Going Through the Roof

With all the chaos still going on around here, I was so delighted to find this little colony of Sternbergia lutea that popped up this month. Now if I can just keep the guys from stomping through them! Will need to add them on my landscape site map so I don’t forget they’re there. What an awesome sunny little surprise to get every year as all the cranes are flying south.

Autumn crocus.

a.k.a., autumn crocus or winter daffodils

And so with the days getting shorter and the winter rains not far off, we are tackling our leaky roofs. Well, we started with the idea of just fixing the joint where they were leaking, but the supporting wood on my studio building was sagging badly. This is most likely one of the earliest buildings on the property, perhaps from the early 1700’s. And so, in true Loevenich form, why just fix what’s wrong and spend a little when you can redo the whole dadburned thing and spend a lot??? And so it goes…

The roof of my studio before. Pretty darn charming, but disintegrating!

The roof of my studio before. Pretty darn charming, but disintegrating!

And once the demo began, many of the delicate ancient tiles disintegrated in the guys’ hands. And a few of the joists were simply tree trunks!

Reinforcing the hand-hewn beams with straight boards.

Reinforcing the hand-hewn beams with straight boards.

Saving the good tiles for repair work on the pigeonnier.

Saving the good tiles for repair work on the pigeonnier.

The finished roof with a special little diamond surprise for Cindy!

The finished roof with a special little diamond surprise for Cindy!

And, in between craziness, we enjoyed a short visit from our friends from Santa Clara, California. 

And, in between craziness, we enjoyed a short visit from our friends from Santa Clara, California.

And I found these AWESOME, hardly-even-been-used, copper pot set for €60!!!!

And I found this AWESOME, hardly-even-been-used, copper pot set for €60!!!!

And one more roof comes off—actually this is the back side of the photo above. The building has this little lean-to part that was added and was rotting badly. You could watch the mold grow in there and you could smell it a kilometer away! JK, but it was really bad. We thought of just tearing the whole thing off, but when the roof work began, we decided to put a tap in and make it my little greenhouse and winter garden. We’ll have two huge skylights made for the roof. I already love the feel of it with all the light.

[A little chuckle associated with this one. Our contractor was telling us he was going to put Pepsi Glass for the windows. Hmm, Pepsi Glass…like glass bottle bottoms? No. Pepsi Glass. As in speaking Portuguese or speaking French? Hmmm. Finally, he said, like plastic, but not plastic. And I said, “Ohhhh, plexiglass?” And he responded, “Oiu, Pepsiglass!!!” Hilarious. It will now be forever known as Pepsiglass in our world!!!]

My future winter garden, sans roof.

My future winter garden, sans roof.

 

And one final major project getting off the ground…the pathway to the front door. Our granite pavè from Portugal was half the price (even with transport) of what we could source it for here in France. (Business idea anyone???) Thought for a while we would need to settle for another type of paver or stones or tile, but the guys came through with the real deal. And we are thrilled to have skilled laborers from Portugal to do their back breaking art. Absolutely fascinating to watch these artisans at work. Just beautiful!

Our granite pavè from Portugal was half the price (even with transport) than we could source it here in France. (Business idea anyone???)

A chunk of the gorgeous granite for the front walkway.

This is two long days of work for two guys carefully laying in one stone at a time. Masters!

This is two long days of work for two guys carefully laying in one stone at a time. Masters!

We are happy that the radiators are in, because fall has definitely arrived. But we still enjoy afternoon hikes with the dogs enjoying the sights, smells, and vibe that only autumn brings.

 

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1 Response to Going Through the Roof

  1. Stewart says:

    Neat old stuff! Susan and I like to look in old cathedrals and went into the attics of many Italian, English and German cathedrals. They all have the same roof framing that your studio contains, tree trunks…..just larger.
    Salisbury, for instance, was being re-roofed (lead sheets) for the first time in over 1000 years and when we climbed to the attic the lumber was altered very little from when it was a living tree.
    Good to hear from you.
    Susan says hello too!

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