new ceiling.
Conservation, recuperation and moderation are the watchwords:
Go on, take that first swing. And bon courage!
Contact
Mr Latter at:
Tel
:
0033 231 90 17 70
Fax: 0033
231 90 98 50
E-mail:
James.Latter@wanadoo.fr
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