PaulC<P><IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR>Paul, Debbie and Josh, <BR>London & Dept 24<BR><a target=_blank href="http:www.les-brandes.net" target=_blank>http:www.les-brandes.net<A><BR><P>

I wouldn't stress too much ether, Due to a c0ckup on a purchase that spanned dec and jan (and therefore confused the "whos liable" situation - who the owner was on Jan 1st 2006 was unclear) We have only just got our 2005 bills sorted. On top of this, we didn't even get a late payment fine as it was the authorities problem as the sent the bills to Germany and then Ireland ! Having a friendly notaire was good too, they helped by writing the letter to the tax people on our behalf complete with official stamp and even posted it for us ! All curcumstances are different but If you haven't got the bills, put the money for the taxes away and go bug the notaire :o) as long as your seen to be trying to pay / not trying to aviod paying you should be OK..

Glad it's not just me.... most of the route to the southwest is sorted with the great new autoroute extentions but Rouen is still the one that leaves me in a cold sweat.  rubbish signs, bad roads, free visit to the rail yard with every trip... after two years of driving it I think last week was the first time we did both direction without getting totaly lost ! (Also the GPS gets really confused so dont think that will get you out of the place ether !) Paul  

I think some of this has already been covered but heres my €0.02 worth.. Just tried to order a SIM from the UK on my UK credit card and you can't do it. it asks for the bank R.I.B information which UK banks don't have. the T's & C's also say "et régulièrement domiciliés en France métropolitaine et en Corse." e.g you have to be "regularly domiciled in Metropolitan France and Corsica" No problem, I'll try with my French card tonight from home giving my French address  To unlock a phone the best way is to find someone with a PC and the software, I got mine done at a UK computer fair but I've seen some mobile shops in the UK that advertise this service. I think it cost me £10

Guys, Anyone seen anything of the Paris troubles spilling over to the South West ? Were coming down this weekend and the wife is a little worried. Having lived near London for most of my adult life I tend to be very sceptical of the press headlines seen here in the last week or so. Is the trouble isolated to the cities ?

Hi Susie, hope your well.. When I broke my leg we managed to Rent a wheel chair from the Red Cross (UK), very reasonable rates, may be worth having a look in the Pages Jaunes to see if there's a Red Cross or equivalent near by ?! just a thought.  

just a thought, have you checked the fuse / breaker in the fuse box ?  

Got down to the house again last week and the same problem, bisto coloured water, this time it did it every time the system reheated - conclusion it's ******ed.. Looks like the anode that protects the chauffe eau had gone and the inner shell was rotting + the relief valve was leaking so off to Mr Bricko for a new one (Looking at it I think it was the original 1989 version from the house build so probably long overdue) Got a new 200L chauffe eau with super new quiet heater element, a stand, a great installation kit with flexible hoses and the pressure relief valve all for ~€170. Easy to fit for a competent DIY'er although the old one weighed a ton with all the scale and rust in it, had to get the wife as well as the father in law and brother in law to help lift it out. The best part was the instructions, to save doubt they give you a full colour picture of the underside including the wiring, great idea and really helpfull, the whole thing took a couple of hours to sort ! Hope this helps if someone is looking to do the same, it's really not that hard.  

Thanks for the reply.. The power was off and the rest of the system is copper so like you I think it's something in the CE, just wondered if it's just what happens if you leave it for several months. Looks like a trip to the hardware store is coming up ! Paul

Hi All, Here's a good one for you.. We hadn't been to the house for a good few months and when we got there I did the normal and got everything going. The problem was with the chauffe eau, When I ran the hot taps it dispensed what could only be described as oxo coloured water, the entire contents of the tank was light brown / rust coloured. Once the water had been flushed through all appeared fine ?! Is this normal if the unit has been left for a long time with water in it or is it a sign of impending failure ? Does anyone else have the same problem ? Paul  

I had a similar problem last year, those intex type all in one filter/pumps are next to useless on anything bigger than a paddling pool + if more than 1 or 2 people use the pool or if the weather gets hot it just doesn't keep up.. I ended up buying a sand filter / pump system from a guy in germany via ebay, brilliant bit of kit and i've not had a problem since, the filter just needs backwashing from time to time (a 3 minute job without even getting wet or covered in smelly stuff from a cartridge) if you use the pool more than for the odd dip I would strongly recommend the small sand filter route !  

on the other hand I have a friend who just moved to Nice and rented a house, drop me a PM and I'll give you his email address, he'll be happy to chat about the experence !  

if it took a few minutes to go over from Horizon to Horizon it was a satellite, there's loads up there that you can watch fly over including the int space station - most are easy to see even from London !. if it was a short line / flash then chances are it was a meteor, they come in all the time and most of the time you will see the just the odd one and not big groups - it's great to watch these things flying about and the software mentioned above is v good !! Happy Star Watching !

I'm 99% sure a scart is a scart, it's the other bits that will get you like the standards that the TV supports vs what the player will output. French TV's use a system called SECAM where as we (UK) use PAL and the yanks use NTSC, a modern TV should be OK on all of the standards but you should check first. If you play PAL into a SECAM only tv the picture will be black and white. Paul

I would give it little more than 5 days, our UK ones took a couple of weeks !! When we applied for the Barclays.fr online usename to go with out french accounts it took about 2 weeks for all the bits to come through, not bad for a french bank and the service appears to work most of the time .. Paul

Just to add my two pennies (or should that be two €) worth - I have no problem owning a second property in France for most of the same reasons stated above.   Our place was built and lived in by a Dutchman, left empty for a long while before being sold to a German who lived there for a year or so before moving due to work commitments, he left the place empty for a couple of years before we bought it - during all of the empty times the property was on the books of the local Immobilières and available to any takers, the price was not extortionate but as stated previously in one of the other posts, it's 4km out of town and none of the French buyers wanted it for that reason. We on the other hand are OK with being 4km out so managed to buy a v nice house on a great plot at a good price.   Even if we had gone for a property in town, I still would be happy with my purchase (if not a little more skint!) as it’s a free market that the French are just as much a part of as the English – all nations have veto and opt-out for anything that may affect their national balance or profitability, as yet the French have not mentioned using ether to slow the foreign investment of overseas buyers purchasing in France.   We are the only foreigners in our little village of about half a dozen houses, no one we have spoken to cares that we are English...   The locals we have spoken too are happy that the house will be cared for (by a local French family company) and that we will use local shops and amenities, we do try to speak French and do try to integrate - this last point appears to be the main source of complaint amongst the locals we have spoken too - they dislike the English (Dutch/Germans etc) who only speak to the English (Dutch/Germans etc) and ignore the locals, this unfortunately does happen in our area as I have witnessed to my embarrassment. people (old and young) muttering phrases like "they should all learn bl00dy English" does nothing to keep the peace.   Can you imagine the reception a French family would have buying a house in Brighton and refusing to try to speak English ?! Fortunately most of the French are far more polite !   Also, the French we have got to know do on the whole work hard - may be they are not as manic as the English and Americans but who can blame them, given the chance I would slow a little  (I think that was one of the reasons we bought in France in the first place !)   As for air travel being the source of pollution, a modern jet carrying upward of 200 people Has to be better then 200 people in cars and coaches chugging down the AutoRoute and back routes + if they didn't go to their Maison Secondaire, they would just go somewhere else anyway.. mile for mile I think you would find jets to be fairly good as transportation goes (without getting in to the expanding Airport argument)   Anyway, I've finished my tea so I’ll be quite now and go do some work  Paul

As I knew our brainless friend would not be able to resist I dug out the book and looked up the IEE rules for protective conductors. While the actual calculations for protective conductors run to a page and a half the whole idea is to limit the shock voltage to below 50v while the protective device operates, the only way to do this is by having the correct size conductor for the application, the bottom line is as follows.. ---------- {Table 5.7} allows selection (rather than calculation) of sizes for earthing and bonding conductors. The rules applying to selection are: For phase conductors up to 16 mm², the protective conductor has the same size as the phase conductor. ---------- I think this whole conversation proves just one thing "A little knowledge is a very dangerous thing" This will be my last post on the subject. Paul G Court B.Sc M.Sc MIEE C.Eng  

Had a good look and found a few possible's + have received a couple of PM's with local recommendations - looks like our next visit will be spent digging around the local Depots ! "her in doors" will be happy anyway ! Many Thanks to all who replied. Paul

Guys, Re: Plato's Earthing comments.. I think the newer regs in the UK (and I believe France) ask for the Earth conductor to be the same if not Bigger than the supply conductor so your not reliant on the RCD in case of problems. There is also a misconception about the actual earth, it's fine having an earth that will trip an RCD but you also need it to be able to put the full supply current into the ground if needed, if your earth stake is not up to it or your earth conductor is too small then your not really earthed ! The UK regs now ask that the house earth is bonded to the company earth (presented at the main fuse) as this is capable of taking >100A to ground which in the worst case will blow the main company fuse, if you just bash a bit of copper pipe into the soil or use the wrong size conductor chances are it will not take anywhere near that (although it should trip a working RCD) and the only time your going to find out your earth is rubbish is when you REALLY need it.. While the French and English Regs can seem a little OTT, most are there to aid safety and Not to promote the sale of raw copper. If you have a major water leak you get wet, if you have a major electrical problem someone could die, don't take a chance - do as the regs say and for your family's sake, don't short cut your earthing ! if in doubt call someone who knows !!! Any "Engineer" promoting anything other than the above is not really and engineer. The dictionary definition of engineer is "One who is trained or professionally engaged in a branch of engineering" and not a gob sh1te who think he knows best - I rest my case ! Paul

I think your all wrong, the best thing you can have is a large box of "Stuff" in a cupboard somewhere handy. The box may include bulbs, bulb holders, batteries (various), Duck/Elephant/Gaffer Tape (name depends on your home location), string, spare fuses, screws & screw drivers (various), odd plumbing fittings, tap washers, matches/lighter, candles, all the odd keys you found when you moved in, oh and that "thing" that your not sure what it does but looks important (don't all houses come with one of those) It may just be a man thing but I sleep a lot sounder and feel a lot more able to handle any emergency knowing I have a box of "stuff" in the hall cupboard ! Paul

Guys, Can anyone recomend a depot-ventes or simalar in the Riberac / Lisle area of Dept 24 ? Regards Paul

it's worth having a look round the forums as this topic has been discussed before but I think the general consensus is that Electric is the most expensive, followed by bottled or tank gas with Oil being the cheapest to run. Paul

 "I had had a bit of a hard day with the wiring, it kept jamming in the gaine and it took most of the afternoon to wire one 4 metre length." Get youself a draw wire, it's a long thin steel or nylon strip that winds onto a reel but springs out flat when unwound, you push this through the conduit then tape the wire to the end and pull it and the wires back through - brilliant bit of kit, worth every penny of the £5.99 it will cost you..  http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Conduit_Steel_Index/Draw_Tape_Nylon_20M/ Paul

Cheryl, Just ignore Plato, Think he's been on the Vin... These tanks normally come pre-pressurised for the average system, you would normally have 1 to 2 bar of pressure in the system once filled and bled depending if it's hot or cold at the time so unless the boiler and tank are in the basement of a 6 story house you should be fine. More important is the Size of the vessel, you have to make sure it's big enough to take to water that the system expands during heating, for our 4 bed house the vessel was 12ltr.. If you really can't find any info and if the bladder is not already inflated (if it is you should see it if you look in the hole at the water end) you should look to put about 1.5 BAR in it before any water is added. Somewhere on your system there should be a pressure guage, hopefully near the water filling valve - if poss, fit the tank on the same plane as this. also make sure somewhere on the system is a pressure safety valve, (normally set to 3 BAR...) (1 BAR = ~14 PSI) Good Luck, we fitted our own heating and it's a great feeling when it's all finally working, also if anything happens to it you know how to fix it !!! Paul

Just an Idea - Put a call into your Immobilier or Notaire (or even the previous owner if you have contact details), they will know the local market and should be able to offer advice on local agents. Paul

When we took our policy there was no questions about any claims let alone claims on France or UK or any other property, they just wanted the address and some details about the house (and some money !) Paul