Caterham7

If you want a girlie calender definately Miss 1 by stuart cook. If you don't want to be accused of being a male chauvanist pig go for the more artistic 'rear view holding bottle' by Sprank S Me,I'd go for Miss 1,no prizes for quessing what I am !

Thanks for that tip Will,message deleted,it was due to a time out error. Cheers Tony

But don't press the button three times or you'll order three times what you need

Density of gravel does vary quite a bit,generally in the range 1.7 to 1.9 tonnes per cubic metre. ie length x bredth x depth x 1.8 = approx no of tonnes reqd Regards Tony

Density of gravel does vary quite a bit, generally in the range 1.7 to 1.9 tonnes per cubic metre. Regards Tony

Gert,pm sent. Regards Tony

Paul,The approx capacity of a 200x100 joist spanning 4.5 metres (general grade softwood) is 680kg total load. The dead load is approx 325kg which leaves you with a live load capacity of 355kg (approx four and a half adults per joist !)This is slightly more than domestic design live loading at 150 kg per sq metre. Regards Tony

I'm not sure of the French Regs but in the UK you would need to upgrade the garage ceiling to provide fire protection to the habitable space above.Even if it is not a requirement of the French regs you may consider it appropriate. Regards Tony

A quick check on the joist sizes gives a bending stress of approximately 5.3 N/mm sq and a deflection of 12.8mm,for the 4.5m span.This is acceptable for a general grade structural softwood.This includes a standard domestic live load. Sorry for not replying earlier,just returned from france. Regards Tony MIStructE

Was that the campsite St Avit Loisirs near Le Bugue ?,I might pack some hard hats,will be arriving on Friday. Regards Tony ps any more info on the deaths ?

I had exactly the same problem with my oak framing,we sanded out the stains with a belt sander,I have seen large oak frames being sand blasted after installation also. Chemicals may or may not work,this could result in further staining ? I have no experiance of this though. Regards Tony

Coco,for what it's worth the max spacing in the UK is such that a 100mm sphere cannot pass through,ie effectively a clear space of just under 100mm.Unless French children's heads are smaller than in the UK,this should suffice and is what I would recommend for safety. Regards Tony  

Patrick,That is correct.I wouldn't want to rely on a long term forecast to decide whether or not to visit France,if you could afford the luxury of being able to make a last minute decision,then the forecast for the next few days should be considerably more accurate.It is interesting how much some weather forecasts vary from one website to the other.One thing is for sure -we can't change the weather.

I hope your right Chouette it's looking good for next week.

You could try www.accuweather.com it gives a 15 day forecast and hour by hour forecast. If accu is supposed to stand for accurate,it isn't.It can't make it's mind up as to what the weather is going to be like in Le Mans for the race,it changes daily. I wouldn't rely on any of them. Regards Tony  

Thanks for that Teamedup,he seemed to think the min age was 21 so I thought I'd better check.Looks like that's two more joining us in Le Mans then. Cheers

I've posted this here as I would appreciate a quick reply. One of my friends wants his son to be co-driver,he's under 21,is the min age 21 in france ? Thanks

It's that time of year again. For those that are interested the race is on 18/19 June. The Le Mans Legend race on saturday morning promises to be special with 63 cars from the period 1934-1956,including Sir Stirling Moss in a C Type Jag.Race commences 10.00. Entry list for Le Mans Legend can be found on www.motorracinglegends.com/05events/LeMansLegend/entries.html Don't miss the drivers parade around the old town on Friday evening. The Aston Martin DB9's are looking promising against the Corvettes in the GT1 catagory.Entry list for the 'real' race can be found on the official Le Mans site. Highlight for last year was Friday mid day on Mulsanne straight (N138),when the public road was illegally halted by two english lollipop ladies,leaving a clear 300m stretch of road,followed by a display by the Red Arrows formation bicycle team,complete with red,white and blue smoke cannisters.You really had to be there to appreciate it ! In summary 5 days of petrolhead heaven. See you there ! Regards Tony ps Drive carefully the gendarmes will be out in force to get their hands on our hard earned Euro's.

I can also recommend SIKA products,we specify them regularly.SikaTop Seal 107 may be more appropriate as it states these can be applied to brickwork and blockwork.There are several products to choose from but you are best speaking to a technical rep to make sure you chose the correct one.You may find it easier to speak to a UK rep on the technical side,providing the products are the same in France ! Regards Tony MIStructE ps please bear in mind these are rigid systems and the blockwork may crack/move due to temp changes,if the bund is large movement joints should have been installed.Alternatively there are flexible lining systems available.

Keith,I can't comment on any french regulations but Uk minimum gradient for 100mm foul water with min one WC connected is 1:80,if no WC connected 1:40.1:80 is quite shallow and we generally try to design to 1:60 to reduce the chance of blockage. No minimum cover is required on private land,but try to achieve 450mm. Regards Tony ps If anyone knows if the French regulations are differant please let us know.

Ian,Your list of addresses would be very much appreciated,most of the wines I have bought to date have been the more commercially available and well known producers.I will be down in August to stock up again. Regards Tony

Ian,thanks for the other recommendations I will try to check a few out on my next visit,I've been drinking Bergerac wines ever since my first visit 19 years ago and I revisit regularly to stock up. Regards Tony

I was fortunate enough to stay at one of Patricias converted farmhouses last August which are in her vineyard,it was very luxurious but unfortunately you pay dearly for this.I tasted all of her wines except the sweet Saussignac,and bought several cases of these wines.In fact I have just put a bottle of Princesse de Cleves in the fridge for our BBQ. All of her wines are very good quality and are certainly at the top end for Bergerac ( this is also reflected in the price)She was completing a second book while we were there which should be due out shortly ? She has a tasting room and prices are considerably cheaper than in the UK.I get the impression she is a very shrewd business woman and the book/s,holiday homes and wines appear to be a winning combination.She is one of the lucky few who appear to have made a real success of moving to France. I'll be back this August but unfortunately not in one of Patricias houses. Regards Tony

WLT,I replied direct to your email from my office yesterday please let me know if you recieved the reply.Basically I agree with the suggested proposals,but you could also consider a drained internal tanking system which will possibly be more economical.Refer to www.safeguardchem.com for details Olyroyd is the system to go for.You would obviously have to source a similar product and a builder with experiance of this system in France. Regards Tony

You will probably find that Chartered Structural Engineers are few and far between in France.The service you require may be adequately covered by another profession ie Architect,Surveyor or even Builder.Several surveyors and architects advertise in French Property News and are based in or cover the Dordogne region. If you do require the services of a Chartered Structural Engineer you could try contacting the ISE on 02072354535 they may have a register of members working in France.Their website www.istructe.org.uk does have a section for searching for engineers but this only covers the UK. If you provide more details of your requirements ,you may get some more precise recommendations. Regards Tony MIStructE PS I know one Structural Engineer who will be in the Dordogne in August