So as you know I have been racking my little pea brain trying to figure out workarounds for the lack of progress out there. One that seems to be going well is my suggestion of the old OFCI. This stands for Owner Furnished Contractor Installed. The best contractors don’t like it. They prefer to have everything under their own control. These guys have no such hangups. They mostly don’t want to deal with the hassles of setting up new accounts. No joke: in France any new round of paperwork is to be avoided. So, I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. If I can find a nice cast stone version of this lovely carved lion, I’ll order it right away.
At Home in France 
Your house NEEDS at least one lion, maybe two. Expect Jacques will be bemused if they are realistic
I am currently coveting a sculptor friend’s sandstone horse’s head. For some reason she is reluctant to gift me this for Christmas
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We need to start a charity for crazy lady home renovators. I can imagine the ads, the closeup of one of us in our half-finished hovel, shivering because the radiators have not yet been installed and we can no longer afford to buy ourselves warm clothes. ” Just two pounds a month can save this woman from her own epic foolishness…”
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Are we in a minority?
When I read about other similar projects I see photos of happy, optimistic, warm, comfortable people in immaculate houses who clearly have sufficient disposable income left to relax and enjoy their new homes and new lives.
I can remember being in that place (at least between 2003 and 2006) when I was happy, warm & comfortable in our lovely big, beautiful finished house in UK. So we kissed all that goodbye to mastermind a hands-on double project in another country
Am I mad?
Yes
Will I do this again?
No
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Those people either have way more family money than they are willing to fess up to or they are lying.
When I lived in Los Angeles, renovating an old house was the thing to do, at least among my architect buddies. We all lived in these dumps. The more pathetic of them had half-removed paint all over the place. Their houses smelled of toxic chemicals and looked like they had leprosy. More than one could not afford to rewire, so they went to salvage yards, looking for parts for their existing knob-and-tube systems. I lived in a house that, for a time, was up on car jacks — only half the house at a time, but still. And I was one of the lucky ones. My house was tiny and the previous owner had rewired, replumbed, etc., at least a little. Besides, the neighborhood was pleasant. You had to drive 10 minutes to get to the bad neighborhoods. Friends who wanted full-size houses had to be sure they didn’t go out after dark. Needless to say, there were no dinner parties.
I think that’s more the norm.
My theory? You and I, we were not fully informed. I don’t know your story but I’m sure there is more than one blog post in it. In my case, the realtor misrepresented by half, fully half, the amount it would take to do the house. “Oh yeah, labor is cheap out here.” I remember it well. Even though I budgeted a significant contingency, you do not want to see the emails from my normally unflappable accountant. In addition I thought I’d game the system by hiring an English architect and contractor. Kinda sorta, yeah, but the really good contractor is the French guy, the one who is doing the exotic energy system. Mostly it means I can argue in my native language. It’s not fun, not in any language.
Bottom line, I’m with you. This is my last project. Probably.
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Have you checked Amazon? eBay? 😄 Can you get those in France?
Happy thanksgiving
Sent from my mobile (pls pardon the typos)
>
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Oh, yeah. I can get most anything in France. The trick is finding it. Don’t get me started on what it’s like to wait for deliveries, though. In the countryside, not only is a two-hour window impossible but you can’t count on them to deliver on the promised day.
So, the lion is a hit. I’ll have to tell Rebecca, my landscape designer. Maybe we’ll have one peeking from the bushes.
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