Brico or other DIY? - (free) deliveries?

[nijntje]

Hello,

We soon hope to start our major renovation project in Brittany (56)

We need a whole lot of materials, like hundreds of plaster boards, insulation, stair cases, kitchens,septic tank etc. (this is for 4 gites and 1 main house!)

We do have a trailer but of course it would be so much better to get the big things delivered to our door!

I do like brico depot and all the others...and I see on their site that they can provide deliveries...

Has anyone done this before and what is your experience? What are the cost involved or can you get even free delivery if you really buy thousands of euros worth at the time?

We are near Guemene S/Scorff in 56 and can go either to Rostrenen area or Pontivy area...for some things we would have to go to Lorient or St Brieuc.

What about Point-P or other building material shops? Also any advice/experience and good or bad on these shops would be great!

Thanks in advance!

[sid]

Hi

We've had loads of stuff delivered... it's a fact of life when you live out in the sticks, you can't always get what you need in a trailer, and even if you can it may mean several long trips. All the bulder's merchants will deliver, but in my experience it's never free!  [:(] As an example, the delivery charge for a lorry load of sand/gravel (6 tonnes), from a depot 15 kms away, costs around 40€ here (!!) in south Deux-Sevres. You may be able to negotiate a small reduction. 

You can hire vans from some of the Bricos, Castorama, for instance, which is OK for dry goods (plasterboard, windows and so on).

I ordered floor tiles a few years ago from Lapayre in Niort (60kms), and didn't think about how many there woud be. Yeah, older and wiser now! For 92 sq metres there were 50-odd boxes each containing 16 tiles, and each box weighed 32 kilos. So getting on for 2 tonnes! [:-))] I can legally carry around 350kgs in my trailer, so the trailer option was definitely out and delivery made economical sense in terms of time.

Just plan ahead and maximise your delivery loads.

Bon courage!

Sid 

[Gardengirl]

Castorama do sometimes have special offers, such as free delivery or 10% off any goods you buy for taking out their card. We took one out a couple of years ago, bought a lot of wardrobe interiors, shelving etc, then cancelled the card a while later. It was a bit of a faff while they sat doing all the paperwork, but it was a good 'buy'.

[bwfc1965]

Some time ago I used the local Brico in Pontivy to purchase staircases, plasterboard etc. which was a full lorry load. They delivered to the door using a flat back with a crane on the rear. Our home is about 25 miles from Pontivy and the delivery was approx. 20 euros. The price of the delivery was for the distance and not the weight. They were very helpful and some of the younger staff spoke good English.

Hop this helps, and good luck, sounds like you have a big job on your hands!

Steve

[Will]

It's impossible to give a definitive answer. In France, the chains are almost all franchised so delivery policies and charges are up to the local management. Most will make a charge, but particularly if you are buying a lot of items it will be up for negotiation. On the other hand, smaller independent suppliers (though they may be part of a buying group, which makes them look a bit like a chain) will sometimes deliver free as long as you are not too far away.

[nijntje]

[quote user="bwfc1965"]Some time ago I used the local Brico in Pontivy to purchase staircases, plasterboard etc. which was a full lorry load. They delivered to the door using a flat back with a crane on the rear. Our home is about 25 miles from Pontivy and the delivery was approx. 20 euros. The price of the delivery was for the distance and not the weight. They were very helpful and some of the younger staff spoke good English.

Hop this helps, and good luck, sounds like you have a big job on your hands!

Steve[/quote]

Hi,

Thanks for your info....I am also near Pontivy, so that would be great....there is a Brico marche and a Bricolage in Pontivy....do you happen to know which one you used for your  delivery? I am planning on putting in my order this week....hope it will be fine!

[LEO]

[quote user="nijntje"]Hello,

We soon hope to start our major renovation project in Brittany (56)

We need a whole lot of materials, like hundreds of plaster boards, insulation, stair cases, kitchens,septic tank etc. (this is for 4 gites and 1 main house!)

We do have a trailer but of course it would be so much better to get the big things delivered to our door!

I do like brico depot and all the others...and I see on their site that they can provide deliveries...

Has anyone done this before and what is your experience? What are the cost involved or can you get even free delivery if you really buy thousands of euros worth at the time?

We are near Guemene S/Scorff in 56 and can go either to Rostrenen area or Pontivy area...for some things we would have to go to Lorient or St Brieuc.

What about Point-P or other building material shops? Also any advice/experience and good or bad on these shops would be great!

Thanks in advance!

[/quote]

Hi nijntje,

Unless the market and economy improves dramatically,(this is for 4 gites and 1 main house!)  your project is unlikely to  be sustainable and you could lose a lot of money.

You may find this hard to swallow so, I would suggest you ask the learned members on this forum if your project is viable.

Kind regards,

Leo

[nijntje]

Hi  Leo,

Thank you for your concern. I understand that the market and economy is not the best to do this kind of project at this time. However, we wanted to do something and keep ourself bussy.... we have sold our business in the states and needed something new to do because we were getting bored! It is more something to keep us busy and do something then to make money out of this really. It would be great to have a little bit of moeny out of this in the end...but right now we are fine! We have renovated multiple houses before and do all the work ourself, this does save us loads of money and believe it or not, 4 gites will cost less then 100k to renovate if you just have to buy the materials and not have to pay labor :) we enjoy doing the work :)

And I also believe that with the right marketing and the right kind of property quality you will still get 12 weeks booked....if not, no worries!

We are still young and do not depend on this project :)

I do agree that there are a lot of people who think this is the way to go for their pension or get income from rent and will be fine....but that is not how we see it :)

Kind regards,

Inge

[Anton Redman II]

" We've had loads of stuff delivered... it's a fact of life when you live out in the sticks, you can't always get what you need in a trailer, and even if you can it may mean several long trips. All the bulder's merchants will deliver, but in my experience it's never free!  As an example, the delivery charge for a lorry load of sand/gravel (6 tonnes), from a depot 15 kms away, costs around 40€ here (!!) in south Deux-Sevres. You may be able to negotiate a small reduction. " Why should it be free ? Broadly I have not found anything which will cope with say 7.5 tonnes which cost much less than € 0.30 a kilometres to run. Include a driver and € 40 seems a reasonable price for 15kms

We plan our orders and normally pick up from the local Bricodepot when we are passing anyway. A Day at the Races is not to bad but when you are dressed for a Night at the Opera can be a bit much