We seem to have settled into a new way of living, when we have guests I get up and go to the boulangerie for the fresh croissants and bread, I get the tables ready and John makes the drinks and then strips the rooms and clears up whilst I work on the estate agency business.
I seems to work well lets hope it continues, however as we only have 2 rooms and not both have been let at the same time yet, none of this takes very long. So John is looking for other things to do.
The weather has been stunning it has actually been hot and sunny for quite some time!!!!! so today John decides to make the most of it and replace the utility room roof.
This is the last of the asbestos. Now many people will freak when they hear we have an asbestos roof, but this is a common material in our part of France and as long as it is in good condition, it is not a problem.
This roof is in good condition, it just looks horrible and we still have a pile of slate left over.
So John removes the asbestos (carefully) and attaches new spars (these are pieces of 3x2 wood (this is the minimum size required) the spars go up and down and are attached to the existing wall plate and the pearlings, (the pearlings are the wooden beams that go from wall to wall), luckily these were in good condition).
Next the lats are added (lats are 2x1 wood, that the slates attach to). This is not the french way, the french way is to cover the whole roof in boards and then use crochet hooks to hold the slates in place.
You must make sure that you have enough lats, other wise you cannot finish the roof, John does not want me to say that we didn't have enough, but as he had decided to build the roof on a whim today with materials found in the shed, we're not doing badly, lets hope it doesn't rain!
It doesn't rain overnight and John gets what he needs, the roof is finished when the flashing is added (flashing is the bit that seals the roof to the wall, John uses flash band that s torched on, this is using a heat gun to melt it in to place)
Wooden fascia boards are added to the side to finish it off, the new roof looks so much better.
But now you may be asking what happened to the old asbestos, well here in our part of France ((it is different across France) I took it to the tip!
Our local dechetterie has a skip for asbestos, and you are allowed to take so much and just throw it in there, be very careful doing this, make sure you don't breathe in the dust and wear a pair of gloves.
If you are viewing a house in France, you will find asbestos some where, don't let this put you off buying.
Definitely looks a million times better!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much :)
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