Building in France? Get a Project Manager
Brits are suckers for turning rustic wrecks into hot properties but, if you do it on French soil, the advice is to get yourself a project manager. Choosing to go alone will almost certainly lead to frustration with a tough battle to get the home finished on-time and on-budget. “Because of the way the system is set up in France, if you turn your back for five minutes you could find that your tradesmen have left the building” says Su Bishop of Arena Park France, specialists in high-quality conversions in Burgundy, “sub-contractors like plumbers, electricians, stone masons and roofers tend to, because of the difficult French employment laws, be small, family-run businesses with perhaps only one or two close family members on the payroll. The problem is, they never turn work down, so may have more jobs than they can handle without recruiting the extra staff to cope with the increased workload. If you’re around, they’ll focus on your project, but the moment you go away they could decamp to another site to satisfy the next owner who’s showed up in town.”
You really need to book the services of a tradesman months in advance – and then keep a close watchful eye on progress – but the problem is decent project managers are hard to come by in France. It’s unusual to find a company like Arena Park France that will handle the entire design and build process from the start through to furnishing and moving in. Ditto a company that communicates in both English and French and knows how to coordinate the trades to get things running smoothly and continuously on site.
Su continues, “Not many French people carry out major building work on their own homes so there isn’t much call for affordable project management. Any alteration that requires planning permission – from a complete renovation to adding a window – needs a fully qualified local architect to approve the design so people often retain the architect’s service to go on and coordinate the build, but the fees are expensive. At Arena Park France we take away all the hassle, send regular photographic updates of the build and employ our own team of trades people so we can manage the timeline perfectly.”
“The good news,” Su finishes, “is that by law, French builders and specialist tradesmen have to carry a ‘decennale’ insurance that guarantees their work for ten years. We’ve found that they are very careful to produce top quality workmanship because if they have any serious claims on their insurance, they won’t be able to renew the policy and without it they can’t work.”
On the Market in Burgundy:
Detached Home in Puligny Montrachet
Impressive three bedroom stone house now being completely restored to include a new roof, insulation, re-jointing of the stonework and treatment of the original oak frame. On a quiet road, some 300m from Puligny Montrachet’s centre with its cafés and restaurants and just 12km from the town of Beaune, this home also enjoys some incredible views across the surrounding countryside. Set around a private south-facing courtyard, the living accommodation is bright and spacious with all bedrooms en-suite – the master with a Juliette balcony. Ample storage and a vaulted wine cellar complete this perfect lock-and-leave. Clients can participate in selecting final finishings including flooring, tiling and the kitchen.
Price 495,000 euros (excl. kitchen)
For more information, visit arena-park.com.
