Ianhaycox

In the past I used http://www.blogger.com/ which is owned by Google. It's free and easy to use. I think it now integrates with Picasa for easy picture uploading etc. I use http://radio.userland.com/ which costs $40 a year and you get 40Mb of web server space. Radio is much more customizable then Blogger, but if your just venturing out into the blogosphere then try Blogger first. There are others such as http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ but I've no experience of them. You may wish to visit http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/2002/10/03/blogSoftware.html Happy blogging

I, like Belinda, find it quite therapeutic. I find it also helps me focus on the positive aspects of the day. Sometimes you can find yourself thinking, "what have I done all day" and then when you come to write it down you realise quite how much you have achieved. Some of it is really boring day-to-day stuff, but if a reader is sat in an office infront of a PC screen for 8 hours a day (like I did for 10 years) it shows that there is another 'life' out there. Opps, I think I'm starting to rant. BTW Belinda, whats the URL ?

Our blog, http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/ about moving to France, running gites and the renovation of two others. You may, or may not enjoy reading it. You mileage may vary, as they say.

We recently paid 6000 for two doors to be put in an old stone house with thick walls. As noted before the stones have to be removed carefully, the opening propped, a new lintel cast in position and then made good. See http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/2004/11/09.html#a216 and http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/2004/11/05.html#a212 2,500 sounds OK to me.

I have a recently laid, by macons, concrete floor with all the soil pipes buried under the floor. At each point where there is going to be a toilet, hand basin etc. there is a short section of pipe protuding from the floor. About 30-40 cms, covered with orange tape to stop muck. The short bits of pipe don't seem to be glued into the elbow below the surface. My guess is that these bits are meant to be removed then replaced with the final installation. Is this normal practice ? or are you just meant to connect onto the current short section and assume it won't leak under the floor. I'm reluctant to pull a pipe out in case I can't get it back in again.

We have just had a local firm install a fosse septique and bac a sable for our two new gites. They were here for 2 days with 2 diggers (big and small) we had 4 or 5 lorry loads of sand/gravel etc. + piping, fittings, membranes, plastic sheeting, inspection traps, oh and the tank of course. During installation the inspector called once during the work and has to return before the final back-filling. From my point of view it is guaranteed work done and dusted with no hassle and having seen the amount of work and skill involved I'm not sure it's something I would want to tackle myself. Especially considering the regulations etc. If you want and idea of the work involved in installing a fosse and soakaway have a look at http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/2005/03/02.html#a287 which shows the work progressing in staged photos. Our soil study cost about 300Euro from memory. The installation cost really does depend on the soil study, type of soakaway, if a pump is needed etc. I would suggest getting the study done first then getting some devis. I'm not trying to put you off, but when costing the DIY approach don't forget all the little incidentals and the hassle factor.

I've found the easiest way to draw gaine is to do it outside. Cut the gaine to length and tie one end of the pull wire to a post or door handle. Walk in a straight line laying out the gaine as you go. At the far end tie in, fold back, tape up etc. the wires. Once secure hold the gaine in one hand and feed the cables through with the other whilst walking away from the fence post, door handle. All that said I nearly always buy pre-drawn cable now. The only time I thread my own is for light switches. A purple and red for a simple switch, or two oranges and a red for a double switch.

If it's not too late you have a couple of options, Tile on Tiles - Just stick the new tiles on top of the old. Last time I did it I roughed up the surface of the old tiles slightly with an angle grinder and ensured the old and new tiles overlapped the original joints. A good degreasing clean may be sufficient. New plasterboard - It sounds drastic but it's usually easier in the long run. Just rip out the old wall/section with the tiles on and replace with a new sheet of placo. At least you have a fresh, flat clean surface to stick onto.

After collecting two goats today we are now the proud owners of three happy goats. Thanks to all who replied, phoned, etc. P.S. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a bread van.

Thank you very much. All sorted via good old-fashioned telephone. A couple of companions en-route. Our lonely goat should be yoddling away soon high on a hill with happiness (Sound of Music - Rodgers & Hammerstein).

We have a young female goat who seems lonely and we would like her to have a friend. Does anyone have a goat, possibly a donkey, or something that needs a home that would be a suitable companion ? We are in Cotes D'Armor (22), Brittany. Thanks, Ian

I believe NF C 15-100 allows 8 sockets on 2,5mm wire and 5 on 1,5mm wire. You might wish to check the size of the wire and the rating of the breaker whilst you are at it.

I've had similar problems with sharing printers etc. with my Livebox. My workaround was to use shares of the form //192.168.3.21/xxx etc. That worked for me. BTW, to make life easier allocate your IP adresses by hand. A useful article is http://www.wanadoo.fr/bin/frame2.cgi?service=wanadoo_et_moi&u=http%3A//nos-offres.wanadoo.fr/no1107271226/ext/of2-gamme-extense.html%3F

So are you going to add the nofollow attribute on these forums ?

We bought a quantity of coir matting (6 rolls each about 6 meters long by 2m) from http://www.marquee-matting.co.uk/. They were helpful and delivered within a week and the mats are still fine after 3 years outside summer use. We did try to buy in France but 4 years ago our French was sadly lacking. If you find a local supplier at least it gives you an option to compare prices with the UK.

GMail

You could try Bureau Vallee, similar to Office World. We bought our latest 3-in-1 from them and it was only 10 euros dearer than the best Internet price. Also look in the yellow pages for Infomatique, local stores are better for after sales imho.

I use GMail (I like it alot) but NOT for business use. It's just for personal mail, e.g. Forum reply notifications, mailing lists, etc. You may think I'm paranoid, and 'if your not doing anything wrong you have got nothing to worry about', but; you may wish to read, http://www.google-watch.org/gmail.html, and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/eu_foul_gmail/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/03/google_mail_is_evil_privacy/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/13/ban_google_email/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/13/asymmetric_privacy/. It's just FYI

The main problem with UK caravans is, I believe, that the door is on the wrong side.

The previous owner of our house exposed, cleaned up and pointed with lime mortar some internal stone walls. To prevent dust he then varnished the walls. It kind of defeats the 'breathability' of the lime mortar, but there is no dust and I think the varnish accentuates the stone colour. Wet a stone to see what I mean.

We had a similar problem due to scale build up. The 60cm internal supply tube in the boiler was solid with calcium. Amazing it worked at all. Lots of prodding with sticks, wire etc. and bingo. Seems that the magnesium anode (which prevents scale build up) has not been replaced in 6 years (since new). After cleaninn I had the BEST shower ever after. The jet was so strong it was almost painful.

Before you take the next step do please get several devi's for the work. Don't take my word for it, I'm not a plumber or an electrician, I can't even type properly on my new French keyboard (argggg!). They are vague guesses. Good luck

OK, for a laff I'll got first, Assuming everyting done professionally, 3,500 euro for the electric. Thats a new fuse box & earth, sockets & lights in every room, liason equipotentielle, VMC, TV, Telephone and Certificate conformite; 3,000 euro for plubing. Chauffe-eau, all sanitaryware, taps, pipework etc. Add 5.5% TVA and a few months hassle.

I recently got a price for the concrete conveyor as 80 euro extra. The conveyor is is a long remote controlled arm that the driver steers to deliver the concrete where you want it. For a picture see Concrete conveyor belt

100mm is correct for a toilet. My French plumbing book confirms it. Strap on fittings are available, I bought one last week at Brossette BTI in Dinan. If you can't find a strap on then get a T piece with a 100 to 40 reducer inserted into the T. A slidable rubber sleeve is available if you have to cut into an existing soil pipe.