Like a lot of people that move to France and buy an abandoned house, we wanted to slow our lives down a little.We were looking for a little bit of 'The Good Life' everyone had been talking about.
From the start, it has been about learning new skills and broadening our confidence.
Take this week: Mandy a previous DIY novice, has been plastering and tiling in the kitchen.
She has been smiling from ear to ear as she finished the final two walls. She simply cannot contain her happiness.
Just the colour of the tiles brings the once drab kitchen, back to life. The warmth they give to what was once an abandoned house is amazing.
Mark has been trying his hand at more traditional woodworking methods, making kitchen wall cupboards. The last time he attempted real woodwork, he was just 13 years old.
We could have bought ready made kitchen units and blown our budget on artisans to complete the work for us. For us, that journey would not have brought any pleasure and we would not have grown from it.
Although it has been unbelievably hard work, it has also been one of the most relaxing things we've ever undertaken.
If ever the chance comes your way to cash in your assets and buy a derelict property in France, we could not recommend it more.
In France you will live in a community. If you need help, there are always online communities such as this one with thousands willing to reach out and help.
Popping Our Dovetail Joints
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A while back we bought a Axeminster Dovetail Jig for making half blind dovetail joints. Similar jigs can be bought from Harbor Freight, Woodstock etc.
We only paid 99p plus postage for it. The seller's description slatted it, probably putting off many potential buyers.
Apparently it was 'impossible to use' and 'joints didn't match'. It therefore sat unused for years.
Upon setting it up, it was clear, that we had the wrong router, the wrong router bit and shipping delays on Amazon for the correct parts would means our quick test would have to wait another 4 weeks.
Determined to carry on testing, we jiggled the wood from side to side to see it we could achieve a joint. Voila!
Through no fault of the jig, the pine we were using was damp and warped. The moisture content was at 19%. The edges had fractured and gone fluffy. Joints needed cleaning with a sharp knife.
Despite having the wrong tools and wood to use, in 15 minutes we had a working blind dovetail joint.
The last time Mark had done that he was 13 years old and it had taken him a couple weeks. He was quite chuffed.
The problem was this jig was it only designed for joints up to 30cm wide. Our smallest joint was 32cm and the longest nearly 2m.
Therefore Mark decided to take the jig apart and just us one part along with some basic clamps. However, problems soon started to appear on longer lengths.
The wood was warping. The temperature in our house can vary by 10 degrees C during a day and the relative humidity is around 50-60%. Therefore, long boards that were reasonably straight in the morning could be 5mm different by the evening. This made cutting dovetail joints very difficult; especially along a long length.
One joint was left assembled overnight and the distortion caused several of the dovetails to snap off by morning.
Assembling this cupboard has been like a 3D jigsaw. You can get to the last piece and realize that it is impossible to insert because the joints do not slide in the right direction. Another problem is, the joint have to point in the right direction, so that when something heavy such as a stack of plates is placed on them, the boards don't just slide apart.
Despite the problems, the resulting cupboard was incredibly strong. Way beyond the strength we would get from using a few screws. The look is far more in-keeping with a French farmhouse and the joints and apart from a bit of electricity are free.
Most importantly, we're relaxed and having a lot of fun.
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