sheldonrobbo

never use pva as a tile primer .....it is a totally unsuitable product ....and can lead to long term problems

are you sure the tiles are ceramic not porcelain.....the latter are much harder and far more difficult to drill

Tile paint won't solve your problem i'm afraid...its purely decorative to make old tiles look pretty ...personally i think it looks naff....but it won't seal leaky showers...best option is to re-grout or better still re-tile....   sheldon  

as far as i am aware most of the other member states don't have the same terrorist threat level as the uk...mainly due to the fact that they don't get involved in other peoples wars ...but thats another story....its a fact of life i'm afraid and its only going to get worse not better .....also i think you'll find that cars stream of the tunnel because uk customs have done their checks at the french end ...hence the queues that end   sheldon

[quote user="Monika"]I agree with you, we are part of the EU and the passport controls are becoming ever stricter. I was asked out of the car (while they searched my friend's tiny Fiesta) and body searched at Poole in front of everybody and I look really innocent![/quote]   i bet most terrorists look innocent too.....better a slight delay than we let everybody come and go freely...therein lies disaster

[quote user="Will"] The information is here: http://www.dunfermlinepress.com/articles/1/25169 No more news since then, though I did hear that the European Commission was prepared to assist. It also seems to have been largely overlooked that the LD Lines service between Le Havre and Newhaven is stopping, permanently, in September. [/quote]   hi will where did you hear about the newhaven / le havre ferry stopping permanently

hi nectarine   i think you will find that your special offer deal is £40 each way...equating to £80 total. Single ticket prices are based on the fact that they give you the flexibility to alter your travel dates to suit youand therefore you pay a premium.Its normal throughout the travel industry for single tickets to cost more than special return deals. Ever bought a rail ticket recently???...the same applies. Its highly unlikely that you will be penalised for not doing the return journey , especially by transmanche as i don't think they really check things out that well, but you never know.   bon voyage   sheldon

hi rose   whatever you do , don't use unibond if you intend to tile at a later date.....unibond reacts with most tile adhesives and reduces the bond strength. I suggest you check what tile adhesive you are going to use and only seal the floor with a recommended product.....better safe than sorry   sheldon

hi trees   the A28 is a far easier route..we travel to our house 40k north of limoges in around 4.5 hours from le Havre...using A28/ A10/ the new A85 cross country to Vierzon then straight down A20....but going down to poitiers on A10 is an alternative ...although in our case takes us an extra hour....we always use le Havre as our preferred port as we cut out Rouen...never had much luck with traffic here although when they finish the new route through it should improve....   sheldon

granite is not as resilient as most people think in its natural form ...and most uk worktop suppliers provide a sealed form....presumably your french "undertaker" supplied the grade as used by monumental masons (unsealed)....it is as cassis said prone to staining by various liquids particularly oils ......i doubt very much at this stage that you will get the stains out...but would suggest you contact your undertaker and check whether he recommends a suitable sealer.....before you get any more stains   good luck   sheldon

hi   will be driving down through france on wednesday evening during the match ...and wondered if anyone knows the radio frequencies of any french radio stations broadcasting the match live ??...many thanks in anticipation     sheldon

[quote user="marc62"] Hi All   A question that I am fully qualified to respond too! does not happen very often. As the general manager for one of the largest kitchen manufactures & fully responsible for installations (installed 32,000 kitchens in 2007) I would not recomend the method which has been suggested. I reccomend that a masons mitre is used to make a good level joint, a jig is to be used (trend is the preffered choice but they can be hired) any decent kitchen fitter will have one. A router is to be used to cut the tops, a blade with a double cutting edged is better choice. The cut edges are to be sealed, silicone is to be used to seal the edges, do not use PVA glue, varnish or paint as the board will act like a sponge & it will create a ridge in time. Three bolts are also to be used to pull them together even. If you follow the guidelines you will achieve a perfect joint which you should not be able to feel. I fully agree with the suggestion tho practice on the offcuts first as you only get one chance to get it right. Remember the old saying "measure it twice - cut it once". One final word of advise would be to use 40mm worktops, with 30mm tops leave you very little room for error when cutting the keyholes & bolting up. Hope it helps   Marc [/quote]     As a kitchen fitter with 20+ years experience, i agree with all the above . The only additional thing i recomend is to use biscuit joints between the worktop bolts to align the worktop perfectly. If this this all sounds a bit complicated then i suggest you get a pro in to get the job done right. Worktops aren't cheap and in my experience people rarely save money doing it themselves.   good luck

They won't be a problem on the electricity supply....and as long as they carry the CE mark they are ok for anywhere in EU

Simplest and cheapest way to connect 15mm uk pipe to 14mm french pipe is by using a 15mm straight compression fitting and buy a 14mm olive from a french brico.....put the french olive in one end instead of the 15 mm olive and hey presto the perfect fitting......will be perfectly ok even with high pressure water systems ...always assuming you tighten it up enough of course   good luck   sheldon

Why risk potential problems with connections and pipe sizes. French bathroom fittings are available in a far wider range of styles than UK ones and are far cheaper, they also fit french plumbing. I'm sure if you look around you will find what you want at a far lower price than UK and the most important thing is it will fit. Don't think i'd want to risk any problems with a uk loo on a french pan connector. Best of luck   Sheldon

as we are now a european superstate....the main standard is the  CE mark as this will become the norm......NF is still held on to by some french traditionalists as id the franc ....god bless it

not too sure of the french brand names......as i'm currently in uk and the primer is in france...but you will find that they always keep the tile primer on the same racking as the adhesive....thats how i found it ....if in doubt ask in store   sheldon

[quote user="Ford Anglia"]Ron, if using the two-part self levelling stuff to finish off:  mix it thinner, rather than thicker than the instructions. Once it's hard, use a straight edge to remove any obvious tiny humps, there almost always are some.(Easier to find and remove them now than when your tile won't lay flat[;-)]) Apply PVA or similar to the surface to seal it BEFORE tiling. FA [/quote]   just a small point ....never use pva on a surface prior to tiling ....only ever use manufacturers recommended tile primers if the surface requires it.....all manufacturers guarantees on adhesives are voided if surfaces are sealed with pva as this will eventually lead to a breakdown of the bond......it seems to be a common misapprehension that pva is a universal stick everything type building adhesive, but not when it comes to tiling i'm afraid...hope this helps   sheldon

[quote user="derf"]EDIT: Do any of you know if you can add the 'smooth closing action' on drawers and cupboards to a range that doesn't have it?  I really like the Varde free-standing range but it doesn't have this and OH would like it... not the end of the world but just wondered if there was something you could buy and instal? The smooth closing action on the drawers is achieved by small shock absorbers clipped to the wall end of the drawer runners 1 pair per drawer, they don't come as standard they are an optional extra. I don't know if they will fit the range that you are interested in. You can also fit a similar shock absorber to the cupboard doors, again an optional extra but should fit any range of kitchen. [/quote]   hi derf   you can buy the closers almost anywhere nowadays...they are usually referred to as door buffers...check out screwfix website ....they refer to them as slow closers

hi choccie   depends what you are doing to finish it....if you are skimming over it then you need the brown side facing out.....if you are taping , filling and painting then white side out.   good luck

hi whatever you do don't wet your finger....a light spray of furniture polish will achieve a professional finish.....any water contact with uncured silicone causes a premature breakdown of the seal

does anyone know in what proportions the above should be mixed??

good question....i'll be interested to see the answers ....going to have the same problem myself soon....good luck

just as an afterthought ...presumably the paint needs to let the wall breathe too....any recommendations??

thanks dinks   fortunately we are after the rustic look .....but i want to be sure i get the right plaster to allow the walls to breathe