Today we need to make the opening into the middle barns higher so that we can gain access with the JCB and dumper truck in order to start digging out the drainage trenches for the gite, office, atrium and one of the ground floor bedrooms. So we have had to prop up the stone with 6 Acrow Props and Strongboys so that we can put in a new lintel above the old one.

You can see the nice creamy coloured stone quoins at the sides of the opening, these have to be increased in height in order to support the lintels which have been recovered from the old roof beams which we have already replaced.

The walls are 500mm thick so only half the wall can be done at a time. Now, the new (old) beams have been installed and dry-packed and have been left to strengthen over the weekend. On Monday we can then do the other side. Then voila we will have access!

Its always a case of having to do one or two jobs before you can start the job that you have planned to do.

The photos here show the whole barn in two separate photos,  which will be one self-contained Gite (Gite Lavande) .  This will have one double or twin bedroom with the possibility of renting it with either one, two or three other en-suite bedrooms to accommodate either a couple or a larger group of 8. There will be stairs up to a mezzanine floor with views over the woods where you can sit and read the morning newspapers as the early morning sun floods through the window and maybe take your coffee up here.  There will be an open plan kitchen, dining area, lounge and private terraces on two sides of this Gite.

French windows are to be installed as is underfloor heating and a log burner for cosy autumn and winter evenings.