Château du Plessis

House Guide: Salon d'Été

The “Salon d’Été” a.k.a. the Sunroom was completed in the spring of 2006.  It functions as a reading room, a sitting room, a dinette (comfortable for six, a little tight for eight), a TV room, a game room, or a family room. 
It is equipped with a Surround Sound Satellite Plasma TV, a Radio Tuner, a DVD player, and a 6 disk CD player. 

Access the sunroom is from the kitchen through two large pocket doors, or from the Terrace through the two French Doors.

• Lights & Fan
• Windows, Doors, Screens, Shades & Shutters
• Terrace
• Heating
• Linens
• A/V equipment

Light & Fan

Since there are perhaps a few too many switches scattered around the room, the following is a list of the switches locations as well as their purposes:
Next to the right side pocket door (when coming from the kitchen): 
- The lower dimmer switch operates the ceiling spot lights.  One quick touch will turn the spots on or off, one prolong push will dim the spots up and down.  Note: dimming the lights all the way does NOT turn off the lights.  To turn off the lights, first make sure they are fully lit, and then tap quickly to turn them off.
- The upper left switch operates a fluorescent light located on top of the A/V furniture. It provides soft background light well suited to watching TV at night.
- The upper right switch turns on the spot lights in the two niches.
Next to the left pocket room door (when coming from the kitchen)::
- The upper right switch operates the ceiling chandelier.
- The upper left switch operates the outlets located in the south corner of room and turns on the two small table lights.
- The lower dimmer switch operates the ceiling spot lights.  One quick touch will turn the spots on or off, one prolong push will dim the spots up and down.  Note: dimming the lights all the way does NOT turn off the lights.  To turn off the lights, first make sure they are fully lit, and then tap rapidly to turn them off.
Next to the right niche: Two rotary switches operate the two ceiling fans.  They have 3 speeds and go from high to medium to low.  Do not attempt to pull the chain on the fan.

Window, Doors, Screens, Shades & Shutters

Doors & Window:  The window and the two doors open on the inside (as all windows in France).  To open the window, or either of the French doors, the shade needs to be rolled up above the doors or the window to avoid damaging the shades. 
Screens:  The window and the French doors are equipped with rolling screens.  Surprise, they are a bit tricky to operate.  To close the screens, open the doors and from the inside pull on both screens until the two halves meet in the middle and then raise then lower the right side to lock the two sections.  There are two catches, one slightly above eye level and the other blow knee level.  Both catches must be locked for the screen to stay close.  To open the screens, reverse the procedure.  Of course, unlocking the screens can be a bit of a challenge.  With the doors open, while holding the screens from the inside with both hands, gently lift the right screens to unlock the catches. Hold the screens while gently letting each half roll into the hidden cavities.  Do not let go or the strong spring will snapped them into the wall with great force and possibly brake the screen.
Shades:  To cut down the sun rays and on the sun heat (and prevent fading of the cushions), all nine openings are equipped with roll down shades.  Please lower all the shades each day before you leave for your excursions.  Make sure to first close the window and the doors.  Best practice is to lower the shades on the sunny side, and rotate around the room as the sun moves from East, to South and to West.
Shutters:  Each of the nine openings is equipped with wooden shutters that close from the inside.  You need not close the shutters during your stay.  Should you wish to do so (for instance to keep the heat out during the day) the closed shutters will provide some protection.  Be sure to first roll the shades all the way into the ceiling cavity.  Then, unfold each three panel’s shutters, and slide carefully behind the door handles.  There is a steel rod hanging on the right side of each opening.  With caution (in order to avoid scratching the wall or brake a window), insert the steel rod into the two hooks.  You are done.  Reverse the procedure to open the shutters.

Terrace

The \ terrace is accessed through either of the French Doors.  Note: Remember to open the screen before stepping out of the door.  The terrace equipment includes umbrellas, pillows for the chairs, and linen for the tables.
Umbrellas:  The terrace is equipped with three large sun umbrellas which are a bit tricky to open (where did you hear that before)!  After untying the ribbon, on your knees from below the umbrella loosen the umbrella as much as possible and locate the pulley cord.  Pull on the cord while continuing to loosen the umbrella.  Eventually, the heavy umbrella will start to unfold.  Secure it open with the short stick.  At night, just reverse the procedure and tie the ribbon to secure the umbrella. NOTE: It is best to keep the umbrellas open at all time to avoid mildew buildup.
Pillows:  Cotton pillows for all the chairs are stored under the benches on the south side of the room.  To open the bench, roll up the shade all the way to the top.  Then remove the pillow and flip the bench open.  Please make sure you bring all the pillows in at night (or when it looks like rain)
Table covers:  When using the outside tables, just remove the covers and store them wherever convenient.  Please wipe the marble tops clean and replace the covers on the tables at night to avoid staining the table tops (the chestnut trees will stain the marble if not wiped off immediately).  Do not forget the two small round tables.

Heating

The sunroom and the kitchen are heated by sub-floor heated water pipes.  There are radiators under the benches on the West and East side for supplemental heat. The thermostat for the heater is located next to the light switches on the right side of the room (when looking toward the kitchen).  The thermostat will alternatively display the time and the outside temperature (it can be off by 4 or 5 degrees depending on the sun exposure or wall temperature - with no consequence on the heaters).  It is programmed to deliver constant temperature of 16.5 degrees (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit) and 14.5 degrees during the night hours.  It is unlikely to be on during the summer months. 
Please do not attempt to adjust the thermostat.  Simply call the “gardien” if you find the room too cold.

Linen

The linens for the dining table are located in the lower drawer of the sunroom commode.  The upper drawer holds the linen for the outside tables.  Please do not leave the outside linen out when not in use (except for the plastic table cloths).  Also please remember to put the covers on the tables at night.

A/V Equipment

Operation is almost straight forward as long as you stay content with the basic functions and do not attempt to reset any of the components.  We have programmed the system for basic use with the easiest and most convenient operation, and that is confusing enough (see below). The A/V equipment is preprogrammed for maximum ease of use.  Please limit yourself to the preset functions.  If you try to be clever, you are almost certain to mess-up one of the program and probably find the system non functional for you and for the renters coming after you.
Most important, all the A/V equipment are connected to a surge protector with a master switch.  To turn on the A/V equipment, open the left door of the cabinet and flip the surge protector switch to the “ON” position.  It will power-on each and every A/V equipment.  Do not turn off any equipment individually, just flip the surge protector switch to the “OFF” position. 
To avoid disturbing the pre-programmed functions of the system, DO NOT operate the various Remote control operators unless specifically specified below. Only use the TPS Remote.

TV:  Please check the section on TV-HiFI guide elsewhere in this guide book.  It will list all the available channels.  To turn the TV “on” flip the master switch to “on” (see above).  Be sure to open the right cabinet door to view the equipment rack.  Using the CanalSat Remote, select the appropriate channel (i.e. “47” for CNN or “3” for France 3).  Adjust the volume by pushing the + or – volume buttons on the CanalSat Remote or by rotating the large dial on the DENON Receiver.
It is not uncommon for the satellite to lose signal.  Should this happen, depress the CAnalSat-Red button on the Remote (The TPS button will light).  The TPS controller will go off and needs to be rebooted (if you have cable or satellite TV in the US this will be obvious to you).  After 10 or 15 seconds, press the TPS button again.  An additional 20 seconds or so later, the red light will go off and a message indicating that the terminal is rebooting will appear on the screen.  If only the clock appears on the controller, start the rebooting process again. 
Problem Solving: 
- If the picture does not fill the screen, you can adjust the format with the “ZOOM” button on the TPS Remote.  There are 3 positions, “classic”. “wide” and “zoom”.  You can select by continuing depressing the Zoom button.  If nothing happens (satellites can be fickle), just change channel and try again.  In the end you will succeed!
- If you happen to watch a “dubbed” movie and you would prefer to watch the English version, just push the “INFO” button on the TPS Remote.  Then chose Language English.  Sometimes it will work!
- If you have a picture and no sound, rotate the small left knob on the DENON Receiver until DBS is displayed
- If you have sound, but no picture, the previous user might not have reset the screen for Digital TV viewing.  To reset the screen, pick up the small FUJITSU Remote and push the Video button until Video 7 appears on the screen. Do this slowly; it shifts from Video 1 to 7 very slowly.
- If you have neither picture nor sound, be sure that the master switch is ON and that each of the components is ON (there should be a light on each component.  Perhaps, someone has turned off a component accidentally).

DVD:  Should you wish to watch a DVD Movie, you will need to be prepared to mess up the system and lose all signals.  If this does not scare you, you can enjoy viewing one of our favorite movies for the Loire Valley.  First turn the TV on as you would for watching CNN (see above). 
Once your favorite TV program is on:
* Select the DVD of your choice, and open the DVD tray by depressing the “open” button on the DVD player (making sure it is turned “on” in the process). 
* Insert the DVD and close the tray.
* Pick-up the FUJITSU Remote and push the VIDEO button until Video 1 appears
* Rotate the left small dial to: “DVD”, on the DENON Receiver
* Using the Denon DVD Remote, navigate as usual to play the movie (if this evokes the comment “what is he talking about”, give up and go back to watching TV).  DVD veterans will know what I am talking about.  Adjust the volume using the large dial on the right side of the DENON Receiver.
* At the end of the movie, put it back in its case (this is pretty obvious), and reset the system to watch TV: (1) - get back to Video 7 using the Fujitsu Remote; (2) – get back to “DBS” rotating the small left dial on the DENON Receiver.  If the TV does not come back on go back to the trouble shooting section above.

CD:  Should you wish to watch listen to CD’s, you will need to be prepared to mess up the system and lose all signals.  If this does not scare you, you can enjoy listening to your favorite music for up to 6 or 7 hours.  First turn the TV on as you would for watching CNN (see above).
Once your favorite TV program is on:
* Select the CDs of your choice, and open the CD tray by depressing the “open” button on the CD player (making sure it is turned “on” in the process). 
* Insert the CDs by rotating the tray and close the tray.
* Pick-up the FUJITSU Remote and push the RED button to turn the TV screen OFF.
* Push the “PLAY” button on the CD player. 
* On the DENON Receiver, rotate the left small dial to “CDR/Tape”
* At the end of your listening session, put the CDs back in the drawer (or wherever they came from - this is pretty obvious), and reset the system to watch TV: (1) – push the “RED” button on the Fujitsu Remote; (2) – get back to “DBS” rotating the small left dial on the DENON Receiver.  If the TV does not come back on go back to the trouble shooting section above.

Tuner:  Should you want to listen to the Radio (you might find it much more convenient to use the BOSE Radio in the kitchen), you will need to be prepared to mess up the system and lose all signals.  If this does not scare you, you can enjoy listening to your favorite music or other radio station for as long as you wish.  First turn the TV on as you would for watching CNN (see above).
Once your favorite TV program is on:
* Pick-up the FUJITSU Remote and push the RED button to turn the TV screen OFF.
* Rotate the small left dial on the DENON Receiver to “TUNER”. 
* Select the radio station of your choice by pushing the “Channel” + or - button on the DENON Remote.
* At the end of your listening session and reset the system to watch TV: (1) – push the “RED” button on the Fujitsu Remote; (2) – get back to “DBS” rotating the small left dial on the DENON Receiver.  If the TV does not come back on go back to the trouble shooting section above.

Speakers - Kitchen:  Should you want to listen to turn on the speakers located in the kitchen, simply press the small FRONT SPEAKERS knob on the lower left hand side of the DENON Receiver until the little green light under “Speaker B” is lit.  When both “Speaker A” and “Speaker B” green lights are on, speakers in both rooms are live.  Keep pressing the FRONT SPEAKERS knob until the desired set of speakers are live (usually Speaker A).

Speakers - Terrace: Caution: These instructions for turning the outside speakers on the terrace ON and OFF are for advanced users only.  If one does follow these instructions rigorously, the A/V system performance will be in jeopardy during the remainder of you sojourn:
* To turn the outside speakers ON you must use the DENON Remote (RC-925):
* Press the red Zone 2 ON button
* Press the Zone 2 transparent button (immediately below)
* Press the "yellow" button of the zone you want to hear outside (Tuner/CD-Tape/DVD, etc)
* Push the large + or – button to adjust the volume of the outside speakers
* Press the red Zone 1 (Main) ON button to return volume control to the inside speakers
* Press the transparent button to select the desired zone for the main speakers (Tuner/CD-Tape/DVD, etc)

Note: you might need to reset the TV video following the above operation. Turn the TV screen "on" with the Fujitsu remote. Select the DBS source on the DENON receiver, and push the video button on the Fulitsu untol Video 7 appears and reboots. Now, you can see why turning on the outside speakers constitutes a very high risk!

Be sure to turn the system OFF by switching the Master Switch to OFF on the Surge Processor in the left cabinet.

We welcome your comments on how we can make it more comfortable or enjoyable or easy to operate. Feel free to comment on these instructions if anything is unclear or incomplete (or unnecessary for that matter).