The Lounge Back Wall 1

Having removed the wooden floor in the lounge, the next task was to dig down and barrow out an appreciable depth of earth, so that pipes could be laid and then the space back-filled with gravel, insulation and a concrete base for the new wooden floor.



The back wall of the lounge was just painted white with some horizontal and vertical struts and before we started we wondered whether there was old colombage behind and if so whether it was worth revealing. The wall made the decision for us.

As the builders began to dig down, the wall began to move and crack. It had been faced with "bricks" (thin, red brick tiles) which had then been plastered and painted over. These just rested on the earth and as it was cleared away they began to slide down. Old egg cartons, wedged behind the facing (a paradise for mice and rats) slid out of the bottom.





Over night the whole of the back wall shifted downwards.



The facing had to come off, revealing the old mud-filled colombage behind and a couple of places that had just been filled with red brick. This was probably the original back wall of the house and there may have been a doorway or window there. This is where we want to put the new doorway through into the gîte (soon to be entrance hall).