More holes in our house, but we're happy! | Episode 10

[@growinginfrance]

Great to have you back for another week of progress! If you have any questions, content or video requests, leave a reply here! 💟

[@dawnrudd2496]

Hi ive just come across your vlog, you are amazing, o love your energy and enthusiasm. I cant wait to see your vision coming to life,breathing new life into your beautiful old lady. I'm hooked, lovely to meet you both.xx

[@growinginfrance]

That's so lovely of you to say! We're glad to have you here for the journey 😊 Nice to meet you too

[@lili.potts.]

That’s just amazing, Jack! You should be very proud of yourself. There’s diy and there’s DIY, and that is a huge job you’ve managed. Well done

[@growinginfrance]

DIY, love it. CAPITAL LETTERS. IMPORTANT. It looks so good, the house makes so much more sense visually from the outside now! Jack measured the window again this afternoon and he said, "you're not going to believe this, but I think it will fit" 🤣

[@reniedownes1139]

Hi guys. We are a kiwi couple who visited France for the first time a year ago. We totally fell in love with it and our dream is to do exactly what you are doing. We are absolutely loving your channel. It is so creative, clever, warm, humorous and honest. Thank you so much for sharing your journey. ❤❤❤

[@growinginfrance]

Hi Renie, that’s awesome! Which part of France? Totally understand how you fell in love with the place, it’s magic here! Thanks so much for all your kind words, we’re so glad you’re enjoying the channel ❤️

[@reniedownes1139]

Thanks heaps for your reply! We did a 4 week road trip from Paris, Dijon, Lyon, Valance, Avignon and Nice. So much of France that we haven't seen in person but now doing lots of research and vlog-watching. The Charente area does sound beautiful (my husband's cousin has recently bought a reno project in Courcome). And we are loyal Escape to Rural France watchers too - we lovingly call Dan "Old Mate "😊. But just you guys being Kiwis makes the dream seem that much more possible. Your editing is really amazing and super-creative. (And btw - lovin' the music!!😉) Go you guys!

[@growinginfrance]

@@reniedownes1139 Wow that sounds amazing, yeah being kiwi it's hard to fully appreciate how big France is! We've been here five years and barely scratched the surface - We absolutely adore the charente though, especially for the river itself, it's beautiful and swimmable and clean and navigable 🤩I'm a big fan of Dan and his chateau too (tell him we say hey 😉) Super stoked that you're enjoying the editing, and the music! (it can be a bit divisive at times haha) Hit us up when you make your dream come too and get back over here, until then we'll see you at the next video 👋

[@reniedownes1139]

Merci!

[@toots4205]

Just found your channel, very happy it came across. You guys are thoroughly entertaining. I'm hoping you could do a full tour of your whole property and buildings. Appreciate your time and effort, looking forward to more episodes.

[@growinginfrance]

So happy to have you here! Thanks for your comment too, it's great to hear what people would like to see, we'll definitely do a larger tour, we're thinking in Spring! It's much prettier then 🌸

[@darrenpodger7294]

Love the work on your window neat job jack

[@growinginfrance]

Thanks! I was super happy with how it turned out - which is not always the case haha

[@cindyblair1283]

I have been watching all your videos and you both Our such a beautiful couple 😊 The Lentil was a little scary really had my fingers crossed for the both of you. I am so excited to see what comes next. Thank you for sharing your life and journey with us. Cindy🇺🇸❤️🙏🏻

[@growinginfrance]

Thanks Cindy. The Lintel was a bit scary for us too 😅 but we got there in the end. We love sharing the journey and getting to know everyone in the comments, so thanks for being a part of it! ❤️

[@rosecottagefrance]

Same here with the fear but the sense of accomplishment is amazing when you finally tackle the job.

[@growinginfrance]

I don't know if we've made it to accomplished just yet, 😅 but the feeling of progress is certainly helping!

[@thechatelaine]

It is a slow process but eventually you will see the difference...believe me!! I am going through the whole process as well.!!

[@growinginfrance]

Yes yours is looking great! Cheers to progress 🥂

[@FayeHolt]

You are amazing....doing a great job on this beauty...another great video...I adore the French markets...

[@growinginfrance]

Glad you’re enjoying the videos! We certainly enjoy making them 😁

[@shanecrawford6023]

I have to give Liu credit, I didn’t think the way you were doing it would work out. 🇨🇦

[@growinginfrance]

Haha, that is often what we think too! Fingers crossed the whole time 🤞 Jack did do so much research and planning for this though, the whole thing went pretty smoothy, except for getting the stone lintel up to the second floor, that was intense. That's in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5OuiKpobrqcpqc

[@naomilamb7406]

Congratulations. Nova Scotia, Canada

[@growinginfrance]

Thank you! And welcome to the channel, it's great to have you here 😊

[@beth-annsher]

Such a neat job Jack! 👌 I think you’re going to miss throwing stuff out of that window when the glass gets put in 😂

[@growinginfrance]

Thanks! 🤣 I think you're absolutely right, although the window is openable, so I think I'll find a way 😉

[@RuairiGalavan]

nice work! 👏

[@growinginfrance]

Thanks, cool to see you here 👋

[@jeojeo9393]

Will you be also be putting in the corner stones to match the other window openings ?

[@growinginfrance]

Eventually yes

[@kathyeyesopen4078]

Remember, measure twice …. Where did you learn to do all this? You’re going to be put in the middle of the battle between French builders about using mortar or cement. Makes my head spin😂 Is Monocouche cement or mortar based? 😂. Really fabulous job on that window Jack🏆

[@growinginfrance]

Monocouche is mortar based, we are firmly in the mortar court! Jack has learnt from watching KZbin videos, and planning for hours what to do, he is very dedicated! But I'm always so proud of him.

[@clivedownes3561]

Hi guys. Love your channel. Great work on the windows. How do things work in France regarding consents etc for that type of work? As you probably know in NZ there would be all sorts of paperwork and council permissions and inspections required - do you require the same sorry of things in France? And doing plumbing and electrical over here has to be done by a registered tradesperson - are there no restrictions like this in France? Sorry for the long questions. Keep up the good work. Cheers.

[@growinginfrance]

Hey Clive, thanks! There is a bit of a process, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was in NZ - if you're doing things inside the house you're free to do whatever you want (basically) - and wiring/plumbing only needs to have been done by a professional if you intend to sell the house (this is a slight oversimplification, but you get the picture) hope that helps!

[@darrenpodger7294]

Hi Jack just found your channel, did you poor your own lintel ? If so what mix ratio,? Did you reinforce it ,? Did it go full width ? I have some to do and need ideas , I have 1 but curious at how you did yours , thanks.

[@growinginfrance]

So because the wall is so thick, but we wanted the nice looking lintel on the front that is one solid slab of stone and goes about half the depth of the wall - then behind that we built a box for the rest of the depth of the wall that sits on the stone on either side (so yes full width) - put in some steel reinforcing (it comes ready made for lintels) and poured the concrete in there. Ratio was: 1 part cement 2 parts sand 4 parts gravel Made it quite wet so it could sit down nicely in the box and around the reinforcing. Hope that helps!

[@darrenpodger7294]

@@growinginfrance that's a great idea , thanks for replying. We have roof on , ceiling joists in next job is two windows I like the idea of the frame , yes need a smooth solid surface for window to sit against . Great work 👍

[@growinginfrance]

@@darrenpodger7294 Sounds like a good project! Hope it goes well.

[@darrenpodger7294]

@@growinginfrance thank you fingers crossed.

[@rnggall9640]

Oh I wish you didn't have background music. Best of luck with your endeavors

[@growinginfrance]

Thanks for the feedback! And for the luck!

[@darant2249]

Just found your channel. Love the house. Hope you didn’t use cement on the stone. Lime rendering helps the stone to breathe. Cement doesn’t.

[@growinginfrance]

Thank you, no, absolutely no cement on the stone, just for the lintel. And yes, these houses absolutely need to breathe, have heard some horror stories about cement rendering 😬

[@mariannekuijpers9298]

if you are cold; do physical work and you will warm up very fast!

[@growinginfrance]

Wise words! Certainly proving that to be true 🔥

[@sandrarainier6625]

Are you using cement and not what they use in France. The old stone buildings cement causes more problems than you would expect. 3 parts sand 1 part lime is what they use. I watch a lot of renovation shows in France.

[@growinginfrance]

"Lime mortar", the walls need to breath! No cement on the walls, I promise, it hurts my heart every time I see it! And you are right, so many problems, have heard some horror stories. Thanks for the tip though, we don't know everything!!

[@kimmiller615]

I’m just wondering why y’all are living and working on what looks to be the barn or storage area of the property. Why didn’t you begin with the house side we see in camera shots across the yard?

[@growinginfrance]

Hi Kim, That's a great question! So the Big house "Maison de maitre" needs absolutely everything done - new windows, floors in some rooms, wiring, plumbing, etc etc and we're still new to a lot of this, so we're starting with the farmhouse "longere" where we also live, to make sure that it's a super place for our family to live while we get into working on the big house, and we consider it our practice renovation. We are learning sooo much! The barn/storage area is actually between the two houses. We have a full tour of the big house on our channel you can check out for some more details.

[@kimmiller615]

@@growinginfrance Thank you for answering. As soon as I posted the question, the next episode answered my question! LOL I’ve binge watched y’all since stumbling across y’all last night. Only have the two most recent episodes to watch, but for some reason the people living in this house (2 adult kids and 1 grandchild) with me want me to get off my rear and go cook for them! Dang kids! Oh yeah, I totally loved it a few episodes back when Jacks dad said….I never wanted kids anyway! 🤣🤣🤣 I tell my ‘kids’….I know why some animals eat their young! 🤣 Y’all are doing great. Never stop learning. Keep stretching those limits!

[@growinginfrance]

@@kimmiller615 😂😂😂 Ahaha your comment cracked us up! It's been great seeing you make your way through the back catalogue haha we better get on to the next one so you don't run out.