Smudger

Hi. I wonder whether you are able to help. We are moving over to SW France in a couple of months from SE England. Does anyone have any recommendations as to good removal companies, quality of service and price. Please let me know. Thanks.......

Hi, Thoughts and help please. I am installing a staircase in my house in France. The measurements at the moment give a riser height of 203mm and a tread of 200mm meaning that the pitch is around 45 degrees. Two questions. What are the regulations on pitch in France (I plan to rent the property out as holiday accommodation) and is 45 degrees too steep in any case. What pitch should I be aiming at. Any pointers would be really appreciated. Thanks....

Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

I hope someone is able to help. I am nearing the end of a farmhouse conversion which I will eventually rent out as holiday accommodation. I am capable of fitting the log burner and the flue, however are there regulations stating that this must be fitted by a qualified fitter with appropriate paperwork for insurance purposes? Any pointers gratefully received.

I wonder if anyone can help me. I am converting a barn in France into holiday accommodation and have a question regarding smoke alarms. Is it compulsory to have hard wired alarms or are battery ones acceptable? If I go for hard wired, what is required, are there any regs as to what ones to use. Does anyone have contact details (web site) of a supplier in France? I assume I cannot use ones from the UK as they will carry the ‘British Standard’ which I assume does not comply to regs in France? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks…..

I wonder if you can help me. I am converting a barn into holiday accommodation and have come to the point where I need to fit the Velux windows in the loft space that will be converted to bedrooms and bathrooms. I have the planning permission to fit the windows as part of the conversion, however what regulations exist bearing in mind this will be accommodation, not a private residence. Is there any requirement for the windows to be of a certain size to allow escape in case of fire? Rules on safety for children etc. Any pointers would be very helpful before I commit to purchasing the windows.

Can someone please advise. I am flying into Limoges airport. Where is the best place to hire a van. I cant see that the airport hire companies offer van hire. I may be wrong. Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks

Can someone please give me clarifictaion of what plants I can bring from the UK into France, if any. Can I take potted plants for my garden or cuttings etc. The price of plants in France seems rather high so I was going to drive some over if possible.

I wonder if anyone is able to comment or share their experiences. I am fitting a new hot water system (not heating) and have been advised by one artisan that a thermodynamic system is the way to go. I have gone online and read various reviews but it is difficult to get an impartial review as so many of them are from the suppliers themselves. Has anyone else done any research on this or have you actually fitted one and can share your experiences. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks…

I wonder whether anyone can clarify. I own and live in the UK and have purchased a house in France which is just a holiday home at the moment. I plan to sell in the UK and move to France permanently at some stage over the next few years and wondered how I stand with regard to CGT on the profit on my UK sale. Could someone please clarify. Thanks.....  

I am in the process of converting a property in France into gite accommodation with the plan to move out permanently in early 2018 to run the business. If the UK were to leave the EU, what impact do you think that would have on my plans? Has anyone done any homework on this?

Thanks for that. It is so disappointing that issues like this ruin something that should be exciting and enjoyable. Never mind, I assume they happen regularly in the building trade. Westcliff is all well, although I wish I was in France on a daily basis. Thanks again.

I wonder if anyone could give me some clarification as to where I stand regarding a building dispute. I have signed a contract with a swimming pool company to supply and fit a Mondial swimming pool. My understanding is that this is a particular brand and differs in the construction and the way the concrete is cast. I am no expert, but the invoice is on Mondial headed paper with the swimming pool company stamped in the corner as ‘agent’. I have had it suggested to me, from staff at the company, who have subsequently left, that the swimming pool company is in financial difficulties. On top of this the company says that they no longer deal in Mondial pools as the manufacturer has ceased to supply to the area (Dordogne). I do not believe this to be the case. As a result of these issues and having paid €10k up front, the company have cast a pool on site although it is not a Mondial product. We allowed this as we were eager to obtain some assets on site for our initial outlay in case the company did go into liquidation. However no official communication was forthcoming from the company to me that the product was not a Mondial. They did liaise with my project manager in France (I still live in the UK), however again no formal paperwork has been forthcoming detailing the replacement product. We have arranged a meeting on site in a couple of weeks to access the standard of the pool compared to the one set out in the original contract. If it is comparable then we will happily pay the amount of the works up to date. We are clearly cautious of paying anything in advance for obvious reasons. We are now getting aggressive and threatening calls ahead of this meeting from the pool company asking for further payment in line with the original contract, which in my view is now void. As I said, I hope the replacement product is acceptable and if so will pay for works up to date. I do now feel however that the relationship has broken down and wish to employ anther contractor to complete the works from this stage to completion. So after that long explanation (apologies), where do you think I stand?

Thank you all. Very valuable tips.

Thanks all for your help.

I am in the process of having the window and door openings made in a barn that I am converting.. The main house is complete and has oak frame windows with double glazed units and I want to fit similar units into the barn. Before the mason starts his work I would like the opening to be of a size where I can get standard units to fit rather than paying the extra for bespoke windows and doors. That being the case I have a couple of (probably) daft questions. Is there such a thing as a standard size door (and double door) and window, and can I buy these units off the peg, and if so where. We are based in the Dordogne. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a few acres of land in France that I acquired when I purchased my house. The Mairie has shown an interest in purchasing it and has made a small offer. The land isn't valuable and he only intends to farm it as he owns the surrounding land. I am happy with his offer and wish to proceed, however as my French is not great I feel that I should have a UK based French solicitor (as I did for the house purchase) oversee the transaction to ensure nothing is agreed that impacts my property or the land that I am not selling. The issue I have is that the proposed purchase price is less than the solicitors minimum charge. What are my options? Am I being over cautious? Will the notaire act on both parties behalf and ensure all is fine with no impact on my house or the remaining land? Is their any other road I can go down to get comfort? Any help would be much apprecaited.  

I am currently planning on restoring a barn in the Dordogne region of France. I plan to use an auto entreprener to carry out some of the renovations (excluding structural stone work, electrics, plumbing, roofing), he will in effect be covering insulation, stud walls and dry lining, carpentry, tiling and flooring, door and window fitment etc. He is registered (I have a Siret number) however how do stand with regard to any insurance cover for things like non completion of work, guarantee going forward and injury cover if he were to have an accident on site. Does his status make alot of difference to another tradesman who is not an auto entrepreneur. Any pointers would be welcome. Thanks    

Thanks all.

Hi, We are currently going through the planning process to convert a barn in the Dordogne to living accomodation. In order to keep the character within the buildiing I was intending on leaving as much of the stone walls exposed as possible, however the architect has said that all external walls (3 of the 4) will need to be dry lined. I dont want this and wondered whether anyone could help clarify the regulations here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks