joidevie

Thanks.... I also just read that wetting your finger with 50/50 water and washing up liquid might be an idea ? Masking tape will give a 'straight' edge on the bath.. But the "rugged" tiles?

What is the best way of getting a really nice smooth straight run along silicone sealing around a bath? (with a shower too, so a really good seal is required!)  I have a steel white bath and painstakingly layed 10cm tavertine (sandstone) tiles.. I've left a perfect 4-5mm gap but I would hate to ruin the whole thing with a badly done "run your finger along it..." type of finish..  My instict is to find a solvent to soak a rag in and get a nice glided smooth slide.. ? The tiles are quite 'rustic' and rugged in texture too, so getting it 'right' is going to be interesting... Many thanks..

Sorry... no photos.. But the waxed ones have a permanent / 'furniture' type feel, though nothing too clever. It was recommended to me and I have no regrets. I'd suggest cleaning the beams ( I power hosed them - they were covered in lime & dirt ) and do a couple of sample / swatches before proceeding   ;o)

I've had great success "waxing" them with cabinet maker's wax available in many tints.. "Cire a l'ancienne" (SYNTILOR) is one I've used.. (comes in 500ml tins around 9 euros each. ) A whole barn took maybe 20 tins.. One 'coat' only needed.. Try using a pant brush to aply it... Best done in warm weather / surroundings as is is soft to brush in..

?? Have I got this right .... 24euro for 3kw and 61 for 6kw ? puissance souscrite (kVA) réglage disjoncteur (A) abonnement annuel TTC (euros) prix du kWh TTC (euros) 3 15 24,28 0,1325 6 30 61,75 0,1085 9 45 121,83 0,1085 12 60 174,69 0,1085 15 75 227,56 0,1085 18 90 280,42 0,1085 24 40 468,57 0,1085 30 50 656,72 0,1085 36 60 844,87 0,1085

My kind of answer!  No forms... Hmmm, what a refreshing situation..

Great.. Now it's time to crunch the numbers on 1 or 2 years... Consomation will be lowish as it's a second home, so taking the lower abonement will be more cost effective than the higher unit charge.. A bit like mobile phones with low use.. Also, in year one with gaz it may be prudent to stick with the  'state'  supplier to see how it all pans out. How long before EDF / GDF get rumbled on the  monopoly... Not content with blocking the competion, they're even supplying my flat in London!

I'm having difficulty making sense of the tarif for Gaz de ville.. I have 3kw / or 6kw electricity and will have Gaz central heating and gaz cooker. Is there a combined package / abonement standing charge ? What is the current monthly charge for gaz alone ? Many thanks.

I've currently got an ancient electricity connection which is being replaced soon. The technician who visited mentioned that 3kw could well be enough for the house. I will have Gaz central heation and gaz cooker. 3 bedrooms dishwasher & washing machine. Quite a lot for halogen spots.. A TV and stereo.. Is there a great difference in tarif between the two ? Many thanks.

Hi.. quick question on the procedure for dealing with GDF to get gas flowing. A new box is now in and my plumber is about to install a new combi boiler & gas cooker. Will he do all of the paperwork to get it going or will I need a whole round of forms & appointments with technicians ? Many thanks..

[quote user="muscoka"]Hi We had town gas connected last year. The cost of connection by GDF was around 350 euros. At the same time we had a very fancy condensor boiler fitted. This is to run potentially 20 odd radiators and was fitted for 6000 euros. We get all our hot water for free when the heating is on. If you have this type of boiler fitted you can claim back 45% ish in a tax rebate (assuming you are paying tax). I would think you are looking at around 5000 ish if radiators need to be fitted and connected as this is the time consuming bit. It is best to get your plumber to handle the inspection by EDF of the new installation as they will have to certify it before the gas can be turned on. It may seem like an expense but well worth it in the long run.   [/quote] Could you gived some kind of idea of the standing charges involved? I'm looking at a gas cooker/combi bolier setup combined with a 6kw electricity supply.. Are there "combination tarifs' with gas and electricity taken together?

[quote user="Jonzjob"]What about Danish oil. It's food safe when dry and once again easy to 'repair' if it gets marked and almost certainly more hard wearing than olive oil. [/quote] Many thanks... Any offers on the French for "danish oil" ?

Great answer.. Many thanks. Will drilling the bath 'crack' the paintwork ??

I'm currently fitting a bathroom. I've positioned a new bath in a corner and am busy tiling around the edges leaving a couple of millimetres clearance from the rim to the tiles.. I'm concerned about the bath moving and breaking / cracking the tiles and naturally the whole thing moving about! The floor is ceramic tiled (potentially hard to drill into)... I've not fitted a bath before liken this .... How do I "fix" the bath in place? The rim has no visible fixing points.. I plan to make a frame to panel (with 20mm exterior ply ) the outside.. Just a slight blank as to how "construct" a frame... Many thanks for any help ...

I've recently put in some Ikea 'Varde" freestanding kitchen units. They have very light colour (beech) worktops which have been lightly treated. They are however picking up stains & dirt easily.. I've had poor experiences in the past with their oak worktops using their 'oil' to treat, and aslo mediocre results with a branded 'worktop treatment' from B&Q. Thus far, my best results were from plain linseed oil on some raw Habitat beech surfaces.. Before I go ahead with this, I thought I'd see if anyone had any amazing ideas. I don't want to go the varnish laquer route unless I can retain the wood 'feel'.. Many thanks!

Thanks.. However  I think that this can only be used with the Neufbox which I don't want to buy into... I suppose I was hoping for some kind of 3103 France Telecom equivalent.. Seems I'll need to buy an answerphone, but this is no good really as it means I won't be able to access messages from the UK as I turn the mains poser off when absent :o(

I'm trying to make sense of setting up a NEUF voicemail on my standard landline. I have  a France Telecom conection and take a NEUF ADSL and Telephone rate package "ADSL 512 Ilimité". I use my own modem - not a Neufbox. *9 .... Does this ring a bell?  I can't find anything in my online "espace cliente".. Help please! Many thanks.

[quote user="Bilbo"]Why do you want Astra2A ? I thought the english programmes were on Astra 2D at S28E ? [/quote] Sorry, you're right.. Getting all confused - up at 3am to drive a mate to Tolouse ariport zzzzzzzzzz.... OK, I'll persevere & get this one up and running :o)

It's a long story, but I've had huge problems with a Metronic receiver which I now know does not work on a neighbour's dish.. So in the bin! I've now however moved my dish around, so I'm not sure whether I'm aligned.. I have a sat finder and am getting good sounds from it from near Astra 2A. I've just bought an OPTEX ORD 9540 sat box and plugged it in. In setup mode, Astra 2A satelite is NOT listed, only Astra 1C, Hotbird etc.. A Google found a pdf which translated says it is compatible with any FTA channels. ( www.optex-normand.com/Downloaded%20Extensions/Catalogue/Satellite.pdf ). The box boasts 2500 channels. Question - before I spend ANY more energy in tuning the box, if ASTRA 2A is not listed in the menu, am I wasting my time (and patience!).. Many thanks for any help you might be able to offer..

Thanks .. I kind of knew about the new UK roaming fees, and I had a French SIM but they cease if not used for a period of time.. My real query was whether any of these 'pre-dial' numbers work while roaming ?

Sounds like a pain.. Have you tried using just an ordinary modem instead or is this a box which handles the phone as well etc? It should be able to detect if ADSL is enabled.. I can only say that I signed up with NEUF 2 years ago (FT line kept) and all went very smoothly. I pay 11€ month for the ADSL and FT get their €13. I wanted to keep the FT line as they are the only ones who can repair it if it goes down! (Much like the UK)

I'm on a T-Mobile UK contract but visit France regularily.. I still get confused about roaming charges - for example if calling French mobiles or landlines from within France whilst roaming. More recently I've been using pre-dial discount numbers to call TO France from the UK (typically 1p per min to land line and 10p per min mobile). These people are the UK company http://www.pennyphone.co.uk and they have a sister company in France http://www.appeldiscount.com What now confuses me is which one do I call through whilst IN France to get the discount rate bearing in mind that I'm roaming with a UK phone.. ? Anyone up to speed on this? Thanks.

Does anyone know if C4 is ever likely to appear FTA on my French bought digi box? There's been talk in the past... and even Film 4 has arrived.. Any latest information on this one? Thanks..

[quote user="Fridgeman"].. in the UK I have a motorised dish with a Technomate receiver which will be coming to France when we finally make the move this year. I hope the above helps, if not come back and ask again there are a lot of helpful people and more technical than I on the forum who will be more than willing to assist.     [/quote] Wow.. I can only dream of setting up the motor I bought a while ago.. A recipe for disaster! Let me know how you get on with the beeper as I now have one and will want to try it out in a couple of weeks.. I'm deep in South Aude where in the past, reception has been fine  but now my LNB may need to be changed.. Long story! This calculator / web site has some good info http://www.uksatellitehelp.co.uk/ and http://www.dishpointer.com/ Good luck

Well, Toulouse is my nearest store, so I may just crank up the 2CV Acadyane and chance it.. Thanks for all the experiences!