It was a very good stroke of luck that we decided to have Le Sableuse delivered and collected for almost 100 euros in addition to the hire of the machine and the sand! Our little Clio with its small remorque would have been laughed out of town!
A French neighbour has already remarked to a friend that this machinery is "industrielle et pour les specialistes" but fortunately, my son knows all about sandblasters having had specialists remove 25 tons of rust and dirt from his steel vessel. He also is extremely strong. We would not recommend this for others but if you want a challenge then go ahead!
COMMENTARY OF IMPRESSIONS:
1.It is BIG.
The next day the job was completed and the machinery collected by one man! We had to help him push the compressor out of our garden and along the road where it was hoisted onto his lorry! Another job done and more work created. What is the meaning of life?2.It makes a lot of noise.
3.The very loud humming drone of the compressor with its rising tones sounded like a factory signal calling its workers to work in the morning, take lunch or go home at night. 
4.The phwishshshsh of the sand being sucked into the tubes to be spattered against the beams.
5.The pop of the sand eater when it needed to digest more.
6.The trickling of the sand hitting the walls and glass panes of the doors before it fell to the floor.
7.It was a sight to see and we all needed to wear protective masks whilst on site.
8.The clouds of dust inside the house.
9.The men could not see what they were doing whilst wearing the protective headgear with breathing apparatus and protective clothing. Look at the stylish Captain Sensible.
10.The men needed to take the utmost care whilst standing on the scaffolding.
11.The dust billowed out from the dusty room, covering the roses climbing on the wall.
12.The silica sand on the skin started to softly tingle.
13.The dirty sand on the floor was like a beach.
When silence resumed we scooped up the sand into the empty sacks and any buckets we could find. "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside".
Several sweeps later the grit was beginning to disappear.
It was one days work but spread over a day and a half because the machinery was not delivered as promised for an 8 o'clock start plus another half a day to clean the house and courtyard.
325 kilos of clean sand blasted into dirty sand.
Now before finding a use for it... we must ensure no rain gets into the bags of sand or it will be impossible to move each one!
We certainly deserved the warm baths to wash away the grit and tuck into glasses of Saumur accompanied by duck with onions, apples and orange in a cognac sauce plus haricots verts beans.
2 comments:
Bon courage. You are at the easy stage--demolition. From the photos, it looks like the bones of your building are good, which will simplify the next part of the renovation. I'm glad to see you have good helpers, and a good cook to add pleasure to the end of the workday.
Thank you Carolyn for your constructive and motivating encouragement. I need it!
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