Choochoo

Hi everyone We have a problem with water running off the field next door ( not ours ) which is up the slope from us. This flows into the garden and is stopped by the house, where it soaks into the wall. We would like to cut a trench across the garden and put in some yellow drainage pipe. Has anyone done this and could tell us the proper method to ensure long term success. ? Depth of trench, type of backfill etc. Many thanks.   John & Sue

Hi everybody As previously mentioned, most modern electrical equipment doesnt care which way round you wire it. Has anybody noticed that a wiring picture in pas a pas shows the colours both ways round. Anyway, a story. In my younger days as a TV engineer it was common practice for the TV manufacturer to use the metal chassis as the neutral return, to save wiring and therefore costs. This worked fine until Joe public wired up the mains plug the wrong way round. The TV worked fine like this but the chassis was now at mains potential !! Therefore standard practice was to put a mains tester to the chassis as soon as the back was off and to work with one hand behind your back wherever possible !! Doesnt bear thinking about, as lots of children used to use the ventilation holes at the back as a money box !! I have seen dodgy electrics in peoples homes that would make your hair curl, and all with little Johnny crawling around on the floor !! Needless to say this crazy idea was soon dropped by the manufacturers. Ah, those were the days.   John

Hi everybody I have just removed all the old plaster from a stone wall. This revealed quite a lot of repointing needed and a final coat of rendering. I have been advised not to use cement render as this is too solid and does not allow the wall to expand and contract. Should I use a lime mortar mix ? What about the final plaster skim ? Thanks for any advice. John (50)

Hello everybody We have just received letters from Credit Agricole asking us to declare our residency status for tax purposes. We live full time in France, Sue works on an occassional basis in UK (about 8 weeks per year )and pays tax on those earnings in UK. This was declared on our last tax form. I am a kept husband and do no work at all ( I wish !) , we still have savings in a UK bank which earns interest which is taxed at source in UK. Can anyone shed any light on what tax residency status we have ? Thanks to all John & Sue    

Hello everybody We have just received letters from Credit Agricole asking us to declare our residency status for tax purposes. We live full time in France, Sue works on an occassional basis in UK (about 8 weeks per year )and pays tax on those earnings in UK. This was declared on our last tax form. I am a kept husband and do no work at all ( I wish !) , we still have savings in a UK bank which earns interest which is taxed at source in UK. Can anyone shed any light on what tax residency status we have ? Thanks to all John & Sue    

Hello everybody We have just received letters from Credit Agricole asking us to declare our residency status for tax purposes. We live full time in France, Sue works on an occassional basis in UK (about 8 weeks per year )and pays tax on those earnings in UK. This was declared on our last tax form. I am a kept husband and do no work at all ( I wish !) , we still have savings in a UK bank which earns interest which is taxed at source in UK. Can anyone shed any light on what tax residency status we have ? Thanks to all John & Sue    

   

hi everybody I got out my tub of Boss White pipe jointing compound only to find it has gone all hard and lumpy. Anybody know the name of the French equivalent ? Thanks to all   John & Sue

Hi everybody. Just a little story about the French health system. I am still under the E106 and have a Carte Vitale. I recently had a small accident during renovations (dont we all) and hurt my neck. Being a bit worried about paralysis etc. I made my way to Flers hospital. Seen by a Doctor within 10 minutes and fitted with a neck brace. Had two X rays which were inconclusive and so went for an MRI scan. After the results came out was seen by another two Doctors who eventually pronounced that all was well. I had just torn a ligament or two holding my head up. Went away with thoughts of receiving a huge bill for my contribution of the costs. Three months later got the bill ....... 18.53 Euros !!. Imagine what that would have been on the NHS. So cheap, no wonder the staff are not paid very much. Regards to all, keep safe and dont fall off your towers !!   John

Hi Lespearsons I have just finished installing a new chauffe d`eau. On the cardboard packing it had a very useful diagram to illustrate what size you need. Worth having a look in your chosen Brico. According to my box you need at least a 250litre. Hope this helps. John

Hello everybody We have one of these cold water pressure tanks which is fed by pump from an artesian well. Does anyone know the normal working pressure in these ? Ours normally sits at 2 bar but drops to 1 bar before the pump kicks in, this results in a wide pressure variation in the pipes affecting the pressure from the chauffe d`eau. This effect can make taking a shower quite interesting, trying to guess where the water will end up from the shower head ! I thought these things had a rubber balloon inside but apparently just relies on pressurising the airspace at the top. Any thoughts ? Thanks to all.   John & Sue  

Hi everybody, I seem to remember somebody mentioning there is a tool hire shop in Sourdeval. Can anybody tell me how to find it (coming from Mortain) and if they are likely to have a floor sander. Anybody used one, are they any good ? The floor concerned has a lot of boards in a U shape, do you think the sander will flatten the whole thing out. I would rather not rip it all up and put down chipboard. Thanks. John

Hi AFP2 I had this problem, use a hairdryer to thoroughly dry the area and while still warm apply a liberal amount of silicone around the strap, work it in with your fingers and allow to set for a couple of days. Worked for me, good luck. John

Hi everybody Is there anyone out there who can help me with recording programs from Sky onto a Video player. I have the boxes all connected together as per instruction manuals but all I record is a lot of snow. Our little combo TV with video player incorporated records Sky programmes fine. I couldnt make it work in the UK and I still cant make it work over here ! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks   John & Sue (50)

Hi everybody We have 32sq.m of click together wood flooring to fit. Any tips, advice etc. would be appreciated, never done it before. Also, haven`t bought it yet, so any recommendations ? Thanks to all. John & Sue (50)

Hi everybody Have just received a bill which we have not had before and wonder if there is anybody out there who can throw some light on what it is for. It is pink paper and headed "Titre Executoire". One box is entitled "Assainissement individuel redevance - control (2) Looks like its some sort of bill for waste water, but we are not on mains drainage. Our Fosse drains into a ditch and obviously at some point gets into the local streams and rivers. Could this be a bill for keeping the rivers clean.? Thanks for all help.   John & Sue (50)

Hi everyone   We have a Saniflow on our loo. After flushing, every 25 seconds or so the pump runs for a second or two. This carries on for about 5 minutes and then stops till the next time. The outlet pipe runs uphill so am I right in assuming there is a non return valve in the unit and it is giving problems ? If so is it possible to get a replacement ? It is a bit annoying as the loo is right next door to the bedroom. Thanks   John (50)

Hi everybody I have done French for 2 years at evening classes in UK and have lived in France for a year now, picking up quite a lot. My question is do you think it necessary to take the starter course to L211 (which I think is L120) or should I go straight in and start L211 ? Obviously it would save money, but also I dont want to waste a year going over what I already know. Advice would be appreciated from those already on L211. Also any idea of the cost of L211 to study in France. ? Thanks to all in advance. John(50)

Hi everybody Whilst going about my renovations the other day, I happened to notice two new holes in my wooden stud work. On closer inspection there were two antennae sticking out folded back flat against the wood. I grabbed these antennae with some long nose pliers and pulled, and pulled, out came an insect some 3cm long with wings folded back. It looked like it was in there lying in wait for something, I know not what. Anybody got an idea what they were and should I worry about the ones I didnt see before I put the plasterboard on top. Very wierd. Thanks to all   John (50)

Hi everybody I recently took the decision to change over from tri-phase to mono-phase. A visit was made by EDF to check out things and one of the questions he asked was does your supply sometimes trip out when you switch on two power hungry items. I replied, yes, funny you should say that, it does, and the lights flicker when the kettle or similar switches on or off. He then said this means a switch to monphase would be a good idea and duly booked a visit for the work to be done. Our place used to be a large farm where tri-phase was needed,but unnecessary now. I dont like the idea of 400 volt potentials lying around anyway. A 240 volt shock I would likely survive but 400 volts, no way. Regards to all   John (not Sue - who is in UK at the moment)

Hi everyone Nothing to do with the subject but it reminded me of something amusing. Shortly after 9/11 I was on my way to France as a foot passenger with BF. I was asked if I had any knives etc. and duly surrendered my pocket knife. The assistant then put my hand luggage through the scanner. Now, whilst in the UK I purchased a new butane blowtorch, this came with a canister and I bought a spare. On the screen were two long cylinders looking very menacing but nothing was mentioned and I went on my way, so my penknife was dodgy but not the two cylinders ? strange but true ! all the best with your search.   John & Sue

Hi Everybody Can anyone tell me the minimum ceiling height required to comply with French regs ? This is a renovation not new build, just for the new rooms in the grenier. Thanks to all. John & Sue (50)    

Hi everybody Having just had our Fosse installed I thought I would pass on some things I learned during the process which may be of help to others. 1 Make sure it is sited more than 3 metres from any trees, and the drainage pit is more than 5 metres from any habitation. Our drainage pit was installed 2.5 metres from an ancient Willow tree and was refused a certificate at first but we managed to talk them round. 2 You must submit a special form obtainable from your local service public d`assainissement. This form is called an Autorisation de rejet and is taken to the Mairie. It basically tells them which ditch/river/waterway the outfall from the drainage pit is going into and asks their permission to do so. 3 The first chamber must have a regarde for inspection and a vent pipe. The second chamber must also have its own seperate vent pipe. Hope this proves useful. Regards to all   John & Sue (on her way back after 2 weeks in UK...yippee!!)    

Hi everyone I just couldnt contain myself any longer, just had to tell everybody who would listen. After 9 months of waiting a gang of French workmen turned up on Tuesday and installed our Fosse toutes d`eau. We had to have a pit of 5 m by 4 m by 2 m deep for drainage so the whole job has made rather a mess of the garden but its in !! Its still open at the moment waiting to be certified but its nice to have it finally in place. All we need now is for the Builder we have been waiting 18 months for to turn up and life will be complete. Thanks for listening.   John & Sue (50)

Hi everyone In our local village they are holding a Fete de St.George on April 23. Now,I have always celebrated St Georges day but what significance has it to the French ? Thanks to all   John & Sue (50)