Albert the infopikey

I'm pretty sure that any standard parpaing will do the trick. Alternatively you can get lightweight entrevous (the bits that go between the beams) from companies like Rector. ( http://www.rector.fr/ ) For these the beams (poutrelles) need to go at 60cm centres. These links gives access to a lot of technical info: http://produits-btp.batiproduits.com/fiche/r?id=1001994882 http://www.produits.batiweb.com/search/rub.asp?niv=179 and this one is about making a terrace above a vide sanitaire. http://www.produits.batiweb.com/search/lance_url.asp?dd=4848&tt=I&annuaire=produits

I thought it had something to do with Tresco's avatar and a systeme d'assainissement autonome. Eurkkk!

Actually, you have to start within two years and you can't stop the work for more than a year. The phrase "si les constructions ne sont pas entreprises dans le délai de deux ans..." which appears in the code de l'urbanism may appear a bit ambiguous, but "entreprendre" means "to undertake". A clearer version is: http://www.foncier.org/avocat/prorogation-permis.html

Mrs Infopikey (a Bretonne) always asks for a jug of water, whether or not we are having wine, on either side of the Channel. Occasionally we receive separate glass-fulls rather than a carafe or equivalent but  don't ever remember problems with waiters over tap water.

Dick -- "Put square bracket IMG square bracket at the beginning, then the address, then square bracket /IMG square bracket at the end. I can't show you how it looks because the software always interprets it as an instruction!" Thanks, Dick. Still can't get it to work, but I think it's now because I posted it on my Mac but I'm editing on a PC. I thought HTML was supposed to be system-independent!!!  

AAAAAARGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

And that was starting with a forest and a chainsaw!

[quote user="Cassis"]How big are these things you've seen, Kevin?  I had a look at the Honka website and while they're cracking good  solid wood houses but they're not what comes to my mind when someone says 'log cabin' - I think of 'Little House on the Prairie'! [/quote] If you want to see a REAL log cabin try this site: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ainsworth86.html

Don't have any direct experience, but I've been researching timber build, including "bois massif" -- solid wood log structures. The main thing that put me off the log approach is that timber shrinks across the grain. This means that doors & windows have to be built with gaps at the top so that they fit the final height rather than the as-built (if you follow me). This in turn requires that the owner has to faff about with changing packing pieces above all the openings for the first year or two of the house's life. I'm sure that the big (ish) firms that sell this type of structure have established ways of dealing with this issue, but it put me off.

First stop the Mairie! I was reading up on fencing because we'll have to fence our plot once the purchase is complete. I don't have the reference handy but I'm pretty sure that there's a specific type of declaration de travaux that covers fences, boundary walls etc. I'd expect that a fence could go on (1 cm inside!) the boundary, whereas hedges have to be set in, depending on how high they are likely to get, to allow for trimming without going next door. Do you have bornes to mark the extremities of the boundary? If not you'll probably need to get a geometre to do the necessary just to make sure Mr Nasty can't justify a complaint. I've just done a quick Google on "declaration cloture" and come up with http://www.gemeaux.free.fr/admin/docs/edifier_cloture.htm and http://www.castorama.fr/conseils/guide_juridique/sujet.jhtml?themeid=3&_requestid=55226 The Castorama one is a FAQ that covers most of what you're likely to need. Best of British.

Hold on while I wipe the keyboard! For me, a basic fruit salad needs a spoonful (pick your own spoon) or two of Negrita rum and a pomegranate, in addition to any other ingredients. The pomegranate give texture and bite, whilst the rum should be enough to enhance the flavours without being obvious.

We're planning to sell / give away most of our furniture and such before moving to France, but there are probably some things that we won't be able to replace once we are there. You see lots of posts asking "where can I get Dulux, Marmite ...?" (I'd rather have dulux on my toast!) or other consumables. What I'm more interested in is what piece of domestic hardware people would take to France because you can't get a (decent) equivalent. Funnily enough, my household in the UK has a couple of examples of French kit you can't get here, such as our salad spinner. Any suggestions for your "must take..."

Firstly, the usual caveat: talk to the mairie. Secondly, the usual rule in France is that you can construct ON the boundary or at least 3 metres (10 feet) from it. There are more complicated bits depending on windows. Obviously a lot of old houses in France are at all sorts of distances from their boundaries but new construction (and I expect extensions) must follow the rules. In your friend's case there is no obvious reason why they should not fill in the gap between the house and the boundary, but definitely talk to the Mairie and don't do anything without the permis de construire.

The only requirement is that an architect sign off the plans; they don't have to be involved in the construction work. For a start you need to be sure that your house will be bigger than 170 sq m. This link may help. http://www.mairie-penestin.com/pages/muni/administratif.htm#permis It's got a diagram showing what does & doesn't count towards the SHON (habitable area). For many people the fact that the garage doesn't count may tip the balance. Also the 1.8 metre height limit. Then there's a 5% allowance but I'm a bit vaguer about that. Finally, you may find that les Castors (the main French self-build association) could be worth investigating. http://www.castorsouest.fr/les-castors/france.php Apart from technical advice and discounted materials they offer a plan drawing service, with architects where required: Plans Nos dessinateurs sont à l’écoute des demandes des adhérents. Après un entretien approfondi, notre technicien dessinateur réalise un avant-projet personnalisé, prenant en compte les besoins et souhaits exprimés par l’adhérent, ainsi que son budget. Après validation, il réalise les plans pour le dépôt du dossier de permis de construire. Pour les projets de plus de 170 m2 de surface hors œuvre nette, conformément à la réglementation, les plans sont réalisés par un architecte.

Just to add my two penn'orth. There is a very small number of contributors to this forum (and others) who are consistently helpful, courteous and factually reliable. SD is definitely in the front rank of this select band.

[quote user="Will "] ... reports about smashed windows are worrying. These are well known to be the weakest points of any ship, and the classification societies (in BF's case Bureau Veritas) who oversee the design and build pay particular attention to this aspect - rules do not allow large areas of glass in vulnerable areas. So this would indicate either freak conditions or a problem with handling the ship. [/quote] I've been travelling on BF for a helluva long time, and I can remember 4 Jan 1979 (the night half of Torcross got washed into the sea). We were in our cabin when all of a sudden the ship's motion eased. I looked outside and there were crew in bare feet trying to clear sea water from the corridors. Turns out that a wave had stove in a restaurant window and they had to turn downwind to effect repairs. One poor bloke was looking out of the window when it happened and he nearly got washed overboard! I remember seeing him leaving at Portsmouth with glass cuts on his face. On another occasion my wife was returning from France and they diverted into Cherbourg. That night the France dragged her moorings. Anyone else here remember the old Armorique?  

I've got in-laws in Pontivy. Yes, they are chuffin' mad!

I was discussing this with our notaire 3 days ago. Fortunately we only have "our" kids. I'm going to assume that all your joint estate will be in France. In France you can set things up so that whichever of you goes first the other one owns the whole house. However what happens when the second one goes is not under your control the way it is in the UK. If you die first then your husband may be able to split things the way you want, depending on what other living relatives he may have. If you survive him then under French law your sons automatically get a majority of your estate. I don't remember the numbers but I doubt if you can direct more than 25% to his nieces. Alternatively if you both own the house and one of you goes, then that persons heirs inherit half and the other has the usufruct (right to live there for life) of the whole house. When the second one goes their half goes to their heirs. This sounds better, but it means that it is very difficult to sell the house if the survivor wants to move. Legally the heirs of the first one to die have to agree the sale and get their share of the proceeds. There are probably ways to deal with this, such as setting up a company to buy the house and giving the shares to the kids before either of you shuffle off. Then you would need a watertight lifetime lease. TThe only way to get a proper answer is to talk to a French lawyer (probably a notaire).

Thanks to everyone for lots of interesting comments, but what I get from all the answers is that it's more a personality thing than a practical one. We'll almost certainly go the 'chuck it & start again' route because it fits our life style and because our new home will be totally different from the one our furniture was bought for. That said, we'll do some more research on moving costs and furniture prices before we commit ourselves. Whatever happens, we're a bit nearer our goal because we had an offer accepted on a terrain this weekend and in a few months we should own half an acre of France.

toni wrote > One thing that isn't clear is whether the window faces directly onto your courtyard. In other words, if you draw a line out at right angles to the building starting at that window does it cross your land? I would expect (I'm no expert on this aspect of French law) that the windows of 'terraced' properties would be treated differently from those facing directly onto a neighbour's land.

Steve, A pantheist is someone that believes that there is no separation of deity and the material universe, but that everything is god. That's a very simplistic version, but you may want to have a look at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/

Judith wrote <<If you cannot live without it and cannot be sure that you will be able to replace it - take it - and hang the cost! >> That's why I'm taking the wife.[:D] We've only got about 4 pieces that we are attached to and all of those could go in the car at a pinch. For my house-moving philosophy look at my name and think 'caravan'. We go to Britanny several times a year anyway, and that will probably increase during the build, so moving small stuff will largely go on the back of that.

Tresco wrote <<If I had the time again I'd do it differently. I gave away van loads of furniture, many hundreds of books (stupid, stupid me) garden furniture, wheelbarrows, tools etc.   ... Even at the last minute, there were things I gave to the neighbours, and even left some good stuff for the new house owners, because we couldn't fit it in. >> I do understand. We went through this 5 years ago when we downsized 'because the kids are off our hands'. (You what? We've had at least one resient forthe last 4 years. Part of the reason for escaping to France!) When we sold that house last year we moved (only 2 miles) over a weekend with a van and 2 sons. Took a fair few trips, but feasible at that distance. Even with our reduced inventory a one-journey move would take a lorry. Without the furniture & white goods I'd reckon on a transit at most, mainly for clothes, computer and such, allowing for shuttling bits to various in-laws over the next couple of years and KathyC wrote << Personally, the thought of buying new furniture for a new house is really appealling. It always seems to me that when you move (even within the UK) nothing seems to quite *go" in a different house. >> Kathy, I agree. That's part of the attraction. We are looking at building to an individual design, so putting furniture bought from a previous house in there doesn't appeal.

Thanks, Ian, That's the sort of thing I need. I'll have to get Mrs Infopikey doing some research on furniture outlets (we'll be in Morbihan, somewhere on the Ploermel-Pontivy axis). She's French but I've managed to educate her taste over the last 36 years.[Www] We've done a stocktake and there is no single item we want to keep that won't fit in the back of the car so it won't involve a pantechnicon move.