Déclaration de travaux
Day one: today… theoretically.
After a meeting with the maître d’oeuvre and the maçon last week, we thought the schedule was set to (finally) start today. So, as required, we passed by the Mairie de Briennon to lodge a déclaration de travaux (in triplicate, naturally). After that, a quick trip to the barn to oversee the beginning of the action phase of the project.
Mais… personne…
more… | 27 June, 2005 | construction | comment?
State of the play
The builder has been to visit with the maître d’oeuvre and is due to start work in early June, roundly contradicting the predictions of all and sundry that we’d take at least a year to find available artisans, and then they’d probably be cowboys. The builder himself is experienced and serious—just what you’re looking for in shoring up crumbling pisé walls.
So our choice to have at least the formative stages of the project managed may have cost us a little more, but we now seem to be in the position where the project will move steadily through to the point where we take over (i.e. finishing and decorating).
If you’re planning a building project in or near Roanne, drop me a line and I’ll pass on the coordinates of the people who know how to get things done.
10 May, 2005 | timeline | comment?
Flood
The flooding of the Rhins at the bottom of the street last weekend presaged the unblocking of our home building project. After the arrival of the permis de construire, the maître d’oeuvre told us that he had the builder lined up to start some time in May, the bank manager told us that we qualified for a zero percent loan for part of our budget and the wife’s cousin in public works invited us over for coffee to tell us how much it would cost to run a water line up a 300 metre long driveway.
It’s looking like we’ll have something to write about around here — sit tight!
25 April, 2005 | timeline | comment?
How delays work
Today we had notification of the reception of our application for a building permit. Or rather, a “NOTIFICATION DU DELAI D’INSTRUCTION” (their caps)… In other words, we’ve waited two months to tell you you’ll have to wait two months.
It’s like this: the official allowable delay for a permit de construire is two months after the receipt of the application—if there’s no word after that time, the application is deemed successful and you can start work. The problem is, the paper pushers have a clever trick to knock your schedule on its ear.
more… | 29 March, 2005 | administration | comment?
Waiting
We are learning patience.
It seems that at every turn in this project there are delays. We continue to wait for the permis de construire, due at the beginning of February. Today we called the maître d’oeuvre to find out about progress on the plan d’execution to find that his lead draughtsman has been off sick for the last five weeks and we shouldn’t expect the definitive plans before mid-March.
And you wonder why there’s not much happening on this site at the moment?
