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Understand French plumbing for an easier life
Whatever your dream house in France may be, in town or country, maison de maître or apartment by the sea (Apartments and flats in France, Property near Sailing Ports / Marinas in France), chalet in the mountains (Ski Chalets for Sale in France) or chateau in the Loire, chances are that at some point you will have to stop dreaming and face up to some of the more prosaic truths of life in France. Like French plumbing. Even if you are moving into a fully finished and modernised house, you still need to understand some of the more basic differences between plumbing systems in France and those that you left behind in the UK, if only to enable you to choose the best tariffs for your water and heating requirements and to enable you to maintain your system and keep things running smoothly.
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Plumbing in France and hot water systems
If you are not having to do extensive work to your French property and your concern is simply to have a system that works well for your family, the first thing you need to do is to identify your hot water needs and choose an appropriate system. Most water heaters in France tend to be electric, with a storage tank for the heated water, and it is common to run these on a special tariff through EDF, the electricity supply company, in line with your particular plumbing requirements. (Connecting utilities (water, gas, electricity, telephone and sewage) in France.)
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Economical water heating
For example, if you are mainly out during the day, at work, and the children are at school (French Education System - Schools in France), you will find that your hot water consumption is best managed on an economy tariff that comes into play at perhaps nine o'clock in the evening, finishing at five o'clock in the morning. The water is heated during these hours and stored for use during the day. It is somewhat akin to Economy Seven and other similar schemes that have existed in England.
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Solar powered hot water and plumbing in France
If you have a large family, or for any other reason (perhaps you plan to run a dog washing service or some such business from home!) feel that you will need a greater amount of hot water, you can find alternative ways of heating the water that will be more economical (Owning Gîtes and Chambres D'Hotes (B&Bs) in France). Solar energy is becoming more and more popular in France, with financial incentives offered by the government to encourage greener practice (Property grants available in France, Green and eco friendly building in France). Whatever you do, do make sure that you do have enough hot water for your needs. There's nothing worse than coming home, cold and tired after a hard days skiing to find that someone has just used the last of the hot water because there isn't enough to fulfil your household's requirements... it really doesn't make for family harmony!
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Plumbing in France and washing machines and dishwashers
In the UK, washing machines and dishwashers tend to draw the hot water that they use from the hot water system in the house, using the water that has already been heated. In France, this is not so, as these machines are almost invariably cold fill only, meaning that they draw in only cold water and heat it to the required temperature. Therefore, if you have opted for an economy evening water heating system with EDF, it is a good idea to run such machines during the designated hours.
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Plumbing in France - gravity feed versus mains pressure
It is the norm in the UK to have gravity feed hot water with a tank placed in the loft space of the house. In France, however, the tendency is to rely on mains pressure for the hot water feed. Which is best? I suppose it's up to the individual, but we have found that the French system works better and the pressure is excellent. It is quite unnecessary to fit an electric power shower, for example, as you can easily get a power shower effect from the mains pressure.
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Plumbing in France from scratch
If you are building a house in France (Building or extending property in France), or renovating to any real extent (House Renovations in France), you will probably be faced with a rather different set of plumbing conundrums.
The bad news is that the French plumbing systems and materials are quite different in several aspects from the British ones that you may understand. You will need to get used to different sized pipes, with copper input pipes ranging from 28 mm (outer diameter) and 26mm (inner measurement) down to 12 mm (10mm). Where the Brits will solder, the French like to braise... (are we talking about copper or steak here?), and you will find that the copper pipe joints are supplied "untinned" (without solder) for this reason.
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Plumbing and copper pipe in France
You may find that copper pipe in France is supplied in coils, but if you can avoid these it is far better to buy the lengths so that you don't have to spend ages unbending it. If you can't see it sold in lengths just ask... it is perfectly possible to buy it this way, despite appearances to the contrary. However, the advantage of buying copper coils is that these are supplied soft (in an annealed state). Straight lengths are hard, and therefore need to be annealed before bending.
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Plumbing - toilet and tap fittings in France
The good news is that there are similarities in plumbing too, with toilet and tap fittings (and all threaded fittings) being the same as the UK, in BSP (British standard pipe).
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DIY or professional best for plumbing in France?
Most of the plumbing work can be done by a competent DIYer, although you do need to spend a little time getting to understand the system and materials first. One thing that you must use a professional plumber for, however, is the connection to the house from the main drain. If DIYing, and you are installing a septic tank (Septic tanks in France), be certain that you understand the rules governing these, as they have been subject to updates and changes in recent times.
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Possible plumbing problems with French rural properties
A word of warning, too, if you are planning a new build (New build property in France) or renovation in a rural area. French rural water supply is evaluated by pressure. If the pressure is too low, and there is only a small existing supply pipe in the area that your project is in, this may mean that your planning application is refused. In general, for the water company to consider upgrading supply to a rural area requires applications from several households or potential households as the infrastructure is costly and is the responsibility of the water company.
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Superb quality of plumbing products in France
The really good news is that the quality of the plumbing products and the ease of use of these items, is absolutely superb. Although not actually cheaper than in the UK, in terms of value of money and user friendliness, they are superior. Install it correctly, take advantage of the quality of the products and enjoy that hot bath!
Additional articles which may be of interest:
Electrics in France - wiring your house
Surveyors in France
Life in France
Installing a swimming pool in France
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About the author
Joanna Simm moved to the Languedoc area of south-west France in October 2004 having found her property through French Property Links.
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your questions...
1. A question about boilers in France (added 4/12/07)...
Hi - I came across your site whilst looking for a solution to a heating problem. My central heating boiler in France has given up the ghost (I wonder what that is in French), and I can't believe the cost of a new one. As luck would have it, I'm going back to Blighty in two days, provided of course, I haven't turned into a solid block before then. Do you have any idea whether a British boiler c half the price, will work and be acceptable under the Napoleonic code? If you have any advice, or could suggest alternative sources of information, I would be indebted to you. Many thanks.
Our reply...
Thanks for contacting us. I am currently trying to find out about English boilers from my colleague in France, but I'm not having much luck. In the meantime, I'm afraid that as I'm not expert in plumbing in France, I cannot answer your question accurately. I can only say that as many systems operate slightly differently in France with regard to hot water, and the pipework is of different size, you may find an English boiler to be a problem.
Having said that, I would suggest you contact a plumber from the following page of our site, who should be able to help and give you sound advice:
http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/memberscat.asp?category=BUILDERS
I wish you luck!
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