Travel Reference
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'We can connect this kitchen pipe to the fosse. There should be no problems and it should
solve the problem of the odours with the right angle. But to be
aux normes
you'll need a
grease box at the end of the kitchen drain before we connect it up to the filter unit of the
septic tank,' he said.
'How much is a grease box?' My fear of costs related to plumbing came from the hefty
amount of investment we had already made.
'A couple of hundred euro.'
I felt the usual frisson of fear associated with unplanned costs.
'We have to do it. What do you recommend with the downpipe from upstairs? One day I
want to get rid of the
broyeur
.'
'I'll put in a sewage pipe that you can connect up if you ever replace the small pipe,' said
Monsieur Jegu.
'Pas de problème.'
'Perfect,' I said.
Work started the next morning. A few hours later the grind of the digger stopped and I
saw Messieurs Jegu and Fracasse deep in conversation near our septic tank. They motioned
to me to come out to join them.
They looked embarrassed and I thought they must have broken a pipe.
'What's up?' I asked. They pointed at a little pipe that ran into the exit of the septic tank.
'The out-pipe from the
broyeur
goes straight into the final filtration unit of the septic tank
and not into the tank itself,' said Monsieur Jegu.
'I don't think I understand. What do you mean?'
'They connected the upstairs toilet to the out-pipe instead of to the septic tank itself so the
waste from upstairs has never gone into the treatment unit. The new pipe must be connec-
ted to the main septic tank,' explained Monsieur Fracasse.
I looked up to heaven. Our 'unusual' plumbing went a lot further than kitchen waste at the
corner of the house.
'How much will it cost?'
'Don't worry, I won't change the price,' said Monsieur Jegu.
He had picked up my nervous twitch. I thanked him and went inside to follow up on the
orderconfirmation. OnceagainIfoundDaveoutandleftamessage.Iwasgettingseriously
worried. He was our only hope of survival. Without his order we would not be able to pay
the bottling costs and our suppliers could force our liquidation.
Sophia and Ellie were growing up fast. Now four and two respectively, they were real
characters. Sophia was the confident, studious type and Ellie, the rogue rock star. One
