Wozza

Try M Mandon in Cherves Chatelars near Montemboeuf - he made our oakwindows for us.   He also has a shop (near the cave) on the main drag in Chasseneuil - his wife looks after the shop and she speaks some English.

I haven`t a clue whereSauze is (nomap to hand either), but there are a couple in Angouleme - we are currently using Alan Lagache - see Pages Jaune under Garde Meubles. Warren

We had an indoor well in our house in Wales and used the water for everything except the kitchen sink. The system was very sinple and can be easily replicated in France - you just need a loft. We had the usual UK water header tank in the loft, with mains water fed by a float valve. There was then an electric float valve set at a higherr level than the mains valve so that when the water level dropped, it switched the pump on, until the float turned the switch off. Pump was a small centrifugal pump bolted down onto concrete in a cupboard, so very quiet and only ran about three times a day for a couple of minutes a time - 1 1/2'' pipe I think. No special equipment - you can probably buy it all from Screwfix. The well once ran dry in a rare hot summer, so we had to rely on mains only for about a month, but otherwise rarely used the mains to the tank (kitchen was fed direct off mains pipe). Make sure your pump inlet pipe is fitted with a filter and a non-return valve (or get a self-priming pump i.e. not a centrifugal pump). Am going to try and recreate something similar here at a later date, but at present, just having a toilet in the house would be nice, I don't care what flushes it!!

[quote user="cooperlola"]  We have a new oak staircase and I have been humming and hah-ing as to how to blend it in with the 150-y-o beams around it myself.  I have been contemplating a home-made mix of soot and nicotine!!!  I would be very interested to know what other people have done.[/quote] I made our oak staircase myself and had a similar contemplation. However, it had to be installed so we could get up and down the stairs to finish off - the plumbers, masons, plasterer etc are doing a great job at ageing them - they look like they have been there years now!

Thanks for the replies. Mansle a bit too far away - will try the one at Le Lindois. I have the name of one at Lindois, but have had no joy when ringing - will keep trying! Will try the maire too in case there are a few.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'll try. At a recent Brocante, we got talking to a french stallholder, and when he heard wewere renovating our house and garden, he suggested that we contact the scouts. Apparently, if you provide them somewhere to camp free of charge, they will help with work in the garden etc. As our garden is a mess that has hardly been touched, we thought that this may be a good idea. My question is - has anyone tried this, or know of anyone who has? We will hopefully be in touch with them shortly, but would be interested to know if such arrangements actually work. Warren

My parents-in-law will be visiting in May and we are looking for a Gite close to our house. We have checked gites de france and some holiday websites, but have not found anything suitable. It needs to have a bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor - this requirement is our stumbling block. Does anyone have anywhere suitable. We live near Vitrac, Charente, 16310. Thanks.

Try looking up 'garde-meubles' in pages jaune - they are out there. We pay significantly more than the gentleman in the Limousin charges and have about 50m3 in storage.

[quote user="Simon"]I've given up trying to plasterboard the ceiling without assistance, does anyone know the french for plasterboard adjustable prop and where I can get a pair? Regards Simon [/quote] 'ma femme' - but you definitely don't want more than one!

Try the local farmers retailer or tractor agency - they will typically sell that sort of thing (even if you want the hand held rammer as opposed to a tractor powered one), but I think the advice above is excellent. I did put about 50 2 metre posts in last summer in a day - I used an old tractor axle sharpened to a point to make a bore hole about 450mm deep then whacked the post in - the bore hole is essential if you want to reduce post splitting. Would recommend you get chestnut posts too - a little more expensive, but better than the pine rubbish I bought.

I just paid €30 per cubic metre (stere) of seasoned oak in 1metre lengths. I think I remember a debate on this forum as to how many stere there are per cord, and I think the concensus was that it varies from region to region. I think the price of firewood varies region to region too - not sure where you are, so don't know whether the price I paid will be relevant. the price also varies depending upon the lengths and whether or not it has been split. Personally, for €50 a stere, I would expect it to be split, chopped into the length I required, delivered and neatly stacked.  

We used to put the dead rabbits, rats, mice etc that the cats brought back into our septic tank in the UK. Seemed to keep it healthy. I understand the need for the dead animals, eparcyl etc is not because the fosse doesn't work, but because of all the chemicals we put into it - we kill the bugs. Dead animals quickly attract bacteria, which gets the fosse working again very quickly. If you are very meticulous about what you put down your drains ( no bleach, fats, use proper detergents and washing powder etc etc), then there should never be a problem or need for any intervention. However, no one is perfect, so the dead stuff / Eparcyl is always handy!

Sonia They sell quite cheap ones for pets in the Bricos - we got one for our dog from Leroy. I think it was about €15, but I have seen them in other stores since. They arecheaper than kiddy gates as they are not approved for childcare - the latch is not suitable, I guess.

[quote user="Will "] "Dave & Heather really do think of everything for the guests’ pleasure. I did enjoy my swim and Trevor and I had a great time in the whirlpool bath" - something going on here perhaps? [/quote] Reproducing guests comments? As opposed to reproducing guests' comments?

Make sure it is full of water and stays that way, otherwise in this weather the water table can push it out of the ground - a bit like floating the Mary Rose!

Thanks Clair, but it isn't them - ours don't have legs or a head like that.

I have an outbuilding with a flat concrete roof which I would like to seal so that I can create a roof terrace. What is the best way to seal it before tiling - bituminous paint / membrane / something else? Any ideas would be gratefully received. The area is about 3.5m by 7.5m and has a very gentle slope. Warren

We started composting last spring with great results - I was amazed, as I only turned it once! However, even though everything was well composted, we did notice some strange creatures living in it - short, very fat maggoty looking things (about 10 to 20mm long, 10mm round) - our neighbour said to kill them as they eat the roots of the plants - does anyone know what they are? How do we get rid of them? When I turned the compost, there were none of these bugs in it, just loads of worms, then later, no worms, just bugs. Any ideas?

Cats are the answer - our black cat is a demon at catching any rodent, but specialises in moles. He has an amazing amount of patience and will sit and listen to them digging for ages - then when they pop up for a gander - zaap!! I also will not, however, kill anything myself, so let them free if they are delivered alive (and boy, do moles squeal), but as far away as possible. Having said all that, I have never seen any of our other cats catch a mole - they are more interested in the loir and/or lerots and mice.

Voliges are the wood planks used to board roofs in France. Poplar does I believe tend to shrink and warp easily, hence why it may have been suggested tounge and groove, although I used some recently without T&G and it still seems OK, but I did fix it down well. Our main house is boarded with chestnut, again sawn, not T&G and looks great. It does tend to shrink a bit, leaving gaps, but there is a black membrane above, so all gaps are black. The silver insulation stuff is above that. You can get the polystyrene backed plasterboard at any Brico, poly thickness from 20 to 80mm I think, but I'm not sure if it is good enough an insulator for a roof - I think it is intended for providing insulation to walls. Warren

Is it this one? http://www.promo-conso.net/

a short word for 'pierce with a cocktail stick', or as we used to call a lad at school - Rick with a silent P!

Try the western France section - two people looking for space and you almost pass them on the way up!

We lived in Spain for a while completely surrounded by olive groves - I hate the things and the only time I have come close to liking them was when they had been soaked in brine by a neighbour - tried it myself with mediocre results. You have to cut the ends off and prick them before soaking them - that's about all I can remember - the sangria was especially good that day...

If you are re-roofing you can put the foil on the outside (above) the voliges - I have been advised that if you use poplar, then make sure there is plenty of ventilation, as it is like a sponge for soaking up moisture. I think that if you use chestnut voliges you can put the membrane then insulation directly on the boards and leave an air gap above for insulation. The plus side of the sawn chestnut voliges is that they look quite nice from underneath - not as clinical as tounge and groove, quite authentic (although truly authentic voliges are not straight edged and butted together). I think poplaris about €6 per sq.m, whereas chestnut is about €9, but well worth it - we have both and the poplar is getting covered.