Time for another instalment to our Blog. Unfortunately we still don’t officially own the chalet. The latest delay has been due to the owner wanting to keep a small portion of the land which has a bit of storage on it. It has taken until this week for the relevant authorities to write up the necessary paperwork. Theoretically we now have everything in place to sign the final paperwork next week.
Although frustrating we have at least been in the chalet for about a month now and have not had to pay any rent. Despite being unable to start any major works we have been able to speak to various tradesmen and organise quotes and times for the renovations to be done. We are currently in negotiations with a local plumber who is going to install a modern environmental fuel boiler which will replace our ancient wood burning system. The plumber has assured us that it will supply enough hot water to keep all guests happy in the four new bathrooms even at the heaviest of usage times.
Finally (thanks to LR Spares in Grantham for selling us a dud), after five months in the garage and a few thousand euro later, we have our Landrover back complete with a brand new engine. The Landrover specialist has assured us that it is now as good as new and to his credit is working perfectly. We are sure that the Landrover is going to complement the whole guest experience of staying at our Lodge.
Other advancements are that our new kitchen is ready and waiting in the cellar to be installed. Our UK satellite is now up and running and our wireless broadband system should be online on the 12th April. The hot tub has been ordered and will be installed and running by the end of April. Another development is that we have arranged for a carpenter friend from Chamonix to pop down in June to build the raised deck. Finally we have brought a table tennis table and I’m working on Alex to get a Nintendo Wii for the guest spare television room.
All in all we are still well on track, despite not yet having our web site up and running, to be ready for what looks set to be a very busy summer.
Although frustrating we have at least been in the chalet for about a month now and have not had to pay any rent. Despite being unable to start any major works we have been able to speak to various tradesmen and organise quotes and times for the renovations to be done. We are currently in negotiations with a local plumber who is going to install a modern environmental fuel boiler which will replace our ancient wood burning system. The plumber has assured us that it will supply enough hot water to keep all guests happy in the four new bathrooms even at the heaviest of usage times.
Finally (thanks to LR Spares in Grantham for selling us a dud), after five months in the garage and a few thousand euro later, we have our Landrover back complete with a brand new engine. The Landrover specialist has assured us that it is now as good as new and to his credit is working perfectly. We are sure that the Landrover is going to complement the whole guest experience of staying at our Lodge.
Other advancements are that our new kitchen is ready and waiting in the cellar to be installed. Our UK satellite is now up and running and our wireless broadband system should be online on the 12th April. The hot tub has been ordered and will be installed and running by the end of April. Another development is that we have arranged for a carpenter friend from Chamonix to pop down in June to build the raised deck. Finally we have brought a table tennis table and I’m working on Alex to get a Nintendo Wii for the guest spare television room.
All in all we are still well on track, despite not yet having our web site up and running, to be ready for what looks set to be a very busy summer.
