Les Cresnays

The house is in the small (population 260) commune of Les Cresnays, and is about 2km south and west of Brécey, about 8km from La Bagottiére. The house is about 65m above sea level, compared with 300m before. This should mean about 2 degrees milder throughout the year, and three or four weeks less winter.

The house is an old farm longére, extended about 15 years ago. It has about 175 m2 of living area, on two levels. It has 8000m2 of land, and there is a small stream running along the border at the far end.

The previous owner started to extend it, and convert the attic to a habitable floor. He did all the hard work, extension, repointing, clearing the attic, new roofs and so on, but then just stopped. 15 years ago. The house was used for holidays in its unfinished state, but has been unused for the last ten years.

We carried out a major project to complete the house: two big bedrooms with shower rooms, and a huge working area. Plus (geotherrmal) central heating, and a staircase to the upper floor. Click on Cresnays Work above to see sets of pictures of the work as it progressed.

We moved in at the beginning of February 2011, when only the ground floor was useable, but we had expected to sell La Bagotiére then; that sale felll through at the last minute (almost impossible in France) because of a foolish lawyer, new regulations from January 2011, and a paranoid buyer.

As of September 2011, we have about finished the interior, sorted out furnishings, and have just some engineering andf landscaping of the garden to do.

Click here to see pictures