joidevie

Seems my understanding of the prises quantities is incorrect, and a double is one, but a triple or quadruple is 2.. So, the most correct way to spur in the cooker hood would be to feed the 2.5mm running to the unit into the the inside of nearest prise 'boite', cut into each of the red/blue/green & yellow cables running into (or out of) the prise itself, then join each cable together in turn using small "bornes automatiques" (cable connectors), and carefully tuck all of this back into the 'boite d'encastrement' and screw the prise cover back on? Have I got this right? And any recommendation/suggestion as to whether to use a 'sortie de cable' for the hotte or a single prise? (I haven't bought it yet, so I'm guessing if it comes with a plug attached, this could be a clue!?) Many thanks again, and Happy Easter..

Hi all.. We're just plastering our kitchen and are considering installing a cooker hood.. We anticipated this, and I put some 2.5mm gaigne in the wall running from the hood location running down to one of the twin sockets above the work surface. We already have 3 double 'prises' (6 single max allowed as I understand it).. Question(s): - If I intend to power the hood from this circuit, do I need to fit a plug to the hood and 'plug it in' to one of the sockets externally"? - Is there any "allowed/practical" way of branching into this socket/circuit from behind? (ie. hidden) - There is a lighting circuit nearby also, can this be branched into instead? Many thanks for any insights...

[quote user="Théière"]No it's sika flex 6.20 euros tube. That said any of the modified polymers such as the Ceresit or Works would be ok from the UK as they don't have the flamable solvent of gripfill.  [/quote] I guess the Sikaflex will be more flexible than the scellement chemique, especially if bonding wood to render.. [I]

Are we talking Sika Anchorfix? 1 , 2 or 3? The job would be worth a couple extra €'s to get it well and truly stuck!

[quote user="Chancer"]The scellement chimique cartouches are not an equivalent to gripfill but to chemical anchors. Gripfill in France is sold under the trade name ni clous ni vis but its a stupid price, mind you £3 a tube sound a lot to me, I usually pay 99p or a little more. [/quote] I thought Gripfill was the hardcore stuff which I used on set building jobs (been a while) which will bond anything to anything? Smells like the scellement chimique ones, or am I wrong? No more nails is not what I was hoping to find - I need to seriously attach some architrave to a wood door frame & fresh chalk mortar join to help the frame bond to the edges.. Maybe I'm out of touch, but the scellement chimique used to do wonders for attaching steel bolts etc. to crumbly stone walls, shutter gonds to brick walls etc? And the hazard data for gripfill reads fairly badly if quized at check in Cheers.

The closest I've seen are these "cartouches de scellement chemique" at around €12 from Brico depot.. Has Evo licenced anything in France as the equivalent to Gripfill? I'm flying to France next week, but I don't think Ryanair will be too pleased with some carts of Gripfill in my checked in bag! But at £3 a pop from Screwfix, it's a quater of the price! Cheers..

[quote user="Gardener"]This was recommended recently but I haven't tried them yet, looks good though www.ecoparcel.eu[/quote] Great, thanks - I'll report back if I try them!

Hello.. I've often used online courier booking agents such as Parcel2go and Interparcel to send larger guaranteed items from the UK to our house France at great value for money. I seem to be able to send boxes of stuff up to 20kg for around £23 or so.. (via DHL, UPS etc..) Is there any vaguely similar company based in France which can do the same back to both the UK and elsewhere? Many thanks if anyone can help

Hi.. We have recently cut tracks into existing cement floor tiles to lay gaignes - see pic below: [IMG]http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/azillio/floor/DSC02690.jpg[/IMG] We are hoping to lay reclaimed tomettes directly on top of these tiles, however have been 'warned' that the large tracks may cause problems later on after tiling on top of them in the form of cracking tiles etc.. (we thought we could just bed the gaignes in with some sand & cement). We do not really have the 'height' available to lay a complete chappe (nor do I think it necessary as the concrete tiles are already perfectly level) so we are looking for an innovative solution.. A Scandinavian builder friend has suggested pouring the tracks with a super strong fibre containing self levelling compound such as weber.floor 4310 fibre flow (used as a screed even on wood floor boards) or this version , and going on from there.. Any thoughts? Any thoughts on what mortar or 'colle' to use with tomettes on these cement floor tiles? Many thanks for any insights..

I sold my last place through French Property News within 2 days, "unseen" on the basis of VERY GOOD photographs, floor plans and a very well worded ad.. None of which are forthcoming from most local agents.. It takes a little bottle to complete the sale (and good knowledge of the 'escape clauses' you want your notaire to omit) .. It was the best £60 I've spent.. But you do need the best possible 'presentation'.. Nothing is 'free', but I know that 'leboncoin' is where I was always looking to buy direct from sellers for our new place - albeit with hugely variable 'good value' factor.. In the end, local knowledge and good old fashioned "asking around"  eventually found our new place. Buying, even in a "buyers market", isn't actually as easy as it sounds - it took us a year with the most intensive search to find the "right" place. Even then, there are always compromises.. Good luck..

Gosh.. It all sounds quite a situation, but sadly not hugely surprising.. A few too many coincidences for my liking.. My gut feeling would be to bluff them at their own game? (if there is in fact hocus pocus at play here). If the original mandat was for a higher figure, and then only 'verbally' agreed to a lower 'asking price', I would ask them to forward you (by registered post of course) 'proof' that they had in fact achieved the 'full asking price' - backed up with copies of all the signed paperwork from the sale supporting that the 'full asking price had in fact been obtained' (ie. the figure on the mandat with your signature on it.. ). Just as informing the agent of your original sale by registered letter is a required, so too surely is a correctly signed and agreed mandat with the correct and consistent figures? Surely a discrepancy like this would throw the argument into touch?

Well the NET+ card people have confirmed that the card status is exactly the same, and that there have been no 'declined' transactions. "Please check with merchant site..." Well, I really don't think a call to Ryanair will yield anything.. Maybe the booking system had a glitch (it has happened once or twice but quickly resolved itself - but this has now continued for days, and having now used a different PP card, I'm still a little baffled..) I guess I'll have to wait for my next booking..

I'm awaiting an e-response from the card company.. I'm not sure phoning Ryanair is worth the blood pressure [blink]

It's a Mastercard pre-paid card - been using it fine for months.. Surely Ryanair can't deliberately 'block' it's use?

Hmm...   [8-)]  Also using the NET+ card?

Hi.. Is anyone else having problems booking with a Mastercard PP with Ryanair? I'm getting: "You have mistyped the card number or some of the digits are missing go to the previous (Payment) page and resubmit..... etc." (plus loads of "wrong address/number/dates) at the completion stage. I'm using the same exact input details as always but can't complete my bookings any more. I've tried numerous browsers & IP addresses, but no joy.. It's a NET+ card by the way.. Thanks for any insights..

Many thanks for all the tips!

Hi again.. Perhaps I wasn't very clear - the hinges are not screwed to the frame or door, they are attached "into" the woodwork, like 'banged in'. The type of hinges are the same as the old windows we took out, and the hinge plates have no holes (ie. not screwed) but are in effect 'hammered into' the door & frame, making it very hard to get out. I thought someone may have had this and was hoping for a "this is how it's done" tip. The doors have already lost 20mm on the bottom, so we need to take some off the top as there would be no support left for the bottom door panel.. Does this make it any clearer? Many thanks again..

Hi.. We're needing to have to raise our existing doors by around 30mm-40mm to allow a new floor. The doors have already been trimmed on the bottoms, so taking some off the top seems the only option. They are of the old hinged type with a rod/pin hammered in to engage the hinge. The hinge plates are however 'worked in' to both the doors and frame and appear a nightmare to remove without ruining the doors and frames.. Is there an obvious method to removing these without damage? Many thanks..

[quote user="sid"]You say you have "flexi" pipes? I don't know what is permitted but I thought that for a woodburner the liner needed to be steel (stainless usually) and not the flexible type normally used for oil boilers. However, I stand to be corrected on this side issue. [/quote] It seems it is allowed and quite common though only the most heat resistant tubage is recommended.. People talk of 'hedgehogging' their pipes every couple of years ..

Interesting thoughts.. We just had a Jotul 18 (an old one from the 1980's) insert fitted (18kw) which is quite over powered, but we hope to heat much of the downstairs with it. Our 'fumiste' or 'chauffagiste' has told us about the 'requirements' of cleaning (but like you say, there seems to be different 'views' - I may just ask at my AXA insurance for their position) but he has also said we should clean the pipes (flexi type) from on top of the roof downwards? As it's pretty high, I was wondering if this is in fact the case? And do we have any more 'knowledge' on the legal requirements on cleaning? Cheers..

On the question of "ramonage" (cleaning), am I right in understanding that it needs doing once a year (twice if 7+ stere are burned p/a) and can be DIY? (I believe a pro chimney sweep is really hard to find due to the vast insurance costs)? And that for house insurance you are required to keep the receipts for the purchase of the brush kits from the brico shop? (I suspect there may be many unused 'kits' lying around in people's lofts & cellars..). Cheers..

Hi.. I don't know the actual address, but I think it's just off the main shopping pedestrianised road running from the SNCF to Place Carnot. Maybe the 2nd or 3rd road off to the right as you walk away from the Gare.. It was a while ago since I last went, but am fairly sure this is where one is..

The "Trocathalon" looks quite an event! I presume the Carcassonne branch joins the party.. Vanity on the 'slopes' is of no interest and we will be quite happy to improvise.. Now, finding a cheap pair of Telemark skis for my girlfriend will be interesting..

Great, thanks.. Have you tried St Pierre dels Forcats / Cambre d'Aze? It looks pleasantly quiet and a good bit cheaper than many of the others.. We're not really looking for late bars, simply some chilled skiing.. Cheers again..