Our fosse has a fissure

[Lori]

That's disappointing about the insurance. Our little town had the same declaration of Sécheresse. I'm not sure how an insurance company can determine the crack in your tank was not caused by these conditions. Did they even make an inspection ? There have been several recent articles about home foundations and exterior walls cracking due to the Sécheresse.

[exile]

It may simply be outside of the damages covered by the scheme.

As for example a car damaged in a riot if riots are specifically excluded from an insurance policy. No inspection would be needed.

[Headers]

The fun and games have begun. Technician from SPANC came out. Have us a technical solution so I started looking for enterprises.
1 came straight away to have a look. Nodded at the SPANC recommendations, devis on its way.
The next one comes along completely disagrees with the SPANC proposition and says he’ll make an appointment and get SPANC out to come and look with him. Still waiting from a response from a third lot.
It’s a good thing we have 2 fosses or we really would be up sh*t creek!

[Lori]

Our neighbors, across the street are installing a new fosse. Massive thing it is. We've been watching the process - it is no small task and is taking quite some time.

I've never heard of a house having more than one fosse.

I hope you are able to repair yours successfully and don't have to replace it.

[L Austin France]

Our neighbors, across the street are installing a new fosse. Massive thing it is. We've been watching the process - it is no small task and is taking quite some time.

I've never heard of a house having more than one fosse.

I hope you are able to repair yours successfully and don't have to replace it.

Me + pal+ experienced digger driver & machine intalled our system in one day.
Another few hours required to backfill trenches after passing SPANC inspection.

[Headers]

Our neighbors, across the street are installing a new fosse. Massive thing it is. We've been watching the process - it is no small task and is taking quite some time.

I've never heard of a house having more than one fosse.



I hope you are able to repair yours successfully and don't have to replace it.

The reason we have 2 is that when we bought the house it was configured as three apartments and we have reconfigured it back to a single dwelling. Got rid of 1 chimney, 2 water meters, 1 electric contract and many internal(non structural ) walls on the way too. The assainissement setup is the last remains of what we bought.

[Headers]

One step forward…two back.
If we have a standard fosse installed, we have to have a MAHOUSIVE sand bed 30m2 in the back garden which has to be changed every 10 yers or so. Also some comments made that when we sell up we would have to change the sand filter (at great expense) but I’m not sure I believe that. Not supposed to drive the tractor over it so we’re not enthused.
If we go micro station, we can have a much smaller installation BUT most of them have to have an electrical supply to keep it working. The other type seem to use coconut matting to do the filtering so that needs changing from time to time. OH not keen and we’re not sure how they would get the electrical supply to the thing from the house.
Both totally different types but seem to cost about the same.

Has anyone got experience of micro stations please? I’m getting dizzy trying to work out which will be better,

[Polarengineer]

This not so simple. Of the two systems I have built, one a micro station reed bed and one a standard soak away system, I find them both (now after some redesign) OK
I have installed a micro station because I considered the type I used to be the best in theory. It has both aerobic and anaerobic digestive stages. I coupled this to a reed bed finishing section using the same manufacturer’s design. All was temporarily approved by SPANC. For my next fosse I sought approval for something similar, but was told what systems I should install and who makes them.
This indicated to me that SPANC are not objective and do not aim at an end result for the quality of discharge, but rely on approved systems throughout their offices (and who got a good back hander in the process).
For my second fosse system, one of SPANC’s recommendations was a system that had no tank and dumped raw sewage on a reed bed. Not for the faint hearted and not a maintenance free solution. I did not install this excuse for a system.
In my own case, my first fosse system reed bed was a disaster. The manufacturer had got the design wrong. My own design now works perfectly.
I would recommend the following…
Make sure all pipes are 100 mm dia
Install a fat trap close to the kitchen
Install a settling tank after the fosse tank. A small tank filled with high surface area plastic agglomeration packing to encourage the removal of solids carryover from the liquour
Ensure ventilation of the tanks by creating an airflow contra the water flow and released a meter above your roof pitch with a Venturi exhaust fitting.
Find a good company that will include all this and submit the design to SPANC. They then may want you to change it and meet their recommended designs,
Your dizziness should now be a full blown headache.

[Headers]

This not so simple. Of the two systems I have built, one a micro station reed bed and one a standard soak away system, I find them both (now after some redesign) OK
I have installed a micro station because I considered the type I used to be the best in theory. It has both aerobic and anaerobic digestive stages. I coupled this to a reed bed finishing section using the same manufacturer’s design. All was temporarily approved by SPANC. For my next fosse I sought approval for something similar, but was told what systems I should install and who makes them.
This indicated to me that SPANC are not objective and do not aim at an end result for the quality of discharge, but rely on approved systems throughout their offices (and who got a good back hander in the process).
For my second fosse system, one of SPANC’s recommendations was a system that had no tank and dumped raw sewage on a reed bed. Not for the faint hearted and not a maintenance free solution. I did not install this excuse for a system.
In my own case, my first fosse system reed bed was a disaster. The manufacturer had got the design wrong. My own design now works perfectly.
I would recommend the following…
Make sure all pipes are 100 mm dia
Install a fat trap close to the kitchen
Install a settling tank after the fosse tank. A small tank filled with high surface area plastic agglomeration packing to encourage the removal of solids carryover from the liquour
Ensure ventilation of the tanks by creating an airflow contra the water flow and released a meter above your roof pitch with a Venturi exhaust fitting.
Find a good company that will include all this and submit the design to SPANC. They then may want you to change it and meet their recommended designs,
Your dizziness should now be a full blown headache.

As they say round these ‘ere parts OUF!

[Quiksilver]

Hi Headers, with impeccable timing, we copped the new normes in 2006 regarding the sand filter bed. So we duly installed a double-layer 25m2 all-singing, all-dancing filter exactly to SPANC's requirements. (We're on clay soil, are you?) It became a bit of a joke as, in the following years, they claimed that we'd need to have the sand and gravel dug out, sent off to be washed and then re-installed. Oh right It's no longer accessible to lorries! 17 years on the system is working perfectly well. The tank's been emptied twice. In fact, the bac à graisse is the only source of contention. Despite SPANC, the vidange man and Uncle Tom Cobley telling my OH that it needs de-clogging regularly, he refuses to do it (and I most certainly do!). Luckily, the local vidange Co. are quite happy to do it.
When you say that a tractor can't pass over, do you mean a big, agricultural John Deere or a micro-tracteur or a ride-on mower? The last two regularly trundle over ours without problems.
Don't stress The French certainly don't and nobody guillotines them for not complying.