Dinks

We have just bought a new woodburner from Mr Bricolage which stipulates that it takes 125mm dia fittings. We have bought a 125mm black enamel coude from Brico Depot to fit onto the exit pipe and then some rigid black enamel black pipe to go up from there. However, the elbow fitting is too small to fit onto the exit pipe... we are fitting it the correct way round according to the 'fumée' arrow on the packaging - it is too loose if we try it the other way around. Anyboy else had the same problem? Any solutions?!

I have PMd you, Vida

Thanks for that. Yes, we have gathered it is a rather more onerous affair to bring a campervan into France! Any idea of insurers who offer insurance for vans?! I have emailed both camp-assur.com and assurance-camping-car.com but suspect they would only take us on once the re-registration as a camping-car has been completed.

So, our new project,  but I can foresee problems ahead! Has anybody else bought a van (we are looking for a VW or Mercedes sprinter type vehicle) in the UK, converted it to a campervan and then brought it over to France? We will be registering it in France as soon as we get it over here, but it is the insurance issue that is my main worry. Does anybody know of a French insurer who would be prepared to insure a UK regd vehicle (which will be a utility vehicle on the logbook at the time of purchase) which is then converted to a 'camping-car' and exported to France? Any info from anybody who has done similar would be appreciated.

Well, thanks to all. Fortunately we do not have any cats - only a border collie pooch who is a sweety. Anyway, we have today successfully laid 42m2 of jonc de mer in the grenier. It has gone down a treat and has really transformed the room. It appears you have to be religiously methodical in how you lay the stuff. We used the double sided sticky tape for carpets and it has given a really good hold, even on the long join. Chuffed to bits with how it has turned out!

[quote user="Dog"]I think seagrass looks beautiful - though latex backing sort of ruins the natural aspect. From what I have seen it doesn't last long and is apparently difficult to join - my carpet fitter in UK refused to fit it.   [/quote] Strange you say that it doesn't last long as it appears to be recommended for areas of the house that have high traffic! That said, the grenier will only be used as a visitor's bedroom so that isn't really an issue. Mr Brico currently have it on promotion off the roll for €5.90 /sqm which is a bargain price. 

Renovations in the grenier are nearing completion and we just have the floor to deal with. I am veering towards laying jonc de mer 'carpetting' as I want a 'natural' look for the room and don't want traditional carpet. Has anybody here worked with it before? How easy is it to join and lay? The jonc de mer at Mr Bricolage is latex-backed so I am assuming it just needs to be glued down?  Taa for any trucs et astuces!

[quote user="odile"] by the way, are rabbit bones dangerous for dogs? and what happens if it gets a mixo? [/quote] Cooked bones are a death sentence to dogs, as they are dry and brittle. Dogs do, on the other hand, thrive off raw bones, which are still maleable and soft. Our border collie thrives off lamb bones, chicken bones and good beef marrow bones ... mmmm, yum!

Hah, hah! Even people supposedly fluent in French won't have to hand the French for 'my husband has severed an artery' or 'my husband has had a fit' ....note to self, must make a comprehensive list of vocab for possible medical emergencies ;-) And and as for 'Feu ,,, <quote address>, I think that will mobilise the forces?! Anybody with any nouse (OK, hands up all those who don't comply!) will at the very least have made a prior note to dial 18 for the pompiers/paramedics in the case of a medical emergency/fire and know to give their address. If they don't, they don't deserve to live in France

To the OP, you could do worse than look through these pages http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/working-in-france/starting-a-business/intro/ - tons of useful advice about business set-up in France

[quote user="Ron Avery"]What TJ is hinting at,  I believe, is if you continue your businesses in France, whilst living in France they become French businesses.  Any base in France of a UK business has to be registered in France. [/quote] ... not so, apparently, if the 'centre of economic interest' remains in the UK, according to a French accountant (also UK qualified ) that I spoke to recently

For me, living in France is more important than my OH's total inability to communicate with our co-patriots. As a fluent French speaker, it is natural for me to handle the day-to-day 'living in France' issues. Admittedly, it can be a burden at times, but one that I am happy to deal with. Move back to the UK....? No way, ever, José! If we are honest, the ability to speak French if you are living in France is not a major problem these days as there are just so many English living in France these days (more's the pity). If the OP moves to France without the ability to communicate, I can bet that there will be an English-speaker in his immediate vicinity on whom he will be able to call in times of need. Even here, in one of the supposedly more 'remote' areas of the Ariege, there are countless English. Dutch, Belgians, Australians within a 10km radius of our cottage. And then of course there are always internet forums on which people can call in times of need ....?!

Hmm, Poolguy, you obviously know your pitch pine, but according to my research, it is not a native species of this region, being grown primarily in North America/Canada. These boards are over 200 yrs old and I can't imagine them using anything other than local wood in the house construction of this remote area, as access from the other side of the Col would probably have consisted solely of mule tracks at that time! My research will continue [;-)] I will however post pics when the project is completed.

I'm interested as to why you think they are pitch pine? They certainly don't behave like softwood boards - we are under the impression that they are either oak and chestnut (very common in the old mountain houses down here in the Ariege).

Thanks 'Jetlag' - that is just the kind of reply I was hoping to get! I will look for the Paille de Fer next time we are anywhere near some shops. What oil are you going to use to protect the wood? Have you had to treat any damaged boards, where, for instance, edges have been worn away/woodworm damage in the past etc? Here are some images of what we are dealing with here. [IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards3.jpg[/IMG]

So, I have Googled until I am blue in the face and no combination of search words has brought up a result which will assist in our endeavours to restore/renovate/protect the beautiful old original hardwood (chestnut I think) floorboards (1" or so in thickness and of varying widths) in our 200-300 yr old mountain farmhouse (pics available). Some of the boards on the first floor appear to be particularly friable and need lots of TLC (wood hardener?). The worst thing is that the previous (British) owners of the house made a bit of a patchwork of the bedroom area, painting a square here white, staining a section there with merisier lasure and leaving other whole swathes of boards untreated! So, if you have restored similar original flooring over here, can you give me your best advice please for a sympathetic restoration?! Covering the whole lot with parquet is not an option ;-)

Try Sylvie at auditpyrenees.com - she is both a UK and French qualified accountant. Her email is [email protected] - tell her Penny recommended her!

Just to warn gite and b&b owners that the above are active again. See http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2498&highlight= for further details (that post runs to 20 pages!). So if you get a 'phone call from Force Travel, I guess the advice would be to politely put the 'phone down!

Thanks for that Will. My interpretation is that direct and indirect costs as well as fixed costs such as salary would be 'actual eligible costs'? I wish I could find an 'Expert Comptable' in the Ariege who is experienced in both UK and French business matters with whom I can run through the various options! It really is a minefield, although I think I have pretty much decided that a EURL arrangement would be the best option for my business. I certainly wouldn't fit into the micro-entreprise or autoentrepreneur bracket, unfortunately.

I am attempting to fathom out certain aspects of setting up a business in France and have found some very useful info on http://www.french-property.com. In their 'starting a business' guide they state that "Under the regime réel your social security contributions are calculated from your turnover less actual eligible costs". However, for the life of me I cannot find out exactly what are counted as 'actual eligible costs'. Can anybody point me towards a web page that can clarify this for me please, as my research is drawing a blank. Many thanks

Yes. You can sign up for monthly payments with at La Trésorerie or online at http://www.impots.gouv.fr. The direct debit is taken on the 15th of the month over 10 months. If you want your first payment to be taken out in Jan 2009, you need to sign up by the 15 December. I guess we are really lucky that our tax d'habitation is only €79 with nil redevance audiovisuel as we don't have a TV!

Have I correctly understood that under this new 'regime', if you set up a 'service' business, the Govt will take 23% of your turnover in social charges and taxes?! I cannot for the life of me understand why charges are not based on margin as opposed to turnover as any business has to cover direct costs, overheads, pay etc..... am I missing something?

He's had a vasectomy and not a full castration! I gather this means that although he will no longer be able to impregate, it won't stop any 'wanderlust'! Think we are going to have to get our 2 yr old border collie properly castrated as he has just recently turned into a wandering bag of hormones which we need to do something about - fortunately we live out in the sticks, but I know there is a bitch (female dog!) up the hill who has not yet been speyed, so he may well be <ahem> 'visiting' ;-)

Ah! Right - I will have words and make sure we get it corrected! Many thanks indeed to both of you :-)

We bought our house half way through 2007. We do not have a TV or any means of receiving a TV in the house. We will be signing a declaration with the Hotel des Impots to this effect. However, we have just received a demand from the former owners for the payment of our share of the 2007 taxe d'habitation (fair enough) and also redevance audiovisuelle. Presumably we are under no obligation to pay the redevance and it is up to them to seek a refund from the Hotel des Impots? If anybody has any experience of this situation, I would appreciate your thoughts.