French House Renovation 2019

We bought this property in 2012 and have been working on it since 2013. Like most DIY projects, we are moving much slower than expected. This video focuses on the conversion of a 'hanger' or small barn into a loft apartment. Even though I was working alone for much of the summer, I got a bunch of stuff done: finished doorways in stone walls, installed flooring, finished up most of the placo/plasterboard/sheetrock (depending on what country you are in), and getting temporary fittings installed in bathroom, kitchen, and WC. Please watch and enjoy!

[@yolandarobertson7104]

I love seeing old homes restored instead of being torn down.

[@chrislarsen2684]

Incredible Workmanship!!

[@kbzuercher]

That is very kind of you to say so. Thank you!

[@guignegenie8253]

Very impressed with your work. So lovely that you hid the concrete bricks with stone. Well done altogether.

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! Using the cement blocks made finishing the doorway much easier. I just got bathroom doors installed and the cement block door was much easier to work with. Eventually I will render the wall and visible blocks with lime mortar.

[@johncollier608]

Good progress over the course of one summer, well done. Great soundtrack, too. But we have to wait another year to see what happens next, arghh!!! :-)

[@RebelAlliance42]

Omg I love this song! Liking for Dire Straits!! I accidentally clicked on this video, but instantly recognized the first note lol I'm not disappointed! I have this album on cd and record 😊 they were my dad's obsession, and he was french on his father's side ❤

[@lynnthomas4940]

Looks good. Love all the work you both have done.

[@nataliekeane8944]

You are doing an incredible job!! Well done, cheering you on from Australia!

[@Solumpuersum]

Thank you for your video, it gives me ideas ! I'm from Belgium, bought and work on a house with my wife in Normandy, where I live. Best regards.

[@onedandylion]

Oh my! You have done so much work! It must be incredibly satisfying to put the video together and see just how much you have accomplished. Well done! I look forward to the next instalment.

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! I do enjoy putting the videos together, in part so I can remember what I have done from one trip to the next...

[@dynomitejim67]

Great video. That home is looking incredible!

[@kbzuercher]

Thanks! If I can get back this summer maybe I can finish that one and move on to the one across the lane.

[@camelscanswim9414]

I love the work you did with for the arched top exterior door. Looked like lots of work, but a great result. Well done.

[@kbzuercher]

Sorry I haven't paid attention to my comments... Thanks for the encouragement. We had the idea for the arched door, but couldn't find any examples to follow so I made it up as we went along.

[@Gaurr]

Muchas gracias por compartir vuestro trabajo.

[@mariarodriguez4449]

I love that house in France and all the Renovations that you all are doing i wish i could live in France to buy a house but in the U. S. If you are over 65 it is hard to buy a house and live on security without extra money. A oh about the music I love Dire Straits

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! We bought the property while working overseas. Now that we are back in the US, covid-19 is keeping us from going back to France!

[@shirleygraham6229]

Seen a lot of reno jobs, but never seen doorways done like that before. Great job. As I am obviously new to this vlog, I hope you are still going and sending out progress reports. Look forward to seeing them.

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! We made it over last summer, but I'm being far too slow in getting a video edited. I was much happier with the doorways that I built up with breeze blocks. It was way faster and easier, and when I plaster with lime mortar, they should look great.

[@mikelambert4362]

Well done, great video. I’ve got our French house to do and I’ve learnt a lot from watching this. Thanks

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! I have relied heavily on KZbin to find out how to do things in France. Is there anything you'd like to see more about?

[@mikelambert4362]

@@kbzuercher Thanks that would be great. The next job I have to do is insulate our roof, we've had it re-tiled with new membrane and some chevrons but I have to do the next stage. Lots of other stuff later so I may take you up on that offer.

[@kbzuercher]

When we insulated the roof we put 75mm bats of fiberglass between the chevrons and then suspentes to hold rails with massive bats of fiberglass between. You can see what we did in my 2016-2017 video. Next time I will use some of the multicouche stuff and a lot less fiberglass. That stuff is a pain to work with!

[@amandatopson5757]

Hello folks - wow! wonderful transformation - you guys work so hard and the result is fantastic. I hope you will put some of your space out for holiday lets sometime in the future as I’d love to visit!!! 😃

[@kbzuercher]

Sorry to be a year late with the reply... I had thought I got emails when comments came in, but that is apparently not true! The hope was to do holiday rentals, but we are still a long way away from that!

[@earthlemonade9490]

Nice!!

[@GentlemanH]

Great video thanks. I have a barn project in rural France (Haute Vienne) and really enjoyed watching your progress. Clearly I will be having a lot to learn along the way! The corona virus has upset travel plans as I live in Cape Town, South Africa but intend to spend the European summer in France.

[@kbzuercher]

I keep watching to see if I can make it to France this summer. Fingers crossed!

[@lost-with-lennyescapetothe9312]

great job thanks for taking the time to upload it :) getting our keys and starting soon in aubeterre .. how did you choose what heating to have ?

[@kbzuercher]

Sorry to take so long to reply! Underfloor radiant heat seemed like a good idea, and since we were doing the floors went ahead with it. It would have been cheaper and a bit easier to do radiators instead, but I think we will be happy with the choices we have made.

[@shirleygraham6229]

Gosh building a home is a massive job, particularly without professional help for the most part. Working with an old building adds to the load. Wonder if you are enjoying the place yet?.

[@kbzuercher]

We definitely love being there, and rural France is lovely. I certainly will be happy when the heavy work is finished, though!

[@justnacl]

Are you building in, or preserving, any secret passages or hidden rooms? I know of course, that you can't actually admit to it...

[@dafresh83]

dommage d avoir fait le scellement de vieille pierre au mortier/ciment et pas à la chaux ...

[@Syberz]

Pourquoi donc?

[@dafresh83]

@@Syberz le ciment "détruit" la pierre chimiquement , à contrario de la chaux.

[@Syberz]

@@dafresh83 Ah! Bon à savoir, merci.

[@jeanpauldugour6161]

❤❤❤👍

[@mahammedalqrashi]

Wonderful project ... How much total cost for do maintenance such as this house be in the France ... approximately. " Thanks a lot “

[@kbzuercher]

Thank you! Materials for construction are more expensive than the U.S. (where we live), and food is about 20% more. But things like taxes, water, and electricity are not bad. Definitely less expensive than in the city here.

[@mahammedalqrashi]

kbzuercher Good day. Ok what about build house in France isn’t it expensive? How much cost if I say land area is about 100 m Two floors !! For me I would like to Land purchase in France “ the countryside “ Do you have any idea? ...... one more time thanks 🌹

[@mahammedalqrashi]

I searched the sites specialized in real estate and found a group of lands that their owners want to sell at cheap prices, and there are also old houses that need maintenance and restoration. I was asking, how much would be cost if I wanted to build a small house. “ proximately “

[@kbzuercher]

You are right. There are many real estate sites for France, and properties in the country can be very cheap (our's was!). If you want land, remember you must trim the grass and weeds because things grow very quickly. When I go back in the summer everything will be over a meter tall. Also, labor is expensive - there are sites where you can get quotes from tradesmen. For materials, you can look at websites like www.leroymerlin.fr, www.bricodepot.fr, etc. Sadly, I am the person to give you advice on how much it would cost to have a house built. Good luck!

[@mahammedalqrashi]

kbzuercher 🙏🏻🌹

[@Syberz]

Stupid question, but do you know what you're doing, e.g. have done a project like this before or work in a related field? I'm asking because it really looks like you know what you're doing and the results seem much more "pro" than some other videos I've seen.

[@kbzuercher]

I am definitely not a 'pro'. By profession I'm an educator, but I did remodel our house in the US myself and I'm pretty comfortable building with wood, working with plasterboard, etc. If you are interested in starting a project, you can learn almost all you need to know from youtube and Google searches. Just take things slowly and look at multiple people before you decide how you will do something.

[@pascalbassibey5210]

rien que la bande son est top souvenirs

[@fenros_]

When I see concret in an old french house... I know that those are major mistakes impossible to change anymore in the futur. When restoring an old house : ALWAYS USE THE SAME MATERIALS, changing the design is ok, but not the matérials.

[@ratsweater6888]

update?

[@kbzuercher]

We were able to get to France last summer and got lots done. I'll put a video together soon!

[@carolined3058]

you build a new house in an old house

[@kbzuercher]

Sorry for the late reply... Yes, I think the result will be cool, but if I had it to do again, I probably would do things differently!

[@blackboxbs8642]

why do i see so many americans moving to france? is it old crowd? are you guys moving because your ancestors were french?