vicandphil

Where abouts are you building your house ?   We intend to do the same thing in the Vienneand found it very easy to open a bank account, many seem to have english speaking staff these days.

I am also in the position of chipshopcharlie. We have bought a piece of land which has outline planning permission on it. Have now obtained the required forms to apply for full planning permission - will be providing my own drawings etc. Next step is to visit Batimat in Paris in November to source supplies. Would be very grateful for any info on this process and in particular with regard to building supplies near Confolens in the Vienne region. Our estate agent remarked about the 10 year guarantee - it would be interesting to know more about this , whether I need to register as an artisan or can just buy the insurance.

You could probably coat the stone wall with a product such as unibond pva mixed with water. This has the affect of being a transparent sealer so you could still see the stone in your wall. I would imagine there are other sealers that would do the same job.

A very interesting subject for me us as we have just purchased a building plot and have the mad idea of not only designing our own house but also of building it ! As far as I can work out the best method is to get a planning application form from the local mayor and check through what is required on the form-  a set of 4 or 5 forms has to be completed (all identical). These forms appear to be of national issue so shoudl be the same requirement wherever you are. A major consideration would appear to be the exterior appearance, well for us it is as we will live in an old village, which as I understand must be approved by a department in Paris, I think called Batiment de France. 

Looking at previous replies I would like to add that the best way to arrive at how much you require is to work out the area..... width x length , in square metres and then multiply that by the depth of coverage.  With gravel it is best not to go too deep as it will end up like chesil beach ! I would normally give a covering of no more than 25 mm for a drive and even less for a path - depending on the size of the gravel which can and does vary a lot ! ( yes I am a landscape gardener/groundworker/builder) Before spreading gravel you should make sure that your sub base is as level and as flat as you can make it - ideally with a weed membrane fitted to stop weeds pushing up through your nice gravel finish. Do not spead gravel onto plain dirt as it will just dissapear in time leaving a mass of weeds Hope this helps