[A rant ..]

£80.00 per hr

i was also thinking the other day after my last post that if i was doing emergency repair work (also out of hrs) then this may not be too far off.

most tradesmen i know or work with are charging from £90.00 --£150.00 day and as others have said some people resent paying that.

[A rant ..]

[quote]Well, here's my two penn'orth, as regards the situation in England. I'm afraid we have to look back to Tory years, when they didn't want to pay for training, there were fewer training positions avail...[/quote]

alcazar...

as a plasterer i wish i could charge 80.00 hr

i wouldnt need to buy a wreck in brittany i would buy a 6 bedroom mansion

[Did anyone consider Bulgaria?]

i have also done research on bulgarian property and will buy a place in the next 12 months .

as an investment which can only increase with the amount of foreigners buying into the country and also their own inward investment of the ifastructure ,all before their joining the eu in 2007 (no guarentee)

people are drawn to these lower cost areas as they can buy the place with savings as apposed to mortgages (10-12% apr in bulgaria)

mabey we will soon see living bulgaria !

[French bank card in UK]

i tried to use mine in uk and found it would not work (ca maestro )

i can draw cash from uk fine

in a pevious posting teamed up suggeted i may not have an international card (only france i suppose)

i have to sort this on my next visit in nov.

[A cautionary tale]

thanks for all the replies to my question.

will give us much to mull over in next few months,

martin

[A cautionary tale]

i have a 14 yr old girl

so would i take it that you would reccomend her to finish gcse s in uk as apposed to joining the french school sysytem.

we have thought about this hard and it may be an option.

[A cautionary tale]

we will be moving to our house in france permanently

in march 05(bought house mid 2002)

the children will be 5 & 14,

i have read a lot of different views about teenagers joining the french system and although wish we had moved 2 yrs earlier for her benefit it wasnt the right time for us (mentaly and financialy, house sale ect..another story)

anyone have any views or experiance of moving over with children of this age ,

i tend to agree with the view that after 11 things become harder (to adapt).what about 14 .

reguards

martin

[Where has the flag gone?]

will ..

i also noticed a couple of days ago that my flag had dissapeared.

have also deleted and added as favorite

ps... will i have to do this every few weeks..?

[Partial Conformity]

thanks for that, will write off this week.

martin

[Partial Conformity]

could i please trouble you for the french address for mitsubishi as i have a uk shogun i would like to register .

also good luck at the ddre

martin

[P&O Leaving Portsmouth]

since owning my french house 2 yrs ago have been making the trip via p&o either cherbourg or le harvre

always found p&o cheaper compared with bf but after today wonder if that may change.

i notice that bf have quickly don a deal to take over the le harvre and cherbourg routes(and ships) which does limit a newcomer to the western channel.

[Cards with Pin Numbers]

[quote]There are so many cards these days. Is yours international? we pay extra to have an international card. When did you get your card, maybe you got it before updating occurred..........[/quote]

had mine about 1 yr but never use the card in uk normally,but for this 1 time ..

is your int card with ca

maybee i need to ask for international use?

[Forum help needed please - Users with ME and before]

using me and all working fine

martin

[7.5t Freight or Not?]

as you can see in my picture i have an iveco 79/10

7.5ton vehicle(6.8m(l)*3.4m(h)which is i know a camper as apposed to a full blown 7.5ton lorry with luton and tail lift.

on 7 trips with p&0 have had no trouble being accepted as (tourist)and also carry a fair amount of stuff(my own ,not freight)

have a tacho fitted but not required as exempt(for my own use non commercial)

i have seen many horseboxes,hire lorries ect in the same que as myself.

reguards

martin

[Brits in France weblinks]

the link appears not to work?

[Cards with Pin Numbers]

tried to pay in uk with my ca maestro card and machine will not accept it(works ok in france)

yes! i have money in the account.??

so had to go to lloyds cash point and draw money out instead.

no problem but why.

martin

[Cheap hotels]

have stayed in b&b hotels many times in many different areas and all are clean and tidy with ensuite for cheap price.

like the security fence and gate (good for trailer if conected).

like the out of hrs booking and payement machine outside the door.

formula 1 were ok but a walk down the hall to the toilet.

campanile ..stayed in one of theese in fourgere?

meal was cold (but at 9pm without much food all day was too tired and hungry to complain)but the room was very good .

for a little more euros the ibis hotels are good.although the one at le harve has got really expensive compared with a couple of yrs ago.

martin

[Is this a record?]

no your not alone but i must say i havnt had quite a s much bad luck,

having renavated my house to a good standard i am at the one year mark for selling.

one buyer pulled out 2 weeks before completion (may 04) due to some fairy story

rates had gone up a few days before and as they wanted to rent out the house ,they got scared off i think.

new buyer in august complete late oct

up till today all ok.but not thinking or getting exited about moving until i know they have the mortgage offer from bank.

a least having bought our house 2 yrs ago and waited all this time i have been able to do my homework on moving to france and those rose tinted spectacles have long gone ,

martin

[What is the best material for sound insulation?]

larfarge make many different grades of plasterboard

and some of theese have a better decible rating than ordinary board.

the basic sound board i have used in the past was coloured blue.(used in the uk,,but sure this french firm would sell same in france)

[DRILLING HOLES THROUGH 2FT THICK WALLS ?]

best solution for holes for wastepipes would be to hire a diamond core drill for the day .

you would however need a meaty drill of your own to power it, or hire that too.

neat job.

saves chiseling and having to make good the stone work

after .

reguards

martin

[Supreme Beings]

ime just a junior member

how long before i reign supreme?

[Damp Proof Membrane for Concrete Floor]

if you dont want to kango up your floor then the only solution is to apply a membrane coating on top of the floor.

this can be in the form of either a thoroseal type of

waterproofer(as used in basement tanking,looks like cement )

brushed on in two coats (thickness of double cream ish)

then apply a self leveling compound over the top(to give a smooth finish)

or

apply synthaproof(blackjack) type of coating at least 3mm per coat.2 coats to be sure .

blind with a little sand to aid adhesion and apply self leveling compound to finish.

i would however think about redoing the whole floor with the membrane included as it should have been first time.

thats my opinion on the job but ime sure someone will come up with other ideas.

reguards

martin

[French Radio]

if you want to listen to french radio stations try these.

www.funradio.fr

www.europe1

www.europe2

www.radio13.net

hope info helpful.

martin

[7 ton Box Van - Tacho required?]

you only need to use a tacho if you are hiring the lorry to move other peoples goods for money or in conection with a buisiness

private goods and hire are exempt.

hope that helps.

martin

[Lower ferry fares]

poor ferry companies ,may we all feel sorry for them??aaahhhh.

robbing ba*****s