ljmc

Thanks to all who have saved my sanity !!! I have looked into the Telepeage system but I don't think we would use it on a regular basis to justify it.Once we have done this trip we should be travelling in each others company again. Just didn't want any roadrage being my first experience of living in France ! Now all I have to worry about are the two fighting kids in the back of the car .....oh well,c'est la vie ! Lisa

This may seem a silly question but .... On our previous many visits to France we have always travelled as a family with driver and passenger , so when we hit the tolls there was no problem obtaining the tickets and paying at the other end,however,in a little over a week we will be making the big push which means I will be driving the family car with two young kids in the back (no passenger in front) and my husband and our dog following in our van. Short of trying to get the dog to hand over the cash or both drivers having to alight from the vehicles to collect tickets & pay do they have a seperate lane specifically for right hand drive vehicles. I know this may sound silly to some but I have been panicking about hitting these tolls and as we have never encountered the problem before I just seem to be gettinmg myself in a tizz !!!!!   

Thanks to all who have replied. We are 50 mins from Poitiers and Limoges (dept 86 , bordering on 87) slap bang in the middle of them both. We do have a Bricomarche close by, near Montmorillon, so will check this out first. I'm sure I will have plenty of fun hunting them out.Just don't seem to remember seeing any craft shops whilst we were over there. Merci beaucoup tout le monde ! Lisa    

Something slightly different to ask of this thread ..... Re 7.5 tonne vehicles,do they just need a CT or do they have to go to a higher place, as in England where they have a ministry test. (Apologies in advance if this sounds stupid,don't know much about these things and hubby putting words into my mouth !)    

We will be moving to dept 86 (Vienne) in the next couple of weeks and wondered if anyone out there knows of any craft shops (similar to Hobbycraft ) in or near this area , or has France not got the bug yet ?

Merci beaucoup Touranqelle. That's a great help. I knew the forum would come good yet again !!!!!    

Can any of you generous souls out there help me ???? I have just received my third electricity bill.Having paid the last two by cheque I now think I am on TIP , but what is it ? With my last cheque I sent (on the advice of my bank in France) an RIB and also signed and dated the bottom of the last bill.When this bill has arrived it is showing all my bank details on the bottom.Does this mean they will take it out of my account automatically (I thought this was called a Prevelment) or do I have to sign it and send it back through the post,or do I just ignore it (as such) as it will be dealt with. Was going to contact Electricty company direct but thought I'd try here first as I've had good feedback in the past. Hope someone out there can put me out of my misery !!!  

Thanks for clearing that up Anton. There are 4 rooms in question,one of which is a bathroom.Although I appreciate the cost implications on French tax payers I did not expect it to be so expensive.As it is we have not signed anything. With it involving electricity I wanted to make sure we were not compromising our home insurance by carrying out the work ourselves.We will only be using the one person to carry out the work but depends who can get time off work first ! Thanks for your input.Appreciated. Lisa  

Further question on Domestic wiring ...... We are in  the process of renovating our property in south west France.On a recent trip there we had a local artisan out to give a quote for rewiring part of it.This came in at a hefty 4.300+ euros. We have been looking into buying the parts ourselves and friends and family chipping in with labour.Is this illegal as they will not be registered in France.               ( No money will exchange hands.) The French electrician supplied us with a DEVIS.Is this simply a quote or a legally binding contract? Any feedback greatly appreciated.  

Nick , thanks for that illuminating reply and a very informative one.A couple of things there for us to consider ! We don't actually move over there until the end of January'ish....so I think a couple of courses are called for in sewer maintenance ! As for the labourer..well I think I know who's got that job ! Cheers Lisa    

Thanks for that,guess it's me just trying to cover all bases.I must try and relax more (like the French !) and go with the flow.Suppose you can't plan for every eventuality !  

My family are in the process of uprooting and moving lock,stock & barrell to France in the New Year. We have bought ourselves an old forge which we will be renovating.Part of the property consists of a barn with earth floor.Rather than pay to hire a mini digger my husband plans on buying one,using it for the renovation and then hiring himself out with it.   Is it as simple as that ?  In all the bunf I have submerged myself in re paying into the local tax system,registering to work,etc I have recently heard that when registering you need to show certificates , qualifications in your given trade. Is there such a qualification for using a mini digger (or mini-pellutuse) ? If so,anyone know of who to contact to get relevant qualification please ???