Nearly Retired (I am now)
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Posts posted by Nearly Retired (I am now)
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PS I need to get rid of the hornets' nest in the chimney first ! Is it true they all die off in October / November ?
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TV transmissions in our part of 17 are now digital and our feeble roof aerial on the maison secondaire (which wasn't really much use with the analogue signal) is simply not good enough now.All my close neighbours have long aerials with 15 horizontal " X "elements on the shaft. I fancy buying one in UK so (a) I might save a few bob and (b) I can get fixing it quickly rather than scouring shops outside the hours of 12 to 14 and never on a Sunday.The ones I have seen here in UK seem to have around 12 horizontal " X " elements. Does this matter ? Or, do I need to use a French one for the frequencies used.
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Thanks for the PM Pouyade. I don't know how to reply by PM so my thanks are here.Yes, poly block and 1.5m deep throughout seems the way we probably want to go. But we need to think about so many other aspects too. I want to make sure we leave an option for solar heating even if it's not installed at first.Anybody know any contractors ? It's too big a DIY job for us!
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OK - One more try. Has anybody got any good / bad experiences regarding their pool choice? Any regrets ? Any recommendations ? Any brilliant ideas about choosing:ShapeSizeDepthFenceAlarmCoverHeatingHeating typeConstruction typeTimescaleChlorination / SaltEven swimming pondsPermissionsLocationAnything else
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Any other ideas, recommendations, dos and don'ts ?Any personal experiences of pool purchase, running, using and so on would be much appreciated.
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We have now dithered for few years about getting an in-ground pool (say 10 x 5 ish) and are beginning to realise they won't get cheaper, the pound won't get much stronger if at all and we're getting older and soon we won't even have the strength to swim in one anyway.We fancy the concrete filled polystyrene block wall type and wonder if all of you with all sorts of pools have any advice or regrets about your choice. It's a pretty much once in a lifetime decision and it would be good to cut down the chances of it all going wrong.The location is 17.
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We got our Alis doofer about a year ago. At the time it was the only one which was absolutely free with no monthly cost at all. It even gives a discount on the A28.May be relevant to changing companies.
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Is it possible to let us all see which contractor you have in mind - it's not naming and shaming is it ?If not possible then I really would appreciate a PM too.
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Anton R II,Booking through ferrycheap.com you can take a car Dover-Calais for any duration up to about November 2011, including peak season, for £66 return. The best P & O figure for August is, at present, around £87.I wouldn't bother with looking at the new Spirit of Britain. Once on board, if you hadn't told me, I'd have hardly known any different. It's a bit further to walk from one end to the other though!One new feature: The car deck(s) have fixed ramps at each end to speed-up (?) exit down to the next level but they are not quite at the ends of the boat so we had to do a bit of 3-point turning. That part reminded me of Speedferries.
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"Buy at least two and pay by UK credit card so you are over the £ 100 limit if they do go under."Unfortunately no-can-do. Each transaction is separate and is for less than £100.
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It has been said on this forum for a good while that Sea France is soon to be no more - but it's still there. I have gambled £66 on a return crossing in May, but haven't yet got the confidence to book for say July, August which is still available at the same price.
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Yes, if we are going to do it at all, it will be from the inside. Either we fix insulation to the ceiling surface where there's plenty of headroom or the more aesthetically pleasing solution (i.e. invisible - ish) above the ceiling.For access we would need to cut pretty large holes in the 20mm thick T&G, but with a bit of framing might make the final finish of the re-filled holes look original. A T&G ceiling with a couple of symmetrically placed 1m x 1m framed areas might look OK. I could do it on room by room basis and see how I get on.I will give that idea some thought
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Unfortunately that won't work. Maximum is 500mm ranging down to 70mm.Anyway, I'm not taking off the bloomin roof !
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Thanks ericd, but the void is around 500mm only so you can't climb in.In reality, get scaffolding, remove all roof tiles from 150+m2 of roof and carefully lay to one side, remove all boarding and carefully lay to one side. Ensure it does not rain for 3 weeks. Cut and lay insulation. Re-fix boards allowing for 10% wastage of original ones. Re-lay canal tiles. Strike scaffolding and remove from site.After a long lunch, stand back and admire morning's work !
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Does this answer your question?? Thanks, but no it doesn't"I would actually add solid rockwool insulation slabs and build them in form of a pyramid. First slice across the whole floor, then a second slice over the now restricted floor area etc..."Thanks again, fine in theory but how do I get in there to fit them. That is the question. The gap varies from around 500mm to 70mm.Unfortunately, I don't know any midgets I can rely on !
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Our ceiling / roof construction comprises the ceiling which is a layer of 20mm thick softwood T&G boards fixed to joists spanning across from the centre to both front and rear walls from a chunky ridge beam. Above the T&G, and spaced in between the joists are slabs of 50mm or so, thick expanded polystyrene. Above the polystyrene the void extends upwards from about 70mm at the outside walls to say 500mm at the ridge. Then we have the roof construction of 15mm thick cedar (?) boards on top of which are the canal tiles.Quite why the the ceiling does not follow the roof in parallel I don't know, but the void varies in thickness. It would be good to fill this void. What way might there be to fill it with insulation with the minimum of disruption and cost?I like the idea of pumping it with something like polystyrene balls or other "fluff", but I don't suppose an air gap could be properly maintained above the new layer and underside of roof - I think it all might slump down to the walls each side.Taking off the roof or removing the ceiling would obviously work but the cost would be huge and not worth it. Making a large hatch in the centre of the ceiling in each room on the first floor might give access but probably not enough. Then there would be the problem of disguising it later. Does the panel have any ideas please?
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Broadly yes - as far as I know. But the minimum depth varies depending on the use of the ground surface. The minimum depth is less under garden than a drive used by vehicles. I have seen the sketch giving the necessary numbers but can't offhand remember where.
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"If you had 1.5million Euros to buy a house in France and live mortgage free, what would you do. No option to spend less."Don't know ! May I very respectfully say - daft and incomplete question.
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We pay our maison secondaire EDF bill by post - the bill turns up, I write cheque and post it back.I hadn't noticed that we had not received two bills from EDF and at Christmas we got a very much delayed letter from them demanding money. A quick perusal of the letter showed that they had left out our UK post code on the letter, but somehow after a month it still managed to find us. I promptly paid up and wrote a letter to customer services (explaining things) which was very speedily acknowledged. Here's hoping our next bill has the post code.Why I wonder, after more than 5 years EDF should lose the post code?
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Mel, you're not wrong. January does seem to be a bit of an odd time to lift prices.It looks like the ferrycheap/SeaFrance offer, which is for sailings up to 15th April might well be for you. Just book by 30th Nov.http://www.ferrycheap.com/seafrance-offer.aspPS If they go bust before your intended sailing date you will have only lost £40 - I'd give it a go.
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Mel,I am confused. I just tried a couple of random dates on PO Dover - Calais and sailing at reasonable times. I am getting £50 plus a couple of quid surcharge for credit card. Where's the £100 ?
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Try this one which I mentioned very recently in the Good Deals Section. It has just worked fine for me at £40 return. Dover - Calais £40 Return This may be useful to someone. I have just booked SeaFrance through ferrycheap.com The best bit: from Only £40 Return, for a car and 5 passengers Valid Fridays, Saturday and Sundays too. Travel from Dover and Calais Frequent sailings * The boring bit: All bookings must be made online by 30th November 2010. Telephone bookings subject to a £10 booking fee. A £15 supplement per car each way will apply on all sailings during the period 17th December 2010 to 4th January 2011 Offer applies to Car and up to 5 Passengers. Motorhomes and towed vehicle available at a supplement, price on application.. Non refundable, but amendable at £15 each way.
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Wooly - I don't know what your floor is made of, nor how thick it is. But if it's concrete or sand cement screed please take care to leave it long enough to dry out. 10 days may be too little.
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Julie,Sorry for the delayed response - we've been away on a £40 Sea France spell in France! The dial-up internet at our maison2 is so slow so we only checked emails and did no surfing. The details of the deal by ferrycheap are:** ...." The Travel Market Ltd. has teamed up with to bring you an amazing offer for the coming winter and spring months- EXCLUSIVE to newsletter subscribers. For only £40 you can take a car and up to 5 passenger for a PERIOD RETURN*, (Yes that's any length of stay!), to France on the Dover - Calais route.You can even travel over the weekend, as this offer includes sailings on Fridays, Saturday and Sundays too - perfect for that winter break or skiing holiday.All sailings on all dates are currently available. Valid for travel until the 15th April 2011 - book before 30th November 2010 to qualify. - ...**You might be interested to know that outbound around 9am mid-week that our car was one of maybe 15 on the boat. Only one bar was open and that was served by only one man. That was no problem as he had served anybody wanting coffee within 15 minutes of leaving Dover. The restaurant and "Duty free" shop were closed. In summary - extremely quiet which suited us fine but probably depressing for the owners of Sea France.The return trip around 7pm last night on Rodin - a lovely ship - was equally quiet with the lorry drivers outnumbering the passengers. Again, the "Duty Free" was closed and only one coffee bar was open. I know November is hardly peak-time but you would have thought there would be more than say 50 passengers on an early evening Friday sailing.Maybe they're doomed, but we got excellent value.
We need a new television aerial
in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
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