Chancer
-
Posts
11,818 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by Chancer
-
-
Have just bought and fitted a 9000 BTU split unit from Brico Depot on sale, I paid 129 euros or about £85 so was very pleased.
Fitting was simple and I would agree with all the comments above except that the instructions did mention fitting the drain tube at an angle (it says to drill the hole at an angle) and that the video has some essential info missing from the instructions and vice versa.
My unit is advertised as suitable for 25-28 M2 but is in fact cooling 40m2 as I have yet to fit the internal partition walls, it dropped the room temp from 35 degrees to 18 degrees during the hottest afternoon here so I think they are underspecified.
The gas can be replaced or recharged and the manual explains the procedures including gas weights and pressures, because if you use the 6 metre extension hose pack (the unit comes with 3.6m) then it needs to be topped up. I would not be surprised to find that the T.T.C. cost of a recharge around here would be more than the price I paid for the unit.
The current price at Brico-Depot for a 12000 BTU unit is 268 euros I think, the B&Q ones would cost more because of the pre-charged hoses using "dry break" fittings (if not someone would sue for freeze burns to their hands despite the manual saying wear gloves) the rest of the price difference is the usual UK mark up/rip off especially considering that Brico-depot and B&Q are both part of the Kingfisher group - try comparing prices of bathroom fittings!
Fitting was simple for a reasonably competent person (me) you will need to drill a 65mm hole through the external wall (the liner came with my kit). I had to drill through a reinforced steel lintel (which I cast in place last year) and this took 2 hours with a diamond core drill including cutting through the two 8mm steel reinforcing rods. A straightforward brick or parpaing wall would be significantly quicker.
-
Telerabais
Calls to landlines 1.4cts/min (1p)off peak, mobiles 15cts/min (11p)at any time.
Off peak hours are the same as France Telecom ie after 19.00 weekdays.
Peak hours to landines are 2.8cts/min (2p).
You simply dial an access code and are billed by France telecom as usual.
Info at telerabais.fr
-
I think the previous posting may have been misunderstood, i.e less than 6 months, meaning less than 6 months to run not 18 months remaining.
I had understood that a car had to be sold with a minimum of 6 months controle technique to be registered by the new owner, if not it has to be sold "for spare parts only".
There is nothing to stop the new owner doing the necessary repairs, getting a C.T and then registering it.
Of course my mediocre French may mean that I misundersood and have posted rubbish (I am sure that I am not the first) so I wait to be corrected or confirmed by someone more knowledgable.
-
I didn't make any assumptions and am currently building the first apartment with an open plan kitchen/lounge leading to the bathroom/toilet without a seperate lobby.
In fact when I first drew the plans (fag packet sketch) including the lobby, all my French friends (some more professional and educated than others) said "what is that silly little room, what a waste of space!"
No architect, no building control - ni vu, ni connu!
Still it would be nice to know if sometime in the future it will have to be knocked down and rebuilt!
-
Because the regs say so!
![Big Smile [:D]](/cs/images/emotions/biggrin.gif)
.It says something like if not mechanically protected (i.e gaine or moulure) then it must be 4 mm2.
I can only surmise that it is more resistant to impact damage.
-
I am just about to plasterboard my bathroom and have been carefully checking to make sure all is well as I will have to get a consuel inspection for the EDF connection..
As one of the first postings said, if you already have an electric supply you can do the work as you do not need consuel.
In my region (I don't know if it is the same throughout France) when you sell a house you now need an electrical inspection as well as asbestos and lead.
The report highlights and non conformitys to the current normes, in my case everything as the house still has the original 80 year old wiring.
With this in mind I reccomend that you read up and try todo everything by the (current!) book, for bathrooms the regs are similar to the UK with different requirements for zones a,b and c from the bath/shower tray. There is also a requirement for a seperate "liason equipotentiale" (earth bonding) which must be 2.5mm if in a gaine, or trunking, or 4mm if surface run.
You can PM me if you need any other information or to talk
-
Im my region barking dogs are just another part of rural life. When I walk to the village boulangerie (about 1/2 mile or less) every dog in the gardens that I pass let rip which in turn sets off the next.
My record stands at 24 in one direction, there is also one fierce looking dog whose garden whilst screened by conifers is elevated from the footpath, he loves to lie in wait and attack me through the fence at eye level!
In 15 months I have never, ever seen a dog being walked by its owner.
Vive La Difference!
-
I am currently wiring the first of many apartments that I am creating, I tried to get quotes from electricians but none turned up over a 5 month period, I was, like your husband, an engineer and had also taken the basic exam for the I.E.E. 16th edition.
I then offered to pay an electrician for his advice so I could do the work myself, this is working well for me.
Using his advice I ran all the cables and got him back to inspect them before plasterboarding (which I am doing now in fact).
The electrical installation has to be finished for the Consuel to inspect and hence most will be covered with plasterboard, as for what goes on behind it was explained to me as "ni vu, ni connu" or "neither seen nor known". I also checked out the electrical work of other houses that are being built and found that the electricians were cutting some appalling corners contrary to the Normes and relying on "ni vu, ni connu".
Before the final fix I am going to offer to work, for free, with the electrician on a similar job, before wiring the meter and the distribution boards for the flats.
I hope that you can find someone like I have, I believe that when tradesmen don't turn up it is because they are booked up and too busy, but the offer of argent noire and pastis for some advice without any commitment may change that.
I will of course ask him again to inspect my work before the consuel, he did explain that he pays a much lower rate for the inspection but that as he did not do the work (and naturally doesn't want to be judged by or responsible for it) I should make the application.
He is also going to help me create the dossier for consuel which I think will be the hardest part, or perhaps I am getting confused with the dossier for the EDF connection to the distribution board.
I hope this will give your husband the confidence to do the work himself.
-
Thank you very much for the prompt explanation BJSLIV.
-
Depends on what sort of trailer you mean, a goods trailer, boat trailer or car trailer?
In my region goods trailers are significantly cheaper for better quality, heavier duty.
Be aware that any trailer over a certain weight limit, typically car trailers or larger 4 wheeled braked goods ones, must carry their own carte grise. Trying to register a U.K. purchased one could well be as difficult as registering a caravan.
-
It really depends on when you spoke to the vendor whilst picking up the keys, if it was while viewing the house than any representations made could perhaps be construed to be lies, but how good is your French, are you sure that you completely understood the conversation?
If the conversation was on the moving in day then whatever the vendor said, then, or subsequently is of no consequence.
Is this the first house that you have ever bought perhaps?
-
Thanks for the replys.
From what you have said I deduce that "confort" mode corresponds to the thermostat setting on the heater.
I still need an explanation of what "Eco" mode is.
Please don't tell me that it is more economical (the adolescent in Brico-Depot thought that that answered my question) I need to understand what it actually does in this mode.
With regard to the "Confort -1" and "Confort -2" on the fil de pilote 6 ordre, I had deduced that was what it probably was but does a reduction of 1 or 2 degrees make a significant difference on a high tariff day?
-
The panneau rayonnants that I will be using have a fil pilote 2 ordres.
I can understand how to wire them (presumably using a programmer) and realise that no signal gives "confort" mode and a 240vac signal will give "eco" mode but what do these modes mean?
My house has the standard (I think) heures plein and heures creuse tariff, I don't think I have tempo but thats another term that I don't understand!
Also what type of programmer should I use, are they simply time based?
The final question is about the more expensive heaters with fil pilote 6 ordres are they for use with tempo (what is it?) and what are the extra functions Conf1 and conf2?
I look forward to some insight, I tried in Brico-depot where I bought them and the "expert" said he "thought" that Eco would use less electricity than Confort - well worth 10 minutes of my stumbling discussion in French!
-
Where exactly did the previous owner lie to you if you never spoke to him until you picked up the keys?
It sounds like you have bought an old house and may, like many others, be spending money on it for some time.
As an example. Say you were advised by your mechanic to sell your aged car because it was getting unreliable and that you would most likely have to pay say 350 Euros for a new clutch (amongst other things) within the next year.
You then sold it at a reasonable price for its age and condition and bought a newer model.
How sympathetic would you be if the new owner complained that he had been charged 2500 Euros by an unscrupulous garage to replace the clutch, and now he has found that when it rains the boot carpet is damp?
Wanadoo/Orange spam
in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
Posted
I still use the Hotmail account that I used when travelling the world and as a consequence have never used the wanadoo/orange messagerie and have never given out the e-mail address, mainly because they mis-spelt my name terribly.
Having read this post I decided to check the inbox in case there was spam or anything important from Wanadoo.
No spam but about 50 messages from wanadoo.
I do however have a couple of questions.
1. Can you change the default wanadoo password to something more intelligible? if so how?
2. On hotmail how do I get the system to send stuff to the junk folder as mentioned before? The only way I can see is to write down the senders address from the inbox and then retype it in the junk-mail folder, even then this did not stop stuff from the same source getting through. Surely I am missing something and I can actually with a click of the mouse send unwanted mail to the junk folder and make sure that is where subsequent ones go?