Discussions

Has anyone else had difficulties picking up all the TNT channels since the analogue switch-off on Monday night? Before this I had 18 free channels on both my new twin HD tuner DVD recorder and on my TNT equipped TV. On Tuesday I had no reception at all, so re-scanned as per official instructions. Now I have only 5 channels belonging to the France TV group and no TF1. I am a fairly technical and notice that these 5 channels are all in GP1, on Channel 35. I tried the official web site www.tousaunumerique.fr and even phoned the help number. From what I understand the transition to digital may not be completed. I find this hard to believe, so suspect maybe the shared antenna on my building. However I wonder if its something more fundemental, with my equipment. Any ideas?

Hi We are looking for suggestions & recommendations of a company to come and repair our leaking Boiler at home. Boiler make is a Nectra. Thank you,

I am needing to find a good electrician and plumber in central Paris. I have contacted a few but they do not appear to return calls. Does anyone know of a good and reliable electrician or plumber that I can contact. The jobs are not large, but even adverts which say 'no job to small' do not respond to queries I send.many thanks

Hi all, got a question for you. I moved into my top floor apartment a few years ago and during the first winter I noticed some problems with damp/mold in the corner of the living room (the corner of 2 outside walls). I had not noticed the problem when I first moved in as this corner, unlike the rest of the room, had been wallpapered rather than painted. The problem was not too bad but I took some pictures and told my landlord about it but he did not seem to be overly concerned. Anyway, I decided to get some anti-humidity things and also tried to keep the room well ventilated and warm. The front of the building has also recently been re-done and I thought that this might help... Despite all these measures the problem has gotten progressively worse – the walls/wallpaper are now really quite discoloured and sometimes quite damp to the touch. It just looks sooo horrible! What should I do next? Who is responsible for any work that is needed.

Does anyone know where I can hire a hand held steam cleaner for use in the bathroom and kitchen? Or is it easier to buy one? Has anyone used one before? Thanks.

in direct contact with the owner - where can I find an outline of a standard letter of offer in French?

Hi all,I've just moved to Paris and am renting an apartment in Vincennes with my partner. We have a Mira C chauffage/hot water heater in the apartment. (I'm from Australia - have never even seen one of these contraptions before). It has an electric ignition system that sparks a flame every time it's required (I'm guessing this from some internet sites I've read). The heating and hot water are currently working fine - BUT, every 10 minutes or so I can hear the gas ignite (a few clicks followed by a "whoomp" sound). It seems to happen excessively often. Is this normal?Possibly related - when the EDF guy came to turn on the gas he wanted to see the boiler as well. He did something to the underneath and some water came out of a tap. He turned off the tap, but after he left it was still dripping, so I called my landlady. She was very angry with me for letting the technician touch the boiler, but arranged for someone from the boiler manufacturer's company to come and take a look. He fixed the leak, and checked the system - and as I said everything's working fine - so I'm probably being paranoid, but the noise from the boiler is making me nervous!Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me.

Hi, I rent a Paris furnished studio which has a microwave, supplied by the owner. Brand: Orva.It has been working fine for months. This morning, although everything appeared to be working normally (interior light goes on, plate turns, microwave hums), it does not heat anything. I have checked all the settings. Heat power is at the maximum, no preset that I can see. I pressed the same incremental "30 second" button as I had in the past. Unplugged and replugged microwave. Pressed the start button, leaving a cup of milk "cooking" inside for 10 minutes. Came out just as cold as it went in. (Nothing was done to microwave since yesterday, nor was it dropped, etc). Has anyone ever had a problem like this? Any clues? Can a microwave simply die and still make all the noises etc as when it's working fine?By French rental laws, am I responsible now to replace the microwave? Thanks for any info.

Just starting to plan some home renovations for 2011 and wondered if anyone could recommend a good handyman. Thanks.

making the wierdest noise, think the bearings are gone or going - out of gaurantee; so looking for friendly "fixer" for same - i have no handyman skills...

Hi guysI am looking for any sound practical advice to do with moving country. I would really like to hear about your own experiences. My boyfriend and I are moving from Paris to Ireland and it is the first time for both of us to do a big moving job and we don't know where to start. We are planning to sell all our furniture so everything we are bringing will fit into boxes.I am looking for advice on some of the silliest things like how to pack all our stuff so none of it will be damaged, I am particularly concerned for cds. Are cardboard boxes sufficient? What would be appropriate sized boxes to use? But I need advice on how to transport everything. As of yet we have no idea what weight everything will be or the dimensions of the boxes. It won't be enough to hire a container or anything like that but we need somebody to come take our stuff put it on a truck and bring it to Ireland. We are not too fussy about it being delivered next day or anything like that. Is finding someone to move our stuff something that needs to be done very far in advance or is it possible to arrange it a week or two before leaving? I hope these questions don't sound idiotic but we do need help on this one. I have looked at the Info pages and they have been great for sorting out bank accounts ,edf and all that but not this really practical hands on stuff. Appreciate any feedback you haveAnn-Marie

Hi I am new to Paris am moving from Montesson 78360 to Paris near the Arc de Triomphe and I don't know anybody to ask for assistance and the date is drawing closer. If somebody with a van can help me with a few boxes and an exercise bike I would really appreciate it. I dont have any furniture except a tumble dryer, as I am moving to a furnished appartment. The date is between 28th and 31st October, so please help if you can. Please reply to adorteg@hotmail.com. Thanks :-)

I have a Neufbox and for my internet, television and telephone. The internet and television work fine but the phone has a strange problem. There is no dial tone, however I can make and receive calls but cannot hear the other party, though they can hear me. This problem recurs every few weeks. I have tried everything including rebooting, reinstalling etc. The service people also are clueless. I was wondering if anyone else has faced similar problems and have any suggestions.Thanks in advance.

I'm looking to build some raised beds and a small retaining wall. Ideally, I'd like to use 2nd hand material because it’s better for the environment and cheaper. I'd like to get some old scaffolding planks for the raised beds, or possibly some old railway sleeps. I won't need that many bricks, as it a small wall, so if could find some rubble I could probably recover enough.I’m just not sure where to start looking for these sorts of things in France. What’s the French equivalent of a scrap yard? Are there any good ones in the Yvelines area?Many thanks,Robert

while on holiday - how to do same? Am with France Telecom/Orange

is there one?

How easy/difficult is it to buy an apartment privately? We bought our present house via an immobilier, but on looking at the Particulier à Particulier website I note that prices are considerably lower. I assume this is because of FAI on immobiliers' sites. Are there any pitfalls for the unwary? My French is good enough to have dealt with the non-English speaking notaire the first time, but I'm not sure if buying an apartment would be a considerably more complicated process.

I'm in need of 5 stocked window boxes. Happy to pay, just don't have the skills to do it myself (or the transport to lug soil over Paris).Anyone who knows someone somewhere who provides this service, please message me. Paris 02.

With orange/france telecom; phone working perfectly, but has a weird dialtone for the last couple of days, who to call to sort same out?

Hi. I've got my apartment in Paris and it is all ready to be rented out. I would like to rent it out to holiday makers on a short-term basis and I'm looking for a management company to list it with. They would need to do everything including meet and greet and laundry and any problem solving as I am living in the UK. The one company I've approached so far provide a good service as I've stayed in one of their apartments before but I'm not overly enthusiastic with their terms and conditions as they include a lot of excessive fees that I would need to pay them before they take on the property. Could you pied a terre owners out there make any recommendations? Paris Attitude seems to have a presence here but what are they like from an owners point of view? Are there any other good ones? Thanks.KPNuts