Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?

Pete L wrote:
Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?

Screw threads are the same, but copper pipe sizes are different.

Taps generally come complete with flexible tails terminated in a female
3/8 BSP union. If all else fails, this can be coupled to a 15 - 12 mm
compression reducer with the nut and olive removed from the 12 mm end
and any chamfer on the threaded section filed flat.

Note that all French taps assume that both the hot and cold supplies are
at mains pressure. Mixers all combine hot and cold in the body of the
tap and tend not to work well with a combination of mains fed cold and
gravity fed hot.

Baths are usually supplied without tap holes pre-drilled.

Hope this helps,

Roger.

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:19:48 +0100, Roger wrote:

Pete L wrote:
Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?


I was in France last winter and made a trip Castorama to price up
stuff like taps. I got the impression that there was little difference
in price any more, but didnt buy for completely different reasons

Bathroom: Matching bath taps and basin taps dont seem to be available

Kitchen: I wanted a tap which does hot, cold and filtered and that
option wasnt available. Now that may be because I was in Provence,
where the water is lovely and pure as it comes straight off the Alps,
and in Calais ymmv

What I did buy at Castorama was a very slim chisel of which the tip
sheared off the first time I used it. Had I bought it in UK I would
have taken it back. Another reason not to buy in France perhaps?

Anna

In article ,
(Anna Kettle) writes:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:19:48 +0100, Roger wrote:

Pete L wrote:
Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?


I was in France last winter and made a trip Castorama to price up
stuff like taps. I got the impression that there was little difference
in price any more, but didnt buy for completely different reasons

It's a few years since I last looked, but things like thermostatic
shower mixers were very much cheaper there. If they no longer are,
they must have multiplied in price dramatically over last few years.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 16 Oct, 11:27, Pete L wrote:
Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?

I bought my taps mail order from a place in Belgium, and they cost me
50% of the UK prices. The exchange rate was better then (about 18
months ago), but even so, I think that you will still make savings. I
don't know what brand you are after, but in the UK you seem to pay a
premium for Grohe, Hansgrohe, and so on, but these don't seem to
attract the same sort of markup in mainland Europe.

The taps I bought were identical models to the UK model, so as far as
fittings go, it won't make any difference where you buy them, and a
plumbers merchant will stock somrthing suitable to make the
connection. The taps came with tails which matched the thread of a
compression reducer (15-12, or 15-10, something like that). The waste
sizes were also a little different, but again, a suitable convertor
can be bought.

Can't speak for bath prices. I just found a few good prices on the
web, and then negotiated with a local plumber to match the prices I
found.

dan.

In article
,
Pete L wrote:
Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?

I've had no probs in the past with showers, bog etc. as far as fitting.
Yesterday in the Poitier Leroy Merlin, the salle de bain area was about the
size of the 'Bathroom warehouse' back home in E Lancs. We were after a
half length bath for a small room but the range seems to have changed over
the last few years, and is becoming more 'up-market'.

In general, France is no longer cheap (at the moment) in our opinion

John

--
John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out

On 16 Oct, 20:17, JTM wrote:
In article
,
* *Pete L wrote:

Although the Pound is as good as equal to a euro now I have always got
the impression that baths and taps were cheaper in France. Before I do
the sums of the cost of a van and boat trip can anybody here confirm
that the French use the same size pipes as us - like 15 and 22mm
connectors?

I've had no probs in the past with showers, bog etc. as far as fitting.
Yesterday in the Poitier Leroy Merlin, the salle de bain area was about the
size of the 'Bathroom warehouse' back home in E Lancs. *We were after a
half length bath for a small room but the range seems to have changed over
the last few years, and is becoming more 'up-market'.

In general, France is no longer cheap (at the moment) in our opinion

John

--
*John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out

Thanks everybody. I think I'll stick to UK........