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Boxmaker

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  1. Having an old farm where we have just installed 2 new fosses and replaced another I am beginning to be competent in the septic tank area. Everything in the supermarkets which will subsequently go down the drains has an indicator for fosses septiques and normally says something like' Sans danger pour les fosses septiques' including bleach.  The 'Controle periodique de fonctionnement de l'installation d'assainissment non collectif' is essentially the periodic inspection of private drainage systems which includes cesspits and septic tanks.  This inspection is a legal requirement which comes out of the  CODE GENERAL DES COLLECTIVITES TERRITORIALES (Partie Législative)   http://www.droit.org/code/index-CGCTERRL.html.  In the main the mairies should add the cost of it to some kind of tax d'habitation facture (in our case it is 15.83 euros per year) and you should then have an inspector available to advise you on any problems associated with your installation.  Ours is particularly helpful in that he has advised that we didn't need planning permision to install a second toutes eaux, he gave us a full plan for the builder and then checked that the builder had followed the rules properly all at no extra cost. So now we know that we are not killing the environment and we won't suffer from the wastes.  Be careful we have a lot of land so its not a problem and we can go out flat, if you have little land or are on Granite or clay then different rules apply and you may have to dig a deep pit and install a filter bed etc, so each geographical area is different.  I found out yesterday from afriend that if your waste water goes out into the roadside ditch beside the house then you should have a volcanic rock filter system which need changing every 3 years. There are 2 types of Fosses Septiques, the first is a straight single chamber container into which everything goes bar grease, which is collected by a 'Bac a graisse' (Grease trap) basically all the kitchen waters go through this, then into the container and all the toilet flush bypasses it and goes straight into the fosse septique.  These types need to have the grease trap (bac a graisse) cleaned out about once per year depending on usage (ie is it a full time house once per year or a holiday home once every 2-3 years) and the fosse should be checked to see if it needs emptying every 3 years if you use the bacterial products properly and in our case it was emptied every 6 years anyway.  The second type is a 'toutes eaux' which does not need a bac a graisses and has 2-3 chambers which ultimately produces water good enough for the garden  but which in definitely not potable and which if the bacterial products are used properly then should not need emptying for about 10 years. You can get products now which you use either weekly or even those which will last for up to 6 months, these latter are useful for holiday homes. Hope this helps
  2. Any hard wood will do so long as it is not resinous like pine which will gunge up your chimney and create a later firehazard if it is not swept properly.  However, some woods don't smell nice such as poplar, if you do end up with poplar etc then mix it in with old grape vines either twigs or roots and then the smell will improved greatly.
  3. If your fire place is an inglenook fire place in an old building like ours (ours was an old farm 300 years), it is likely that they had a ham curing bath in the corner, then they will have had a lot of salt over the years in that area with all of the associated splashing etc this is now coming out with the change of usage. Modern man also requires a hotter, dryer, better sealed house than his predecessors so sandstone falls apart. We managed to slow down the deterioration by painting a hydrofuge on it in a effort to reduce the moisture getting to the salt but the Mason says ultimately we will have to replace the stone. One other stone in a similar situation was so badly eroded that the mason wire brushed the loose flakes down to the bare stone and then coated the whole face with a cement/sand and hydrofuge mixture to bring it back to its original thickness and 'touch wood' so far it has not flaked nor has the new imitation stone come off nor does it look out of place since he managed to match the colour. Sorry this doesn't fix your problem but perhaps it will allow you to discuss a possible solution with your mason. Best of Luck    
  4. I guess EDF will tell you if your lines are insufficient to support 1ph   I have just helped out a friend who wanted to do the same thing, simply by acting as translator between him and EDF. The cost that they quoted for the change of  3 phase to single phase was 140-00 euros.  This is the EDF cost if they own the lines to the house. However, before you can do that you need to get them to survey the 3 phase lines because in many instance the lines are owned by the commune and if you wish to change then you will have to pay the commune.  Needless to say he chose not to have the 4000 euro addition for the change of wires that the commune wanted. Instead he chose to get a electrician to balance the system by ensuring that each phase shared the major loading items and that each phase had its own differential circuit breaker for safety. Hope that helps
  5. The costs of Artisans vary from department to department; down south ie Lot and Lot et Garonne they earn far less than for example in Brittany or in Paris. Because there is less housing density there is less work so for example they don't all own mechanical diggers and large compressors; and the French social charges and charges on companies are so draconian that many of them work as independant traders and therefore don't have the wherewithal to buy in large items that are rarely used. This doesn't detract from the quality of their work nor their abilities, equally the cost of living is less expensive in the Lot than for example Vannes. I've just spent 6 years renovating my farm and the large works I have had to pay for such as repointing the whole house into Pierre Apparente, I merely took the costs from the bill, if I have paid less than you would charge then perhaps I am the lucky one.  Certainly the prices are far cheaper than the UK.  
  6. I had a business myself in Paris now closed sadly, however, because I too could not afford an accountant I used to go into my tax man (address on your tax form or on the internet) and ask the appropriate questions, they were most helpful and showed where to avoid paying too much, I suggest that you try that as a first port of call. Failing that have you tried the French tax office site http://www.impots.gouv.fr/portal/dgi/home?pageId=home&sfid=00 
  7. The going rate for an artisan is between 120 and 200 euros per day depending on the type of work and the tooling that he may have to hire. So in the Lot where we are for example, a Mason will charge about 50 euros per square metre to redo an outside wall in 'Pierre Apparente' ours also said that the price would be the same were he to redo the wall in Crepi (a cement type render) because the work involved was essentially the same. Our electrician is about 20 euros per hour and he works hard, our plumber works off a book which has standard prices for standard jobs ie central heating installation and placing a radiator, these prices are controlled against excessive inflation by the state; the price differentials come with the cost of the items that you choose.  I would advise you to call into your local Mairie and introduce yourselves to the Maire, because if you are going to do structural work to the house you may need a 'permis de construire' and there are other types of work which will need an 'Autorisation de travaux' (eg a swimming pool) or a roof renovation.  Equally the Mairie will normally have a community magasine which will list the local artisans; a brief conversation with your French neighbours showing them which artisans you are looking at will get you either positive or adverse comments and normally if you trust your local friends and neighbours then their judgement should suffice. I would recommend that you specify clearly in your request that the artisan clear up after him and if the job involves removing old stone (ie when you create a hole for a window) then you state that you wish to retain the stone, old stone is valuable and can be sold or used for other renovation projects. In France once you have received and accepted a devis (quote) then unless you change it, the artisan is bound by it, so also ensure that you specify the time constraints that you require. Also if the job is not done don't pay for it until it is, you may have to pay an 'accompte' (deposit), but normally 25-30% is reasonable, do not pay fully in advance. Finally, when the artisan quotes for you, he should have a 'numero de Siret' on his devis; this is his business registration number, it is with that that you can track him down later should you need to. If he has no numero de siret then I would be extremely wary because he will be working on the black. We have just finished a 6 year renovation project and once you overcome the French bureaucracy and established a decent team of artisans then it works well (we have also sacked one builder and one plasterer so it can go both ways). Best of luck the rewards are worth it.
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