Drainage

One of the many things that need to be provided when you produce a dossier for a planning application is if your property is not on main drainage – an attestation that is less than 2 years old which states that your foul drainage conforms or that a submitted study detailing a proposed new installation meets the required standards.

In the past this would have been for a fosse that would have probably just taken waste from the toilet. Grey water from your shower/bath and kitchen sink would have just flowed out under the garden or, in some cases in to the nearest ditch.

For some years now the system must take waste water and solids from the entire property , treat it and where ever possible dispose of the ‘treated’ water on your property.

The choice of which type of system is suitable for your house depends on a number of factors : soil type, space available, cost, and also your preference.

The old traditional systems of fosse followed by either an epandage or sand filter to filter the liquid still have a following as they tend to be a little cheaper than the more ecologically friendly micro stations or fosse with compact filter solutions.

One should bear in mind however that an epandage will require space for at least 60 metres of perforated pipework laid in gravel filled trenches 1,50 metres apart and sand filters are under investigation by the national drainage authorities due to pollution concerns and they also need to be completely replaced every 10 – 15 years.

The ecological solutions are – micro stations or fosse with compact filter for permanent residences whilst holiday homes use the fosse with compact filter solution as normally they do not require electricity to operate ( because the French cannot commit to a constant electrical supply).

To determine what sort of system best suites your project we can compete a study and after discussions with you can decide on a system. We can then submit your application and deal with any queries the authorities may have before obtaining the permission required to install.

Thermal Regulations

On some renovations/extensions, and most definitely on a New Build project ,you will of course have to comply with the thermal regulations just as you would if you were in the United Kingdom.

In order to do this one must specify the method of construction and the insulation U/R values of all the proposed materials, window, doors etc, create a set of plans , elevations and sections to submit to a specialist thermal practice who will carry out the necessary calculations to ascertain whether your proposals will comply and, if successful, enable you to acquire an official attestation from a government website.

This attestation and the one covering drainage compliance form part of the dossier to be submitted to gain permis de construire approval to enable the works.

This is not the end of the storey however – when the project is complete you have to submit a completion of works form to the local Marie, this is passed to the local DDTM office who, if everything is in order and you have a certificate to state that the works comply with the thermal study permis de construire granted, will issue a completion certificat.

It is not uncommon for people to forget this last stage but without the official completion certificat it may not be straightforward to sell the property at a later date.

We are in the business of trying to ensure that our clients do comply with the appropriate steps necessary when embarking on a project which requires authority’s approval as it is much less stressful to get it right at the beginning than it is to try to go back and go through the system retrospectively.