Gites Cognac - Cognac Gites
Self-catering holiday accommodation Cognac, France
Gites de France

Le Moulin de Chazotte

The gradual restoration of an abandoned 15th century French water-mill
August 2002: The Mill - much neglected but irresistible!
June 2005: - the ongoing transformation !

Historical background: Most of the historical records relating to Le Moulin de Chazotte were lost some years ago in a fire at a local house where they were being stored. The water-mill itself is the oldest building on the site and from old floor tiles and other artifacts found so far we can date it to the middle ages (14th/15th century). The front part of the mill was demolished to allow the construction of the corner house, La Maison Principale, and Le Chai in the mid 1700s. Then in the mid 1800s the Owl House, La Maison du Hibou was added. At this stage, there is no record of when the barn (le Hangar) or the stables (l'Ecurie) were built. The miller's house (La Maison du Meunier) was probably built at around the same time as the mill.

Recent events: The water-mill was shut down in 1896 and although the buildings were not abandoned completely until later on, the buildings had not been lived in within living memory. That has been confirmed by both of the previous two owners, one of whom is in his mid-eighties! Fortunately the roofs and window shutters had been reasonably well maintained, however at the rear, many of the stone walls, the stables and the miller's house had all been destroyed by the effect of tree roots and storms over the years. There was no electricity or mains water and no sanitation of any description.

Credits: Right from the start we have had the fantastic and invaluable support of family and friends. The list is long and getting longer as more and more people get infected with the 'bug' that makes them want to get involved. One of these days I'll get round to doing a list, but in the meantime, a huge, huge thankyou to you all.

JANUARY 2007 ONWARDS - CONSTRUCTION OF A ONE-BEDROOMED APARTMENT WITHIN THE MILL
Our objective with the renovation of the mill building is undoubtedly to try to maintain its character while introducing the modern specification of electricity, insulation etc to
make part of it habitable. The first section to be tackled will part of the upper storey which is around 20 metres long with superb exposed Charentais roof trusses.

January 2007: Renovation begins in themill. The window in the centre with open shutters is the first section to be tackled.
January 2007: The mill building has 6 of these superb roof trusses and the typically Charentais roof-boarding.

There was evidence that some sort of accommodation had existed previously but it was in a terrible state and had been used for drying of hemp leaves used extensively for rope-making during the era of sailing ships. The roof timbers will all need to be treated against wood-boring insects as part of the renovation process.

January 2007: Ancient & modern! The chimneys of the central heating boiler and the stone fireplace of the millers kitchen (located in the room below).
January 2007: The arched window of the mill and the plastic sheet that temporarily separates off the rest of the building during renovation work.
January 2007: Looking right along the six roof trusses in the mill - ALL to be renovated! January 2007: The original stairwell used by the miller to get down into the mill itself.

The original floor of the mill apartment had been badly damaged by woodworm and water leaks. However we decided to try to preserve it as far as possible because it forms the ceiling timbers of the mill kitchen below the apartment (oak beams and joists with pitch-pine floorboards). The main roof beams over the apartment are made from poplar and were also badly damaged in parts by woodworm. So, after cutting back and treatment, these beams were strengttened by bolting-on heavy timber straps to each side. This was a laborious and messy job which set the project back by a couple of weeks but which was essential. A new l timber floor was laid directly onto what remained of the uneven original floor and the gap between was packed with Rockwool for both thermal and acoustic insulation purposes. There were no ceilings above the apartment so I fitted treated ceiling joists throughout before the palsterboard ceilings were screwed into place.Plasterboarding a ceiling ( using 1200mm x 2500mm plasterboards) is virtually impossible when working on your own especially when having to cut the boards to fit against old roof beams. I always hire a gadget called a 'leve-plac' (plasterboard lifter) from the local builders merchant. At only 19 Euros for the day it makes relatively light work of an otherwise back-breaking job requiring at least three arms! Out of interest, the French do not skim plasterboards after fitting because all the boards have recessed edges to allow the joints to be taped and filled. Once the floor and ceilings were in, I constructed the walls using the metal skeleton system also favoured by the French. I took some persuading with this, having been raised on timber stud partitioning, but once you're used to it the frames are up in no time. For good measure I fitted a floor above the ceilings and lined the roof space to create a big loft storage area.

April 2007: The new floor is in place and the ceilings have been fitted. After this the walls can go in and the electricity cables threaded through them down from the ceiling. April 2007: The view out from the apartment to the millpond and river. All we need now is a window frame! April 2007: The loft ladder leading to the storage area The electric cables will all be sheathed in protective sleeves (gaines) to comply with French regulations.

WINTER 2005 - SUMMER 2006: RENOVATION OF GITE No. 3.....L'ABRICOTIER (The Apricot tree)
The West end of the main buildings was originally designed to be used as a coach-house. A huge pair of solid wooden doors opened into the coach-house but the building work was never completed properly and inside there was nothing more than bare earth floors and stone walls. Our objective was to create a three bedroomed holiday gite in this part of the building. We decided to call it L'Abricotier because there was a superb apricot tree growing outside. Unfortunately the tree was killed by the builders pouring away their cement mixing water onto its roots so we planted another which is thriving.

March 2003: The original Apricot tree in flower
March 2003: The first floor area of L'Abricotier!
April 2005: The front doorway to the gite
November 2005: The bedroom ceiling timbers go in
February 2006: The kitchen in its raw state - cuppa anyone?!
June 2006: The terrace takes shape. Rob mixing concrete.
July 2006: The lounge finished
July 2006: L'Abricotier is open for business

SUMMER 2005: THE MASSIVE STONE WATER TROUGH PROJECT.......
Just opposite the Ship's Bow at the back of the mill were the ruins of the former stables (l'ecurie) which must have collapsed over a century ago. The huge heap of rubble which remained was completely overgrown with nettles and weeds but the original foundations of the stables could still be seen. When clearance began we unearthed an enormous stone water trough (2 metres by 1 metre) which was unfortunately broken in two. Despite the massive weight of the trough and problems with access, we decided to move and repair it. My thanks to Vin and Martin who kindly lent me their combined muscle and brain-power despite the fact that they were supposed to be on holiday! It's an interesting problem trying to find a way to lift and reposition two enormously heavy pieces of carved stone and then stick them together again in such a way that the trough will hold water again.....hmmm.....in the end we lifted the biggest piece of using an improvised derrick arm made from old 30cm roof beams and a steel block and tackle (you can just make them out above the trough in the left-hand photo below). Having got one end up in the air we used a two-ton trolley jack under the other end and, once it was level, built a supporting wall underneath it. After that, with a bit more (actually a lot more!) huffing and puffing the two pieces were chemically welded together using a special cement and we had ourselves an intact water trough holding water for the first time in at least a century. Since then I've diverted the roof water into the trough so it has become an ancient water feature too!
August 2005: Vin and Martin moving the broken trough.
Sept 2005: The trough in one piece and holding water.

HELEN'S LOOK-OUT PROJECT.......
I guess it was inevitable that while we were battling to move the stone trough we'd end up salvaging and starting to rebuild the walls of the stables. Amazingly, as the mountain of rubble was gradually moved, all by hand, we discovered the foundations of a much older building running right underneath the stable walls.Although they were in a very poor state, we decided to preserve these older foundations as far as possible and to use their outline as the boundary of a terrace. This was a long, slow job but I was helped enormously by our youngest daughter Helen and also by her young cousin Sam who was visiting at the time. And so this became "Helen's Look-out"

July 2005: It's somewhere under those nettles!
August 2005: Rubble mountain emerges.
August 2005: Helen and cousin 'Sam the builder'
Sept 2005: Helen's Look-out takes shape.

SEPTEMBER 2004 - MAY 2005: RENOVATION OF GITE No. 2.....LA MAISON DU HIBOU (The Owl House)
La Maison du Hibou had been made partly habitable over 100 years ago but since then the interior walls and floors had collapsed downstairs and the first floor was simply one big open room with exposed stone walls and bare roof timbers. There were no window frames or guttering although fortunately the original shutters were still in place to keep out the worst of the elements. The first floor timbers were in poor condition on their upper surface but sound enough on their underside to be renovated after treatment for woodworm.


June 2003: Before any interior work could begin the guttering needed completely replacing. The rear wall of Le Hibou is very high with difficult access from below - not an easy job!

 September 2004: The only access to the first floor area was via a hole in the floor. Here is Jane surveying the task ahead with trepidation! September 2004: Rubble from the interior of the houses and from around the site was used as infill for the terrace which was to run along the front.

NOVEMBER 2003 - JUNE 2005: THE TODD/MASON SHIP'S BOW PROJECT.......
Special thanks to all those who helped with this but particularly to our eldest daughter Emma and her partner Rob Mason who used their skills and youthful energy to wonderful effect. I dedicate this project to them both.

Nov 2003: Ship's Bow - Emma digging out a tree stump
Nov 2003: Ship's Bow - Rob laying foundation stones

The river Chazotte is a branch of the river Antenne and it was dug specifically to bring water to the mill. It passes under the mill as two mill-races and out the other side. At the back of the mill the two millraces flow around a stone structure shaped like a "ship's bow" which brings them back together again into one river....or, at least it did, until neglect and tree roots tore the whole ship's bow apart and then the winter rains finished it off. So we rebuilt it, virtually completely!

Nov 2003: Ship's Bow - taking shape!
Nov 2003: Ship's Bow - The original shape
May 2005: Ship's Bow - work resumes after a long delay
June 2005: Ship's Bow - Cue the theme from Titanic!

 

Items covered on this page are: Renovation in France : French renovation : Property renovation France : French property renovation : Renovation projects in France : French renovation projects : Building restoration in France : French building renovation : Cognac property renovation : Cognac mill renovation : Cognac watermill renovation : Cognac renovation : Cognac building renovation : Charente property renovation : Charente mill reovation : Charente watermill renovation : Charente renovation