building in France ?

[SoWeezy]

does anyone know of website(s) that have info on wiring and plumbing in France

specifically their regs and technical info

thanks

[David in Normandy]

You could try asking on one of the expat French forums, e.g:

wiring regs are very different to the UK. Here (in France) ring- mains are illegal, everything has to be radial going back to the board. The other big difference is with breakers and fuses. In the UK where fuses and switches are only on the live side, in France breakers are on both live and neutral. In practice this means there is often no distinguishing between live and neutral in terms of wired sockets! So the three pin plugs in France aren't even marked live, neutral and earth. Only the earth is marked. There are also regs about putting cabling in conduits to protect against vermin chewing. Lots of differences. You also need to be a qualified electrician (French qualifications) to do any work here. Even if it is your own home you could well find that the house insurance becomes invalid in the event of a fire or a subsequent purchaser of the house can also sue.

[Doctor Drivel]

They are not. We have a reciprocal agreement to fit each others systems. If you buy all UK equipment and fit rings a with UK sockets & plugs (essential in a ring) they will connect up for you. Rings can have any number of sockets on them, as opposed to 8 on a French radial. Many on Continent fit UK rings, with sockets to reduce installation cost on commercial systems like those providing computers. An office needs many sockets and just have 8 per radial would means a very large CU

I don't think you need to be qualified as long as a qualified man checks it out.

[David in Normandy]

I stand corrected. This is where some official guidelines would be handy in English. I think there are lots of us ex-pats out here who pick up bits and pieces from various parties, some information more reliable than others. The bit about ring-mains I got from a French electrical inspector who surveyed the ancient wiring in our house. He also said pull-cord switches in the bathroom were illegal. As I say a definitive guide to the regs in English would be very handy!

[Doctor Drivel]

Yep. Also, pull chord switches are NOT illegal in France. Rings and radial are all legal in all EU countries. Nothing is stopping you putting a radial system in, in the UK. The ring requires the fuse in the plug, only the British plugs and sockets have them.

Where the French score is the live and neutral both on the MCB. New German systems need a RCBO in the CU - an RCD and MCB for each circuit.

You can fit the French style L & N MCBs in the UK in rings (better idea).

I believe there is a reg that says which pin the L is supposed to be in France. Being French they ignore it.

The best system is a mix of the two. RCBOs in the CU switching on L&N, using sheathed wiring even for the earth which the French have (the UK earth is bare). Rings where appropriate to say set of rooms, radials in kitchens, each appliance with its own RCBO at the CU. Pull chords as in the UK, no sockets in bathrooms as in the UK.

Using RCBOs on all circuits, as in Germany, precludes al this complex equipotential bonding in the UK. UK gated sockets.

[SoWeezy]

thanks both

[Andrew Gabriel]

Do check out a poster's posting history before believing anything they say.

[Doctor Drivel]

A very good point.

[Steve Walker]

There may well be such a reg., but even the manufacturers ignore it - some types of two gang French sockets have the sockets turned at 180 degrees to each other and connected by straight brass connections, effectively making opposite polarity connections to each socket.

Steve W

[David in Normandy]

There are also the two pin plugs here in France. They are designed to be inserted into the sockets either way up. So it is pot luck with all none-earthed appliances which way round live and neutral is.

It is legal (and normal) to have electrical sockets in bathrooms too, there are regs about how far they should be away from sinks, baths etc.

It's quite handy though having sockets in the bathroom. It means I can prop my radio on the edge of the bath and listen to it while I'm laying relaxing in the water and blow drying my hair :-)

[Andrew Gabriel]

There isn't such a rule -- Drivel made it up. Parts of France have no supply neutral, so they can't define one of the pins as neutral. As you correctly point out, all double sockets and 2-way adaptors have the sockets hard-wired around the opposite way anyway.

[Doctor Drivel]

What tripe! There is a designated pin for live, as in Holland, Germany, etc.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Oh dear, still making things up...

The French don't use the same outlet as Holland, Germany. The german connector isn't physically polarised at all -- you can put the plug in either way around, so it can't have a designated pin for live.

You cut the bit where I explained why the french can't define the pins as live and neutral. Perhaps you didn't understand it?

[Steve Firth]

The same goes for Italy, so Drivel's "etc" is more bullshit.

Hell, most days he doesn't understand what day of the week it is. So how can he be expected to understand something as complex as grounding neutral at the substation?

[Doctor Drivel]

Please eff off?

[Newshound]

LOL.....whereas over here I have to use my propane torch.....

[Martin Bonner]

Seconded. But in this particular instance, I believe the poster's comments were actually true.

If you wire everything according to UK regs, then the local authority is required to accept it. a) Whether they /do/ accept it or not is a different matter. b) The UK regs specify UK sockets (which Drivel did mention, but didn't stress). That means your French appliances won't fit. c) If you ever intend selling the property, your purchasers might look askance.