Robina

An0ther - you ask "Architect ?" The chimney/flue/poele was only one of the jobs we were having done and the architect was supervising them all. Everyone had experience of the problem and an opinion about the solution. Especially when I told them about the information given on this site. Regards, Robina

Hi Quillan, Thanks for the information. I suspected that would be the case [:(] Cheers, Robina

Hi, Pachapappa your explanation sounds very convincing - so I am at a loss as to who has the right answer on this. It seemed obvious to me that they should be male end down but then it would not fit over the collar into the stove. The stove installer told me which way up they should be when it started leaking and I asked him to rectify it. Recently, with the work to correct it the architect also said it - unprompted by me - and the builder who came to estimate for the work also said it. So what is a poor non-expert supposed to believe? At any rate, the problem seems to have been resolved with no major work required. So fingers crossed. Cheers, Robina

Hi, I posted a couple of years ago about tar leaking from the joints in the tubes of our wood burning stove. From a short stay in early November the problem seems now to be solved - no leakage in one week's fairly cold usage - Christmas will be a tougher test. For information - there were other issues than those aired in the last thread. We could not in the end have double skin insulation as the chimney is a) too narrow and b) an angle in it too acute for the flexibility of the necessary liner. Apparently this is not unusual in little old cottages. The tubes rise out of the stove do a 90% bend into a boxy sort of chimney constructed on the wall which goes up into the loft and then it angles out into the original chimney inside the wall. We thought to solve the problem by moving the stove immediately below the boxy chimney so doing away with the 90% bend. This apparently is deliberately there as a safety device to prevent tar running straight down into the fire - which can be dangerous. The boxy chimney on the wall has a "well" of about four inches below the hole where the tubes fit in. This is there to catch the tar running down the chimney as condensation. It was completely full of dried up tar and when we lit the fire it melted and flowed down the tubes. Once this was cleaned out the problem disappeared. You can buy tar traps and install them if needed although we did not as the existing trap works OK now we know about it! I have also been advised by two separate professionals that the tubes MUST be male end up. This is because smoke will escape if they are the other way up. Hope this information is of use. Robina

Hi, Our area (58) is about to go digital and we will not be able to watch French channels on our existing TV. This is no problem as we ony watch UK TV via a satellite dish. So my question is, do we have to pay a french TV licence if we cannot get French channels? Robina

Thanks for all the advice.  I did wonder about inverting the tubes but the installer (or rather, his wife, as I have never spoken to the installer in person) said that if the tubes were inverted you would get smoke rising out of the joins rather than tar dripping down.  What I really want to do is seal the joins in a flexible way to allow for the necessary expansion and contraction and thought the 'autocollant' tape would do the job -  albeit not very elegantly. As for the 90 degrees - I don't know either - I saw the comments about that but the installer is the local professional so he should know.  Robina

Hi, We have been getting to grips with having tarry stuff leaking out of the joints on the flue on our wood burning stove.  I have read all the posts on this subject in the forum and I think that our only real solution is to insulate the pipe all the way up the chimney.  This is apparently quite an expensive job (we are not DIYers for this kind of thing!)  so while we wait we want to minimise the leakage.  The stove is free-standing and the flue rises straight out of the top and then does a 90 degree bend into the chimney.  The tarry drips come from where the joint of the horizontal pipe meets the vertical pipe and also from the joints between sections of the vertical pipe.  This christmas was actually a lot better than last - presumably because our wood has now had a year to dry out!  My question is: can we use some kind of heat-resistant tape to seal the joints between sections of pipe?  I've not seen it done on stove pipes but it is used for car exhausts etc.  Thanks. Robina

Hi, We are about to engage an architect to plan and supervise some work on our fermette and have received a letter from her outlining her terms and timescales.  The charges will be 10 per cent of the cost of the work before VAT which I understand is the norm.  I think I have a rough understanding of what is involved in the different stages at which we have to pay but would appreciate any insights.   The stages are: Esquisse - which translates as 'outline' - what is in this? Avant Projet - ? Projet - ? Assistance marchés de travaux (obtaining the devis and getting them signed) Suivi des travaux - supervision for duration of work? Réception des travaux - sign off? The estimated cost of the work is a lot higher than we had hoped.  Is it the norm for an architect to give an estimate on the high side?  And if we can reduce it does this translate into a lower fee for the architect?  What happens if after signing up with the Architect (but before signing any devis with the builder) we decide to delay the work to wait for a better exchange rate?  Thanks. Robina

Hi, Last year we spent christmas in our fermette in Burgundy and were fortunate enough to be invited for Christmas dinner at our neighbour's on Christmas eve.  It was not a late night dinner as Maman is elderly and does not stay up late and her daughter tends to have relatively early nights as well.  We had not been expecting this hospitality but had some presents to take in any case.  Are there any customs we should be honouring if we are invited again this year?  Anything we should take?  What is the normal etiquette for being a guest at Christmas dinner?  Robina[:)]

I'm glad you said that Monika- the same thought had occurred to me but I just assumed the installer knew best as to which way up the sockets should go!  I will get him back when we're there later this  month and let you know. Robina

...but we had so much tar coming out of the flue joints (on the outside!!) ... We have a lot of tar coming out of the outside of our flue joints as well.  What is worse is that the flue is not straight but has a right angle bend to meet up with the chimney.  (It is a free standing stove that had to be positioned a couple of feet away from under the chimney to make room for a staircase.) The problem is that when we damp the fire down to keep it in overnight tar falls from the flue joints and lands on the top of the stove overnight.  When we build it up again in the morning the tar burns and makes a terrible choking smell.  Also, as it boils on the top of the stove it splatters all over teh wall behind.  The installer said it was due to condensation causing the tar to run down the flue and that the joints could not be sealed as they had to expand with the heat.  He said the solution was to have the flue lined as the tar was from the old chimney but I can't see how that would work - surely the tar is in the wood that is burning at the time. Any suggestions? Robina

Hi, Some advice would be much appreciated.  We have just constructed a new bedroom in our adjoining stable and now I have to fill in the form "Impots Locaux" (form H1) and I am slightly confused about what figures to put in in section 41.  We got the Permis de Construire drawn up by an architect - so my personal understanding is not as comprehensive as it should be - but this shows the figures for the SHOB and the SHON after the work.  Section 41a  of form H1 asks for the number of rooms used exclusively for habitation and what the suface area is.  It then goes on in section 41c to ask about garages and other elements incorporated in the house.  Can anyone tell me if the figure given for the SHON is the surface given for 41a or if it includes the surface in 41c as well.  If the latter presumably I have to do some calculation to fill the form in.[:(] Best, Robina  

Thanks for this.  I am going to have to improve the drainage in any case.  The builder and the Mayor made a site visit some weeks ago and I have been told what I have to install.  It had not occurred to me that I needed permission for the fosse septique because the Mayor had stipulated it - but from what you say I conclude that this will need including on the forms.  I will get the PdC forms.  One supplementary question: as I already have the DdT forms could I submit these straight away for a separate small job?  I plan to instal two velux windows in the roof at the back of the house itself?  Or should I just submit one PdC with everything on? ... and a second supplementary: to put up some guttering where there is currently none.  Does this require anything at all?  It does not impinge on anyone else's property. Robina

Bob, Thanks for the information.  I've not come across the 170m2 rule.  If I add the house (about 54 m2), the stable (about 54) and the barn which adjoins it (possibly a bit bigger) I get pretty close to it.   I am trying to do it all from a distance so going along to the Mairie is not so simple but I will see what can be done.  I have done some scale drawings and the builder did offer to help so ... fingers crossed. Robina

Hi, I'm a newcomer to renovation in France and am now very confused about whether I need to apply for a "declaration de travaux" or a "permis de construire" for the new bedroom we are planning to build.  My builder says the former (in French) as do friends, but my book says the latter (in English). So here are a few details:  the property consists of a small farmhouse with adjoining stable and barn in Nievre in Burgundy.  The bedroom will be four metres by four metres (approx) (including ensuite shower room) and is being constructed within the adjoining stable at first floor level.  The stable has already had a bathroom built at first floor level at the back and the bedroom will be constructed in the front half.  This will entail the creation of a new floor at first floor level and installing two windows in the front of the building.  There are no problems with proximity to another property or anything else that would make windows a problem (as far as I know!).  The lower floor of the stable will continue to be used as it already is, as the laundry. I suspect this counts as "converting an outbuilding" and/or "creaton of additional accommodation" and therefore requires a 'permis'  but others argue that the outbuilding has already been converted into accommodation (by virtue of the bathroom being in there) so  only needs a 'declaration'.  The builder said to get the 'declaration' forms from the mayor - which I now  have and they seem to indicate (in french) that I need the others. Help! Anyone know the answer? Robina