Thursday, December 31, 2015

Chambre to Salon renovation continues




Moving all of the furniture out of the room was the first step of our plan. We quickly changed the plan when together we couldn't budge the armoire, even after emptying!  Eventually, we walked the armoire inch by inch away from the wall giving ourselves a little room to work.





Both windows in this room have lovely views. The window below looks out over the kitchen garden toward the South-East. The window alcove is clearly handcrafted!  Small rolling foothills in the distance were once grazing pastures for Montegut sheep.

Without the heavy drapes, sunlight floods the room. This window has 2 panels of 14 panels...




The window pictured below has 2 panels of 12 panels! You might have already noticed the window on the fireplace wall has a straight top, and this window facing the courtyard has a curved top. No one seems to know exactly why the two windows are different. All 5 windows on the front of the house have curved tops, as do the shutters.

To be consistently inconsistent... the number of panes in the front-facing windows is not all the same, either.

Below is the window overlooking the courtyard of the house. On clear days we get a glimpse of the majestic Pyrenees mountains. Snow-capped year-round, it is an exquisite view. The immediate view of the petite valley where Montegut presides is serene and the perfect stage to observe seasons' change.

Both windows needed several panes replaced, and the old glazing putty chipped out and replaced. This one new skill had quite a learning curve! After all the repairs to the windows were made, the frames needed sanding and at least two paint coats both inside and out.



Wallpaper removal was slow-going. Using a sponge to wet the paper was the only way it could be removed. Installation was long before wallpaper could be easily removed. Thankfully, there was only one wallpaper layer, although the thin paper was used as sizing in several areas.




Here is a short wall behind one of the entry doors. The paper was really glued down and, in some areas, pulled the plaster off with the wallpaper adhesive!


It would take a full day to remove the paper from each of the 4 walls.




Taped drop cloths protected the oak floor from the wet strips of wallpaper and excess water dripping from the sponge.






Here you can see an area with a large section of the sizing paper.



In the lower-left corner of this photo, you can see a dark horizontal stripe. It appears there were at least four different colors of paint used, perhaps as a decorative accent color,  but no one will admit to the query.









All went well until it was time to check the stability of the plaster on the walls! Light tapping at the base of the wall proved to pinpoint another problem. Water damage from the long-ago leaky roof found it's way down to the base of the walls.

The only thing to do was chip away all the loose adobe and shore up the cement walls. The photo below is the bottom corner of the short wall at the doorway.


Several areas were quite deep, up to 6 inches at the corners and 8 or 9 inches high. Small stones and bits of broken tiles add structure to the deepest holes and resemble the original adobe composition. Proper repair required thin layers of cement with ample time to dry.



Clearly, this would be a major endeavor - the entire perimeter of the room had suffered water damage.

Before the cement work could begin, the adobe's surface had to be stabilized for the cement to adhere. We discovered a spray-on latex product to harden the adobe surface, enabling the cement to adhere.  At this stage of repair, the tape was used as a visual reminder to ensure the new wall would be straight.


The good news?

It only took 8 bags of cement (each was 50 lb) to complete the patching, oh, and about one full week of back-breaking work.  Photos to follow in the next post.

And if you have, thanks for reading.

Au Revoir!


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

From chambre to salon - Before



Octave Valere Dargeles born 24 June 1867 in Montegut sur Arros, Gers, Midi-Pyrenees, France





Octave and wife Victorine Gabrielle Bonnabel pose with nephew, Cesar Raymond Dargeles and sons  Ernest Octave Dargeles and Henry Jules Dargeles.




The Dargeles photo was taken around the turn of the century. A copy was sent to family in Montegut and has hung in the same room since 1900. In 2002 cousin Therese points out the prominent placement of the photograph.




This upstairs bedroom or Chambre has long been referred to as the Grandparents Room. Generations of Dargeles and then Darees babies entered the world in this room. Not much has changed, aside from redecorating sometime during the late 1960s.  Vinyl wallpaper, heavy damask drapes, ceiling medallion, and a brass-like chandelier were part of that upgrade!



The furniture is centuries old and still in lovely condition. A heavy sleigh bed slightly smaller than a double bed, a commode next to the 9-foot tall walnut armoire, and the marble-topped washstand are the original furnishings. At a later date, an oak table and 4 chairs were placed in the room's center.




 When the bedroom fireplace was no longer in use, a removable cover was used to restrict drafts. Unfortunately, it also created a perfect spot for wasps to build a huge nest.



 This photo was taken from the doorway to the room.  The room is large at approximately 16 x 18 feet with local oak plank flooring. The walls are adobe with a plaster finish on the interior. The ceiling and the massive beams were plastered and painted as part of the redecorating.

All of the "before" photos were taken during a trip in 2008 to measure/photograph and evaluate the interior and the exterior to create our list of renovation priorities.




The armoire is enormous, and at approximately 5 feet wide and  9 feet tall, it demands immediate attention upon entering the room. The silky smooth finish has been preserved beautifully. Inside, two small drawers held small family memorabilia. Several shelves held hand-made and delicately embroidered linens. Among the stacks of fine linen sheets and napkins were small lavender sachets and ribbon wrapped sprigs of herbs from the kitchen garden used efficiently to discourage insects.












A simple storage closet unit was built in between the wall and fireplace. Vinyl wallpaper covered the closet doors as well as the door into a small bedroom. If you look closely, you can see the door latch and edges of the closet doors.

The wallpaper was removed, as was the 1 x 5-inch rough cut oak used as baseboards. We also removed the storage closet.






Heavy gold-colored draperies covered both windows. The draperies were hung inside the recessed window area, making it quite difficult to open the windows, making it a challenge to open the shutters.

Since this room was no longer used, it was always dim and a bit foreboding.











And if you have, thanks for reading.  Linda

Au Revoir,


Sunday, December 13, 2015

Early Montegut history



The house we call Montegut had a long history before a Dargeles called it home.  Montegut has been farmed since the 1600's when the original house was less than 1/4 of the current barn size!

According to family lore, the existing house was built in the early 1800s in the quintessential Gascon farmhouse. It began as a single large room, approximately 18' x 18' or about 6 square meters. The room originally served as the kitchen/dining area as well as the sleeping area. An enormous fireplace nearly 2.5 meters square kept the family warm in the freezing, damp winters.  The fireplace's right is a hand-carved stone sink from a single piece of local granite with a small drain hole. Water was efficiently directed through the outside wall to the kitchen garden area. Where it was collected to water the kitchen garden. Handcrafted from local fruitwood cabinets were added much later.

 In many of the Gascony history books, you will see photos of elderly family members sitting on a short-legged chair almost inside the fireplace.

The following photos were taken in early 2007 before we began the slow renovation.


.

Fast forward another generation or two, the house has been enlarged to include a large chamber or bedroom.  Next came a large addition to the back of the house. a second full story was added to the house.  There were four large rooms with an elegant Oak and Walut staircase and beautifully carved solid pecan doors at the entry to the bedrooms. Montegut made another major change in the 1960s when indoor plumbing was added.











There is some speculation that these carved doors look suspiciously like the oldest doors at a nearby Abbey which is currently being renovated after years of decline.

And if you have, thanks for reading

Au Revoir!