sagraiasolar's activity

Questions Asked

If you are pondering the safety of house prices in Italy this article in The Money Spy might give you some encouragement....

Tue, 06/04/2013 - 13:00

Has anyone had any experience with the Lycee in Florence to relate please?  The dilemma with further education for an 11 year old boy looms.  Already fluent in Italian it would certainly be a great asset for him to go to a French school.

Mon, 05/20/2013 - 09:49
Sat, 04/06/2013 - 08:47

I have a domestic emergency which can only be solved by going to the Marmite shop in Rome. Can anyone kindly direct me there please.Thanks

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 07:10
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 07:07

Just out of interest are there any Scottish reeling clubs operating out there? I'm starting one in Umbertide where there seem to be a few enthusiasts and others willing to have a go.

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 07:50

The Beeb site has an article on exceptional glacial melting going on right now making the 2012 records show that something really different is under way.

Sun, 09/09/2012 - 07:42

The Perseids appear to come from the direction of the Persius constellation so if you look generally North or better still point your i-Pad you'll get there. There are also a few from Delta Aquarid which come across from the South I think.

Thu, 08/09/2012 - 08:46

The local comune recently started a purge on stranieri who had not got an 'agibilita' for their property. Large fines were being dished out so we started to get organised.

Sun, 02/26/2012 - 10:01

Comments posted

Tue, 03/19/2013 - 11:17

... further to Ram's comment; don't sasume that because you can't see any aerials on the horizon that you can't have internet and phones. I do have a good view of an aerial and a repeater at my house includes several neighbours who are across the valley.

Tue, 03/05/2013 - 10:17

SteveGW's comment brought back memories.  I once worked in the lawnmower/chainsaw repair shop in Takapuna New Zealand and there was a large dent in the wall after one of the guys rebuilt a McCulloch chain saw about 4 times and finding it still wouldn't start he threw it across the workshop in a fit of temper.

Tue, 03/05/2013 - 08:12

a powerful 'man's' strimmer will do the job.  You can get blades to cut through brambles and saplings. You can also get chain flails but I haven't tried those yet. For anything more grass-like I always revert to the nylon line strimmer head as the cutting width is big and one soon gets used to restringing the reel head. Don't do more than an hour or two per day or you might get a dead hand throught the vibration.  If you cut back the brambles etc every year they eventually just give up and grass takes over.

Answer to: Gas Prices
Thu, 02/28/2013 - 13:35

A gas boiler is a bit like a car in that it consumes at the rate it's being driven. Modern gas boilers modulate their output depending on demand so it is not always correct to say that consumption is just on or off. My rule of thumb cost for running a gpl boiler of 28kW is €5 per hour and that is certainly conservative. It implies that the usual 25,000 kW.hrs an average stone house consumes would cost about €4,500 and many people exceed that.  Most of us here use wood to stave off the bills as about €1,000 will produce those 25,000 kW.hrs.  A small heat pump added to the mix is even better .... I'm waffling on a bit but hopefully leaving the question in the air about whether gas boilers are worth considering at all.

Mon, 02/11/2013 - 06:06

All AndyT's posts here jusy come up as a ! with nothing else, yet some of you are clearly reading something...  what's going on?

Mon, 02/11/2013 - 05:30

Badger - is this what one would call a hare raising experience?

Answer to: radiators
Sat, 02/09/2013 - 07:40

I wonder if you have considered the idea of not having rads at all. UFH is always better for living rooms and with their faster response times I would always go for fan/coils in bedrooms.  As your system - I hope - should be heat pump ready then this set up would be ideal.  There's a heating seminar here on March 18th - I'll PM you the details in case you'd like to get to grips with all the issues before you spend any money.

Answer to: Gas Prices
Wed, 02/06/2013 - 11:11

... the bombola might be 'free' but that's on the expectation that you buy lots of the stuff ... if you have a sensible heating system and only need a top up every 5 years or so you might find the gas co is not so happy. They might be responsible for correct installation but I bet you won't find them offering to put up a €1,000 fence so you can get your agibilita. I'm trying to use up the last of the gas then going over to bottles - no fence ha ha.  Then there's this bollo blu certificate to worry about... mmm that heat pump looks more attractive by the day.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 16:43

... thank you for the directions .... just the Tiptree orange marmalade to find and I'm sorted.

Answer to: Name that Drink
Sun, 01/20/2013 - 12:17

a Sloe n' ranger