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Angie

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Everything posted by Angie

  1. Much appreciated Théière, will wait a bit longer before having to make the call. Our bill still hasn't arrived and assume there's no way of paying what's due online without the invoice reference? If not, just hope the helpline will be able to give it to me over the phone as they haven't been very helpful in the past due to what I suspect is data protection. Fingers crossed. Thanks again.
  2. We have our Taxe d'habitation bill sent to our UK address and receive it usually end November but so far nothing this year. Is anyone else experiencing delays in receiving theirs? Thank you
  3. We have one of these devices in the UK. If we record programmes on it can we watch these on our TV in France. The TV itself is compatible but not sure if you need the internet in the house (which we don't have). If I can access the internet on my mobile when at the house, is it possible that we don't need it, just WiFi which I assume is in the village? Sorry to sound a bit of a dinosaur but technology goes right over my head!!
  4. Can anyone tell me the equivalent name of scalpings in France? Its the crushed up stuff you compact down and use for a sub-base under paving slabs. Thank you
  5. Someone mentioned that our pool might need to be "earthed". It has a metal base and supports which are buried underground, but also a metal ladder. How do we go about earthing it? We've asked at local pool companies but they just shrug their shoulders!
  6. We actually have already! It seems to depend on what mood he's in. Several neighbours have similar pools to us and for each of us we've been given different advice on planning applications, distance from boundaries etc. and security. One neighbour has a fully inground pool located 1 metre from the boundary, didn't need permission, doesn't need security fencing or an alarm because its in their "back garden"!! Mairie has visited our site twice since Christmas and given contradictory advice on every aspect so don't have a lot of confidence there. We've followed the law to the letter so don't want to slip up on the security aspect especially as we have a young grandchild. Will go the whole hog and fence it all in I think even though the fencing isn't that pretty.
  7. One final question on this topic. It would appear after reading the regulations that above ground pools don't need security fencing. As part of our pool will be above ground can we just fence off the in-ground section? If yes, how high does the above ground pool need to be, is it 110cms the same as a fence? Not a cost issue, it would be much more asthetically pleasing!!
  8. UPDATE, will need to be done first week July! Not sure if able to ask if anyone is available in the next couple of weeks to do some patio work and general brickwork for us or whether there's a website such as the UK version of Mybuilder,trustatrader etc. that we could advertise our job on?
  9. Sorry for the really late reply! We purchased a product in the UK called "Wet and Forget", its expensive (think we paid about £60 for 5ltrs of which I have about a third left) but they do deliver to France (P&P). The fungus/mold/algae had got even worse over the spring and summer and nothing we bought in France worked (and yes, like you Chrissie) we even paid for the services of the man with a lorry who showed us an expensive product but guess once we were out of sight he just used normal bleach (judging by the smell and white patches) and charged us a fortune. Well I used Wet & Forget, spraying it on more liberally than the instructions because our end wall is so bad. It needs to stay dry for a day and then any rain etc. actually makes the product work and it continues to do so. It did take, as stated by the company, a good 3 months to see any noticeable difference but the transformation over the past six months has been dramatic, to the point that it has completely gone. Only one long dark strip remains and that was because I couldn't reach it properly. If I knew how to upload the before and after photos I would!! Will be applying a second application when we go over in June to get rid of the final bit of this horrid black stuff and then an annual spray should be all that's needed to keep the wall clean - its just one side of our house so doesn't take more than an hour. PS - totally harmless to animals, birds and plants!! The other advantage is that it doesn't stain crepi or render. It did darken the wall for a few days but once fully dry it returned to its normal colour which is quite light - something that isn't guaranteed with the French products containing bleach.
  10. I guess that's more or less what I thought. We reckon the wall would be around 1.50m high, no hand or foot holds. A "proper" pool security fence would be attached to one end of the wall and continued around the rest of the pool area (the other end of the wall attached to the house) . Thank you for your reply Theiere.
  11. We are having a semi in-ground pool built and will need to erect security "fencing" as an alarm is not practical for us. Part of the area is going to be difficult to fence, is it within the regulations to have a section of it, around a quarter, in the form of a brick wall?
  12. Have sent you an email. Thank you!
  13. Just received the following email from the Tresorie "La redevance d’archéologie préventive est comprise dans la taxe d’aménagement dès lors que les travaux affectent le sous-sol, ce qui est systématiquement le cas pour une piscine enterrée. Il s’agit d’une redevance et il n’y aura pas de travaux d’archéologie." So it looks as though we might be in the clear!
  14. Yes, I saw that on the news last week, the site is huge and apparently all the bodies have to be reburied in consecrated ground. Crikey, hope our little plot doesn't attract as much interest; having said that, we do have an historical monument less than 500 metres away from our house!
  15. Hopefully from this calculation the fee isn't too high; just had thoughts of Time Team turning up! We are only excavating down 60 cms so not sure what all the fuss is about but then again, if there's any chance of them getting a fee out of us then that's the only excuse they need I guess! Thank you
  16. Hi again, I am aware that I owe you a reply! Am waiting on a final diagram and measurement and there are, indeed, a couple of questions I would like to ask you once we have received these. Kind regards
  17. Our planning application to build a pool is currently with our Mairie and he assures us it will be no problem. However, we have now received another 2 forms to complete, helpfully filled in by our local Tresorie, which gives a partial calculation for the above (albeit no final figure). Am I to assume by this that we are going to have to pay a fee for some sort of archaeological dig!!! There are links online but none seem to have up to date information or, in most case, open at all. Has anyone had experience of this term and will it involve huge additional expense as the Tresorie say they are not "able" to provide any further calculations and refer us back to the non-available web site. Thank you
  18. Really really appreciate all your advice and offer of assistance. Fingers crossed and armed with your help, we are now sorted!
  19. Does anyone know of a supplier/installer of these beton pools in the southern Aude or east Ariege areas? The company, who are based in Portugal, have told me they have distributors in the Vendee and Provence but I have read, via the internet, that there are companies who supply and fit them in or around Mirepoix/Pamiers, but I'm blowed if I can find them! Thank you
  20. A guy in our road has just installed a partly above ground pool, one of the 4 sides is above ground, the rest totally underground. It is built less than a metre from the neighbouring boundary and less than 3 metres from his sliding patio doors. He told us the Mairie said he didn't need any permission and so therefore would not affect his property taxes (I do actually believe he made these enquiries as he's a pretty straight up and down guy). Hearing this good news, we took a few drawings to the Mairie just to make sure; Our pool would be smaller than our neighbours, only 2 of the four sides would be partially underground (sloping site) and ours would be sited more than 80 metres in either direction from our nearest neighbor. Mairie told us we would have to complete a declaration prealable, we could not site it less than 3 metres from any of our house walls and because just under 50% of the pool is underground our property taxes would increase. When we asked if we could install a totally above ground pool (not ideal) without the need to complete the forms (and subsequent hike in taxes) his reply was that because we are on a steep slope, any excavation to level the site to accommodate a pool would mean it was underground. Never heard such rubbish in my life. But guess what he says goes?
  21. Hi, has anyone had experience of these, good or bad? Pool is constructed with a slot together breeze block type polystyrene block and then filled with cement. Also, does anyone know of a person/company who has experience of installing this type of pool in the Quillan area? Thank you
  22. Hi, is there a builder/handyman out there who could install an above ground polystyrene block swimming pool for us? Quillan/Puivert area. Thank you
  23. If you're talking those gas weed wand things then I wouldn't bother. For some reason we ended up owning 2 so took one to France, kept one in the UK. The replacement canisters cost an absolute fortune, each lasting long enough to burn about 3 metres of path weeds. The wand has to be held so the flame is touching the actual weed and unless you are very short in stature, that too will do your back in. Once done the weeds are obviously scorched and appear dead but in our experience it doesn't kill the root and they are all back within a few weeks. On a positive note, the flame didn't scorch our block paving, slabs or gravel. We now use our gas wands to light the BBQ and they are brilliant for that.
  24. Can anyone recommend a company in the Quillan area who can service and replace the belts on our ride on mower, in particular Cub Cadet? We are too far from the main service company/supplier and are not able to transport the mower to them. We are hoping there will be someone locally who can come out and fit the belts for us. Thank you
  25. Angie

    MANURE

    Much appreciated!
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