Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Locked Out Of Heaven

Humidity in Old Houses - part 4


If you're new here or missed the beggining of this series, you might want to see how it all began here and there or check the three solutions I found about rising damp.

Si vous débarquez sans prévenir sur cet article, peut-être voulez-vous voir comment tout a commencé: ici et . Vous pouvez aussi lire les trois solutions contre l'humidité ascensionnelle sur lesquelles j'avais hésité.

Most of you guessed wrong about the solution I chose (my mom guessed right - granted,  she already knew). Of course, I went with the messier solution: tearing down the whole floor and installing a proper draining system.

J'ai choisi la solution la plus poussiéreuse et longue: défaire tout le sol et installer un drainage.

So the downstairs was evacuated to the "atelier" aka former garage.


L'ensemble des meubles et affaires du rez-de-chaussée a donc été stocké dans l'atelier-garage, le temps d'un été.


Then, the workers tore the floor of the house. This was not a DIY project, in case I need to mention it. Who wants to eat in my dining-room below? Isn't it cozy?


La mince dalle ciment a été éliminée au marteau-piqueur. Pour ceux qui se posent la question, je n'ai pas fait ça toute seule... J'avais embauché des ouvriers: il y a des limites!


Here you can see the trench that was made for draining. One was made in the house and one outside. Admire my patio!


Deux drains ont été posés : un à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur... Donc ma terrasse aussi a été partiellement détruite cet été-là.


A hole was made in the stone wall for the drain to evacuate water outside the house.


Un petit hérisson de gravier et un peu de polystyrène, puis il n'y avait plus qu'à couler la nouvelle dalle.


After the new slab was finished, it almost looked like a home, don't you think?

It was a very difficult summer, I admit, but my reward was when they began laying the tiles. And this is how the dining-room now looks like. I'm sorry about the light. We have terrible weather today and I just noticed I had no picture of the dining-room, vey un-bloggy of me. I might update the picture if we have fairer weather next week.

Picture taken from the same place as the one above!

Now, the good news is that the draining system is efficient.

La bonne nouvelle est que le drainage est efficace. La mauvaise? L'entreprise a fait faillite avant la fin des travaux! Heureusement le sol était posé et une partie des placo remontés... Mais toutes les finitions restent à faire!



The bad news? You won't believe it! Right after the workers finished the tiles and were half-way putting the new walls, the contractor went bankrupt. So the workers weren't paid anymore. They were nice enough to come back and put cheap baseboard (not the one I had chosen!) and to finish the drywalls  and insulation in the living-room (the ones in the dining-room/kitchen still needs to be redone with proper insulation). None of the moulding that I had envisioned was done. It was a hard blow. But still, I was just lucky that it didn't happen earlier when I had no floor at all!!! Also the money invested in the draining system was the one I had for redoing the kitchen... So the kitchen is still in its more or less original state...

I still have plenty projects for the dining-room which is far from done... Maybe you can see square of paints in different places on the walls... I'm testing colours. I'm also thinking to do something with the table and chairs! What would you do with them?

Thanks for stopping by at The Little White House while it was in such an awful state. I hope you're not too dusty!

See you soon,


I'm linking with:
PJH Designs    
                                                                        
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia               thurCozyLittleHousebadge150x
 House on the Way      Vintage On A Dime          Lavender Garden Cottage                                                                                                                 



28 comments:

  1. Hello Magali, what an amazing post to see the progress and how the damp situation was fixed. I LOVE the end result, your 'after' photos are so nice and definitely cosy. What a terrible shame the contractor went bankrupt but thank goodness it happened when the job was nearly completed. Your floor tiles are gorgeous. All the best and I hope you get to enjoy many happy years in your cottage, Ann

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  2. Hi Magali, love seeing your updates on your lovely cottage. I know all to well what kind of work you are doing. But when it is completely finished it is soooo worth it. Always a bump in the road now and then but it all seems to work out in the end. If you go to my blog, I posted pictures of our 158 year old flour mill we are renovating into our home. Just to warn you its not for the faint at heart! www.littleputtylittlepaint.blogspot.com Have a wonderful day my friend.

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  3. you must be glad to have that job out of the way!
    love the chairs.. i think they'd look good painted grey or white.
    x

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  4. Bon, le plus difficile est terminé... restent les placo pour avril et enfin une belle cuisine, puis le premier étage, le toit, la véranda, le garage, l'abri pour la voiture, la petite maison en bois pour les outils... Heu, j'en oublie sûrement... Courage !
    Mary

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  5. Wow! All I can say is that was one messy job, and I'm glad you survived it all. It makes our renovations seem pretty minor! It all looks beautiful. I love your dining room, especially your pretty china cabinet.

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  6. Wow. that must have felt a bit scary, i am glad you had the strength to tackle it! With proper drainage you will get a much better climate indoors. And no falling plaster! I would recommend my favourite paint for pine furniture, egg tempera. Tried to find a good page online but they were mainly english, but since you are so good with google translate maybe you can work around it =) http://www.avjord.se/ cheap, easy and super pretty. It is like painting with milk. you make it yourself with egg, linseed oil and dry pigments. Although I like your furniture as it is!

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    1. If the page is in English, it's ok for me. I only use Google translation for Swedish! English and French are two languages I can understand and write without the help of Google! The paint your talking about seems very interesting. I'm going to investigate!

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  7. Wow, what a major mess and expense. I can't even imagine a project that huge and messy. You must have the patience of a saint.
    Cindy

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  8. We made the same decision in our home and put a drainage ditch along one side that leads to a drainage well and a sump pump. We haven't had any problems since then and it seems to have been worth the investment. I found the whole series very interesting!

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    1. You're right, it's worth the investment, although I did shed a few tears on my dream kitchen, whose budget was used for the draining system! Thanks for visiting.

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  9. Amazing patience you have Magali. I am impressed. Your dining room looks lovely so I am sure you are happy with that. You are certainly fortunate that the bankruptcy did not come earlier!

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  10. Wow--what a huge project, but now what a beautiful dining room you have, Magali! I am glad that the drainage situation is now working well for you. I like the paint colors you are considering--pretty greens, it appears. Maybe paint the table and chairs in a creamy white or off-white? I'm sure it will be gorgeous whatever you decide!

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    1. That's a second vote for white! The paint colours I've been trying are greens with a hint of blue and a hint of grey... But for now, I'm leaning towards the lightest shade.

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  11. Mycket bra val, berättade för min man och han sa direkt det måste dräneras. inget annat hjälper ( han kan sånt här) Lycka till med resten av arbetet.
    Ha en fin vecka
    Kram Meta

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  12. You are to be commended for enduring that long term project! I can't even imagine the patience it took and as a person who has little - I'm impressed!

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  13. It looks similar to what they call French drains here. Is that what it is?

    We had a water problem here fortunately it only got as far as the wall of the back porch and we only have two rainy seasons. My spouse busted up a few tons of concrete because someone layed a patio higher than the house. That stopped the water from coming in.

    It's quite a horrid sight, but at least it only affects the porch and laundry room, not the interior.

    It's on the list to be completely rebuilt.

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    1. How "funny" that it's called "French" drain! My patio is also slightly higher than the house floor level and I plan to redo it a little lower, I don't know when, though! But I think it would help ! I guess both our to-do lists are very long!
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. And I'm sorry that you lost your money. That's always a danger with contractors.

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  15. Oh Magali, I can't believe the contractor went bankrupt on top of all your rising damp issues! How unfortunate. At least, as you say it happened after they replaced your floor! I think your dining room is just lovely as is your table and chairs but I am partial to some painted furniture especially in nice soft pastel shades...

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  16. Oh Magali - what a nightmare for you - but wow was it ever worth it in the end - your dining room is beautiful!!!
    And lol - that your mother guessed right - but she already knew
    XOX

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  17. You have really been through a lot to end up with this beautiful dining room. I think contractors leaving is an international horror that happens everywhere.

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  18. What a story! I can't believe that the welcoming, peaceful dining room we see at the end of the post used to be such a terrible mess... you must have been through some difficult times, but I guess that in the end it was all worth it!

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  19. Hey dear I really like your blog! What about following each other? Also on bloglovin, facebook and even lookbook if you want...just let me know :3 <3


    NEW POST UP!


    www.OntoMyWardrobe.com

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  20. Wow, that's a lot of work. Hope you find another contractor...sorry that happened to you!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  21. Oh Magali, as we say here in Texas "Bless your heart" what a mess. I've done a few remodeling projects myself and can truly sympathize. It looks lovely now and I know it will all be worth it in the end. I'm so glad you linked up at Transformed Tuesday.

    Hugs,
    Peggy~PJH Designs

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  22. Buying older homes always brings a crazy set of problems, but older homes have so much more character. I always wonder what will be the next thing to go wrong with our house. Right now it is deciding how to repair a garage floor that is crumbling.

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  23. Tablescapes by Bev sent me.
    I admire your lovely house and am so happy that you have the drainage taken care of. Those baseboards will do til you get around to putting in what you really want. Keep on keeping on.
    I'm adding yours to my favorites. You will help me learn french! To read it anyway. My SO continually corrects my pronuciation, but I'll probably never get back to la belle france. Unless I get a touch of your magic.....yes, magic, that's what we live for..... good for you, having your own flashes of magic......

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  24. I'm glad your new drainage system is working. I should have know you would go that route rather than the electric current. You do seem like the kind of person who does things the way they should have been done all along. I like that.
    I think your dining room chairs and table would like nice painted white. Especially if the walls are going to be the color of one of the squares you painted.

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