Matt Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Just had a quote of 900 euros to replace my small old tank with a new 200 litre one .Does this quote sound any good?Also my fosse is really smelling ,not at the fosse but in the barn between bathroom and fosse.Put one of those activator bags down but any other ideas would be a help.Thanks in advanceMatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 How often do you put the activator down the loo? It may need more than one to kick start the bacteria if you haven't been doing it regularly.The chauffe eau doesn't sound unreasonable if there was much labour involved. Is the devis broken down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Hi Matt, sorry can't comment on the Chauffe Eau price but on the smells maybe, I guess you have checked for obvious breaks in pipework in the barn section? We had lot's of smells in the beginning and finally found out that when someone used the shower the waste water as it went past the connection where the bath waste came in created a vacuum that sucked the small amount of water in the bath trap out so that afterwards there was nothing to stop the smell of the fosse backing up into the bathroom, we eventually solved it by getting some anti syphon waste valves, had to get them from the UK but they may be available here now, these are they:www.plumbworld.co.uk/442-0000Also have you got a vent pipe just before the fosse? if you have and it is inside the barn then you may want to look at this as a possible solution:www.humm-busters.comHaven't tried the Humm Buster yet but intend to as our vent pipe is outside and we do occasionally get a whiff from it, lot's of people will have absolutely no smells from their Fosse but our French neighbours says "c'est normale"good luckDave[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 It could also be very simple - we visited our place once and it smelled - the u-bend on the washing machine waste pipe (ours is toutes eaux) had dried out, and simply pouring some water down to re-establish the seal worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Matt:The quote sounds dear to me. A new 200 Litre tank is circa € 180,00 and the fitting kit is circa € 30,00 inclusive of TVA. (Brico Depot).Since this is a replacement, you already have the wiring, the cold water feed, the waste and the hot pipes in situ. Ergo, it is € 577 for labour, ex TVA. Even at 7 hours work (which is a bit steep, even for a French plumber! [:-))]) that equates to € 82,42/hour! [:@]The whole job, unless there are hidden snags or facts which you have not told us, should take no more than a morning. Four hours @ € 35,00/hour or so.Obtain another competitive devis, if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Replacing a small tank with a large one may involve more than a straight swap-out, was my thinking. We need to know a lot more about the circumstances, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I agree, Dick, and did include a caveat as you know.The only factor may well be a far larger electricity supply, thus entailing a complete re-wire back to the tableaux. Might also be a pulse switch being fitted etc.However, extending and changing the end route of the cold and hot pipes and the waste is not exactly rocket science. Just seemed dear to me........................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 1, 2006 Author Share Posted June 1, 2006 I haven't had the devis yet but as far as I know its a straight swap other than putting an isolation switch in.The price for the tanks varies hugely depending on the stra ratings.I saw one which was 5 star in Brico depot which was 320 euros ,guess i'll wait for the devis and see.Thanks also for the fosse advise.There is a washing machine waste in the barn so i'll fill it up when i'm next out and see what happens.Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 If it's a straight swapout then it is dear. Strict questioning is in order...I can't remember what we last paid a plumber, but I don't think it was more than €150 a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 MattJust a thought... you didn't say whether your chauffe-eau has an internal coil so that it can also be heated from a central heating boiler, but if it has, these are considerably more expnesive than the 200€ ones seen in Castorama etc.Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 2, 2006 Author Share Posted June 2, 2006 Just received the devis,its not broken down ,just one lump price and it is just a straight forward 200 ltr tank using the existing water and electrical feeds.The total including TVA is 1076.40 euros,sounds a lot to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 Matt:The ony comment I can make is extortion!When I calculated potential costs earlier, I assumed that the TVA was already included!Unless yours is a relatively new house, surely the TVA ought to be only 5%, still?Find another plombiere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La vieille Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 We just had ours done in february this year (200 litre tank) and we paid 538€ plus 5.5% VAT including disposing of the old one.Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 2, 2006 Author Share Posted June 2, 2006 Thanks for all your comments. So ,does anyone know a competetively priced,reliable,friendly,conscientious plumber in the Cher(18) region ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 [quote user="Matt C"]a competetively priced,reliable,friendly,conscientious plumber [/quote]I gather, Matt, that from your avatar, you are a Martian and totally unused to life on Earth!Seriously, ask in your local bar ar at the marie, as a start. Must be a bloke locally that the French use and recommend. Best of luck with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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