Randomshenans French Renovation Journey

[randomshenans]

I don't want to tempt fate, but we've been looking at a house that needs a huge renovation and a barn that is attached and needs ripping down and a new building put in it's place. If/when we get it sorted and if we get it, I'll start a proper build thread as it'll be a massive one for sure.

On that though, been looking at all options of what the hell would you put in the house if you could?

Now, this could be room wise, tech wise, or just anything you think that needed to be in a house today!

Little things for us are things like USB sockets are important.
Then, a gym area is also important for us, and an office and I'm pushing for a wine cellar... must haves obviously but the office is.

Is it still worth getting cat5 wired in? Anything else tech wise that people would recommend?

We'd like air source heat pump, and looked at solar but unsure we would get the most from it from the angle of the house, but still looking into it.

So what would be top of your list? And what do you think I should consider I've probably not thought of!

 

[Sin_Chase]

Cat 6 infrastructure cabling and a centralised cabinet for router, switch, NAS et al

Nest/Hive/Tado or similar. Individual room TRVs with a Tado solution for example. Air source with full underfloor would be my choice over central heating though.

Smart lighting and switching. The latter avoiding any cabling down to switches.

 

[thezappa]

Why does the barn need ripping down?

As for what I would have; network points to all rooms I want, really regret not having that when we did our house.

Perhaps PIR light switches to some rooms.

Service access to things like baths, showers are something gets overlooked, you don’t want a leak and have to rip everything out to fix it.
That’s all I can muster at the moment.

 

[HangTime]

I'm not too fussed about all the 'little things' and would be more focused on the overall design but I guess:

-Ethernet connection from near master phone socket to my computer (ethernet to a few rooms would be nice)
-Ensuite in master bedroom
-Proper doorbell that doesn't need batteries changing, randomly stop working etc
-Blackout blinds
-Power to garage
-LED lighting
-Access to loft
-Durable flooring in hall, easy to clean flooring in kitchen and bathrooms
-Satellite dish
-Utility area
-At least one toilet that isn't in a bathroom

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

Few thoughts from me.

If you're putting in network cabling put in a few points for wirless access points, this will work much better then using the wireless in the router.
Cat 5e is fine for pretty much any current domestic application, but since you're going to by burying it in the plaster Cat6 is probably a better idea since it'll be more future proof. Make sure the cable being used is pure copper and not CCA.
If you're rewiring then look at getting RCBOs fitted instead of a mix of MCBs and RCDs. It means if you have an issue then only one circuit will trip out and not half the house. Also make sure there's room to add more curcuits later on.
Give car charing points some serious thought, even if you don't have an electric vehicle it's likely you will in the future.

 

[randomshenans]

Cat 6 infrastructure cabling and a centralised cabinet for router, switch, NAS et al

Nest/Hive/Tado or similar. Individual room TRVs with a Tado solution for example. Air source with full underfloor would be my choice over central heating though.

Smart lighting and switching. The latter avoiding any cabling down to switches.

Yea, I was thinking air source and underfloor. New part will be easy to do this but working out best options for old flooring and underfloor heating. I thought about smart lighting but no idea what's best at the moment for control across a large house?

Why does the barn need ripping down?

You can't quite see it in this pic, but the walls are not exactly walls for the most part of the barn. It's frame seems decent, but there is just so much that wouldn't be worth keeping. The slope at the back pushing into the back wall of the barn, which we have asked our architect about excavating as we want to make some space out the back for extension as well as garden. There is about 900m2 out the back, it's just all on a slope! We looked at costs of renovating the barn vs. building up a new one, and we need the access to the back to excavate anyway, plus costs would be cheaper to get what we want, so makes more sense.

*excuse lack of proportions and scale, I knocked it up in sketchup*

This is what we're aiming for in the end:

Perhaps PIR light switches to some rooms.

Yea, definitely a good shout. Kids are a nightmare for lights on everywhere in the place as it is.

I'm not too fussed about all the 'little things' and would be more focused on the overall design but I guess:

-Ethernet connection from near master phone socket to my computer (ethernet to a few rooms would be nice)
-Ensuite in master bedroom
-Proper doorbell that doesn't need batteries changing, randomly stop working etc
-Blackout blinds
-Power to garage
-LED lighting
-Access to loft
-Durable flooring in hall, easy to clean flooring in kitchen and bathrooms
-Satellite dish
-Utility area
-At least one toilet that isn't in a bathroom

Yep to all of those tbh! We've got them all on the list.

Few thoughts from me.

Good points, I'll have to read wtf half of it meant

 

[thezappa]

A couple more ideas.
From a sustainability point of view you could incorporate a hot water heat recovery system, not terribly expensive - but depends on the system and size.
Rainwater and/or grey water harvesting as well. I personally like the idea of it and would compliment the air source heat pump solution.

If you're rebuilding the barn (which is a shame IMO but understandable ) perhaps consider pozi joists - it will make installing and maintaining services a lot easier.
if when you are speccing up extractors for wet rooms/utilities consider humidistat fans rather than standard ones with overruns.

Something I also would like in the future and wish I had done it in our house when we worked on it, was some low-level lighting in the bathroom in case of night time trips to the loo. Nothing worse then being blinded by all the spot lights on or just not being able to see anything.

 

[DXP55]

My must would be a walk through shower - in one end -shower -walk out the other into a nice warm air dryer - no towels -nothing.

I do have a body dryer in ceiling but at 9kw and noisy as hell it never gets used - On the other hand the 2kw on wall bathroom fan heat is brill -

The rest would be as mentioned above.

 

[eviled]

Love a renovation that starts with a sketch-up plan

Insulation
Rain/Grey water recycling
Solar

Whats really important is getting things done in the correct order!

 

[sovietspybob]

CAT6 to everywhere is really useful, in our fairly normal size house of 220m2 i've got 22 points i think.

When we were in the planning stages of our house we had a big list of things we wanted and gave them to the architect and let them come up with ideas on layout as they're the experts. Then once we had the rough layout i started thinking about how you'd live in the house as to where things need to be placed, the sun played the biggest role for us. For example in my study i worked out where i'd never get screen glare on my monitors in the room, so the PC goes there which means where some of the power and network points go and then the radiators etc. Same goes for the lounge, TV location dictated by the sun then that dictates where the sofas go so you know where you need plugs for TV and lamps etc. And again the master bedroom we wanted a really big window that faces the rising sun which dictates where the bed is and which side an en suite goes.

Our list was roughly:
Separate studys for me and the wife
open plan kitchen/diner/living space with log burner
separate lounge
downstairs toilet
big landing
bedroom with en suite
big walk in wardrobe in master bedroom
storage spaces built in to the other bedrooms
CAT6 everywhere

What i wish i'd done differently is plan in even more storage space, as our house is a essentially a big dorma we use all the roof space so there is no attic and you can never have enough.

Do the calculations on different heating systems, i looked at air/ground source but in the end we went for a standard gas combi boiler as modern construction is so well insulated you use it so little it'd take 15+ years to ever break even with a different heating system. Again same for solar panels, we did get some as our locations is ideal for them (plus we had to in order to get the house signed off with the SAP calcs) and they do generate a useful amount.

 

[psd99]

AC unit in one of the rooms for those crazy hot summer nights.

 

[SPG]

I hate Ensuites, I really do not get all the rage for them.

2am Mrs gets up and your suddenly woken up by the sound Niagra falls coming through the door.

Lovely....

Underfloor heating
Pool/Sauna

 

[SimonR]

Given that this appears to be in Alsace, what is the security of power like ? Maybe consider one or more Tesla Power walls to keep your nice new property running, during brown / black outs? This could be combined with a solar solution for some reduced electricity costs ?

Water filtration / treatment - maybe some form of water filtration / treatment / UV on the incoming water supply.

Grey water harvesting / tank - for non potable water requirements.

High performance windows / glazing to reduce heat loss in winter and thermal gain in summer

 

[kinobestew123]

Other things not mentioned:

- As much natural light as possible. I can see in your plan that you have some big windows which is great. But think things like skylights, velux, etc in other areas like corridors that might not see much light.
- A room dedicated to whatever your hobby might be (i.e. music room, cinema room, lego room, whatever)
- A proper dedicated large utility room with everything in (washer, dryer, lots of storage for bulk purchases, iron/ironing board, large sink, etc) - almost like a second kitchen but one you don't cook in.
- CCTV properly linked up to all screens in house
- Some thought probably needs to be given in advance to how wifi is going to work in such a big property (even if you do have cat6 running around). It could be hopeless if it's an afterthought.
- Pitched roof on that garage?
- Properly thought through hot water supply. Super powerful hot showers that don't run out for a long time and arn't affected by people running taps or using other showers in the house.
- Built in, very hidden safe?

 

[ash_scotland88]

I hate Ensuites, I really do not get all the rage for them.

2am Mrs gets up and your suddenly woken up by the sound Niagra falls coming through the door.

Lovely....

Underfloor heating
Pool/Sauna

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks this, if it was higher space and money than we have it would be ensuite off a dressing room. Double doors for privacy!
We're extending and I tried to get my head around building regs to create a WC off a utility (for privacy of noise) but alas there's not enough space for that.

 

[NickK]

The wife’s sister has a traditional French farm house - centre house, enclosing courtyard outbuildings etc. The sister had a 9 bedroom Victorian “goatshed” that used a bail burner (2x) using a tractor to load those large circular bails into.

First thing - get the wood checked out by a professional. If infested then treat before you go further.

Next is frame and rebuild of roof as required — a lot of French seem make the switch to terracotta coloured metal roof panels for the outbuildings for less maintainance.
Then it’s fixing up the walls - is it traditional wattle & daub? (Ics) or rendered? The sister-in-law’s place is all old traditional and it makes a great end product.

The immediate thing I would be focused on is the heating and air quality - having a heat reclaimer/ground heat system too. Could also put solar panels on the out house roof if they get the sun.

Heating/cooling in old places rely on the walls and roof - they’re not a sealed system so expect heating costs and draughts!

Any old features inside? Original fireplaces or stone floors? You can relay these with modern underpinnings if the old character non flatness is a problem.

Nice project; if we had the cash we’d probably do something similar with a modest farm/chateau. Small walled vineyard for a few bottles etc.

 

[randomshenans]

Think I'll change the title of this thread... @Maccy can you change it? Randomshenans French Renovation Journey? Sutin like that...?

So that house fell through... dammit. The whole process is a bit of a stress as anyone knows with buying houses. When it's for a project too, we can only apply for a mortgage once we have a full detailed project plan from the architect and that takes time.

Anyway, we found out we couldn't excavate the back to create a garden, or at all, which would cause issues due to the land pushing on the property so probably best off.

We found another place... we've had an offer accepted and it's a bit more like @NickK mentioned about courtyard and outbuildings. We now have to see if the architect can knock up what we want based on my plans.

Quoting from the Careers thread:

Now you've asked it lol













If you can navigate your way around that lot. There is also a basement there currently, which we'll kit out with just storage for all our crap lol

Anyway, compromis de vente is being drafted with conditions in saying it's based on successful planning being granted and mortgage successfulness. We have our mortgage broker doing his job, the architect is on board and next week going out to take full measurements... my wife is pinteresting the world!

Price of the house is 229,000 EUR
Build / Renovation budget is 450,000 EUR

Fingers crossed... so much can go to **** still which keeps me not at all stressed.

 

[Maccy]

Done mate

 

[randomshenans]

Thanks @Maccy mate!

 

[randomshenans]

The architect has come back and said we can't do the glass walkway shown, due to it being too close to a window of the neighbouring property (although it's a frosted tiny one) and we get that. We thought this could be the case. Though, they also came back and said "The ground floor of the house could have the kitchen, the pantry, mudroom, toilet (keeping it in the same area as the existant bathroom for technical reasons) and a little gym space."
Which I completely disagree with. You could fit me in a size small tshirt but no **** wants to see that and doesn't mean you should. The space would not be sufficient for the large kitchen we want. Likewise they have suggested we don't rebuild the barns opposite and just knock them down... (err?) and that they could fit the things we're asking for in the house.
They suggested putting the office in the master bedroom area (no chance) and as above, gym area next to the kitchen, deleted the TV room, moved the dining room to the existing garage with the sitting room, removed a further downstairs toilet and also guest room. Which is nice. I don't think the French get this open plan stuff, where things flow with large open spaces. I've asked for their thoughts on how exactly they propose the above with rough outline dimensions though.

Does my head in. 2nd house in already and I hate dealing with people and not even got anywhere