thunderhorse

[quote user="valB"]My first year of attempting veggies and yesterday I picked 4lb of carrots, enough English runner beans for our dinner ( lots more on the plants ) eight onions and gave some of my lettuce to neighbours as too many for us. I am so pleased but must admit I did pick all your brains at various times so you can all have a pat on the back as well.[/quote] Picking veggies, picking brains. Some diet you're on!

[quote user="SENCO"]Hello - the pitch of the roof forms part of the upstairs room in the barn we have, i.e. there is no ceiling. I have put 75mm Rockwool between the joists and then stapled "tri-iso" ( the insultion matl. contructed of ali foil/multi layer insulation/ali foil) to the joists to form a blanket of this material on the inside of the roof . In accordance with good practice (eg - data sheet from Yorkshire Building Supplies which shows how to use their "superquilt" ( www.ybsinsulation.com/PDFs/superquilt.pdf) I have then put battoning onto which I have started to fasten the plasterboard. I have now been told that it's advisable to use foil backed p/board or produce a polythene moisture barrier between the p/board and the "tri iso". Given that the "tri-iso" must be a moisture barrier in itself is it necessary to use foil backed p/board in the roof ? - If I didn't use foil backed p/board, and  constructed a polythene membrane behind the p/board,  what thickness or gauge should the  polythene be please and do all joints have to be taped etc? Thanks for your help [/quote] Hi, SENCO. Why are you wanting a moisture barrier? Is it to prevent ingress of rain? If you mean a vapour barrier, then the rockwool itself is so backed. Had the rockwool been thick enough, then the expensive foil stuff would have been totally unnecessary. Ordinary BA13 plasterboard should suffice hung from rails. Generally speaking, stone-built houses and barns need to breathe. Hope that helps a bit.

[quote user="trees 2"]OK, so it's probably not called that, but you all, (or most of you), know what I mean. One of the youngest son's best mates fits this stuff for a living, and is willing to come over for a "free holiday", and help me partition the upstairs in the barn conversion part of the house. Can anyone point me in the direction of a site that gives prices for the various bits and pieces? TIA. [/quote] Castorama also have some good prices if you can't get to a Brico.

[quote user="Rose"]well I can't beat the marble price but slightly cheaper than shipping... leroy's currently have 2.5 m lengths of very nice thick beech worktop for 89 euros... I now have 5 to oil so wish me luck!! [:D][/quote] High maintenance, but they look good.

I think there's often some misunderstanding between bedrooms/fosse size. What size fosse for 10 bedrooms - all en-suite - but only ever two occupants? The figures I've seen are approx. 275+ litres of water per person per day - then multiply by 3 (3 days for the water to run through the fosse.) So four people: 4 x 275 x 3 = 3300 litres minimum (or 4000). How companies (are obliged to) work it out, I don't know, but it does seem that sometimes their common sense is lacking. However, there's surely some advantage in erring on the larger side. Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks Jane and Danny. Hopefully the knowledgeable will be along soon with advice on the rest. Cheers

Simulated oak?

Does anyone have a link to a schematic to show the best order in connecting sinks to showers to WC evac pipes? To include vents and anti-blowback... We want to fit out two salles d'eaux: two WCs side-to-side, with sinks and showers draining into the same pipework. Secondly, with the average WC, if the horizontal pipe run is, say, 7 metres, is that a sufficient fall for evacuation? Cheers, peeps.

IIRC they are a protected species.

Another alternative if you come across it is ordinary blackboard paint.

[quote user="LeeNik"]thanks for the advice,   what about crushed stone suitable for sub bases for drive ways and then gravel,  does anyone have a steer on prices??[/quote] We've just had 17.5 tonnes of calcaire 6/20 delivered for our drive: €262.50 from Weldom's (€15/tonne.) The grittier 6/20 (venant) is only €11/tonne.

I couldn't tell you the price of stone, but I'd be inclined to visit local masons and farmers, and see the often piles of old stones recouped from here, there and everywhere. Even the local déchetterie can be a good source of building material - and free.

With the past couple of days being so hot and humid, and the cement floor at the back being a lot cooler, we can see the moisture condensing out. The neighbour next door has suddenly seen his new wallpaper glistening. Very humid indeed. But I'm going to try the plastic sheet trick anyway.

[quote user="knee gel"]... so they've discounted mice...[/quote] Why? Don't be surprised at anything eating anything. Mice, rats, martens, squirrels, birds, climbing moles... [:P]

What mix do masons use when fixing down ridge tiles or the double row down a gable? Every time I see them the bags and mix seem to be different - plus there's a handful of something else (plasticiser?) going in. Cheers

I understand that French and UK voltage is nominally 230v - French more towards 220v and UK towards 240v. If you look on the plate of the kiln it will likely say for voltages between 220v and 250v, so you shouldn't have a problem.

[quote user="Clair"]There is an Options box at the bottom of each forum section where you can "mark all read". [/quote] The options box allows all threads in a forum to be marked. It doesn't address marking all forums read. To do that I have to visit all 51 forums individually, open them, and only then go to the options. OK, can we have a link to mark all forums read? Cheers [:D]

Virtually all other forums I visit have a prominent link to 'Mark all forums read,' yet there doesn't seem to be one here. Is there a particular reason, or is one in the offing? Cheers

[quote user="lostinfrance"]... You please read the first post.                                              Not make up your own to answer.                                                                                                And please do-not try to teach your gran-mere to suck eggs. [/quote] What on Earth are you babbling on about? Gluestick made reference to the existing concrete base which could be used as a raft. He then issued the caveat, but... and followed it with foundations would be far cheaper. You are the one who should be reading posts more carefully.

Many thanks. In actual fact the gaine préfilée from Brico-Depôt seems to be the cheapest option purchase-wise in any event. So it pays to be correct... [:D]

[quote user="allanb"]I've had fair success with the explosive device, like a tiny firework, that is triggered when the mole comes along to find out who disturbed his molehill.  It must be the most humane method. Admittedly we don't have small children playing in the garden; that could be a problem.  I don't see much point in anything that merely drives the moles away.  Where are they going to go?   Your neighbour will do his best to send them back, and you can't blame him, can you? [/quote] It seems that killing a mole just creates a vacuum to be filled by another mole. The solution is only temporary. I've started to reap the harvest of lovely tilth. [:D]

We are converting our loft and installing/re-routing wiring. Is it permissible to run 3-core cable through new partitions, or should all wiring be in gaine? Cheers

They are also useful little spreaders for plaster, putty, wood filler etc.

Looks good. Pity they seem to have ignored the increasing numbers of Linux users... [:(]

They'll be nicely matured when the whites are surface brown and rubbery, and the outside of the yolk has gone grey. Divine!