I'm planning my route down for a months visit in July.
alan h's activity
Questions Asked
I logged on this morning to my local webcam, to look at the snow on the ski slopes.
Thu, 01/05/2012 - 04:47
Loved the note about changing the locks!
Wed, 09/21/2011 - 09:20
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 05:21
For many years now I have used the likes of 'mappy', 'via michelin' etc for calculating different routes down to Italy - for us its a part of our holiday, so we don't always want to take the quickest/shortest route down. We prefer to vary the rou
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 09:25
Today I received an email from the Swiss Travel Centre. The relevant portion is;- "The GBP price for a Vignette will increase from 01 June 2011 and we wanted to give you the opportunity to purchase this years’ Vignette before the pric
Mon, 05/23/2011 - 09:45
I've just driven down and back for a [much too] short holiday, and feel that an update on how fuel prices look on the way down would be useful to fellow travellers The following is a good site for seeing what prices have been like Â
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 05:02
P&O have introduced a new ferry on the Dover - Calais route - its called the Spirit of Britain. They seem to have a special offer on at the moment [on this ship only] I've just booked a return crossing [car + 2] for £60 - significantly less th
Sat, 01/29/2011 - 06:08
Does Tomato soup exist in Italy? We were feeling a bit under the weather when we went out to Italy 2 weeks ago. As part of the R&R process, I fancied some soup, and looked around the supermarket. There were lots of different soups, but I rea
Mon, 01/24/2011 - 08:29
The route/timings for next years Giro d'Italia have been posted  My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from
Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04
Comments posted
"i'm off to try and scratch a living in the less salubrious areas of Birmingham"Â ......is there a 'more salubrious area' in Brum?
You ask ;-ÌýÌýÌýÂ "Any advice?"Â I think you may well have just about answered it in the penultimate sentence of your posting, where you write;-Â "Our lawyer is being rather inconclusive on this matter and we don't want to spend hundreds of thousands on a restoration only to discover 10 years down the line that the legal title wasn't as good as it should have been!"Â If you cannot get a definitive answer [in writing] from your lawyer, I think you have 3 options
Me? - I'd plump for option 2, with the fall back of option 3Â [unless you are prepared to accept the possibility of losing the house, and your money, at some time in the future, in which case just go to option 1]Â Good Luck
ÌýÌýÌýtwice apparently!ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 
ÌýÌýÌý edit - I hate it when I press the wrong button, and post a blank!ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
"how do you sleep under a roof that bakes to plus 50c in the summer or drops to minus temps in the winter...holiday home??? sounds more like hell" Mine has 4+ inches of concrete ceiling below it - so there is no problem [although, I could lay 6" of polystyrene on it if I lived there all the time - but only as a heating cost reducer]
When I started this thread I had no idea where it would go [if at all]. During its life, my feelings have swung between hope and despair, depending on how it began to mirror the previous Forum in its later life. I recognise the forum isn't perfect [none is], and it is less exciting. Thank goodness it lacks most of the backbiting and vitriol that the other Italymag Forum suffered from. I'd just like to echo what Jinty said - but apply it to everyone - not just some "just let us get on with our non thriving community life."  Some of us quite like it here
Re-fixing ridge tiles is a relatively simple process - but be careful of the risk of falling! This video .........ÌýÌýÌý  ........gives an idea how to do it yourself. Chat to your neighbours - they may know a local 'handyman' who will do it. My roof is unlined [just tiles and battens], and I have easily replaced broken and missing tiles They are the interlocking tiles - they look a bit like these  but are not nailed in position.I replace them from underneath the roof - the tiles just slide in and out easily, with a little lug that catches on the batten that stops them sliding 'down and out'.
"What do you do about your clothes and bedding?" We are pretty lucky - the house is relatively dry and we store the bedding in wardrobes - its cold [but not damp] when we get it out for use.If you are worried about damp you can use something like this.............ÌýÌýÌý  .................... which will ensure the clothes etc stay dry [and they reduce the space requirement].We get over the cold sheet problem by using hot water bottles for the first night - although you could take over an electric blanket if your a real softie................."Do you suffer a damp bed the first night?"No - I just make sure I don't drink too much Â
For me the answer isgas - offelectric - offWater - off and pipes drained [open up lowest taps and also flush loo after turning water off]Central heating system - don't drain, but make sure plenty of antifreeze in the system Benefit - no chargesDis-benefit - a cold flat when you arrive [for us it takes 24 hrs to warm it up properly if we do a winter visit]
I totally agree with Capo's comments - a local geometra is an essential - they know the people that matter and how to 'work' the system to your advantage - timescales for approvals by the commune will be less [although still long]. Some people will recommend using and architect - but I'd suggest that unless you are doing something really 'fancy', a geometra is what you want. Ask your neighbours/estate agent/commune for recommendations - then ask to see some of their work [drawings/plans and actual works] before making up your mind which one to use. [and check what he/she will charge you] The geometra will draw up the plans, get the various estimates [haggle when you see them - it works], make the submissions to the commune for approvals, and supervise the works.  A good geometra is worth his/her weight in gold.