zeb

......and you can buy a special collar which fits the flue (tuyeau?) where it passes through the plasterboard ceiling (for a neater, safer finish).

Weldoms will order in the size you need plus elbows, but get your measurements right. They wont take it back as it comes direct from the manufacturer (who is based near La rochelle). We have single skin going up the interior sitting room stone wall from the woodburner, then double skin stainless steel going out through the wall and up with a chapeau on top. Cost just over 1000 euros (and looks very industrial!).

[quote user="Steve39"] Hi I'm new to the Forum so apologies for asking fairly obvious questions... We are buying a house in Bergerac which we want to rent out part of the time. Can anyone recommend someone to manage changeovers or the best way to find someone reliable? What should we expect to be charged for such a service? Thanks [/quote] Sorry, the quote has probably come out as gobbldygook, but try www.laymyhat.com A website for gite owners worldwide.   (Edited by Cat to unscramble the quote).

I'd definitely try to kill them now RH as everything is still growing this year!

Use a systematic desherbant (weedkiller). The label on the back will give dosages for the kinds of weeds you want to kill. Just make sure that it gives the dosage required to kill ronces (brambles) - I'm using a cheapo bottle from Casino (Desherbant Polyvent, around 12 euros) at the moment and it's excellent! Kills all weeds and brambles, just spray on a dry, windless day (on the leaves) when it's not too hot, then spray again in about 6 weeks time, et voila! your brambles should be dead. Clear up and burn.

I read in my local paper recently that in the event of a heart attack it's recommended that you phone 15 so that the correct medical help and equipment is brought out to you, wherever you are, rather than trying to get yourself to the facilities.

Have a look in www.pagesjaunes.fr for your nearest location de materiel pour entrepreneurs for your nearest digger hire shop. Or, post a plea on www.AngloInfo.com (midipyrenees section) for a man with digger. Or, look in www.artisananglais.com for registered artisans in your area.

Sorry somme-man, when I said no cheese, I was thinking cheese-board cheese. You can of course serve little bites of cheeses such as cheddar with pineapple (your French neighbours won't know that they are a bit naff in the UK, they go down a storm here I've heard!), or apericube cheeses. You can also serve little blinis with humous, cheese spread etc, or stuff like that. My neighbour tries to serve very seasonal things from her garden - we had a plate of pretty radishes once with a mayonnaise dip. Don't worry too much; the drinks, especially with the men, are the important thing!! Have fun.

Whenever we go to French friends for aperos there are the usual nibbles - peanuts, pringles, cashew or almonds and/or a dried fruit and nut mix; also there is usually a quiche or savoury cake which is served in small pieces, cherry toms on a plate if they are in season and olives. I'm sure things are done differently all over France, but the idea is the keep the snacks light, small and interesting as folks usually go home for their meal at 8ish. The drinks on offer are usually pastis (always!!), whisky, pineau, a punch or sangria, and a non alcholic fruit drink. Bread and cheeses are not eaten with aperos.

Yes gastines, that's certainly the case in our area (Charente) but, you have to have been registered as unemployed to get the reduction, or liberation from cotisations for a couple of years. I did receive some paperwork about it a short while ago, but it was too late for us.

Sorry, can't answer your questions but do look at the Chambre d'Hotes owners forum below - that may or may not put you off!! If you like doing lots of cleaning and laundry, and have folks tramping through your house daily/nightly demanding meals then you'll be OK! Have to say though that if you want skiing and snow boarding, Poitou-Charentes is not for you! Try further south near the Pyrenees. Good luck.

[quote user="Susie"] Also, as a chef, I don't think microwaving previously sauted salmon fillets would be a good idea....not very tasty! They'd probably have eaten and gone away and criticised the standard of the food offered - you can never win! [:)] Sue [/quote] I have never heard of anyone saute-ing salmon fillets before their guests/customers were in the building. How bizarre!

Don't know where you are but there's still Limoges, Bordeaux and Tours!

I'll ask my brother to pop along to the Naze at Walton and flash his lights on my behalf then!

No (sorry, Pun) - I think the only solution is for the owners to do it once themselves, as a proper changeover, to see how long it takes them to clean thoroughly right through. They can then give a checklist for the caretakers (not a time sheet as I don't think that's fair), and will have a good idea as to whether they are being ripped off or not.

And for larger energie efficient projects such as solar/geothermic/aerothermic heating systems your department may give grants which are certainly not means tested either. (Grants of up to 1000 euros are available in Charente) Pop into the Mairie in a large town (Mairies in tiny villages are not always up to date with info) and ask how to claim. This is on top of the tax credit.

Hello again Maureen - sorry, I didn't mean to offend you by suggesting renting. I just thought that nowadays there's hardly anything for the cost of your lost dream and renting is a good alternative here if you can't find/afford anything suitable - even in the short-term. French friends have been renting here for donkey's years and treat the place entirely as their own - pets, decorating, installing extra power sockets, etc etc. Anyway, have a look at those sites (and there are plenty more) for property for sale (if necessary click on biens a vendre). Or do a google search for agence immobiliers for the area you wish to move to. Very good luck with your travels and move etc.

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your dream property, and I hope that you find another. I think you may have to check out whether you can live full-time in a chlet type property; I seem to remember that one of the posters (HWH) on this site or totalfrance had to stave off gendarmes who had come to evict her from her chalet but I can't remember why. Anyway, why don't you rent long term. Renting in France is normal , rents are relatively cheap out in the sticks, and tenants have much more security of tenure than in the UK. You sign a three year rental agreement, but I know folks who expect to rent the same place for a lifetime. You may also find a dream place which is much more comfortable (has electricity and heating) as most parts of France get extremely cold in the winter. Good luck..........have a look on www.bluehomes.com or www.seloger.fr (or maybe .com) under "louer" to get some idea of what's available in different Departments. Trawl round the agences immobilier when you come over or look at petite announces in shops.

Hi - not very knowledgable I'm afraid, but yes, you can do a thick mix and fill with it then sand, or make a thinner mix and skim. We've rough plastered with it - over plasterboard, over stone walls, and filled up large gaps/holes with it. We've also skimmed with it. Make sure you buy 2000L as the working time is longer.

If you want to have a bash at plastering, try Lutece 2000L - it's easy to work with, doesn't dry out too quickly and is very forgiving. An English plasterer recommended it to us years ago - he used it for skimming. If you want artisans try www.artisananglais.com but as you say, it's the holidays, so you may not get anyone out to you for a while.

[quote user="Giff"]thanks v much for the advice - I think I will stay with my current employer in the UK for the moment as I can work online. If I can't get a token wage - what if I work for free? - it would be worth my while to volunteer for a couple of days a week just to get the experience? [/quote] I didn't realise that you could do plumbing on-line. Was that an NVQ2 requirement?

If there is nothing going on for you there, I'm not sure it would be much different in other rural areas? Have you considered moving to / or close to a city? We have this overwhelming desire every winter to be able to just walk out of our door and be in the midst of city life (theatres, cinemas, bars, cafes, shops etc). Hence we are hoping to move from Northern Charente to just south of Pau or Tarbes, so that we are closer to some of the things we crave. We've been here 5 years and I have to say I love the rural life, but I couldn't cope without friends, or the fact that we meet lots of different people through work (although I only work part-time). But, having experienced city life in London and Leeds, I'd like to be have some fun (and culture) before I die......... MOH worked with a French builder for some months soon after we arrived, which helped him no end with the language (and French building techniques), so why not sign up with the Ancp and apply to get taken on as a labourer or whatever?

Where are you, Howard?

Hi, if you were renovating an open space which is 3 mtrs high at its lowest point rising to 6 mtrs at the apex, into 5 rooms and retaining the height (insulation beneath the new roof tiles and inside joists insulated and plasterboarded between) a) what would you use for the interior walls, and b) does anyone know what French regs are for this sort of project? As a disclaimer - we normally always use metal rails and understand the problems with humidity, insects etc if using softwood wood. But, on this occasion we have small concerns about rigidity.

We have a young lurcher (greyhound/irish wolfhound) and our fencing is just over a metre high. He's never shown any interest in jumping it but probably could if he really really wanted to. It's picket type fencing and he did try to go through it once (and knocked a picket out) when a cat walked by!