My husband has had his driving licence renewed at 70 and completed a series of eye and reflex tests. It is due to be renewed again this year. Does anyone know if it is a straightforawrd renewal or if the medical tests need to be taken again?
Does anyone else find it frustrating that answers on the forum are olten so old? If you are looking for up to date information you have to wade tgrough dozens of posts from 4 years ago.
Definitely better to get permission. If you have done obvious changes without permission it may make your property difficult or imposisble to sell. Also if you need to legalise it before selling it will cost three times a s much as the original permission would have cost. Lastly, if you get on the wrong side of the comune, it can come back and bite you. I knoe someone who upset the comune through doing illegal work and now can get no support from them about noise nuisance from a motorcycle cross track next to her house. IMPORTANT UPDATE I have been told that a new law has come into effect allowing 50% of the cost of restoring to be offset against tax. Obviously you have to pay for the work first and it doesn't help a lot if you don't pay much tax but hey- every little helps!
I have just tried to find them on Pagine Gialle without success. Do you have telephone number or address for them please? They sound well worth a vist.
Cost for labour, stucco etc when we renovated in 2006 was 25 euros a sq m for floors and 35 a sq m for walls. (Plus IVA)Tiles can be bought at good prices at Leroy Merlin (formerly Castorama) much improved since taken over. There is also a bankrupt stock place mear La rancia Tolentino called Fallamenti. Occasional bargains but be aware that all prices quoted have IVA added so are not as cheap as they look at first glance.
We are looking at an old palazzo which requires restoring. It is in a centro storico. Does anyone know if it will have to comply with anti seismic regs as I can't see how it would be possible install in such an old building integrated in the walls of a town?
When I first came to Italy I couldn't understand why there weren't any electric showers. later I realised that most use approaching 3 kw power which is often equivalent to the total energy available. If you go over the level allocated you pay a huge excess or or sometimes the whole system trips and you are with power until you go to the fuse box and reset it after switching off some appliances.The best bet in my opinion is a condensing combi boiler
The cost of electricity in Italy is scary. I wouldn't contemplate using electricty for heating unless you use a heat pump and then you need to get an expert to install and advise. Firstly make sure you have top quality insulation and draught proofing. Then whatever you decide on you will use less of it. Bear in mind that if it is a second home or holiday home you paya higher tariff for electricty. I know someone with a holiday home who doesn't even use an electric kettle as his bills are 200 euros a month WITHOUT heating or pool pump. My bills as resident are about 250 a month but this is for a 4 bed house with pool although only electricty pump for heating which is underfloor GPL.
The quality of paint in Italy is awful. If you are in le Marche try self at Piediripa which sells german made paint which is better. This is the best bet if you want a bright white. Alternativly in more subtle shades Farrow and Ball make fabulous quality paint which covers very well and sometimes in estate emulsion I have only needed one coat. They ship to Italy for a nominal charge of 50 euros per order and have a website. All their paints are water based and suitable for old buildings. They also do external masonary paint in lovely muted historic shades. The natural pigments in Italain external paints may look lovely when they have weathered but you have to put up with three of four years of eyeblinding clour before it weathers down. With regard to windows, we also used Folusci and found them expensive but overall good. The price is influenced by the paint finish you choose. If you have a baked finish it is very expensive but lasts years and years. When they installed and caused damage to new plaster I deducted the cost of repair off thier final invoice. You could also ask for a price for frames only and get your own double (or triple) glazing fitted. The company Folusci use for the glass is near the new Oasi supermaket in Tolentino. It is directly oppsite Oasi at the roundabout nearest Tolentino jst downhill from the roundabout. It you take the window in they will give you a price and fit it for you. Internal shutters work well and have the added advantage of not getting weathered.
Comments posted
Definitely better to get permission. If you have done obvious changes without permission it may make your property difficult or imposisble to sell. Also if you need to legalise it before selling it will cost three times a s much as the original permission would have cost. Lastly, if you get on the wrong side of the comune, it can come back and bite you. I knoe someone who upset the comune through doing illegal work and now can get no support from them about noise nuisance from a motorcycle cross track next to her house. IMPORTANT UPDATE I have been told that a new law has come into effect allowing 50% of the cost of restoring to be offset against tax. Obviously you have to pay for the work first and it doesn't help a lot if you don't pay much tax but hey- every little helps!
I have just tried to find them on Pagine Gialle without success. Do you have telephone number or address for them please? They sound well worth a vist.
Cost for labour, stucco etc when we renovated in 2006 was 25 euros a sq m for floors and 35 a sq m for walls. (Plus IVA)Tiles can be bought at good prices at Leroy Merlin (formerly Castorama) much improved since taken over. There is also a bankrupt stock place mear La rancia Tolentino called Fallamenti. Occasional bargains but be aware that all prices quoted have IVA added so are not as cheap as they look at first glance.
We are looking at an old palazzo which requires restoring. It is in a centro storico. Does anyone know if it will have to comply with anti seismic regs as I can't see how it would be possible install in such an old building integrated in the walls of a town?
When I first came to Italy I couldn't understand why there weren't any electric showers. later I realised that most use approaching 3 kw power which is often equivalent to the total energy available. If you go over the level allocated you pay a huge excess or or sometimes the whole system trips and you are with power until you go to the fuse box and reset it after switching off some appliances.The best bet in my opinion is a condensing combi boiler
The cost of electricity in Italy is scary. I wouldn't contemplate using electricty for heating unless you use a heat pump and then you need to get an expert to install and advise. Firstly make sure you have top quality insulation and draught proofing. Then whatever you decide on you will use less of it. Bear in mind that if it is a second home or holiday home you paya higher tariff for electricty. I know someone with a holiday home who doesn't even use an electric kettle as his bills are 200 euros a month WITHOUT heating or pool pump. My bills as resident are about 250 a month but this is for a 4 bed house with pool although only electricty pump for heating which is underfloor GPL.
The quality of paint in Italy is awful. If you are in le Marche try self at Piediripa which sells german made paint which is better. This is the best bet if you want a bright white. Alternativly in more subtle shades Farrow and Ball make fabulous quality paint which covers very well and sometimes in estate emulsion I have only needed one coat. They ship to Italy for a nominal charge of 50 euros per order and have a website. All their paints are water based and suitable for old buildings. They also do external masonary paint in lovely muted historic shades. The natural pigments in Italain external paints may look lovely when they have weathered but you have to put up with three of four years of eyeblinding clour before it weathers down. With regard to windows, we also used Folusci and found them expensive but overall good. The price is influenced by the paint finish you choose. If you have a baked finish it is very expensive but lasts years and years. When they installed and caused damage to new plaster I deducted the cost of repair off thier final invoice. You could also ask for a price for frames only and get your own double (or triple) glazing fitted. The company Folusci use for the glass is near the new Oasi supermaket in Tolentino. It is directly oppsite Oasi at the roundabout nearest Tolentino jst downhill from the roundabout. It you take the window in they will give you a price and fit it for you. Internal shutters work well and have the added advantage of not getting weathered.