Wozza

Cathy The concrete polishers that I am familiar with have to be used on drying (not dry) concrete. Sorry! Warren

There is a recently renovated XV/XVII century Chateau near St Adjutory (near LaRochefoucauld) that has been done to an exceptionally high standard - French owned and in a beautiful setting - own lake, large grounds etc. Unfortunately, B&B only, but there is a reasonable restaurant in the village and a couple of very good ones in La Rochefoucauld. My parents and my brother and his partner both stayed there this Christmas and really enjoyed it (not adventurous enough to stay with us in the mobile home!!). They even have a suite with a large copper bath! Tel No is 0545 704018 Warren

For polished concrete floors you can hire a concrete polisher - is looks like an industrial floor scrubber, but has three or four blades instead of a scrubbing brush. If you have the patience, you can bring a concrete floor up to look a little bit like marble. Saw one being used recently, so know that you can get them here. Didn't see the programme on TV, so don't know if this is what was featured, but once worked on a building site for a car showroom and all the floors were polished concrete. As I remember, you start polishing when the concrete has dried enough that you can walk on it without leaving footprints - we had to keep the floors wet overnight to slow the drying process, so that the guys could spend the next day polishing. You must be really bored to tackle a job like that! If you're that bored, I have a few little jobs thatwould keep you busy...

Me too!! Desperately need a plasterer before I have a go myself! Can you also send me details, please - also in 16, not far from La Rochefoucauld. Warren

You could try sandblasting! Quite expensive and very messy, but removes most things from stone. We hired a sandblaster to clean our beams - it didn't do that good a job of the beams but cleaned all sorts off the stones around the doors and windows, leaving them looking great. Let us know how the vinegar trick works, it sounds well worth a try before sandblasting! Warren

Crane costs vary according to the weight that they can lift. When I used to hire cranes in UK not so long ago, we used to guesstimate hire costs at £1per ton per hour. i.e. 50t crane is £50 per hour. The closer you can get the crane to the job, the smaller the crane required - a 100t crane can probably only lift 10t with its gib fully extended. If you have any underground pipes / cables etc, make sure crane feet are well padded before he starts lifting - driver should carry pads, but if you know of a hazard, tell them and they will bring larger pads to spread the weight more. However, I have no experience of crane hire in France! Hope this helps anyway.

Thanks for the link Zeb, but I couldn't get it to work, so off down the bar again to see if Sortir has arrived! (I didn't try very hard with the link!)

I drew all my plans with a pencil and the DDE said that they were fine - I even managed to get the architect to use them for the full planning application, which save me some money, as he didn't have to do much drawing work! Warren

I get a second hand copy of the Charente Libre every day (to help improve my French) - they regularly list gardens etc that are open to the public. Another great publication that gives information on such things (and much more, such as brocantes, bric a brac, music etc) is Sortir, a free 'what's on' magazine - July / August issue is out now - somewhere!! I usually get mine from our local bar, but they haven't been delivered yet..

We had part of our housere-roofed in January with Roman Canal tiles to match the bit that had been re-roofed previously. The ridge on the bit that had already been done had been cemented and our roofer told us that with Roman Canal tiles, if you buy the proper ridge tiles, then it is supposed to be a 'dry' system. We let him fix the new ridge dry and got him to remove the old cemented ridge and re-do that properly too. We had a bad storm last night with very high winds, but no problems with leaks or tiles flying off. From memory, the 'dry' system involved a roll of special felt (for roof ridges) and mechanically fixing the tiles to the roof (with nails or screws, can't remember which). So, I guess the answer to your question will depend upon which type of tile you use. If Roman Canal tiles, then I believe the correct method to fix the ridge is a 'dry' system i.e not cemented. However, I would recommend that you verify this withyourtile supplier - living in the Charente, there is no shortage of suppliers or manufacturers here!! Regards Warren

I was walking my dog, Anoushka, a Siberian Husky , a couple of weeks ago, she darted into the woods to chase something. Upon hearing a lot of barking and snarling, I followed to find dog and coypu in brambles. Coypu was frighteningly fierce. The dog eventually picked it up and killed it  by shaking it very hard. I don't think it was fully grown, but was quite a bit bigger than a cat. I now walk a route away from the woods whenever possible!

Steph We sanded our beams down then treated them xith the Xylophene stuff, then painted on a 50/50 mix of linseed oil and turps - the linseed feeds the wood and darkens it in the process, leaving a very matt finish - it also brings the grain out a bit. We also then waxed the beams in one room, and as we only did one coat, the beams still aren't glossy. I think if you put several coats of wax on, it doesn't soak in as much and starts to gloss a bit. I have seen varnished beams in friends houses, but don't like the glossy finish. Warren

To completely dry, concrete takes one month per inch thickness to dry. So, if tiling on top, you should theoretically wait 6months for 6'' (150mm) of concrete. If final floor finish is permeable / porous, you don't need to wait so long.  

Try classified pages of Housebuilding & Renovation magazine or similar (available WH Smiths) - there are usually several legal eagles advertising, or there used to be! Can't buy it over here!!

In addition to the reclamation yard run by the Brit in Confolens (expensive, I think!), there is also a reclamation yard outside La Rochefoucauld. From N141 in La Rochefoucauld, take the road to Montemboeuf - the yard is about 6km out of town on the right hand side. French run, and quite reasonable. If he hasn't got stuff in stock, he'll try and find it for you. Warren

Le Grand Jauniat (16), a couple of km from Vitrac St Vincent. Moved here August 2005 - living in a mobile home with 8 cats and a Siberian Husky whilst we do up the house.

Just saw your post whilst browsing. We rented a house at Epened (10km North of Confolens) last year. It has two bedrooms, huge kitchen / diner and large lounge. 2baths, but no CH ( hence why we didn't stay for the winter!). E-mail me if you want owners details. Warren

Gabe I have installed land drains / field drains in a couple of my houses in the past. We had a long run behind our house in Wales and found a 4'' (100mm) drain worked well. If you run a drain along each 30m long side of your house, then join them with a run down one of the shorter ends, it may be prudent to increase the pipe size after the join to 150mm. As with earlier post, membrane above pipe is cruial to stop it blinding, as is a good layer of gravel all round the pipe. As a separate point, I have seen two types of land drain here in France - the flexible corrugated stuff with holes all around the circumference, and rigid PVC pipe with holes on one side only. I would recommend the former (I think the latter is for Fosse septique drains?) Hope my limited experience helps. Warren

Not quite in your area, but not too far away is a yard very close to Confolens, Brit owned.

There is also a new, British run Indian takeaway / bar in Chabanais on the RN141 - on the Limoges side of the river. Good choice on the menu, but not sure if they deliver. I can't remember the name, but there is a big sign up outside.