Punch

[quote user="Nick Trollope"]Val, I am a little confused about these "government attestations" that you have mentioned on a couple of occasions. We (my accountant & I) have checked with my local centre des impots and they deny the existance of a pro-forma. I just use a form of words originally supplied by the impots. Have you got a link? Or a source? [/quote]   Nick, Val is correct, you really should be using the (2) new government attestations . This link takes you to the page:- scroll down to the bottom and click on one of the two blue lines . Sorry not sure how to shorten links! For my customers I use mainly the simplified one, for major renovations you need the "normale " Each attestion has an information page attached. http://www.impots.gouv.fr/portal/dgi/public;jsessionid=GNZT2I2BCH1I1QFIEMQCFFOAVARXAIV1?paf_dm=popup&paf_gm=content&paf_gear_id=500018&typePage=cpr02&docOid=documentstandard_4831&espId=-1&temNvlPopUp=true Paul  

[quote user="Gyn_Paul"]Paul, Can you remember off hand the max amperages for 10mm, 16mm and 25mm cables please? I've buried my book with the data somewhere in the barn under 11 van-loads of furniture. Also when daisy-chaining from one tableau to another does the cable have to be in the red gaine as it would be from meter/EDF 500mA breaker to the a single tableau? p [/quote]  If your EDF supply disjoncteur is 9 Kw (45A), then the minimum cable size is 10mm - max length from EDF disjoncteur to tableau = 22 metres . However I would always recommend minimum 16mm2 these days which is good for up to 36 metres on a 45A supply. On a 60A supply, minimum size is 16mm with a maximum length of 27metres. 25mm cable on a 60A supply is good for 42 metres. Red TPC gaine is only used normally for underground supplies where the cable is buried in the ground. You can link you Tableau in standard gaine, assuming you respect the sizes of gaine required if you are using conductors. If using a cable to link, then it as to be in a gaine where it passes through floors and walls.    

Nick Trollope wrote;   "In fact, you cannot share gaines between cables/conductors fed from different breakers" Not so The French wiring regulations do allow this.  I could look up the actual reg in my copy of the NFC 15-100 but otherwise in my short version it says " Un conduit ou gaine peut contenir de conducteurs appartenant à des circuits differents si tous les conducteurs sont isolés pour la tension assigné présente la plus élevée" "A conduit or gaine can contain conductors fed from different circuits if all the conductors are insulated for the highest voltage present"  And so as the majority of conducteurs and cables are insulated for a 1000V these days, then this poses no problem. Mains voltage wiring and (TV telephone video etc) must never be placed in same gaine, as you have correctly mentioned. Paul. www.punchardrenovation.com .  

MOH would like a handy digital camera from Santa so I was wondering if anyone has recently bought one and would care to comment?  I doubt if I could stretch to a Pro SLR type but somewhere midway between the cheaper boxy type and an SLR would be good. Simplicity of use is a MUST.  

Agree about the depth - the deeper the better really. Also it is a good idea to install it in a "gaine TPC (blue)" with a "grillage avertisseur" place 10-15cm above it on a layer of sand.

Thanks Clair  - We registered and voted in the last elections 6/7 years ago, so do we need to register again for the next elections in March 2008, or will we recieve our voting card automatically  ?

Basically yes ,  although I have never really analysed it too much - Hopefully my accountant is doing a good job ??  

Katie - from my own personal experience after 10 years working here - Taking into account all tyhe unexpected and hidden costs I would say 60% is a fairly accurate figure. Maybe not for a micro bic though.

I think the third one in this quick portfolio could be one the female members of this Forum ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJPNe0ZgH1s

It's difficult to comment without seeing a picture of the stone . I'm not quite sure of the exact question you pose but I think I get the gist. Weber make two tyes of product - G and F . For smaller joints you the need the F which is finer than the G (which is more granular), and thus is better for larger joints. Most Pre bagged products have a lime content anyway. All walls are different and the gaps will vary enormously so it would be impractical/ impossible to go over a whole wall chopping bits of stone away where they touch, although it would give a better key for the pointing mix if you do so wish to spend days doing this!  Pointing is a very hands on thing and the eventual result very much depends on the skills of the opêrative. If there is not going to be enough gap between two stones for the product to stick I would lay it on a little thicker and then when you wire brush off, you can take it back to however far you want. It should be fine nough to leave no gaps between stones if done right.  

Just watch your drying times! If you intend to wire brush the product off for a decent finish, it is not always easy to gauge drying time and in some instances the next day can be too late. If you are using just lime and sand then drying times can be very prolonged in damp misty weather.

Can you buy these Sky+ boxes and Sky HD boxes be bought direct from shops in the Uk or are they only available either mail order from SKY or Sky distributors or from Ebay etc? Only I have a day free in the Uk soon and was wondering how to obtain one. The problem is I don't know what day I'll be there yet so cannot order one to be delivered.  

[quote user="Frenchie2"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=wRiCMc8eLqs           Ahhh   Sébastien Chabal..    [:D][/quote] And quite right too!  Perhaps the reporter should have at least tried to ask a question in French ? It was evident that when Chabal replied "Non", the reporter was totally lost for words!! I think if the situation was reversed a French reporter would have been better prepared.

Hi, Firstly I would say that whether 9KW is enough or not depends on how (and what ) you intend to use electrically? Remember that you pay a higher standing charge for a higher KW rating so it is within your interests to keep this as low as you can. There lots of devices for the clever control of your mains input such as delesteurs and such like, that can switch off high demand non - priority items, whilst you boil a kettle or use the washing machine, and if you heat your water at night and perhaps put your dishwasher and washing machine on at night too, 9KW may be enough. The amount of power the EDF would be willing to supply you varies depending on the local constraints of the incoming supply lines, and also whether you are on a single phase or three phase supply. If your supply is three phase then they are often more than happy to upgrade you to 15KW ( 3 x 5KW) or more, (but most EDF conseillers would try to dissuade you from having this much), as it is not necessary unless the house is very large and is totally electric, including heaters. If your supply is single phase, ( and it sounds like from your description that it is), the EDF in my experience often limit the maximum supply to 12KW as so to not imbalance their incoming supply lines. It also depends on how far your house is from the nearest EDF step down transformer. Typical incoming EDF supply transformers step down from 20,000 volts to 400 V so people who's houses are at the end of very long low voltage (400V) lines often find they cannot have more than 9KW, or evn 6Kw in some instances. This is only my personal experience of the EDF after 17 years, but the only real answer to your question is to make an appointment for either an on -site rendezvous, or if your French is good enough, be sorted out on the phone. Hope this helps - feel free to ask if you need further info? Paul http://www.punchardrenovation.com        

Have sent you a PM!

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Thats great folks thanks for all the replies. I'm indeed a great uncle and my children are secound cousins. [:)]

My Sisters daughter has just had a baby girl in the Uk and has phoned me with the happy news. During the call I asked her what this made me in relation to young newborn "Gracie" Am I a great uncle now and MOH is a great aunt ? Also what does this make my children ? Cousins ? 2nd cousins. Neither of us could work it out so could anyone please tell me?    

[quote user="Hagar"] Punch - Just to add a little -  this from a professor of mathematics (my italics). "Ambiguously written fractions. In certain common situations with fractions, there is a lack of consensus about what order to perform operations in. For instance, does "3/5x" mean "(3/5)x" or "3/(5x)" ? For this confusion, teachers must share the blame. They certainly mean well -- most math teachers believe that they are following the conventional order of operations. They are not aware that several conventions are widely used, and no one of them is universally accepted. Students may learn one method from one teacher and then go on to another teacher who expects students to follow a different method. Both teacher and student may be unaware of the source of the problem. Here are some of the most widely used interpretations: The "BODMAS interpretation" (bracketed operations, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction): Perform division before multiplication. For instance, the function f(x) = 3/5x gets interpreted as (3/5)x = . In particular, f(5) = 3 and f(1/5) = 3/25. The "My Dear Aunt Sally" interpretation (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction): Perform multiplication before division. For instance, the function f(x) = 3/5x gets interpreted as 3/(5x) = . In particular, f(5) = 3/25 and f(1/5) = 3. Likewise, "ax/by" would be interpreted as "(ax)/(by)". The interpretation used by FORTRAN and some other computer languages (as well as some humans): Multiplication and division are given equal priority; a string of such operations is processed from left to right. For instance, "ax/by" would be interpreted as "((ax)/b))y", or more simply "(axy)/b". " Guess I must be a FORTRAN Human. rgds Hagar [/quote]   Thanks Hagar, I've got a spanking headache now looking at that lot.[8-)]  lol.  Bodmas was the only thing I remembered from maths at school, but I concede there are so many ways to crack a nut. [:)]

You can diasgree Hagar but I think you'll find that BODMAS is the tried a tested (and correct) method ! Do a simple search on google for BODMAS ( In fact the O stands for Order not Of as I said above) Take a look at these links; http://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-bodmas.html http://www.easymaths.com/What_on_earth_is_Bodmas.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations And here's some for you to try your method out on  and see if you get the right answers ! http://www.abacustraining.biz/bodmasExercises.htm  

Yep, ours is being done as we speak - not bad for a commune of 170 inhabitants! Also worth mentioning that burying lines underground makes them less susceptible to lightning stikes as well as the other reasons stated. On top of that, during the amelioration of our village Bourg I've had to re-roof a pretty cottage on the side of the main road that passes through our Bourg as our Maire has kindly asked the owner to do it as the slates keep falling onto the road as cars went by ! Then  I was asked by our Maire to build a new bus shelter in stone and wood in the village to replace the old tin one, and whilst I've been working on that, TWO more residents have come up to me to ask me to re-point the front of their houses. Funny thing is they wouldn't have had the work done if the lines hadn't had been buried and the road smartened up!  Vive l'amelioration des bourgs Francais !! Paul    

BODMAS is the usual order; Brackets of Division, Multiplication, Addition , Subtract  

Am I correct in assuming that the main purpose of the double walled tubing/chimney liners is to keep the flue/chimney warm thus increasing the efficiency of the stove ? The other more important reason  for the twin wall insulated flue liners is that by keeping the gases warm they do not condense on the sides of the pipe causing residue and tar build up -and therefore less cleaning! It is of course not always possible to use these products ( they are quite large and bulky ) in existing chimneys when a  flexible liner has to be used. Paul

A properly installed backbox shouldn't need it. I've been insta&lling them for years here and never had any problems. I can't give you a reference to a particular regulation dis-allowing this but I wouldn't recommend it for two reasons. 1. The wires could chaff on the screw head when you push the socket back to fix it potentially causing the metal studwork to become at mains potential. Not all lighstwitches require an an earth wire ( unlike the UK) , so earthing may not be an option. 2. The back boxes are plastic and are quite fragile so any kind of fixing would probably break anyway if the socket was pulled too much. Here is a possible solution which I've used before which works quite well if the hole has already been made too large in a plasterboard wall . Switch off mains at EDF disjoncteur. Disconnect the socket and remove completely.  Make a couple of small 10mm holes around the box and squirt in a small amount of expanding foam . This will expand around the box and hold it nice and tight when dry. Then cut off any excess foam and fill the holes with filler , also filling gently around the box itself. replace socket when dry. Hope this helps Paul.      

Steve you are correct - maximum number is eight doubles using 2.5mm on a 20 Amp breaker or fuse.  If you are going for the Label Promotelec, then they recommend 5 maximum , but the Regs allow eight. Now Mr Trollope, this isn't the first time you have had to be corrected (once by me and now by Steve) on this forum about this amount of sockets ! Please if you are going to post electrical answers, make sure you are sure of the regulations! Seriously though I've been working as a Sparks here in France for nearly 17 years ( 10 years as a resident) so maybe Nick was referring to the new type of circuit which is now allowed for wiring socket outlets,  which allows  a maximum of 5 double sockets using 1.5mm wire but protected by a maximum 16 Amp circuit breaker only with no option of a fuse allowed for this circuit. Paul.