Connected to sewers or not

[fulcrum]

I have obtained the following from my house purchase contract under the heading of Assainissement .

"est raccorde a un système d’assainissement

autonome par tout a l’egoût"

I am hoping that it says that we are connected to the public sewer as that is what my notaire clarified. However when I get a translation from Babelfish I get some sort of gobeldegook.

[suein56]

Hi

All the houses we have looked at with tout a l'egout have been on mains drains. I think the rest says 'connected/joined up to a [stand alone?] cleansing system by means of main drain'.

Someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon!

Sue

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="fulcrum"]I have obtained the following from my house purchase contract under the heading of Assainissement .

"est raccorde a un système d’assainissement autonome par tout a l’egoût"

I am hoping that it says that we are connected to the public sewer as that is what my notaire clarified. However when I get a translation from Babelfish I get some sort of gobeldegook.
[/quote]

This says " is connected to an autonomous (stand-alone, independant) all sewerage waste system". Which implies a septic tank (or whatever) to me...

You may be interested to know that Systran translates your sentance as;

"east connects has an autonomous system of cleansing by all has the egoût"

Sewerage is égout - I don't know what egoût is - a typo?

[suein56]

Nick 'tout à l'égout' is definitely mains drainage. We have only a little of it in some of the villages close to where we are so when it does exist the estate agents are most forceful in letting you know this  or that particular house benefits from it.

Mind you, where we are our neighbours prefer 'fosse à toutes eaux' as it is so very much cheaper!!!

Sue

 

[fulcrum]

Thanks Nick and Sue.

I typed the original text into Word. which tends to make corrections. Maybe I should have used Notepad

Anyway it seems that the important bit is "tout a l'egouts".

Our house is a town house and was originally on a fosse as the evidence is still here. However the public sewer trap outside the front door is bone dry at the moment even though we are using quite a bit of water for the WC, Washing machine etc. The only reason  I noticed something may be wrong is that there is a grey plastic 100mm pipe, that runs under the footpath from our house to the street gutter, outside the front door that had water flowing out of it yesterday. It looks like it's only grey (sink) water but I am now wondering if the house is still on the old fosse and someone has made a connection from that to the new sewer trap and that has become blocked in the last few days.

Would the connection to the sewer have to have been made official by someone from the town assainissment department at the time it was done or would someone just be able to bodge this connection.

I am hoping that the "collecteur principal" has just become blocked because of something else but then I wondering where has the water etc.. been going for the last few days???

[Jc]

I know someone living in a town in England who had three loos in his house and rightly expected that they were all connected to the main drains.It was only when he began to extend his house that he found that the original loo in the house(the first one)was still connected to a septic tank.

[BJSLIV]

"est raccorde a un système d’assainissement autonome par tout a l’egoût"

Given the circumstances that you describe, I suspect that if you changed one letter r for an s in the word "par" , the sentence would then more accurately describe the set-up, and would also be gramatically correct.

In other words the house has its own system, NOT mains drains!

If the mains drains are a recent arrival the main pipes are laid, a branch connection is put in to the edge of each property, and it is then the responsibility of the owners to make their own arrangements for connection, usually within a period of two years from when the drains were put in.

Sounds like it could be time to start digging.

 

[fulcrum]

Thank you BJSLIV

I have already got the digger booked. I asked my French (but English speaking) notaire, at the time of purchasing, to check for this very thing and she even advised that even if the sewer connection is there it would be wise to ensure that it is in fact connected. I really don't know how this slipped through the net. I am certainly not going to get all legal about it as I should have checked, myself, that all paperwork was in order. The notaires in France are only there for making sure the goverment get their revenues due and can't get involved in wrangles with clients.

A word of warning to anyone buying. Ensure that all services are signed off and not just stated to be there. Insist on proper documentation for everything. That is if you care.

As it happens I'm not too upset as the house is rather nice and we feel at home here so maybe we put it down to experience. You can't, after all win EVERY trick.

[fulcrum]

Thanks for all the replies

Are there any diagrams of how to lay "collecteur Principal" pipes, inspection traps etc.. to provide a connection to the sewer inspection trap (above). I already have a book titled "La Plomberie" by Thierry Gallauziaux, David Fedullo and Maurice Jaquelot which is excellent but doesn't detail the heavy plumbing like soil stack "collecteur principal", inspection traps "tampon de visit" etc..

[suein56]

Fulchrum

I have replied to your pm to me with a pm to you!

Good Luck

Sue

[Le_Jars]

Fulcrum, I don't know if this is relevant, but we had a similar

situation. We were told that our house had mains drainage but the

presence of a septic tank still in the garden led me to suspect that it

was still on the tank. Our road outside had been newly re-paved and a

new manhole cover thing had been put in. When I looked into this

circular drain, there was a 'container' or junction box I suppose it is

(pardon the non-technical jargon here!), but there were no pipes

leading into it at all. I would flush the toilets and run the taps;

nothing, bone dry.

Then my all-knowing father in law turns up and fiddles about with the

bottom of it, and lifts up a 'false' bottom. There were the pipes

leading from the house and into the mains. Obviously sewers are not

what they seem sometimes  :)

[fulcrum]

Thanks Le_jars

The water company has made an official inspection to confirm that my house is not connected and issued a report to that effect. I had to get that done so that I could send it to my notaire. However I have now visited the water company and also the marie and clarified that I don't need any special permissions to do the work myself. It seems that plumbing inside the house doesn't get checked.

I have surveyed the work area and costed all the parts. The only difficult bit is to dig down 1.1 metres just inside and underneath the front door.

[Dave&Olive]

hi

        ok can show you pics here how a basic system works

      http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j311/daveolive/

             dave

[fulcrum]

I have decided to do the assainissement works myself as I have a lot of time on my hands and already have most of the tools from a  previous project.

Could anyone advise on the correct material to use for the area surrounding the actual connection of my collecteur principal 100mm and the "Tabouret de branchement" or "boite de branchement".  The existing hole at the base of the boite de branchement is 125mm and

has a rubber seal. I have now removed the bung and can clearly see the

rubber seal.

Should I purchase a 100mm to 125mm adaptor and use the existing seal or can 100mm connectors be used direct with some kind of sealant..

What material should be used to fill around the collecteur and the boite. I am presuming some kind of sand/lime/cement but am not sure what the best mix would be.

[powerdesal]

Fulcrum,

firstly I must say that I am NOT a plumber, but, to me, it seems most

logical to use a 125/100 adaptor and use the existing built in ring

seal, its there for that purpose and to use a smaller dia pipe and

attempt to fill the gap with 12+mm of sealant all round is not really

the way to go.

Regards

[fulcrum]

[quote user="powerdesal"]Fulcrum,

firstly I must say that I am NOT a plumber, but, to me, it seems most

logical to use a 125/100 adaptor and use the existing built in ring

seal, its there for that purpose and to use a smaller dia pipe and

attempt to fill the gap with 12+mm of sealant all round is not really

the way to go.

Regards

[/quote]

Thanks Steve

I thought that may be the case but now I'm sure that I will purchase an adaptor.

[Michael]

 Fulcrum.Buy the correct 125mm to100mm reducing socket put a bit of grease or fairy liquid around the seals and shove in.Do not cement around the plastic pipe it must have movement,run your 100 pipe through to the job and back fill with pea grit.when you have a good covering etc then it can be finished off with sand /cement etc.Do not forget that an open vent is required on the system.Michael.

[fulcrum]

[quote user="Michael"] Fulcrum.Buy the correct 125mm to100mm reducing socket put a bit of grease or fairy liquid around the seals and shove in.Do not cement around the plastic pipe it must have movement,run your 100 pipe through to the job and back fill with pea grit.when you have a good covering etc then it can be finished off with sand /cement etc.Do not forget that an open vent is required on the system.Michael.[/quote]

Thank you Michael

I have today purchased the correct 100 to 125 item from Gedimat.

The one metre 100mm pipe approaches the 125mm access by 45 degrees. How far up the 100mm pipe should I use pea grit?

What is the best mix for the surround around the 100mm pipe after the pea grit.

[Michael]

 Fulcrum. As your back filling just make sure all the pipe is covered with pea grit or equivalent material to protect it,you do not need to encase it in concrete/sand/cement, if its under /on the public highway make good the hole as it was.When you are off your invert and come to the level you need to go into your property do not forget its 1in 40 fall.michael.

[fulcrum]

Thanks Michael

I have sent you a PM.

[mrsmith]

Hello all

This post mirrors my situation I am sorting out the connection to main drains for my mother  we tried to get via the mayor somone to sort it out but after waiting three months they came and went without doing anything  so I started myself 

I have dug up to the main drain and found the 125mm hole in the side unlike fulcrums mine had no bung in and was full of gravel I have removed it all and bought the reducer 125 to 100mm but unlike fulcrums my concrete tank has no rubber seal I thought buy some heavy mastic to seal it as once the gravel is holding in it will not move but I am worried that I might be doing something wrong although the marie has said we can fit it ourselves and once it is buried I do not see anyone digging it up   I wondered if we cement it in as well although I do not fancy doing this as If there is a problem it will be harder to sort out any help be apreciated as I am only here for three weeks and mother has a list as long as my arm of jobs to do although this one ranks very high as me and the missus have a little house next to hers and as yet the toilet is not connected  thanks a lot