CollyC

Many thanks for that advice. I have been to the insurers, and it seems that while I have some cover under Protection juridique, it is not full. However, having blocked helping me because of that last time, it seems as though they might help me now.

I am considering putting in underfloor heating when we convert our cave. With insulated walls I am expecting it to be warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter, and so need less energy to regulate. It occurred to me that the fosse septique is a heat source, both from hot water which we put into it as waste, and from bacterial action. From what I can see on the web it is around 5degrees warmer than surrounding ground. I am wondering if anyone has tried using the fosse with the geothermal system, putting the heat exchange pipes into the fosse tank. It would be easy to install.

We had to have a completely new roof on our house. It was done by a registered French Artisan builder, and finished 3 years ago, since when we have lived here full time. We have some ongoing problems with the work. The worst of these is that rain leaks in along the sides of the rooves of the 2 new lucarnes (dormer windows), the mortar holding the ridge tiles is crumbling, and 3 ridge tiles have already fallen, and cold air blows in under the floor and into the 2 bedrooms in the roof and the rooms below. There are other issues too. At our request the builder came back on 3 occasions, but the problems have not been sorted. He then said that I should apply to his insurance via my insurance to have the problems fixed. My insurance say that this is not possible. I wrote and told him, but have had no reply. I understand that he is responsible for 10 years. I don't want to go down an expensive legal route. Is there some more straight forward way in which I can have the problems assessed and put right ?