Nick Trollope

Can be months. Why not just drop the Notaire a note & ask? He may have given you an "attestation", which will suffice to prove ownership whilst waiting for the Act Authentique, he should still be able to do that in a few minutes - it may also prompt him to finish your sale, if you ask!

[quote]There is no reason why you should not use uk materials or any other countries gear.Nick you do not use pressurised hws clyinders or systems with multifuel log/coal boilers.only open vented systems.All...[/quote] The OP was asking for reasons why he should NOT install UK plumbing parts in France. My fundamental reason for NOT using them is that there is no reason to do so. Your posting is full of "plumb-speak" (I assume that "cly" is cylinder, although I can't see why, why not cyl?), so I am sure you know what you are talking about, although I have (as an owner) had quite alot of experience with both plumbing systems and, to reiterate my point and in my humble opinion, the French system is better (for a whole stack of reasons aside from those mentioned above). British Standard Pipe sizes are used on all fittings, (by definition something that fits to something else, such as a tap, valve etc) as far as I am aware. That aside, aren't UK 15mm pipes metric? Again, being (eg) 1/4" or 1/2", these fittings are imperial in dimension (& BSP, BS21). As I said before, i am not a plumber. May your life be leak-free (even if one does solder ones French plumbing, but that's a different story, eh?)  

Hi Whilst on this subject, can anyone offer any advice/recommendations for underfloor heating on a typical joists/wood plank floor, ie. installed from the floor below. In my case, one floor is crappy chestnut  & will be carpeted and the other is a chestnut/pine/chipboard sandwich (and may have a laminate put on top of this lot!).

If they are terracotta, then I wouldn't paint them! (not least because they have probably absorbed so much grease over the years that nothing will stick!) But mainly because with a lot of elbow grease and the right product they will polish up a treat.

I rather wonder why you would want to. I doubt if there is any legal reason why you should not but, eg. what happens when your ballcock gives up the ghost? What happens when you fail to sell the house because a propective purchaser doesn't like the plumbing? A French chauffe eau will be cheaper than a UK HW tank and can be included in a oil-fired or log-powered system. The Fr pressurised hot water system does away with the need for thermostatic shower valves, power showers and the like. IMHO it is far better than the UK system. I believe that C-E's with indirect heating coils are available, as are combi oil boilers (and gas boilers, obviously). All French plumbing fittings are imperial sizes. This also applies to taps, etc. When in Rome & all that....... PS. IANAP

Tina frequently uses (or rather used, since Ryan no longer do Stanstead from Dinard) the Stanstead coach from Hampstead (I think), which is the Victoria bus. She says that it is excellent & faster than the train (and £8 one way). Provided, of course that the M25 & M11 are OK - she has been delayed on a couple of occasions, but never long enough to cause her to miss a flight.

[quote]Julie's a bad sailor, so we always get cabins (and you get your own loo and a shower) and using Owner's Club we get free ones on afternoon crossings, which tend to be cheaper anyway. Our costs for hal...[/quote] Interestingly enough, we have just booked with BF for French 1/2 term week (the week after UK?) with BF St Malo - Portsmouth for £189 (with FPOC discount). About £3 more than last year. I still find BF better value than the "competition" - in accommodation & food terms especially. As I have said before, I shall not weep for P&O, I have never had a "successful" crossing with them.

Right click on the title bar (File edit view etc) anywhere where one of the drop-downs isn't and select "toolbar". If you havn't got the title bar, then ..... errrrrr reload the OEX?

Since the recent changes & seem to have lost the autologin (& yes I have ticked the box on the login page) and the new posts since last visit indicators on the front page are stuck on the green LF. Any ideas?

Welcome! Not much I can say, that has not been covered in the last few days' worth of posting. Suggest that you read through the forum (after they have closed it for maintenance!). I would suggest that buying a going concern (bar, restaurant, cafe or whatever) may be easier (and cheaper in the long run) than starting from scratch. There are always lots for sale in our local paper - but you should ask yourself why. My local bar has just changed hands; they have added a table football machine & changed the sign, but have done owt to attract new clients, which I suspect is symptomatic of the times. Best advice; do your research very, very carefully. Bon chance!

[quote]No you can't do it Sue, unless EDF have a system where you live that is different to the rest of France or you have already set up a standing order type arrangement with them. All Alexis has done is...[/quote] Yes you can, I'm afraid - I do it every time, because I don't want to set up a DD. Attach an RIB & DON'T sign the form - it will be debited from your account. Believe me, it works.

A well known TV production company (whose name may be connected with bullets) is proposing to make another series of "No interest yet". The twist this time? More than one family moving abroad, together. Boring.

[quote]Now you're just showing your age, Nick. Yes, 'town gas' was the stuff made by heating coal to give off hydrogen (and other stuff which made it stink, thank God). Its sovereign advantage was that it w...[/quote] Now you're just showing your age, Nick. Sorry, I should have said that I just remember them knocking down the old gasometers in the town where I was broght up, as a very, very young child. I have a long memory, you know. I made explosives and H2S in my chemistry lessons. Or was it ammonium iodide? You know the stuff that was stable as a liquid and unstable in crystalline form. Very good on toilet seats. PS. I am not mad.

[quote]Thanks Nick, I have already had the electricity looked into and discovered that not only do we have a fairly good (though some new some old) supply, we also have a three phase connection as well. I w...[/quote] If you have a 3-phase supply, remember that, if you are using a single-phase cooker, you will need to divide your available power by 3. I.e. if you have a 15kW supply (quite large by Fr 3-phase standards) then you will be limited to 5kW (not a large UK cooker) on a single phase. A UK cooker is more likely to work on a single phase supply. We had to convert from 3 to single phase to run our Stoves double oven (6.7kW).

Hello I suspect that there is little difference between natural gas here or in the UK. (Isn't "town gas" that smelly stuff made from coal?)... One point; some larger UK cooker ovens use vast amounts of power (up to 9KW with both running, IIRC). Your French electricity supply may not be up to it. It could save a lot of embarassment to check this too!

[quote]Nicky,mate if you did not mean to offend why on earth did you need to put the foul obscenity on the forum,the english language is wide and wonderful,surely you could express your feeling in a manner m...[/quote] I certainly am not your mate, nor am I "Nicky". I would humbly suggest that you improve your English before you criticise mine.

[quote]Nicktrollop...although I agree with your thoughts on this subject I do find your language a bit offensive! Mrs o[/quote] Mrs O Didn't mean to offend - I was trying to make the point about DS's link - the word I used (& I have already been told off by FA) is common parlance amongst my peers. BTW, you can say, write, or think about me whatever you like, provided you spell my name correctly... Pip pip!  

[quote]But if you think that is sick, how about a guy who emailed people telling them their relatives are dead?http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4142463.stm[/quote] Some **** (who is still in custody) and a few scammers (and anyone one who falls for this sort of thing deserves everything they get) pales into insignificance when compared to YOUR (I disown the lot of them) politicians scoring party-political points out of this disaster. Worse still are the child-sex peddlers who are exploiting the situation. Remember that the Thai sex trade is a Western phenomenon.

Lasure is creosote isn't it?

Actually, if you are in the UK, you can get good treatment products from any of the professional decorating suppliers (Travis Perkins, Dixons etc etc). OK, now tell me you are flying over & I will shut up...

Errrrr, No, sorry. Although I have used one (bought from Mr Bricolage) - but I used it all & I have thrown the tin away. Do what I do, look at the pictures on the tin! TTFN  

Turps (not white spirit) and BOILED linseed oil will work and should not yellow. There are plenty of proprietry products available from all the Bricos (which are silicon? based) and work better(?).

This is my first post here so forgive me if it is not quite in the right place. Welcome, although you will stir a few gremlins with this as a first post! My wife and I have been giving serious thought to moving to France. We currently live about 20 west of Cambridge/England in a town called St.Neots. I used to drive through there every weekend on my way home from Uni, before they built the A14. That was a long time ago. Didn't have a nasty bend in the middle? (or is that Rushden). We only have around £68,000 positive equity in our home. Unless you have savings or an income from the UK that you can live off, then I doubt that this will be enough, I'm afraid. You won't buy much in the way of habitable property anywhere in France for 100,000E. Of course property is available at this price, but you WILL need additional money to refurb. We are not too sure which region we want to move to yet, but my wife is leaning towards Brittany, personally I would prefer a little further South to get some better weather, maybe Toulouse outskirts. Suggest you explore & decide. Noone can make your mind up for you. We chose Brittany simply because we knew it. Further south the weather is more extreme, which some (self included) don't find to their liking. We have bought books on "Moving to France" and "Working in France" and some of the usual French magazines that are published and printed in British. And most of them are rubbish or inaccurate. Spend your money on a hire car & a couple of Ryanair tickets - you will learn alot more! However I would like the input from people who used to live in England and moved to France recently (within last year) for their opinions on the cost of living compared to here in England. We moved here almost exactly a year ago. although we bought the house 18M before that. Cost of living is about the same as the UK (don't let others lie to you!!!). Taxes are higher (although not as high as some would have you believe); Food is (marginally) cheaper, but mainly because you can't get the range of pre-prepared food that you can in the UK, our food bill is about the same as it was in the UK; "Rates" are alot lower (about 1/3 of the UK cost in our case, for similar sized property, although the Tax Fonciers has gone up 28%!!!! this year); earnings are generally lower, unemployment is higher; Drink (except spirits) is cheaper! Diesel is cheaper, petrol is about the same, although the prices yo-yo here. Building materials are quite alot cheaper, although building labour is more expensive, due mainly to Fr taxes and the EU WTD. My understanding from the various estate agents both on the web and the ones advertised in the magazines that we should have no problem whatsoever buying a place for £60,000 plus the usual £8,000 or so Notaire and tax fees? (obviously not in central Paris) See above, but I doubt it! There are no properties in any of this week's dept 22 property papers for less than 100,000E My wife has A-Level in French, personally, I can't speak a word, but from what I have heard, after a year in residence I should be fluent. Not in my experience! I would like to know how much things like: electric/water/phone/council tax etc bills cost compared to England, also how much food cost compared to England, Tesco is getting pricey these days? See above, but also; electricity about the same price/marginally cheaper, although as they have a different charging system over here, the overall cost (inc standing charges) can be higher. Don't know about natural gas as we (like most of rural Fr does not have it). Tanked gas very expensive, oil is cheaper (and about thesame price as the UK). Anybody have any idea what the crime rate is in Brittany and the Southern regions? Around here, about nil (D22) - if you believe the local paper. Local yoof did knock over the Xmas tree across the road, though. I heard that Diesel is much cheaper and running a car in general is, electricity is also supposed to be the cheapest in Europe? Not really, diesel about 94c/litre (67p?), but distances tend to be further, as this is a larger country. I suspect that the electricity is amongst the average. Now the work bit: My wife is a professional piano teacher and I am an independent video producer/web site designer. How difficult will it be for my wife to set herself up as a private (teaching from home) piano teacher, or in school for that matter? You will need fluent French for any profession. I don't know about teaching music, our local school does not touch it AFAIAA. There are lots of struggling WS designers all over France! There are high-tech pockets (such as Rennes) and the only succesful WS designer I know works there (for naff-all money) & he is French. And how hard will it be for myself to find work with my video production and web site skills? Very IMHO, unless you can work back in the UK and set up here. This in itself is fraught with difficulty, because of the French "!self-employment" rules. That said, nothing is impossible, but I guarantee that you WILL NOT make anything like the amount you could make in the UK. I know there are horror stories to be told, but we need positive encouragement at this stage so please try and keep the horror to a minimum. I'm not going to lie to you. In my experience of the ex-pat community, only the retired or pre-retired, or those with an income from the UK find it easy (for the first year, at least). Others really struggle. Forget the building game, everyone has tried that - with varying levels of success - present company excepted, Val. My honest advice is stay put (or look for the next property hot-spot - Slovenia?). Unless you really like a challenge. No way do we regret moving here, but we could not have survived without our UK income, despite having no mortgage & plenty of savings (which are almost all gone now, due to trying to rebuild 3 houses!). Good luck & HNY!  

Sounds like it is need of adjustment; The pressure switch may be set too high, or there is not enough hysteresis. If set too high, then only a slight drop in pressure will start the pump. On the systems I have come across, the hysteresis is controlled by a air bladder in the accumulator tank, which is pressurised by the water, then expands as the water pressure drops, keeping the water pressure at a similar level (Boyle's law, I believe). Is there a tyre type valve on your accumulator tank? Are the on and off points on the pressure switch adjustable?

[quote]Our UK phone/fax works over here in France but it wont ring and therefore you cant receive incoming faxes or know when someone is ringing you ... obviously not much good! I have just found out that y...[/quote] All you need is a UK MASTER (must be a master) socket - available anywhere like B&Q in the UK. Wire the French telephone line to connections 2&5 (either way around) in the UK master socket, plug your fax into the socket & lo&behold....