[Is your VMC not working or lazy?]

Three years later... thanks!

I remembered reading this when it was posted and looked it up again because my vmc stopped working (I spins slowly when you help it first). I will be replacing the capacitors, that should sort it!

PS I have one of the capacitors out and it says "30000h" which, if h means hours, is 3.4 years... which is exactly how old the vmc is!

[lime or cement?]

Thanks for the artistic reply :)

Agreed it does not look too strange, but it is defnitely more work than just redoing the joints... I will do that first and if it turns out to be a problem in a few years I will consider covering that part with slates.

[lime or cement?]

Thanks for the reply. I thought about covering the wall with slates, but I think exposed stone makes more sense than slates, which would make it look like a problem area (which is isn't).

[lime or cement?]

See picture: http://oi46.tinypic.com/2lavmrk.jpg

I

would like to remove the cement and do the joints with

lime/sand-mixture (like the rest of the house). Will the lime joints

hold at this angle or will they wash away?

Thanks

[odd issue with fosse soakaways.]

the pipes are in/on gravel, so the ground probably just dried up quicker than the surrounding ground, which is why the grass died... just my guess :)

[problem with French Visa card in the USA]

I actually looked into opening a US bank account a few months ago, and to make a long story short: you have to be a US resident (has to do with the usual anti-terrorism-stuff). PO Box will not work either. Local branches can't do it either.

Maybe it's possible in Canada?

Do you go there for your job? If so, maybe your company can get you a card?

You can open a US$ account at a major bank in France. This way you will not lose money on the exchange rate, but they do charge a hefty transfer fee (I paid $60 at the US bank and $200 locally once). Cheapest way is to bring cash and deposit it yourself.

[Spotting a rotten beam?]

Poke it with a key! It should not be soft. Or bang it with your fist and see if there is sawdust coming out of the woodworm-holes (which are probably there :) ).