Project management & owner’s representation · Historic homes · France
Renovation project management and owner’s representation for historic homes, from the roof ridge to the door handle. Throughout France, in French and in English.
The approach
It tells how it was built: with which stone, which lime, which timber. It also tells what is hurting it: a render that suffocates it, a gutter eating into it, a hasty repair.
The people who live in it speak too: their habits, their wishes, their budget, their timing.
My work begins with both kinds of listening. Then it means bringing them together, finding the right solution for the building and for the life you want to lead in it, and having it carried out properly, by the right craftspeople, down to the last detail.
Valérian Sauvage
Two commitments
Every intervention respects what the building is: its materials, the way it breathes, its mouldings, its history. Lime rather than cement on an old wall, timber on a period window, repair rather than replacement whenever possible. The new is there to serve the old, never to erase it.
One point of contact for the whole house: roofing and zinc work, façades and joinery, then the interior, from electrics and plumbing to fitted joinery, furniture and paintwork. Quality holds from end to end because one pair of eyes follows every trade.
Projects
A few houses and interiors. At our first meeting, I show you projects comparable to yours, before and after.
More projects on LinkedInCut-stone façade, pointed-arch window with wrought ironwork, quatrefoil opening.
Columned hall, backlit coved ceiling, gilded niche and painted mural.
Carved garlands and masks, wrought-iron canopy, stone front steps.
Timber framing, millstone base, bay window and glass conservatory.
Deep red ceiling, stepped cornices picked out in white, stone-coloured walls.
Slate mansard roof, raised quoins and window surrounds, rendered panels.
Exposed millstone, red and yellow brick quoins, glazed brick bands, cast-iron railings.
From the roof ridge to the door handle
Slate, flat-tile, interlocking-tile and zinc roofs. Zinc work: gutters, downpipes, trims. Carried out to French building standards (DTU).
Traditional façades: lime renders and limewash, cut stone, millstone, brick, half-timbering, mouldings, mineral paints. Timber joinery and windows.
Electrics and plumbing. Bespoke fitted joinery, cabinetmaking and furniture. Interior paintwork.
Option I
I take the project in hand: I design and specify the works, bring the craftspeople together, run the site and watch over quality until handover. You have a single point of contact.
For a full renovation, a project involving several trades, or an owner who lives far away.
Option II
I advise you at every decision: diagnosis, priorities, choice of materials, planning paperwork, schedule. You stay in charge and decide with full knowledge.
For an owner who wants to lead the project, with sound advice at each step.
I work with owners of old houses, from hôtels particuliers and manor houses to character homes and town houses, who want to renovate without losing what makes them special. In France or from abroad, in French and in English.
The method
Every project follows the same path, from the first visit to handing the house back.
The first visit is about understanding: the house, its history, how you live, what you want, your budget and your timing.
Diagnosis of materials and defects. Survey of constraints: local planning rules, protected areas, the opinion of the heritage architect (Architecte des Bâtiments de France).
The right solutions and compatible materials, a precise specification of the works, and the planning paperwork: prior declaration, heritage file.
Partner firms chosen for their know-how on historic buildings, each in its own trade.
Scheduling, coordination of the trades, regular site visits, quality control at every stage. One point of contact for you.
Handover of the works by your side, clearing of any snags, maintenance advice so the work lasts.
Materials
An old wall is alive: it absorbs, dries and moves with the seasons. It is cared for with materials of the same nature, breathable, flexible and repairable, never with anything that would seal it in.
The binder of historic buildings. It lets walls breathe, can be repaired and ages well. Renders, limewash, repointing.
Gentle cleaning, consolidation, stone repair and repointing, respecting its surface.
The stone of the villas around Paris: cleaned, mineralised, repointed in lime and left exposed.
Joints redone in lime, damaged bricks replaced, bond and polychromy respected.
Timber frames restored, with compatible lime-based infills and renders.
Traditional joinery and windows, bespoke fitted joinery and cabinetmaking.
Roofing and zinc work carried out to the rules of the trade.
Silicate paints: they bond with the mineral surface and keep their colour over time.
The houses
Every type of building has its own construction logic and its own weak points. Knowing them avoids mistakes that are costly and long-lasting.
Cut-stone façades, exceptional interiors.
Timber frames, infills and lime renders.
Cleaning, restoration and protection of the stone.
Renders, limewash and mouldings brought back.
The heritage of the Marne riverbanks and the Île-de-France.
Masonry, joints and polychrome decoration.
Partners
I work with firms I know, whose work I have seen and whom I oversee day to day. Each in its own trade, all to the same standard.
Traditional façade restoration
Frontis
Lime renders and limewash, stone, millstone, brick, mineral paints. KEIM applicator.
Fitted joinery · Cabinetmaking · Fit-out
Baltazar Berthemet
Bespoke fitted joinery, cabinetmaking, interior fit-out.
My role: choosing the right firm for each trade, coordinating, checking.
About
Renovation project manager and owner’s representative, specialised in historic homes.
I have worked on historic buildings since 2018. I started out on the French Riviera, with Côté Face in Villeneuve-Loubet. I trained in lime with Lisbonis in Marseille, then in mineral paints with KEIM.
I then joined Groupe EDDIFIS, specialists in the renovation of Parisian buildings: hôtels particuliers, cut-stone façades, interiors renovated to uncompromising standards.
Today I guide owners of old houses throughout France, in French and in English. What drives me hasn’t changed: old buildings, architecture, beauty, and solutions that last.
First projects with Côté Face, in Villeneuve-Loubet.
Trained in lime (Lisbonis, Marseille) and in mineral paints (KEIM).
Groupe EDDIFIS: hôtels particuliers, cut stone, interiors.
Project management and owner’s representation for historic homes, throughout France.
Contact
Every project begins with a visit. Tell me where your house is and what you would like to do with it.
I reply personally, in French or in English.