Kiwi renovation team takes on French town

Pauline Hampshire has lived in France for 20 years, but when she wanted to completely renovate her 3 storey shell of a village house in Chevreuse, in South West Paris, she decided she wanted the help of Kiwi tradesmen. Almost a year ago, she posted details of the work she wanted done on Builderscrack.co.nz.

Her job generated huge interest, with over 100 tradespeople from all over NZ indicating their interest on Builderscrack.co.nz before the job was closed to further interest. Pauline was overwhelmed by both the quality and quantity of responses, and spent four months talking to the tradesmen who were interested. She has even had a few stay with her as they passed through France on holiday.

She selected Adrian Walker, a builder and plumber from Wellington, in December. After waiting for the French summer to arrive and securing work visas, Adrian and his team of two (John a Master Builder with 40 years experience and Karl an 18 year old apprentice), arrived in Chevreuse in early June, and have been hard at work since then. Pauline, along with her partner Simon and their family, moved out to a camping ground to allow the team to live in their apartment.

Adrian and team are taking great care with the job, hand selecting an oak tree from a renewable forest in the Loches valley, to replace the existing borer ridden beams. They have used ecological products where possible, using soft wood products for insulation under the floors rather than polystyrene. While the job has gone relatively smoothly, there have been challenges. Adrian discovered that the unlucky way, when a sewerage pipe he disconnected was actually still live from a toilet in the building next door, creating a bit of a mess to clean up. Local opening hours have been a surprise. Stores closing for an hour and a half in the middle of the day has also been a challenge.

It hasn’t been all work for Adrian and his team. They enjoyed Bastille night, have participated in a 24 hour roller blading marathon on the Le Mans motorcycle racetrack, and there are sparks of local romance for the two single guys. They are still adapting to the French roads, with Pauline’s car now having 2 extra dents in the car, one blown tyre, a smacked wing mirror and a speed camera fine.

Adrian expects the job to be completed by the 1st of September, after which Pauline hopes to open the village house as a bed and breakfast.