We were wondering whether to install doorsets like those from Jeld-wen or to go for a traditional door frame and door solution. Has anyone any recommendations for doorsets in France? Or where to get decent solid core doors - we're only looking for plain white simple doors nothing fancy but we have 15 to buy so I need the best price we can get.
Suzanne - Take a look at Castorama, Lapeyre & Leroy Merlin. We got some of ours from each of the first two, but Leroy Merlin wasn't anywhere near us at the time. As these are chains that have branches across the country, as well as web-sites, you should be able to go and see the doors without too much trouble. You're probably looking for bloc-portes and the most economical are normally post-formés. I get the impression that that means that they are pressure-treated to get the design on them. Most of ours were very economical, but weren't solid, but alveolées, hollow, with an internal honeycomb.
As for 'door-sets', if you mean where the door and frame are sold as a unit, this is pretty well the only way doors are sold here. The old UK way where the chippie makes the frame and then hangs the door doesn't seem to be known. The sets are generally sold in fixed widths, 73cm, 83cm & 93 cm, and most are 204cm tall. You need to be sure that you know the exact size of the hole in the wall that's needed, which may not even be the overall size of the frame, although I think that it generally is. It might also be helpful to know that the UK idea of Left- & Right-hand Hinged changes to Droit Poussant and Gauche Poussant respectively, based on the side of the door that you push to open it (away from you). See this link for some useful info. It's not a bad idea to have a drawing of how all the doors are to open when you order them, as there can be some confusion on this subject in France. (I believe that the modern DIN standards are the opposite of the older French descriptions for doors, in this respect.)