MJ - Now we have both been to France recently. How was the house Lloyd, is it a house yet?
LA - Yes we have been to the house, it’s strange having just seen in drawing form and email pictures we actually walked in the real building not a virtual space. As we walked in via the garage door, well the doors and windows were not fitted so we walked in through the gaping hole it amazing to see the scale of things. I had to explain to my brother who came to visit the next day that you have to bear in mind the internal walls were not in.
MJ - So what is the estimated completion date? Has it moved?
LA - There has not been any great progress since we were there, having said you have to remember that not much happens in the construction world as France goes on holiday, so do expect things to come to a stop. Be prepared before hand or simply wait till September there’s not much you can do about tradition.
How was your trip to the Dordogne?
MJ - Very mixed trip, first week was great, then the worst weather since we bought the place. Neighbour had the fire on! Little work been done.
LA - Did you visit any interesting places on your trip?
MJ - Our normal trip to Segur le Chateau.
LA - That looks like a place everyone should visit.
MJ - It is well worth a visit, On the last show we talked about the new tax on second home owners. It has been canned, probably because it was probably legal under EU law.
LA - That’s good news for all of us. With the house under construction my thoughts are turning to whether to have a swimming pool. We have touched on this several times in the shows but let's go a little deeper (pun) today.
SECTION 2 - Pool Factors
MJ - We had our pool built but if I had time would probably do it myself! There are several options - traditional build, fibre glass, sectional. For traditional build and sectional you need to decide on a liner or on tiles. Liner needs professional fitting in my view, tiles can be fitted but should be done in one go!
LA - How did you decide on the size to build?
MJ - Combination of guess work and experience of other pools. We stayed at a campsite in France that had a 10 x 5 m pool and we thought that was a good size, My wife just added the roman steps.
LA - But what about the depth?
MJ - This is the factor we didn't think about much and should have. We went for the traditional 1m shallow 2.2m deep end. With hindsight would rather have had a constant 1.5ish depth. Better for games. Not a lot of diving goes on so this would have been better.
LA - Do you heat it?
MJ - We do now. But we also have a fantastic insulated cover which makes a big difference. Pools lose heat as soon as air temp at an air temp of pool temp+ 4c so a cover for cool days and over night makes a big difference. After a couple of years we added an electric heater which is an air pump, 4 - 1 efficiency.
MJ - Swimming pool design and filter systems - Chlorine, salt, UV
LA - What other big decisions are there to make.
MJ - Location, equipment room and filtration type.
LA - Audible immersion or peripheral (NF P90-307)
placed on the surface of the water or around the pool, alarms can detect intruders, falls or immersion, especially that of children under 5 years. They must be locked to prevent the risk of disabling and required to 24 hours a day.
MJ - Cover, security cover and shutters (NF P90-308)
This device prevents the covering involuntary immersion of children under 5 years. It comes in several forms: shutters automatically cover bar or safety nets set above the curbs. It must also resist the crossing of an adult and not to cause injury. This means of protection prevents heat loss from the water in your pool and evaporation of cleaning products.
LA - As always these are our thoughts and ideas. If you have any suggestions or comments do let us know by emailing us at ahif@ttfn,tv
Section 4 - Our websites for this episode:
