Stephen & Madeleine Kear's Holiday Gites In France

After Stephen's exhausting years and demanding schedules as a violinist in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra we left it all behind us to run idyllic gites in the Gartempe Valley, La Vienne, France.

Monday, May 30, 2005

Fosse Septique

Digging the hole
We decided to have the new fosse installed for the grange which we are renovating into a three bedroom gite. Several weeks ago a deep hole was made in the lawn to the rear of the house to take a test of the soil. This was done in the prescence of an official from Siveer the water company who then decided on the appropriate system for our terrain and instructed our man with the digger exactly where to install the fosse. A few weeks passed and the day for the installation arrived along with a different man with a digger! He dug an enormous hole and fitted the fosse septique and sand filtration system. A representative from Siveer was summoned to check the installation and give us the necessary certificate. All was going to plan until he measured the distance exactly from the nearest building and found it to be eight metres instead of ten. This was not good and and deemed not OK for a certificate. The official said we could go ahead with it but if we at some stage wished to sell the house the notaire would be obliged to ask us to reduce the price.
Oh dear its in the wrong place

I decided it must be moved! The hole was made even bigger and an awful mess made of our back garden. Our next customers due to arrive in two weeks. Madeleine & I with two friends Michael & Manuela spent a several days trying to flatten the surface by hand, roll it and then sow grass seed. Glad to say we made it in time...... but only just.