Bonjour everyone,

Welcome back! In this week's video, we finally tackle a job we’ve been putting off for over two years: ripping out all the old insulation upstairs, as the first step towards our attic renovation. It’s one of those tasks that nobody wants to do, but that needed doing before anything else could move forward.

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Why now?

The insulation that was up there had been installed back in the 1990s, and it was made of glass fibres. On paper, it should have done the job, but in practice it was woefully inadequate against the summer heat. It was also, shall we say, not in the best condition after three decades under the eaves. We’ll spare you the full details, but let’s just say the old insulation had become a rather popular home for rodents over the years.

We’ve decided to replace it with wood fibre insulation, which is far more effective at regulating temperature, and crucially, it’s breathable. For a house of this age, that matters enormously.

The fun part (not really)

We won’t pretend this was a pleasant experience. Pulling out three decades’ worth of dust and debris while trying not to inhale the lot was, to put it mildly, not a highlight. And the number of trips to the tip nearly did for the car. But it’s done, it’s gone, and we are genuinely thrilled to have it behind us.

A small scare

With the insulation cleared away, we were able to properly inspect the roof rafters for the first time in years, and in one area, we found some mould, which initially gave us a bit of a fright. In France, there’s a particularly aggressive fungus called merula that can cause serious structural damage to old buildings in just a few years if left unchecked, so for a house like ours, that’s the kind of thing that keeps you up at night.

Thankfully, we had an expert take a look, and the verdict was reassuring: it’s almost certainly old water damage from before the roof was redone, and it’s been completely dry in that area since we moved in. Nothing to worry about. We’ll take that win.

Up next

Now comes the part that’s going to test our maths skills. We need to fit the battens and rails that will hold the new insulation and the plasterboards in place. With four sloping walls up there, the measurements are going to be anything but straightforward. More on that in the next video!

In the meantime, make sure to check this week's video below - we even take you on a fun outing to the oldest market in Bordeaux:

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Thanks again for lovely comments and support, it means a lot to us.

À bientôt,

Hugo & Romy