The Griffins

Thanks, Punch - the house looks fantastic! I don't think we are going to have the time to do the whole job in one visit so the premix suggestion is extremely helpful. We have to remove some patches of grey sand + cement repointing before starting, so this will take a lot of time. I will however seek the advice of the locals before pressing on.

Thanks for this helpful advice - I most certainly will get advice from the locals before starting on the job. A 3:1 mix of sand and chaux 'feels' right - it is going to have the right colour and yet remain flexible so as to allow the building to move without cracking the finished article.

The next job in our 250 year old barn in the Perigord Vert is to tidy up the internal walls of the living area.  Like most properties in the area, the building is constructed of numerous stones held together by a crumbly white mortar - I guess it's a lime and sand mix as it's soft. What I would like to do is render the walls and brush back to reveal the face of the stone in the style I believe is known as 'pierre apparente'. I have read various articles and trawled through the Forum, but I'm still puzzled - what is the best 'mix' to get the job done?  Sand and lime is obvious, but 3:1 or 4:1 or even 6:1.  Is it a good idea to add a portion of ciment blanc to the mix?  What about a dash of PVA? The walls are a couple of feet thick and in relatively good condition, but it is a pain cleaning up the dirt and dust all the time. I've got three willing blokes (including a plasterer!) ready to go when we have a lads week away in a few weeks' time, so I want to order a delivery from Reseau Pro or Point B. Any bright ideas from you folks out there who have dealt with this task will be gratefully received! 

Thanks for this - it seems most makes of chauffe eau are 3kw, so a doubling of the power will do the trick. A 300ltr model will be more than adequate for our needs, so I will speak nicely to EDF!

Many thanks for your help - we will investigate further

We have a barn conversion in the Perigord Vert and hot water to the kitchen and also to a shower and washbasin is provided by a Chaffoteaux et Maury gas heater that runs on bottled gas and does not have or need a flue.  It is very efficient, but not really man enough for the job.  It certainly won't stretch to heating the water in a planned second shower room! If the holiday home was in England, we would fit an instant electric shower of say 8kw, but our supply at the barn is "option base, puissance 3kw".  I believe this can be upgraded, but by how much?  The supply in the little hamlet is by overhead cable and we presently run the usual white goods and 2 or 3 1kw heaters in the bedrooms - not on full power, of course! We do not want a "wet" system with oil or gas central heating.  We go the barn when we can, but it stands empty most of the time and we drain down in the winter for safety reasons. Does anybody have any bright ideas or suggestions?  Ideally, we would like to introduce two new showers and preferably instant hot water, leaving the gas heater for the washing up only. Many thanks The Griffins

We bought our holiday home between Riberac and Verteillac in the Dordogne a couple of years ago and following some renovation works, we are going to spend our first Christmas there.  We have booked the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Caen to arrive in France in the early morning of Sunday 23rd December and will drive down to arrive mid afternoon. We are a bit concerned that we will arrive in France to find all the shops shut until AFTER Christmas! We know the Leclerc in Riberac is usually closed on Sundays, but is anyone aware of the Xmas shop opening times in the run up to the "big day"? We don't really want to transport food, etc from the UK and we also want to buy a portable gas heater to supplement the heating in our house as it is an old barn with a large living area.  Are the shops and supermarkets open on Christmas Eve? Thanks The Griffins