Day 25/Friday meeting

It was supposed to be the "pre-reception" meeting today, but David and I had refused to even consider signing anything with so much work left to do, so Jean-Marie contented himself with thinking that next Friday will be the "pre-reception".

David and I will cross that bridge when we come to it!

Today's meeting flushed out some positive aspects: M. Kadir [plaquiste who is now back from his holiday] and M. Huguenot [electrician's foreman] are sufficiently OK with the plan to remove that ugly VMC pipe that it will go ahead; M. Mekki brought the stone slabs [although having broken one, and having to tell me that they need to cut the others in half to properly fit the sill, he's lost at least half of yesterday's gold star]; M. Torelli has found a free standing WC "bati-support" [sorry, don't know what that is in English], so the partition wall around the loo can be finished.

Overall, it felt quite positive, and when M. Mazij came up with his brainwave I was delighted!

[So much so that I've been re-drawing plans already.]

M. Mazij said we could (in the future) cut out the middle section of the problematic beam upstairs: he would install a metal tie, higher up, and the proposed supports for the future mezzanine would run high enough that the ceiling height would be sufficient. So that means that bedroom 3 is back on again. I have now decided to profit from the absence of the beam [which had dictated having a small section of corridor to each of bedrooms 2 and 3], to add a dog-leg corridor and enlarge my box room.

Obviously, Jean-Marie and Nicolas don't know about that (yet), but as the panels of composite for the upstairs floor aren't being laid till September, they will have plenty of time to help decide where the step needs to be.

And it will be only one step required, so another bonus.

Ooh, I'm a big fan of carpenters!

I feel like we're making lemonade.

["When life gives you lemons..."]

ETA: Have just heard from David that when he went to the bakery this morning he met M. Waeber, who really isn't happy with T+B; he was sounding off, and David couldn't argue with him!