Oops, spoke too soon!

M. Torelli called us in to have a look at the basins: despite being "identical", one pedestal is higher than the other, and obviously so!

So, I did get to see the bathroom before it's finished [more on that, below]. It was a tricky question of whether to risk trying to take a centimetre off the too-high column, or just take it as they are. The other side of the coin, of course, is that the basins are not flat; a difference in height of 1cm at the front is less than half that at the back. In fact, against the dark tiles you hardly see the discrepancy.

We've decided to just accept what is, and have a laugh about it. We have so many 'faults' that are down to bad decision-making on the behalf of Jean-Marie, that we can cope with a manufacturing "tolerance".

I think a special mention, though, should go to Sarreguemines who in the 21st Century with all the technological advances in equipment and processes can still manage to produce two of the same item so different in size and shape! Cheap clothes from the Third World, I expect that, but France with all its logistical prowess should be able to manage better, no?

I think the French have a word for people like me: naïve!

Things that aren't great:

• M. Torelli and Jimmy have a day off tomorrow;
  
• Because M. Waeber took longer than expected, M. Torelli won't be able to finish our work before his holiday, so we will have to wait till late August to have that remaining day's work done;
• I can't start my cleaning and re-assembling this week if I want all workman-related mess to be finished before I get my pinny on;
• M. Torelli thinks we have much too small an immersion heater, and we could have had one that runs off the central heating as a secondary source of hot water;
• The cold pressure is likely to be insufficient to cope with the shower.

That last point in particular pisses me off: I repeatedly asked Jean-Marie & M. Petitpas whether the cold pressure was adequate, and one of the much-delayed "sondages" was to check that the water pressure was OK. Turns out it's half what it should be...

Hmmm!

At least we have a positive: M. Torelli says that we can fit some sort of tank/pump in the cellar and that will be half a day's work and would completely rectify the problem.

Coming from Leander Road with no hot pressure [combi boiler at the same level as the shower] and then Ormonde Court with no cold pressure [whatever pump the block has isn't up to the challenge of a decent flow rate/volume on the fourth floor] I was used to fairly feeble showering, but here it seemed in a different [lower] division...

You know when someone convinces you that you're imagining something? Well, turns out that low pressure wasn't all in my head!

Perhaps the investigation was another thing we got charged for that never happened...

Anyway, I want to end on a positive note, so please enjoy the photos of our oh-so-nearly-finished bathroom, and then I'm off for an apéro!

I've gone all superstitious!

M. Waeber finished the tiling yesterday whilst we were at Dijon Prenois for the second of two Track Days, and came this morning to clean off any overspill, and now we have plumbers in action fitting sanitary ware.

We seem so close to the finish, that it's making me nervous: we have seemed to be within sight of the end and then it's got delayed so many times, that I'm frightened to jinx the process by going and watching them at work.

Too much time spent watching cricket/living with a cricket fan? Probably, but I feel that my absence might help it all go smoothly, and if it doesn't, well at least I can't blame myself!

Having said that, I persuaded David [who, I'm sure, thinks I'm weird] to go and take some photos...

Luckily, I have cast iron willpower, so there won't be any peeking!

Which sadly means there won't be any posting, either.

M. Waeber is back, and tiling around the window embrasure. He hopes to have finished by tomorrow...

I must say that he's been putting in the hours, so he may even manage that!

Then all we need is the intervention of M. Torelli.

And he's started with the radiators in the bedroom, and fitted [and then removed so the tiling can be done behind] the towel rail in the bathroom, so fingers crossed.

David saw our neighbour Mme K this morning; apparently she's stubbornly refusing to switch on the heating... That probably tells you what kind of weather we are having on our holiday!

Halfway there with the tiling

M. Waeber has tiled the walls around the bath and loo, and this morning is starting on the other wall of the shower working his way towards the window.

The plumber even showed up!

M. Jimmy has been adding to the collection of cardboard boxes they had started, so there will be no delays once M. Torelli starts taking things out of boxes & attaching them to walls.

Apart from the mirrors, obviously; he was supposed to email us a copy of his preferred supplier's catalogue back in the Spring, but we all forgot about it until yesterday when I was hoping that the lights would be different than the ones in the shower room and realised that we hadn't chosen any!

I have a print-out and am going to look on the website now...

Progress!

I feel like writing that in shouty all caps, and the hugest font I can find, but I'm going to spare you that.

What I'm not going to spare you are the details!

The mystery of the plumber was solved: he didn't come Monday because the delivery of the radiators which was scheduled for today had been rearranged for yesterday. That did happen, so when we got home from shopping there are piles of radiators/towel rail/shower screens and other miscellaneous stuff dotted about the bedroom. He's coming on Thursday to fit the towel rail, then take it off again so that M. Waeber can tile behind it.

He'll then re-fit it some time next week when M. Waeber has finished.

Unfortunately, the plasterboarding is leaving something to be desired: the base of the niche is too low, but M. Waeber has made that up with a chunk of Ciporex, but it's the wonkiness of the walls that is causing him the greatest headache.

He's having to use extra tile cement to level out the walls.

Obviously we never realised that the way SMS had stored the plasterboard would cause problems, but it is doing. We said to M. Waeber that next time we would get M. Roncari to do it, but apparently he's ditched the plastering side of the business and only does painting and decorating now. Apparently, there is a good chap in the Haute Marne, so I must remember to ask for his details for my book.

It's lovely to see tiles going up [and hear the thump of tiles being manoeuvred into place, although David is fearful when he sees them being whacked with a mallet!], and the fact that the plumbing/heating supplies are nearly all here makes me very hopeful that it will be finished within a couple of weeks.

Apart from my bit [cleaning & rearranging furniture, belongings etc], of course!

Couldn't resist posting this photo

Tiler here; working as I type!

I thought we'd got a false start this morning when M. Waeber showed up...

To tell David that he couldn't come till this afternoon.

But he did show up, and is now working. We hope that we're going to have better spaced joints in the bathroom; the middle of the bath and shower taps are going to be mid-tile (rather than at the joints), but that should remove the need for slivers of tiles in any corners...

We solved the mystery of why he'd done the other tiles the way he had: he was making sure the borders matched perfectly! A very French thing to do, it seems to us: a four inch wide [very "busy" looking pattern] looks 'right', but sadly the less-than-an-inch sliver in the corner of the shower for the remaining eight foot height of wall looks [to us] 'wrong'.

So, in the bathroom, we are going to [hopefully] have 'wrong' borders, but 'right' rest of the walls...

Fingers crossed!

I'm just so happy that he hadn't started without us all being able to talk it through, but I'm going to be even happier if he manages to make it look [to my eyes] 'right'.

After the weekend [did I mention my 23 hour 40 minute day as we moved house on Saturday/Sunday before driving down to France], I'm now ready for a holiday!

So I may or may not post about progress...

[Needless to say, the expected plumber has not materialised!]

Phone call last night from M. Waeber

Apparently, he's held up on another job and wants to come earlier to start work at our place.

I really do NOT want that! BUT, David promises he's only going to move the tiles to our house and do preparatory work, and won't start the actual tiling until Monday.

That better be the case!

My main worry is that we've been lied to told things that turn out not to be true too many times to believe any French workmen without seeing proof that what they're telling us is true!

So, once again, I'm focusing on being more zen; letting go of worrying and trusting that the right thing will happen.

[And keeping everything crossed, obviously!]

Tiler

M. Waeber says he's coming on the 18th of July...

Almost believe him, but am waiting for proof!

On the upside, if he blows us out again, my cousin has a colleague/employee [can't remember which] who apparently is a brilliant tiler, is willing to travel and Grant [cousin] reckons he could do the work in one day!!!

Haven't mentioned that fact to M. Waeber, but it's up my sleeve for a "rainy day"; we do NOT want to be like the Bogés who have waited two years for him.

Not gonna happen, and if Grant's colleague/employee [delete as appropriate] is as good as he says, we might even get a better job done?

Now all I need to do is tactfully insist that he does an "English" job [joints sited unobtrusively] rather than finishing to the French standard [joints offset by an inch for emphasis that "we thumb our noses at you English and your fussy ways" or slivers of tiles in corners to draw the eye].

However, having waited since early April (and having a standby lined up), the tactful bit may get left off if he brings any attitude with him.

Please keep your fingers crossed that I can "do fluffy" [Hi, Karen!]...