Issigeacois

Thanks to all for your replies. It seems that in answer to my first question, folks feel that exposing the wall can be done DIY. But there's a mix of opinion out there on two key issues about whether it should be done at all. 1. Whether to seal the stone to prevent it from crumbling to dust all over our kitchen counters. 2. Whether removing the plaster encourages dampness. So what's the general wisdom say? Any suggestions of reference material I could turn to (e.g. DIY books?) Thanks and regards, Mike

I usually find hertz prices best when booking via the web, but when they had no cars available, I used the French firm Ucar. Their prices are competitive as long as you don't go over the KMs limit, and the car I had was a bit old (but worked fine). They have an office in Bergerac but will meet you at the airport if you make a booking. Can't find their phone number immediately but you can find them on the web via google. Hope this helps. Mike

The train runs several times a day from Bergerac to Sarlat (and stops at a few towns along the way). I don't know how good a connection one can make off the Ryanair flight, so check the schedule on http://www.voyages-sncf.com . A taxi from Bergerac airport to Bergerac train station would be no more than 10 euros. It is sometimes advisable to book a taxi to meet the plane as the taxi rank is often not full, and if you have to call one, they will start running the meter from where they are in Bergerac. Number is 05.53.23.32.32 Hope this helps. Mike

We want to remove the plaster (or is it render?) from one of the internal walls in our kitchen here in 24 to expose the stone. We're wondering... 1. Is this the kind of job that relatively inexperienced DIYers can handle or should we turn it over to a pro? 2. If DIY is the way to go, can anyone point us to a resource (book, website, forum thread) that could help walk us through the process? 3. Finally, are there any must-know tips that anyone can offer about making this job easier, ensuring we don't make big mistakes (like encouraging dampness), and getting a great final look? I've looked through the forum threads of "lime render on internal walls" and "removing rendering" and "lime rendering" but haven't seen the specific answers I'm looking for. Thanks and best regards, Mike