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In the U.K you can purchase a SKY box and dish for C£150.00 including free installation, that does not require telephone connection, with this box will come a card which gives all the free to view stations incl Channel 4 & 5. plug it in and register in the u.k and then transfer the box and card to your alternative address. which is of course against the terms of your agreement, mais c'est la vie! alternativly there are a number of web based suppliers specialising in cards, dishes etc in France but at such a price only the Anglais could afford.

Keep all chemical toilet waste away from your fosse septique. We use the local municipal toilets for waste disposal and there is also a water tap available for cleaning the porta potti out at the same time. I can confirm that waste burried deep soon disperses but we dont have any wells near us.Our local caravan site has a motor van waste disposal site outside so there is no question of charging. 

[quote user="cardhouse"] hoping to persevere as I have permission from a declaration de travaux, however may consider a large window.   [/quote]The same rules apply to openings no matter how deep. this operation, if mishandled ,will seriously affect your wallet and your health.

Cutting holes in rubble walls is a highly risky business.Basically you have a pile of stones supporting the upper floor/roof, if you start to remove the stones you are unable to tell which ones are load bearing and which ones are not it is therefore essential to be fully confident in your abilities as a mason before attempting this kind of work. at the very least you must support the wall above your intended lintel position with a number of through members using double props/ accros at as closer centre as possible. allow a generous overlap for the lintel and dont be suprised if the wall below collapses as you try to cut out the opening.Its not the same game as cutting a hole in a bonded wall imagine putting a hole in a wall of sand.

Try also www.vial-menuiseries.com noticed prices @ €489TTC but again only to 3500mm. or try your local pages jaune. Retread

Andy Have E-mailed you   Roger and Mary.

Sorry , my wife is now sure I'm suffering from old timers. I put it down to the stress of the build, sale etc. If any one is interested I've just had an E-Mail from my Voisins saying the builders have turned up , set out the site, erected the sign and disappeared. At least I now have a true commencement date backed up by the <<declaration de ouverture de chantier>> lodged with the mairie. so perhaps in under 12 months time I should be under cover in France. any way it was a good excuse to open a bottle.   June 2006 Well I'm now the proud possessor of a huge hole in the ground and several 10's of tonne of rochers which they say will be used or carted away, a new driveway onto the site covered in calcaire and one less ulcer as they have actually started yipppeeeee!!!!!

Dear Boris After recent events around the Northern Dordogne an emigre developer would have a hard time gaining any sales <<off Plan>>. I have researched the relative costs of new builds vs renno's with the help of various builders in the UK (personal friends) who specialise in barn conversions here in the south west of England and the cost can be double for a renno to achieve the same standard of comfort in the house. Our local planning officers are appalled by the number of old barn structures that "fall down" at the start of a development to the extent that they are investigating every occurrance and in some cases revoking the permission where they suspect any skulduggery In addition with a new build you can build what you want where you want it, a renno is invariably a compromise. As for costs,for a Romantic local Style, you should budget for Circa €1600 per m2 for the bare shell add on Kitchens and central heating plus garages and Terrace and of course the land. And somewhat less for the homes the French build for themselves. On the plus side you will have no large bills for ten years and the insulation will allow for much lower fuel costs. 100mm of polystyrene will be a lot warmer than a metre of granite. I was talking to a selection of French people discussing the proposal (plan A) and came away with a feeling that they could not understand our preoccupation with internal space especially in the bedrooms and even two internal W.C's seemed to be excessive, yes a largish kitchen and living room with the obligatory wood burner is good especially in the winter but isnt life here about living al fresco. C'est different en France n'est ce pas?  So back to the drawing board (plan B).  France is for living not DIY.

Thanks Monika.   Which magazine ?

Hello fellow house builders Thanks for your interest. Some more news on my project, I recieved today by e-mail a document called <<Ordre de service>> which seems to confirm their intention to start on site on May 2nd and complete by 2 May 2007. provided that all the documentation is in place -which it is- so we shall see. On a further note. We cannot be the first brits to go down this path. I have been an avid reader of 'France' , 'Living France'  and also 'Total France' but have yet to see any articles on true new build projects from either publisher, I have seen articles on purchase off plan on developments -but I'm not moving to France to live on a Wimpey estate- and purchase of new property for investment/lease back. Perhaps there is a collusion between the publishers and the advertisers ie Immo's ? Or are the articles published prepared by businesses with a product to sell. The continuing series on French Taxes certainly bears all the hallmarks of a thinly veiled advertisment.  I would have thought that this type of advermag should be given away free     Heres over to you mister editor. have you ignored a market segment? Retread  

Only my second post so here is my Rant........................   Should I cut my wrists now? In the Autumn of 2005 I signed a contract with a well respected and researched builder in the Dordogne. We had a game plan including sale of our existing home finishing with a total removal to Thiviers in April 2007. We rec'd the permis in mid Feb and complied with all other requirements and sat back believing work would start within the contracted two months, silly people. In March 2006 we visited the site, still as we left it three months ago with the exception that SODEGO had provided a water meter as per devis. Had a meeting with the builder the same week agreed positions of light switches etc.Having finished the meeting with our master Builder and, careful of builders easily bruised feelings, enquired if they would be starting work. "Soon" they said. "Great" we replied. And went home. At home we checked our mail and Lo! there was a document entitled 'Assurance "Dommages ouvrage" ' which I know is important as they cannot go on site without it. Unfortunatly the start date was given as September 2006 not March so when is soon? Furious E mails and threats to withdraw from the contract eventually drew a promise of machines on site at the start of next month i,e May. Now I am usually fairly gullible but surely they cannot start work without a valid Dommage Ouvrage? As for the guy who claimed this was a new build knock, I would love to hear from any one with a different experience. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? .

I live close est to Bristol so flybe's flight to bergerac is ideal for me but i cant see that a "fare" of £7.50 for early booking is anything other than a 'sprat to catch a Mackerel' as we say down here. look at your total travel cost rather than the headline price.