Matelot
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Posts posted by Matelot
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Hi,
A good tip is to keep the original burner jets for 'Gaz de Ville' in a small plastic bag and stick or screw the bag to the back of cupboard containing the gas bottle. Then, if you do decide to convert to town gas in the future, you will not be looking everywhere thinking: "Now where did I put those bl**dy things!" They are quite small and easy to lose!
Have just installed a new kitchen chez moi. We have a new electric oven and gas hob, with gas supplied by bottle. My neighbour suggested we go for a mixed hob - three gas burners and one electric ring. When I queried the wisdom of this, he explained (with the patient look of someone used to explaining logic to the idiot English): "Imagine it is Sunday. You have the meat in the oven for lunch and you are just about to cook some flagolets on the hob. Suddenly, the gas runs out and the shops are shut! Quel catastrophe! However, culinary disaster can still be avoided because you have an electric ring to cook on!"
I didn't like to mention the microwave, but thought he had a point, so a mixed hob is what we have gone for. Looks nice too!
One thing I did not know about is the flexible steel hose for use with an fitted electric oven. I have fitted a new rubber one, albeit strengthened. I shall have to change this when I next go over.
Salut!
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Thanks to everyone who replied. Some useful information here.
Salut!
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While on a visit to chez moi some years ago for a 'bricolage trip' (hic!) with a couple of mates, one of them developed a very large boil up on the inside of his groin, right next to his, ahem - bijoux de famille!
The boil became so painful and worried my friend so much I had to take him to the local doctor, a grizzled old character (now retired) who believed in the medicinal powers of a fine Brandy more than antibiotics!
While my friend was examined on the couch naked from the waist down, I had to translate for the Doctor who was gingerly prodding around the area of the boil. The Doctor was saying“Yes it is a very nasty boil, but I can prescribe a very effective ointment which will soon draw the poison and reduce the swelling.” To my shame, I translated this in English to my sweating, nervous friend as “The Doctor says it is très grave! You must come back tomorrow and have this lanced or it will spread to your b@!!s and there will be no hope but amputation!”
At the look of shock-horror on my friends face, I could not hold out any longer and burst out laughing. So did the Doctor, who spoke good English and could understand every word!
I told my friend the truth, and relieved but muttering: “I’ll get you for this you g*t!”, he got dressed.
The Doctor was still chuckling when he wrote out the prescription. When I asked him the cost of the consultation, he said: “Rien! You have given me good entertainment today!”
When I bump into him these days, the Doctor always asks “Has your nervous friend forgiven you?”!!!
Vive la -
Hi,
Has anyone on this forum had a conservatory (veranda) added to their French home? If so, was the process about the same as in the
Are conservatories more expensive in
Any advice please. Thanks a lot! -
Bonjour!
Apologies if this topic has been done to death before…
I am hoping to hear from any forum members who took the plunge, sold up in the
When redundancy was looming on the horizon, one ‘survival’ option my wife and I discussed was the possibility selling up, paying off our debts and re-locating to
I am trying to do as much research as possible and to put together not so much a business plan, but a ‘lifestyle plan‘ and to do it without the rose-tinted specs. That is why I need to hear from the experts – the people who have made the move! We are looking at relocating in possibly 18mths - 2 years.
The bottom line is that we are getting more and more disillusioned with life here in the
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Hi!,
Next Easter when I am in France I'm thinking of purchasing a second hand estate car to leave at my French home. I would like to get a reliable diesel vehicle to use for transportation of dogs, vin 'en vrac', [:P] etc.
Does any member have some good suggestions of what make and model to look for?
Any advice would be very welcome!
Cheers!
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Hi there!
Can anyone give me some advice regarding some French plumbing and purchasing some plumbing fittings from
I have just ordered a new kitchen from Ikea in the
When we put the order in, the assistant said that we would have to purchase the waste trap assembly (ATLANT) that normally matches the sink and the mixer tap (EDSVIK), from Ikea in
I have gone online and seen that the nearest Ikea to us in
I am taking the flat packed kitchen and a load of furniture over to our house in early March. However, I am not fitting the kitchen until Easter, (with the help of a French plumber friend) so I could order from Ikea in
In addition, would I have to use Ikea fittings with an Ikea sink? Has anybody used French fittings from Bricomarché, Brico Depot, etc.
Also, how different is the water pressure in
I would really appreciate any help on this.
Thanks in advance.
Matelot
(This was also posted in the 'Post Bag' section)
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Hi there!
Can anyone give me some advice regarding some French plumbing and purchasing some plumbing fittings from
I have just ordered a new kitchen from Ikea in the
When we put the order in, the assistant said that we would have to purchase the waste trap assembly (ATLANT) that normally matches the sink and the mixer tap (EDSVIK), from Ikea in
I have gone online and seen that the nearest Ikea to us in
I am taking the flat packed kitchen and a load of furniture over to our house in early March. However, I am not fitting the kitchen until Easter, (with the help of a French plumber friend) so I could order from Ikea in
In addition, would I have to use Ikea fittings with an Ikea sink? Has anybody used French fittings from Bricomarché, Brico Depot, etc.
Also, how different is the water pressure in
I would really appreciate any help on this.
Thanks in advance.
Matelot
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Thanks Val & Fulcrum for that handy info!
Where there's Muck.........!
Matelot
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Hello there.
After many years of living with a septic tank, I have been telephoned here in the UK by my neighbour (and unofficial guardian of our little cottage), André, who tells me that mains drainage has finally reached our end of the hamlet. Hallelluia!
![Smile [:)]](/cs/images/emotions/smile.gif)
However, what I need to know is how do I go about getting connected. Will the water company or town hall contact me with a date? Or will I have to chase them up? Also, although our house is only about 5Mtrs from the road, will I have to pay a huge bill to be connected? After 17 years of living with a septic tank, this is all new territory! If any forum member has experienced this changeover and can give me any information, I would be very grateful.
Matelot
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Hello there.
After many years of living with a septic tank, I have been telephoned by my neighbour (and unofficial guardian of our little cottage), André, who tells me that mains drainage has finally reached our end of the hamlet. Hallelluia! [:)]
However, what I need to know is how do I go about getting connected. Will the water company or town hall contact me? Or do I have to chase them up? And who?
Also, although our house is only about 5Mtrs from the road, will I have to pay a huge bill to be connected?
If any member has been through this and can give me any information, I would be very grateful.
Matelot
The Great French Paint Rip-Off Scam
in House Renovations
Posted
Hi there!
No, it's not really a scam. But I do feel that a lot of French paint products are very much overpriced for what they are and I came a cropper recently.
I have just returned from France having installed a brand new kitchen with the help of a French builder friend. We completely refurbished the kitchen walls with insulated plasterboard as the old plaster was falling off. This gave us a lovely new smooth, straight surface to install the cupboards. Anyway, my friend said that before fitting the cupboards and certainly before tiling, the bare plasterboard needed painting with a special paint that would: a) seal it, b) prime it, and c) make it easier to tile and paint (and remove the tiles in the future if necessary). I thought ordinary emulsion would do, but no - it had to be a special paint.
So off to the nearby builders merchants we go. It is convenient to shop there for a lot of my bulky DiY materials and fittings and I have an account with them. We find the said paint in a 10ltr tub.
Are you sitting down?
It cost Eur 80,00 EIGHTY EUROS!!!!!! The tiles only cost Eur 50,00! But, according to The Man At The Builders Merchants, it was the stuff we needed to seal and prepare the bare plasterboard. Ouch! I am sure that I could have purchased a similar product at a much cheaper price here in the U.K.
Thank God I had brought over some Dulux emulsion for the general painting. So be warned! Buy your paint / paint products here in the UK and save yourself having to sell a kidney!
BTW - A question to any builders in-the-know: could I have used a white acrylic paint to seal the plasterboard? If so, I could have got it for appr. £12.00 for 10ltrs from Screwfix!!!!! You live and learn!
Salut!