tonyv Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I was astounded during my recent visit to my local Brico in St Girons to find the price of copper pipe to be around 5€/m. I'm used to paying around £1/m in the UK. Have I got my facts wrong?I need about 50m of the stuff, so if I were to buy a load of 15mm pipe next time I visit UK (May), I'd more than save the cost of taking the trailer over, so that's quite attractive. Can I intermix UK pipe sizes with French ones? What problems am I likely to encounter? Is this false economy? Grateful for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 The wrong size to start with and the UK copper pipe is much thinner as we dont have 3 bar in our UK homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote user="tonyv"]I was astounded during my recent visit to my local Brico in St Girons to find the price of copper pipe to be around 5€/m. I'm used to paying around £1/m in the UK. Have I got my facts wrong?I need about 50m of the stuff, so if I were to buy a load of 15mm pipe next time I visit UK (May), I'd more than save the cost of taking the trailer over, so that's quite attractive. Can I intermix UK pipe sizes with French ones? NoWhat problems am I likely to encounter? It will not fit. You cannot buy 15mm pipe in France.Is this false economy? No idea about the price of pipe in France but, yes IMHO its a false economy. If anyone says you can use UK pipe ask them in which country they normally work[Www]Grateful for any advice.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jondeau Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Without wishing to counter anything that has already been said.........And purely from a technical point of view, it is possible to use 15mm tube in France, all you need is a supply of English 15mm x 1/2" male irons. In France you can buy 16mm x 1/2" female irons, these two fittings can be screwed together to give you a 15mm x 16mm adaptor should you need to join onto French pipes.Pressure is not a problem with English tube..........well, not the ranges we are talking about anyway.I must admit I have never done it.......but I've often thought about it, and were I still there these days, with a £200 difference for a mere 50 metres of tube I might well be inclined to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Guerriere Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Can you connect UK 15mm to French 14mm using UK 15mm compression fitting but with a French olive on the 14mm side ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Yes you can, but it will leak no matter how hard you do it up. At least it did when I tried it. Probably did something wrong though knowing me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Flare your one of the pipes, whichever seems the most ductile and make a soldered connection using either an English or French straight coupler as required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I think you'll find it's the same price here now .. I was stunned to pay £9.99 for 2 metres from Wickes at the weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jondeau Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote user="La Guerriere"]Can you connect UK 15mm to French 14mm using UK 15mm compression fitting but with a French olive on the 14mm side ?[/quote]No, I wouldn't risk it, but using the same method as before, just swap the French 1/2" FI x 16mm for a 1/2" FI x 14mm and screw it into an English 1/2" x 15mm male iron.As a matter of interest.......most English 15mm compression fittings these days are threaded 1/2" bsp and would screw into a female iron French fitting (in case you don't have an English MI handy. But a word of warning, as compression fittings don't have a proper 'shoulder' to butt against FI fitting, getting a perfect seal may be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote user="tonyv"]I was astounded during my recent visit to my local Brico in St Girons to find the price of copper pipe to be around 5€/m. I'm used to paying around £1/m in the UK. Have I got my facts wrong?[/quote]Do you have a Brico Despot, sorry Depôt near you?http://www.bricodepot.fr/calais/node/737I just checked on their website (for the Calais outlet) and found 14mm copper tube for around €3 per metre2.5 M is €8.605M is €14.90It might make the price difference a bit more acceptable especially if you can source it locally and use standard French sizes for any futre work you might add on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Trollope Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Also remember that a plumbing survey will be added to the "sellers pack" in the next year or so. I have surveyed 4 total failure (electrical report) houses in the past week - that lot will cost an average of 10K€ to each seller. Is it worth doing it English? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Mr Invisible here .. [img]http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/shout.gif[/img] IT'S THE SAME PRICE IN THE UK NOW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote user="johnv"]Mr Invisible here .. [img]http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/shout.gif[/img] IT'S THE SAME PRICE IN THE UK NOW[/quote]Hey John, its pretty standard to be ignored on this forum - you get used to it after a while [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jondeau Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote user="johnv"]Mr Invisible here .. [img]http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/shout.gif[/img] IT'S THE SAME PRICE IN THE UK NOW[/quote] Unfortunately it's not.Even screwfix are selling 15mm tube at a rate that equals £7.75 for a 5 metre length, considerably less than the 14.90 Euros quoted on here.Trade prices are even lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Thanks, everyone for your advice. No need to shout, Johnv; it seems Wickes ripped you off. Screwfix are indeed selling pipe at £37-26 for 30M.I take on board Nick's warning re sellers report, but don't regard that as a major problem. I can understand a total electrical failure report, but plumbing is hardly hazardous.Pressure? well, we certainly don't have much of that here; very similar to the UK, I'd say. The major pressure here is from OH to get the new kitchen installed [:)]I'd have to offset the extra cost of transitions, but all the same, I'm likely to save £200 or so by buying in the UK; not to be sniffed at.So, I'm inclined to go for it, but will give it some more thought over the coming weeks. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 they did! I had to go and dig out the receipt to check .. 2x price of Screwfix still, I've achieved visibility on a forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Trollope Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote user="tonyv"]I take on board Nick's warning re sellers report, but don't regard that as a major problem. I can understand a total electrical failure report, but plumbing is hardly hazardous.[/quote]I think you are missing my point. If it "fails" a plumbing inspection, a buyer is going to negotiate the price down to match. Nothing to do with safety.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 If I wait a little bit longer I should be able to get the sellers to pay me to take their 20 year old houses off their hands when I get my mates to give me devi's to turn old but perfectly serviceable houses into new euroboxes.Sorry to disagree Nick but I cant see that happening in France, sure some buyers may try but would sellers play ball?On second thoughts thay may well reduce their price to allow for a new ballon knowing that the house is already with another agent for €30k less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Trollope Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 But it is already happening - see my earlier post in this thread. Real world, real issues..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 [quote user="Nick Trollope"]I have surveyed 4 total failure (electrical report) houses in the past week - that lot will cost an average of 10K€ to each seller. Is it worth doing it English? [/quote]We just had our 5 bed 3 bath house completely rewired for 4k euros (local french, registered electrician) so not sure where your figure of 10k comes from. Ok it's taken nearly three years for him to finish but, if that's the going rate, then the delay was worth every cent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 [quote user="Nick Trollope"]But it is already happening - see my earlier post in this thread. Real world, real issues.....[/quote]Guilty of not reading your post correctly Nick.When you say surveyed, do you mean that you are the guy doing the surveying or that you have been asked by the sellers for a devi to do the remedial work?If it is the latter then I am astounded given the lack of interest shown and money spent by the average French seller to prepare his house for sale. Still they are obedient people, are interested parties perhaps telling them that they must have the work done to secure a sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Why do it English? dunno can't an English electrician in possession of the specs not do a 'French Job' just asking as my brother wired a large portion of Euro Disney! They seem happy enough with his efforts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Did your brother do a Mickey mouse job?[:D][;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Trollope Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 [quote user="J.Rs gone native"][quote user="Nick Trollope"] But it is already happening - see my earlier post in this thread. Real world, real issues.....[/quote]When you say surveyed, do you mean that you are the guy doing the surveying or that you have been asked by the sellers for a devi to do the remedial work?If it is the latter then I am astounded given the lack of interest shown and money spent by the average French seller to prepare his house for sale. Still they are obedient people, are interested parties perhaps telling them that they must have the work done to secure a sale?[/quote]I mean that I have been asked by the Agents (and/or Notaires) to indicate the cost of rectifying the "failures" on the reports. I charge even more for a devis... I am also asked to estimate the cost of failures of the DPE, as I bought myself a thermographic camera. It is a quite useful string to my financial bow in this day and age....These are, I'm afraid to say, always English-stylee wiring jobs - which is why they ask me. The inspectors system is all computerised and he hasn't got an "English wiring installed" tick box, so they just report it as "unsafe" or "non-authorise materials".A complete rewire of a medium-sized, occupied property can indeed cost 10K€ to do - and does! As an example, I recently saw an 85K house, where the buyer negotiated a 15K reduction for a rewire.... Wire it the English way and it will happen.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 [quote user="Nick Trollope"]A complete rewire of a medium-sized, occupied property can indeed cost 10K€ to do - and does! [/quote]We got a bargain then - he's done a great job too (lengthy...but great [:)]) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now