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LesFlamands

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Everything posted by LesFlamands

  1. Strictly speaking smaller diameter pipe is used to feed the toilet cistern so that if the toilet is flushed whilst the shower is in use it causes less of a draw on the cold feed resulting in less of a temperature change. For a PER installation I would use the 20mm to supply hot and cold to the room, 16mm for the bath and shower and 12mm for the basin and toilet. All the reducing Tees are readily available.
  2. I've been riding in France for 30 years. It used to be really relaxed especially as the other road users have a much better attitude towards motorbikes than in the UK. Over the last 5 years or so it seems to have become a bit of a nightmare with fixed and temporary radars all over the place. Even if (like me?) you don't exceed the limits, on any sunny day around here you're either being flashed by oncoming traffic or pulled over for a quick 'papiers du vehicule, s'il vous plait'
  3. It is fairly straightforward. Make sure all the parts are compatible. Get a Poujoulat catalogue http://www.poujoulat.com. The exit through the roof is always fiddly but I think youwill find that the double skinned flue only need to be 15cm from the wall and there are special fittings if you have to go through a timber floor.
  4. If the darlington pair are required to hold the relay on for an extended period whilst the boiler is in operation it could just have burnt out with no other fault. I would order 2 or 3 new ones and do as someone suggested and solder them to the legs of the existing chip so that it can be changed easily. PS. Radiospares France have them for .84€ each
  5. Some older 3 phase installations have what are known as 'prise de force'. These are 3 phase power outlets usually intended for 3 phase heaters and sometimes cookers. These PdF can either have 4 holes (3 round and one rectangular) which are the three phases and earth or 5 holes which are the 3 phases,neutral and earth. With the 4 hole outlet there is no neutral and the only voltage available is between the phases (380volts) but I have found these wired with the neutral on the earth pin. Any older installation with these PdF still in place should be checked very carefully. EDF will change your supply to monophase simply by changing the meter and leaving 2 of the phases disconnected on their side and simply connecting all three phases together on the consumer side. This will be fine as long as you don't have any 3 phase motors. The problem may be that they are unable to give you the same tarrif due to the cable size and the distance from the sub-station
  6. One problem with 3 phase against monophase is that if, for example, you have an 18kW tarrif with 3 phases you have only 6kW on each phase and your supply will trip if you overload one phase. If your kitchen is supplied by one phase you may find that you have to be careful how many appliances you run at one time. I don't know what the rule is in France but in the UK there is a specified minimum distance between power outlets wired on different phases. If this applies in France then it may make it difficult to supply the kitchen from different phases to spread the load. As someone else pointed out, EDF can be reluctant to change you to monophase depending on your distance from the sub-staion and the existing cable size.
  7. [quote user="Snorkel"] I’m sorry I missed my day out and would rather not have been put in danger but, hey ho, c’est la vie.[/quote] You could never be compensated for the potential danger that the mechanic put you in by his carelessness, however, just so nice to see someone approach something without starting with the 'angry and threatening' carry on we see far too much these days. There is so much of this 'take him to court' or 'string him up' attitude all over the internet very few people seem to be able to make a reasoned balanced response to problems that occur or weigh up what is a satisfactory outcome. Great to see a bit of c'est la vie - well done that man
  8. Try www.jannonce.fr and try to find a dealer selling a similar bike and mileage and knock off 20-25%
  9. If your plumber is a PGP then it's just a rubber stamp by Qualigaz so should only take a day or two.
  10. Sounds very odd to me. Is he currently operating as a SARL or another form of societe? If he is anything other than an 'entreprise individuelle' then he may well not be registered as an an Artisan himself but employed by his societe. When he closes the societe he would then have to register himself as an Artisan and re-instate his insurance in his name. You would then need a new contract with him for the completion of the works. If he is an entreprise individuelle then from the day he de-registers he has two months to finish off existing contracts and get all his accounts up to date including TVA. I don't what happens about employees in this two month period. I would also say that, while it is nerve wracking not having a full order book six months ahead, which is what we've been used to for the last few years, things are beginning to look up and if he has survived the last six months then I would have thought work will start coming in from now on.
  11. WW plates are no longer available from 15th April when the new registration system comes in. I would think your's will remain valid but normally a new registartion only takes a few days through the dealer, the delay being caused by the changeover to the new system. I see our Prefecture (24) is shut for CGs on the 14th to get ready for the changeover but I don't suppose that will be the end of it. New plates for 'ocassions' don't start until June 15th
  12. Whilst it doesn't really matter what you are registered for with the Chambre de Metiers, the most important thing is the trades  LISTED INDIVIDUALLY on your attestation d'assurance. It is absolutely essential that you get a copy of this attestation before you sign any contract. We are registered as an 'Entreprise generale du batiment' and have a long list of individual trades listed on our insurance but some trades are absorbed into other things such as plasterboarding is conered under 'poseur menuiserie' but main trades such as 'macon beton arme', 'electricien', 'couvreur' etc. etc. are all very clearly specified with their limitations
  13. The vast majority of these vans are builders from the UK working for cash. In the unlikely case that someone, somewhere is working legitimately under the 'temporaire et occassionelle' provision of the law, ignoring the insurance issues, what happens about VAT/TVA, who gets reimbursed for the TVA paid on materials and what happens about the reduced rate TVA on materials and labour which applies to a lot of renovation work. The most annoying aspect from my point of view are the homeowners who won't even get an estimate from a local Artisan either because of the language barrier or because they are convinced that they'll be ripped off. Even worse are the blinkered idiots who believe that UK plumbing and electrics is the only way to go and not only gets a UK plumber and electrician out here working on the black but gets them to bring all the materials with them as well. I'm beginning to realise that vandalized UK reg. cars is only the start of it. There now seem to be so many Brits. who have taken up residence here but have no intention of getting involved with anything French - especially the language, it not really suprising that we a seeing so much animosity. It is just a shame that the authorities don't do more about the UK vans especially when times are so hard for people trying to make a living legitemately.  
  14. More than the usual number of UK reg. builders vans around at the moment in our area, some are signwritten. Even saw someone trying to inconspicuously unload plasterboard from a British van into a English owned bar in the middle of a village in 19 on Sunday afternoon with clients sitting outside. I know I'm preaching to the converted as I'm sure the righteous membership on here wouldn't dream of using anyone 'on the black' but if I was having trouble finding work I think I'd be doing something about it.
  15. Can be quite hard to get from some insurance companies. We use MAAF, although we've never had to claim they have always been very helpful and they don't seem to be too expensive
  16. That is certainly an odd thing to register as but it is more important to find out what he is insured to do. To build a garage he would need insurance for masonry including foundations and roofing at the very minimum.
  17. 13mm is standard thickness known as BA13
  18. Going in the morning with the family. The organisers are expecting up to 25000 visitors if the weather stays nice.
  19. [quote user="mattstra"]ive just secured 800 metres in charente 5 a metre including accom ,, fantastic,,[/quote] You'll be working illegally in France - I hope you client is aware of the risk he is taking. hopefully a local registered tradesman will follow it up with the authorities as some of them are finding work harder to come by at the moment.
  20. [quote user="mattstra"]hi , the going rate is about £5 a metre plus materials , although most plasterers would prob give you a price per room. [/quote] The 'going rate' is definately more than £5 a metre. We use Euros in France and we have to be registered to work here and pay our charges and taxes. Most legitimate tradesmen are also TVA registered. There's probably no difference in cost but products available in France are completely different from those in general use in the UK. UK plasterers who have changed over to the French products have usually found it much slower to work with.
  21. [quote user="teapot"]In the UK at the moment around £35-50 per sq metre[/quote] Really, on plasterboard??
  22. Doesn't look like your average hooligan motorcyclist but is obviously suffering from age related diminished ego or something else. Personally, I think he should be nailed to the nearest tree for getting caught at that sort of speed but the fact he had his son on the back shouldn't affect his sentence even though it was the only thing that made the story newsworthy.
  23. If you organise/lead rideouts you are supposed to be qualified (Brevet Moniteur). I'm not sure whether this only applies if you are charging for your service.
  24. [quote user="Martinwatkins"]Certainly from what we hear filtering back to Devon,   artisans are having a very very lean time in our area,  and I gather that some have already closed down,  citing the fact that they can't go on paying cotisations when they have no work. [/quote] We're in north east 24 and whilst there are fewer enquiries coming in, work is plentiful.
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