PollyN

Hi people,

We're trying to plan a budget for renovating two adjacent gites but we don't know where to start. We need to know about the cost of installing electricity and water (they're on site), and the difference in cost between installing a septic tank and being connected to mains sewerage. Also, would the cost of kitting out the two buildings be £x doubled, or would it work on a sliding scale basis - like 75% of the cost of doing the first gite on top for the second? In other words, would doing the work on the two buildings at the same time be cheaper in the long run?

Hope that makes sense. Anyway, if anyone out there has any ideas about these questions I'd really appreciate the information.

Happy francing
Polly

simonk

Hi Polly.

I suggest the first thing to do is to work out exactly what you want done and write it down in both English and French.

Then seek out a local builder, ideally by reccomendation, to give you a quote. Ask at the Mairie if they can recommend anyone. By being able to give the builder a list of work in French he should be able to quote for each part of the job and give you a total at the end.

I would suggest trying to get a price for the job rather than a day rate. And a good builder should be able to do the work without money up front. You should be able to pay him either at the end or as each stage is completed.

In my experience if the Gites are both about the same size and the work to be done is more or less the same the cost for each will probably be about the same as well.

Hope that helps.

PollyN

Thank you simon, that does help. Good idea to get a price for the job instead of the time. You answered my question about pricing as well - one of those things you can't get from anywhere but experience. Been scratching my head over it for a couple of weeks. Thanks again.

Polly

simonk

My pleasure. Hope it goes well.