westland

Many thanks Cooperlola. Kate.

Maybe this seems naive to those of you who are knowledgeable about politics, but I have been reading with great interest the thread about the forthcoming election and would like to know who has the right to vote.  We have completed a form brought round to us by the Mayor which I assume is for a vote in 2008 for the general elections?  Any more info. as to the voting rights of expates would be gratefully received.  Thanks Kate.  

Thanks for your reply.  I have since taken this up with the Project Manager.  He checked the devis and unfortunately we have missed out on having this done.    It is now too late as the bathroom is finished and the floor tiled so to put a layer of chape in the rest of the extension would bring it to another level.  We are hoping that it will not be of any detriment to the building and that they will deduct an amount from the final bill.

[quote user="Cassis"] the declaration of completion of works. [/quote] Thanks for the reply, I have managed to download the relevant form.  As other postings have said this is just one sheet to be signed and dated as to when the work has been completed.  I note that it includes the outside works such as enduits, painting, fencing etc. so it won't be going in as early as the H1 which answers one of my queries. There seems to be a three month period after this when we may or may not hear of a decision.  If we don't we can apply for a certificate of conformity.

Thanks for the info. have done the H1 so will now wait for the tax bill.  Will need to check with the Project Manager what happened to any forms they got at the beginning as they completed and sent off all the permis application forms etc. on our behalf.  Was just a bit concerned that there might be  penalties for not getting this off at the same time as we nearly had our permis annulled when we were part way through the work as one of the regulations had been missed by the Maire.  I wouldn't want to give them any reason to object again. Is there usually a visit to check if everything has been done according to the permis?

I wonder if anyone could tell me  what is required in the way of forms etc. at the end of building work and if we should expect to receive any confirmation that the authorities are happy with what has been done.   We have received a letter from the tax department along with the H1 form for us to complete.  The letter states that "the building work is now finished" and I assumed that the builders had sent forms off to the Mairie to state that the work was complete and that this had triggered the letter from the tax dept.  However, the project manager has said that they have not done this and that the fin de chantier forms have to be completed by us. Thanks Kate.  

We are finally at the stage where we will be paying the final instalment for our small extension.  After ten months of total stressing at every stage of the project I am checking the devis to see what we've had extra or not had.  As well as "dallage beton" there seems to be mention of "chape lisse", which I take to mean a coat of cement to smooth out the floor.  The floor consists of the ready mixed cement which  was laid down on top of various layers of plastic sheeting and wire frames.  My OH has always thought that something else might be laid down on top at some point, but this didn't happen so we assumed that was it. Is there anyone who has had an extension or a new house built, or who does this work themselves, who could tell me how the floor is usually finished.  Many thanks, Kate.

Perhaps as you seem to have everything sorted as to where your fosse has to be sited within the regulations they don't need to actually come out and advise.  Our land was too close to a natural spring and the builders wanted advice as to where the trenches were to be situated and the permeability of the soil.  Other postings have indicated that the fee also includes the issue of a certificate of conformity after the installation; we are hoping that the builders will pass this onto us when the have finished the work.   I'm afraid that my comments are limited as to what happened in our situation.  There may be others on the forum who have experience of completing the form and what the fee covers. 

We received a copy of the fosse form back from the mairie granting approval (though it went in via the builders at the same time as the P de C form) with the proviso that the trenches were inspected before being filled in.  This came back shortly after the P de C.  We were billed for the pre-visit from the assainissment dept. at a  much later date, this came from one of the central bill collecting offices.  Had you already worked out what you needed for your fosse?  Didn't you need the dept to come out and advise what they would see as being the most suitable option? I understood that this was what the fee was for.

Would that have to be totally on it's own as there is also a socket that has been left for use with a heater in the bedroom next door which I think is linked to the one in the bathroom.   I have been looking at the blower type heaters and they are maybe the best for the bathroom.  I have looked at some of the covers that I think have been mentioned, they just screw to the wall with a recess for the wire to come out of (without any acutal wiring inside the plate itself) so I assume that these are the ones.   I'm probably not knowledgeable enough  about the disjoncteurs differential/inter to be able to check what's been done, but thanks for all your replies. Kate.

Many thanks for your advice.  The devis hasn't really been specific and as we are only costed up for 200 euros plus tax for the line and heater I am assuming it is for a basic convector as mentioned by Punch.  The ones that I have been looking at do say they are class 2 so you have explained why the earth shouldn't be used, presumably if there is an earth wire at the socket this is just left to one side. Just as an extra question there seem to be a few sockets with two sets of each colour of wire, is this normal? Kate.

We are now able to start using the bathroom in our small extension and I am hoping that someone can pass on a bit of electrical advice.  We have been costed up on the devis for an electric convector in the bathroom only, however the electrician didn't seem to be aware of this and although he had positioned wiring approx 25cms from the floor on one wall we found that he has just put a socket front onto the wires.  I asked if it was suitable for a heater and he said yes and it has its own fuse switch at the box.   Ok to get to the point, don't know whether to refer him to the devis and ask him to fit one for us, although this is likely to be a very basic heater, or to shop around to find the most suitable one ourselves.  What's a bit worrying is that looking at products on the internet it seems that we can't just stick a plug on as they have to be wired through a "box".  Also not sure why they all seem to say that the earth wire should not be used.  So any advice would be welcome. Thanks Kate.

Thanks for the replies.  It would seem that we must have a very basic version.  However it is useful to read that you both have circuit breakers which is something that I must ask the electrician about (if I can get my head round exactly what is needed) when he comes to run all the new wiring into the main box, could be that he has it in hand.  Looks like just plugging it into a standard socket isn't really safe enough.  Thanks for the website address Clair.

I was interested to read Clair's posting as it is the first time that I have seen anything on the forum related to having a fosse pump installed.  I wonder if you could tell me Clair what the switches are that you have on your panel.  We too have had to have a pump fitted to take the waste waters up to the fosse, however we just have a plastic tank where the pump is sited and the wiring and plug have been brought underground and come up into the bathroom to be plugged in behind the WC. As the extension isn't finished we haven't tried it yet but we are already a bit concerned as last week saw us without electricity for three days.  Another thought now is that we also have no way of knowing if the thing is not working.  Anyone else with a similar fosse pump out there? All I can think is that we just don't let any water drain away in the event of a power cut which is OK for a few hours, but a few days?

Thanks again londoneye.  No, don't go spending time searching, it's bad enough when you really have to find something from the "filing system".  I will ask the builders for the certificate when it comes to making the final payment, though won't worry too much if I don't get it as I have learnt from experience that it's sometimes better not to bring things to everyone's notice, "crossing the i's and dotting the t's" can sometimes upset the applecart. As we're not planning on moving, famous last words, don't really want to chance anything being seen as not quite right before we get the benefits of using the new fosse.

Thankyou Londoneye, useful to know that taking photos can be acceptable.  I wonder how one set of trenches is distinguishable from another, could be anywhere really couldn't it?  Should we be expecting anything in writing at the end of all this to say that all is OK, or is it better just to get on with using the facilities without stirring up too much fuss.

As part of our permis granted to build an extension and new fosse there was a clause which stated that the tranchees had to be inspected before they were closed up.  Our builders installed the fosse, trenches etc. in a day and then topped them up with soil without anyone coming out to check.  When I asked about the necessary inspection they showed me a camera and said that they had taken photos instead.  Has anyone come across this before? Thanks, Kate.

Good, well at least now that I know "what's what" we have a few ideas to try, when everything is finished of course.  Thanks Kate.

Yours certainly looks well done Cassis, ours joints don't seem to have be done as wide and don't need a halogen to see some of the bumps.  Not looking good! What is the fibre glass thingy that Teamed Up has mentioned?  A type of wallpaper that can then be painted like anaglypta or such like.  I've seen paint that mentions for use on fibre glass and wasn't sure what it meant.

 As I haven't actually watched them at work I'm not sure how many times they have taped/skimmed the joint, but as mentioned by your postings, apart from one or two they seem quite smooth at the joint itself.  As they haven't finished yet I'll watch to see if they rub down as did Cassis' builders. Thanks for the warnings re: overdoing the sanding down as it's always tempting to "get stuck in" before realising that you've done more harm than good!  Wouldn't have had a clue really what is the best thing to do as not had to deal with plasterboards in another life. Many thanks.

Thanks tj, I have been looking at lots of other postings and most of you seem to go in for sanding down before painting so we might have to try a small part of the wall first to see if the joints need this.  Has anyone tried any of the textured paint finishes? Thought that these might help to mask any imperfections.

Sorry double posted!

As there seem to be quite a few members posting about plaster and plaster boards I wonder if anyone knows what the french artisans see as the normal way of finishing off new walls that have been put up with a frame and plaster boards.   At last they are up to this stage with our extension and I was surprised when I asked if they would now go on to plaster over the boards and they said that we should just paint them or put up wallpaper.  OK, so they have put tape and plaster over the joins but surely paint alone won't cover these?  Thanks Kate.

Thanks for the replies, thought that it looked to good to be true!

Does anyone know if the 5.5% TVA rules have been changed and now include any new extension works that are under 50% of the original building, or has this always been the case? I have read and re-read an article in the local press which seems to say that TVA is payable at the higher rate only if the foundations, roof, walls amount to more than 50% of the original building.  Thanks, Kate.