Property Renovation

Materials

There are a few possibilities available when you are buying tools and materials for your renovation project. Most French towns have some kind of builders merchant where you can buy all the materials that you need. This is a good place to start - local delivery charges will be less or not apply at all, and if you go in and introduce yourself before you start your project, and explain that you intend to spend lots of money, you will possibly be able to negotiate a discount.

The staff in the shop will get to know you, which will make it easier to get free advice. But I have found that prices are not always very clearly marked.

(See our DIY shops in France section for a brief introduction to the DIY shopping experience in France.)

Keep an eye on the free brochures and magazines that come tumbling through your door.Most of the larger stores eg E Leclerc, Auchan, Gamm Vert etc which have large ‘building’ sections have occasional promotions.
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Your first French experience of a DIY store (bricolage store) could be a daunting one if you are more used to Homebase type shops in the UK, which focus on paint colours, home ornaments, extension leads and light fittings, garden furniture and so on. These kind of ‘department store’ DIY shops are less common in France, although they are becoming more frequent around the larger towns.

The range of products that are available in French DIY shops is not necessarily smaller, but it is different.

Your bricolage store in France will have a smaller range of paint colours, for example. But if you want chemicals - acids, cleaning chemicals etc - you will find them all. The electrical fittings will look different - a light fitting or a wall socket will usually be sold as its component parts, rather than one pre-packaged socket. Unfortunately you can’t usually replace mauve paint with neat hydrochloric acid, so you need to adjust!

There is often an offputting range of devices and mechanisms for trapping and killing any vermin that enter your home, and a large selection of clothes for hunters will be available.
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