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steveg22

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Everything posted by steveg22

  1. Thanks for the help and pointers. St Aister 's website has some great info as well. Another question needing answers please. On the gable end we have the usual metal bar inserted into the cob wall with the attached black electric cable descending to EDF's box - is this dangerous to touch? (I know it is if I cut it!!!!!) But working from a tower scaffold can I touch the black cable without being fried? The reason I ask is that, on a previous house the macon happily worked around the cable, pinning it out of his way etc but on a neighbours recent renovation EDF arrived, disconnected and moved the cables while the macons were rendering the walls. Is this Health and Safety arriving in France now? Steve
  2. Hi, Has anyone any experience of rendering using lime/hemp mix in France and especially sourcing shredded hemp here? I've read articles extolling its insulation virtues and ease of use. I'm shortly going to attempt the renovation of the external cob walls (at least the first application) and any help or information would be appreciated. Steve
  3. Hi, Our house was renovated in the 1970's and has been decorated (on the landing and bedrooms) with various fabrics. I have been told by various people that this was an expensive option and provides better insulation especially on the north facing wall. My quandary is either to: 1) Remove the fabric and replace with plasterboard. However, I don't know what is lurking behind the fabrics and if it would be at all possible to use the existing lats as stud work. 2) Renew the fabrics - is this an easy option? It looks like it is just stapled to thin lats. 3) Leave well alone - this is my preferred option but not my wife's! Any tips gratefully received. Thanks Steve
  4. Hi, I have just been to my local Citroen dealer to work a deal out on a new Berlingo Multispace and he has told me that he we will take my 2 Renaults in p/x and supply the Berlingo fully configured for left hand-drive, speedo in Kms etc. This will solve the problem of getting rid of our 2 UK spec cars when we move over.  Am I correct in assuming that, unless I have it delivered to the docks at P/mouth (!!!) it will have to be registered in England and therefore it will be treated as a personal import when I take it to France and I will just have the normal re-registering procedures to follow. Is there anything else that I need to be aware off. Thanks for your help as always. Steve
  5. Hi, The gable end of our house (pierre & terre) has some alarmingly large holes in it (the owls love them) and it needs to be re-rendered with chaux. One of the more worrying holes is at the corner of the gable and just under the roof! This work I intend to do myself when we move over. However, in the meantime, what's the correct way to fill the holes. On a previous house the macon used pieces of terracotta brick to block large holes and then chucked the chaux on top - is the correct way? Thanks Steve
  6. Sid, The stove was brand new at Easter and the ash pan hasn't been emptied yet. I will order some new rope and try that but I'm thinking that a damper is the only way. The stove will have to come out for me to alter things but there isn't a lot of arm room above to unscrew an access door (the granite lintel is 600mm thick. This stove burns like a furnace day or night. I think it was the other Steve that has the daytime probs! The room is 6m x 10m but only has a curtain to the dining room to slow down the air flow - even so the air controls should still slow things down. I was seriously doubting that they were working at all. The other stove loves the French wood but that is all cast iron, the Herald is a mixture of steel & cast iron. Steve
  7. That's the same problem with our Herald - can go through a thick oak log in 10 mins - fantatstic flames but not much heat and it uses way too much fuel during  an evening. The only upside is that it lights with just a few twigs and off it goes! I want  to retro fit a damper but the flue is too short for an access door. The other stove has a 7" flue to 180mm liner but the Herald has 6" flue to 180mm - I can't see that should affect the burning rate. We did have both woodburners on at the same time and the difference in burning rates was staggering. Picture shows the Herald at full burn closing the air controls down doesn't affect the burn rate!!!! If I hadn't another woodburner to compare it too, using the same wood etc then I suppose I would leave well alone but it's next on my list of jobs to re-visit!!! [IMG]http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad308/steveg22/EPSN0387.jpg[/IMG]
  8. Hi, I have installed 2 woodburners in my house this year. The first was a Hunter Herald 8 (11kw) which replaced an insert in the main sitting room. This Christmas I installed the second in the small sitting room. This one is less than half the price of the Herald a more than twice as good. As an example, we put a couple of logs on the burner, turned the damper down a touch, left the doors from the sitting room open to the hall and kitchen/dining room - which is a large open galleried room - went outside to do some gardening and returned inside after a couple of hours to a warm welcoming hallway and the kitchen being warmed. I appreciate that we do not live there full time but snow on the ground is cold no matter where you are. I bought it from <http://www.naturalheating.co.uk/cathedral-cast-iron-multifuel-stove-12kw-p-498.html> and they deliver to France although I brought it over on the trailer. There is a pic of it installed on this thread http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1926589/ShowPost.aspx
  9. Just an update. The electrician didn't come and do the cable. I received an email to say that he had hurt his back and had been signed off by the doctor. However, after struggling through the snow and having to abandon my trailer (with the woodburner on the back), I was determined to have it installed and lit for Christmas. I extended the 10mm tails and ran it through rigid tubing (the tails will be replaced when I have a new tableau installed) and can easily be accessible by removing a section of the plasterboard. [IMG]http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad308/steveg22/EPSN1344.jpg[/IMG]
  10. Thanks for the replies and suggestions. As I said previously, I have waited for 10 weeks for the electrician to do this work (and other work) so that I can complete the wood burner installation. If I have to do the work then it will only be temporary repair until the sparky turns up and he can re-do the work to a professional standard. "Not sure I like the idea of power cables anywhere near a hearth" The original cable/conduit was 20mm under the direct heat source, the new cable will be 150mm from the woodburner. I will go for 25mm tails but I can't see "resin" in the Brico Depot catalogue - is soldering the cables a 'no-no'? Picture shows the cables running left to right from EDF's box to the tableau (10 meters) and 12kva supply [IMG]http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad308/steveg22/EPSN1311.jpg[/IMG]
  11. Hi, I recently demolished a raised granite fireplace/hearth and found buried inside the morter - 1 cable to the chau eau (which I cut through and temporarily repaired) and more worryingly a very thick tube inside of which is the mains cable (meter tails?) - thankfully I didn't cut into this! These cables run behind block walls from EDF's box to the tableau in the utility room - 10m approx. I am replacing the raised fireplace with a low slate hearth and installing a woodburner and I need the these cables to run under the hearth. 1) Can I cut into the mains cable (turn supply off at EDF's box) and lengthen the cable to re-route under the slate hearth 2) Is 16mm cable the correct size. 3) Rigid tube for the conduit 4) Are chocolate box connectors OK for a permanent joint behind the walls? Any help/advice etc gratefully received Thanks Steve (Dept 22) PS. I have waited for an electrician to come and do this work since October but as yet the work hasn't been done.
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