anyone insta;;ed their own fosse septic?

[Helen888]

Due to budget i think this is the route we'll have to take. In our commune we have to pay for the technician to come out and do the soil tests etc before the application is made so I am not worried about installing the thing in the wrong place however i wondered how easy actual installation is and whether anyone else has put their own fossee in.

[Ianhaycox]

We have just had a local firm install a fosse septique and bac a sable for our two new gites. They were here for 2 days with 2 diggers (big and small) we had 4 or 5 lorry loads of sand/gravel etc. + piping, fittings, membranes, plastic sheeting, inspection traps, oh and the tank of course.

During installation the inspector called once during the work and has to return before the final back-filling.

From my point of view it is guaranteed work done and dusted with no hassle and having seen the amount of work and skill involved I'm not sure it's something I would want to tackle myself. Especially considering the regulations etc.

If you want and idea of the work involved in installing a fosse and soakaway have a look at http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/2005/03/02.html#a287 which shows the work progressing in staged photos.

Our soil study cost about 300Euro from memory. The installation cost really does depend on the soil study, type of soakaway, if a pump is needed etc.

I would suggest getting the study done first then getting some devis.

I'm not trying to put you off, but when costing the DIY approach don't forget all the little incidentals and the hassle factor.