Every trip to the house demands that at least some esssential maintenance jobs be completed. Nothing like the sort of problems that our friends Jeeves and Michelle experience, as their house is much older, …but there is always a list:
The kitchen tap: The house is 16 years old and so, of course is the kitchen. Considering this and the fact that the house is not occupied much of the time (and not at all for 2 years during Covid), I was surprised to find that the mixer tap was leaking and beyond repair. A trip to Brico sourced a replacement which was fitted with a little difficulty and some help from Jeeves.
The house gutters: Alison noticed that during some heavy rainfall the house gutters were overflowing. On examination, they were found to be blocked with 16 years worth of debris, so balanced on the platform at the top of the step ladders, (well out of my comfort zone), I cleared them, half-filling a wheelbarrow. They probably need checking more frequently.
Gardening: Every trip to the house is a gardening holiday. Our French next door neighbour keeps the worst of the grass under control whilst we are not there, but there is always a lot more to do and any pruning activity leads on to a trip to the decheterie (recycling centre) with a trailer-load. The most difficult job is strimming the ditches.
Mower maintenance: In addition to the ride-on mower, we have two, self-propelled (walk-behind) motor-mowers, one of which would not start, so we had taken it back to the UK for repair and service in October and brought back with us. The other one, which is favoured by our neighbour, was also in dire need of a service. It gets the most use, and was running quite rough. After consulting YouTube, I cleaned it, then removed, sharpened and balanced the blade and completed an oil and filter service, but it was still running badly. Further internet research led me to understand that the carburetter jets were likely gummed-up. So, after many unsuccessful attempts to remove the main jet, it took a phone call to Alison’s son in the UK and a conversation with Peter, the mechanic, to find out how this is removed and cleaned. A trip to Brico followed and the result a a very nicely running engine (Thanks Peter). Next trip, I will tackle the ride-on mower.
Weed control: The front “drive” area of the house is covered with limestone chippings, which have consolidated and now grow a fine crop of weeds. This area needs to regularly have weedkiller sprayed on it to maintain access.
Cleaning the pool terracing: The flagged areas, surrounding the pool, started life as being a nice cream colour, but with lack of attention, they had become almost black with algae, except to those areas normally covered by the pool cover. Many hours of power-washing resulted in a big improvement, and another trip to Brico resulted in the expensive purchase of a liquid designed to discourage regrowth. We shall see.
Repair and relaying of pool terracing flags: Many areas of the pool terracing have become uneven as a result of the activities of ants, who are keen to excavate under the flags. This is especially a problem near the pump-house, which is also where I managed to break a couple of flags whilst fitting the new pool cover (see below). Groundwork is not something which I am good at, but a day spent lifting/replacing and relaying some flags in the area near to the pump-house has improved things, though at the rate at which this is being done, it will take years. I have the feeling that the ants are likely to be the winners in the end. Any tips are welcome.
La Piscine: It was with some trepidation that we approached opening up the pool. It had been closed and covered for two and a half years, since before the Covid pandemic, so we were expecting more of a pond than a pool. When we were last at the French house in October 2021, we looked at the cover which was a very poor state of repair, and thought if we take this off, it will likely not be able to be refitted, so we left well alone.
It was clear that we were going to need a new cover. The last one had been in use for over 10 years; it was falling apart and growing moss in places. It was bought locally, but manufactured in the USA, made to measure. To replace it now, with taxes and duty, we discovered, would be a very expensive purchase, so we ordered one to be made by a French company, to be delivered on our arrival at the house this trip.
We planned to fit the new cover over the old one so that it was supported in place while we installed it, however as we were conviced that we would be unable to refit the old cover, this meant that we could not start cleaning the pool until it arrived. Delays to the delivery forced a change in plans; it takes time to clean the pool at the best of times, but with 30 odd months of muck we thought it would take longer than usual.
The manufacturers of the new cover dispatched it on the Tuesday following our arrival, but it took over 10 days to arrive, despite the slogan on the side of the delivery truck. It apparently spent some days waiting in Bordeaux, which is only an hour or so from here.
By the time of its arrival, we had made some consideral progress with the pool by lifting out many net-fulls of sludge and removing a huge amount of algae, leaving the filtration system on 24/7.
Jeeves and Michelle helped us with fitting the new cover. We cut out much of the weight from the old cover before refitting just the straps to support the new cover whilst new anchor points were being installed.
The ground anchors needed a 12mm hole drilled, so having selected this size, I drilled the first hole and “tapped” the first anchor bolt into it, but it did not fit and I managed to split the flagstone. I tried a second hole and did the same, so thought that a safer bet would be a 13mm drill bit, which required a visit to Brico for the purchase. Holes using this drill were too big, so Jeeves looked at the drill I had been using originally and discovered it to be smaller than the bolts. It was apparently broken and was narrower than the 12mm needed. A different 12mm drill bit solved the problem.
The fitted cover was not a perfect fit, but good enough. It does the job. Having removed it, we resumed our efforts at cleaning the pool and a few days later, the water was crystal clear and worthy of a dip, though at only just 20 degrees, it was a little chilly.
"See-u-Later" 