When we first set eyes on this property in the hamlet of Pont de Cause, it hadn't been lived in for 30 years. Weeds and grasses had overtaken the grounds, the house was dank, shabby and cold, the barn was dirt-floored and full of farmer-built mangers, lofts and remnants of farm life. But Albert saw the good bones and the possibilities. I'll admit I was a little less enraptured at the beginning, overwhelmed by the immensity of the project.

DECONSTRUCTION...AND RECONSTRUCTION

While waiting to hear back from masons, plumbers, electricians and other "artisans," Albert first tore into our own living space, ripping out the modernisations installed in the kitchen back in the '30s and knocking the cracked and peeling plaster to reveal its bare stone walls, ripping out the rotting floor and tearing off the dropped ceiling. He then painstakingly put it back together again, in a workable and open format which we hope still retains some flavor of authenticity.

As contracts were signed and electricians and plumbers joined the project, the process continued...deconstruction and reconstruction. All plumbing and electric wiring had to be dismantled and reconfigured to accommodate modern needs. The ancient waste disposal system was dug out and trucked away, and an elaborate new "fosse septique" system installed. The ground floor cellars of the main house, all dirt, were graded and dug out, and concrete floors poured and finished with terra cotta tiles. Every inch of the old stone walls were scrubbed and cleaned, then rejointed. An oil-fueled heating system and radiators were installed -- along with the world's most complicated plumbing system which resembles some sort of modern art installation -- ask to see it when you visit us!

MAKING ROOMS

The attached stone barn was gutted, the roof structure made naked by the careful removal of all the ancient terracotta roof tiles, then resheathed with poplar planks. High-tech insulation was laid above the sheathing and a new support structure built above that so the old tiles could be reapplied. Dormer windows were created to bring light and air into the new, upstairs rooms. A concrete floor was poured to create the upper story, and a beautiful new oak staircase installed. Ground-floor rooms were finished with hundreds-years-old terra cotta tiles we had the good fortune to purchase from someone who was tearing them out of his own home. Albert laid new oak flooring over the concrete floor in the upper story rooms, placing cork cushioning beneath each plank to deaden sound transfer to the lower rooms (it works!).

Plumbers, electricians, roofers and masons were our only friends back in those days...worker lunches at a big jobsite table in our courtyard are a fond memory. A majority of the heavy work was done during the terrible heat wave of summer 2003 -- usually work would have to stop by 2 or 3 in the afternoon and we'd drag ourselves down to the banks of the beautiful Céou river a few hundred meters from our house, to douse ourselves in the chilly waters and hide from the blazing heat of the late afternoon.

We left the work of the wall finishes to an expert team of decorator-painters who created a beautiful tone poem of finishes and colors on the walls of the guest rooms. Bathroom fixtures were installed...

THE POOL

The grounds were graded and graded again, to create a terraced backyard, a parking area and a pool site. Madame Foucoeur ("crazy heart") was our excavation contractor, and we were pleasantly amused to see her busily striding around the job site in her skirt and heels, or tailored slacks, with clipboard in hand, barking orders at the heavy equipment operators.

Albert battled it out with several swimming pool contractors, trying to explain that he wanted a California-style plaster pool, not a Fiberglas pop-in or a vinyl-lined hole as is standard in our region. Frustrated, he built the pool himself with the help of a local English contractor willing to follow his lead. We've had a number of French masons and others bring folks by to marvel at it , disbelieving.

We completed the bulk of the renovation over the course of twenty months in 2002 and 2003, but as with any older home, there are always projects and dreams lying in wait.

Questions? contact us at info@latourdecause.com.

More pictures to come...