Congratulations on obtaining the permission!

My main thought is that termites are present in quite a few départements of France; if you're in one then there are are various additional building regulations that apply, which may include avoiding untreated pine. https://termite.com.fr/ would be the place to look for more info.

You may already know that French laws also make DIY housebuilding problematic, unless - to simplify - all the work is done by registered professionals, or unless you avoid selling the place for 10 years after completion.

Apart from that, it sounds like an interesting project :)

Mike,

Termites! Thanks for that heads up. I'm in Correze, on the edge of termite territory. I guess it makes sense then to use treated timber for the structural parts anyway. (Saves a lot of work too!). Plan A was just to use the oak for the cladding and buy in treated pine for the structure, so I'll revert to that if a little more research on termites doesn't preclude it.

I certainly can't afford to hire registered professionals for any of it. I've done a fair bit of building work in the UK, so I'm not fazed about DIY. Also, I'm in no rush. I already have an off grid cabin in the woods. Having planning permission on the neighbouring plot sort of legitimises my current position, so that's good. And my priority is planting up more fruit and nut trees in the fields I have, and looking after the trees I already have. The house can be a spare time project!

It was interesting getting planning permission. I was totally daunted at first, doubtful whether I get get permission for a passivehaus type thing with compost toilet. But it was actually straight forward and free of charge, with even some architectural overview and advice thrown in. Nice! And it turns out, it's now really hard to build anything in France that requires heating! For most houses, this requires a lot of expensive inspections to ensure the building conforms, but for a house of 50 sq m, I don't have to have the inspections (I'll conform to the best of my ability anyway). So, much cheaper.

I have a friend here who built something and sold it within 10 years and is now being sued for a total replacement of the building to fix what seems a fairly minor defect. Since there is no way I'm paying for qualified people to do the work, I'm planning to document the work in great detail as it progresses, so that if it is sold, it can be sold as is, and as documented with no ongoing liability. I don't know how effective this would be in French law, but doing the work myself is a given, so this is the best route I can think of. I'm not planning to sell it within 10 years, but I'm 65, and things are changing fast, inside and outside!

Tom, I am planning to dry the timber. I'm in the planning stages, and if I decide that making my own Oak cladding is the way to go, I'll do that as the very first job, and have the cut timbers airing for at least a year or two.

Posted By: John PedersenI'm planning to document the work in great detail as it progresses, so that if it is sold, it can be sold as is, and as documented with no ongoing liability. I don't know how effective this would be in French law

It's worth doing anyway, but wouldn't, by itself, change legal liability.

The French system is the inverse of the UK - the concept of 'caveat emptor' / 'sold as is' doesn't apply. The only defects that you can avoid liability for are those that you declare during the sale.

Even after 10 years you can't dodge liability for hidden defects (vices cachés) that would have affected the salability or value; the buyer has 2 years from their discovery to take legal action, even if that's 10 or 20 years after the sale.

Of course undeclared termite damage would count as a hidden defect.

My advice is to make sure that you follow all the French regulations in full and maybe reconsider skipping those inspections, even if they're not mandatory.