New locks

Before opening we had to get a new lock put on the front door. As we only had one large key it wouldn't be suitable to give to guests and it's not a key to get copies made easily. Fortunately we discovered the man who made our metal pergola could also put a new lock in the heavy iron front doors. 

Have also had smaller locks put on the bedrooms.

As our floors, and many of the walls, aren't straight we've had to improvise with levelling the bed legs in the twin room. There is quite a slope on the floor and the attachment to the wall legs seems to have worked.

Clos Magnolia is open!

Finished our chambre d'hôte renovations at the 11th hour - literally. Were putting the door handles back at 11pm the night before the first guests were arriving. Then, final cleaning and making of beds. We are pleased with the result of a lot of hard work. There's still a few minor things to be done, but all the major work is completed. Our first week was fully booked and has gone well. 

Next up is developing a website (and taking better photographs for it), getting listed with the local tourist office and putting it on accommodation websites. Still plenty to do ...

Before and after

Hallway doors leading to the entrance. The 'before' photo is after a thorough clean too. Note that the hallway has no building/renovating equipment in it! We are gradually getting our house back.

The last of the tiling

Spent the weekend putting in skirting tiles along the 10.5m hallway. And then grouting them. Hopefully this is the last time I shall ever have to do this again! 

An aside from renovations ...

Our latest garden acquisition is a lovely pergola. For the past few years we've had a cheap 'tent' construction which has worked excellently but it really is past it's usage. So, we now have a more permanent construction which will provide a wonderful shady spot in summer, shelter when it's windy and a place for the wisteria and jasmine to continue growing. While we wait for the plants to provide shade (and perfume), we'll put on a cover which lets in air but also keeps the sun out. Shadow has already, wisely, decided this is her spot for a summer evening snooze.

More lights

We have lights!

We getting to the smaller jobs now

Onto cleaning the door handles. Goodness knows how long it's been since these were cleaned, but another labour of love. But at least I can sit comfortably and do these, unlike other jobs eg. grouting skirting tiles, which require stretching, bending and squats! Before and after the clean (the before is on the right).

Which shower to use today?

We now have all the bathrooms working. Showers work, toilets flush and taps run. Yippee. The shower walls are also up and extractor fans operating. A few final finishing things, then we move onto putting the light fittings in. 

The last major paint job - the hallway is almost finished. The ceiling (the worst job to do) is done and first coat of walls completed. Skirting tiles need to be done too - grouting them is one job I'll be pleased to never have to do again! We are very near the end.

Now for the doors

The doors have now been sanded and undercoated. Now ready to be put back for final coat. It takes a bit of manoeuvring to get them out or back in  - they're slot into hinges and are held in by pins. Plus they are quite heavy to hold while trying to get them into place. Yet another thing done and back in working order. 

Windows back in

Three sets of two windows, two small bathroom windows, two cupboard doors and 9 panes of glass replaced. All have been sanded, had old putty removed, new glass (where needed), new putty and paint. Now they are back in place and look great. Just two more sets to do...

Primed, puttyed and ready to paint

All the windows in the chambre d'hôte need to be sanded, very old putty taken out (with extremely care, trying not to break the glass), new putty put in, primer paint on, then two coats of special window paint. We have five sets of two-window frames plus two smaller bathroom windows to do. Not a small task as there are a lot of fiddly bits and time needs to be given for the new putty to set. We also need to replace quite a lot of the glass as it is so fragile it doesn't take much to shatter. 

At least we can do the work in the garden. Doesn't the pool look inviting??

Sanding, painting, grouting ...

The renovation work continues. Almost finished two bedrooms - spent the weekend down on the floor grouting skirting tiles. Deep joy. Final coat of paint today then onto the next two rooms. 

Now I am five ...

Wellington, still behaving like a kitten by sleeping on furniture he's not supposed to, was five on 30 April. This means he's around 36 in human years - old enough to know better than to misbehave like this.

Ready, set, paint

We're now ready to start painting. Three bedrooms, three ensuite bathrooms, one lounge/breakfast room and a long hallway. Plus all the doors and windows. All the tools which might be required are neatly laid out - let's see how long that lasts.

Snowshoeing in the Pyrenees

Taking Mountains and Maps clients snowshoeing for a few days in the Pyrenees. It's nice to have a short break from the renovations. There's less snow than when we were here at the same time last year but enough for some good trails. Yesterday did over 13kms and 633m of ascent, which on snowshoes is pretty good going. Today was a beautiful route via three lakes, through woodland and in sunshine. Not another soul to be seen and surrounded by spectacular mountain views, every direction you look.

Clearing up

The cave is now back to normal. After a massive cleanup - two full days - we have some semblance of normality. 

Meanwhile upstairs, the rooms have been cleaned of as much dust as possible, lights and sockets in place in preparation for being connected after the painting. The big paint job starts on our return from snowshoeing in the Pyrenees next week. 

A bit of kit

Apparently all this will be gone tomorrow. Kev the Builder has almost finished but, while here over the past month, has managed to spread an awful lot of equipment throughout the cave. There's going to be a big packing up and cleaning day tomorrow. New cumulus for the chambre d'hôte is in the backgound.

Moving mountains - or the equivalent of ...

The huge concrete sink has now been moved out of the house and onto the outside landing. That in itself was quite a feat. Another trolley broken in the process. It seems an impossibility to get it downstairs and into the garden so we'll have to cut it up - keeping the shell part for a garden feature.

Tiles started on another bathroom:

 Ready now for decorating followed by putting in the light fittings:

Before and after ...

The original kitchen walls - burnt, smokey and dark. You can see where pots had originally been placed on the wall. Goodness knows how long it had been like this. 

Now it looks like this:

Soon to have a colour added, though not sure exactly what hue. Anything but white. Observant people may notice a slight rise on the floor into the ensuite. As well as no straight walls we have very few straight floors too...

New wardrobe

On one of our many, many visits to the brico (DIY) stores for building, electrical, plumbing materials, we popped into a nearby Trocante and found a lovely wardrobe. It's ideal for our bedroom but think it may well end up in one of the guest rooms. The search for more wardrobes is still on.

Spring walk

Lovely afternoon walk from the village through the vineyards, garrigue and by the 'lake' (a man-made reservoir). All the signs of spring are out. The vines are ready to burst into leaf, almond and fig trees are starting to fruit, blossom and wild flowers to be seen everywhere.

Somewhere to sit ...

First toilet in! As is the shower base and the tiling's been started too.

The floor of the smallest ensuite (in what will be a wet room) is progressing. I know it looks tiny, but we have measured very carefully and can fit in a corner toilet, small basin and shower head. It will be beautifully compact.

And the third bathroom is ready for the tiling, toilet and shower base too. The tiles were ordered today - not going for standard white in this room - instead a sort-of industrial grey as the shower base is a dark grey.