Laying down the concrete base

We waited all week while temperatures dropped to 15 below zero hoping to get the concreting done of the gite floor. Time and time again we were told it was too cold for the work to be done. Each day as new snow fell we despaired it would never happen. Finally by the end of the week the weather made a miraculous increase to over zero – not much in terms of warmth but enough for the work to be done. At 2pm the ready mixed concrete arrived delivered with great efficiency by two men who guided the great telescopic arm into the grange by remote control. It was quite extraordinary technology and was all quickly and very efficiently executed. Four cubic metres of cement was dropped into the centre of our grange onto a surface we had already covered with a damp-proof membrane of polythene. In wellies we waded in the cement, smoothing it out with rakes and spades. By doing the digging out ourselves and the levelling we have saved quite a bit – about 1000 euros in all. The weather hasn’t shown much of an improvement although today it felt a little warmer but we feel a kind of optimism as our gite progresses along with the end of winter. Our next project is to replace two rotten beams and treat all the existing woodwork with ‘Xylophene’ to protect it from future infestation of woodworm etc. Then we can lay chipboard underflooring upstairs and it will start to feel like a real house or gite.