Services. Electrics, Water and Waste.
In these pieces I will give an overview and general hints related to the organisation of the services within our barn. It is not my intention to tell others how they should wire-up or plumb their house. Just pass on some things I learnt while doing it for myself.
Part 1. Electrics.
Are not complicated, but are deadly! I cannot stress enough how important it is to seek professional help if you are not competent in this activity.
The wiring in our conversion follows the French norms that were current with regard to cable thickness, number of sockets allowed per room and the special circumstances re electric heaters and chauffe eau. These are available as links from another post.
The system of “spurs” that run in gaines from the distribution board to all parts of the house create an amount cabling that is vast. Label every individual gain at both ends with masking tape, and keep a check of where cables are running from. I used the same designations for every room that I had on the plans from the start of the project. The size and number of cables in each gaine will depend on the type of circuit it is. I used 20mm diameter gain most of the time and 25mm for things like “come and go”, two way switches that need more cable. Although not strictly necessary I ran earth cable to all light points just in case they were needed in the future. It may be a long way off, but if you know where you are going to install a satellite dish it is well worth running some gaine from there to the decoder box position. 
Feeding wires in is a two person operation. One to pull and the other to guide, un-snag and generally make sure the cables run smoothly into the conduit. For longer runs try to make sure as much as possible all curves, bends are not too acute. A good set of lungs is required for all the shouting that takes place!
It is not too difficult to then clip, tie or somehow fix a loop of cable (be generous) in the position of every light, switch, socket or appliance that you envisage having. Try to establish a standard measurement for things like position of sockets (mine are 30 cms from the floor), Light switches height and distance from entry door into room, consider which way the doors open. Sockets above worktops in kitchens and position of any “special” sockets, i.e. below counter for washing machine/dishwasher.
Runs for communication such as telephone, satellite cabling and or computers are also to be considered. (Indeed new norms dictate they are now part of a standard house wiring.)
I made all the connections for sockets, lights, switches and heaters. I then paid an electrician to wire all the individual circuits into the distribution board. At this point he checked all ratings and earthing for me and all sockets etc. I then asked the local electric board to come in and change the meter and install one of their wall mounted meter reading boxes, and, at the same time changed my tariff to the heures creuse option for overnight, cheap rate supply. While they were there they did an earth check and gave the whole installation the “once over”. Not exactly a “consuel inspection” because my installation was not a new one, but they were quite happy to have a look for me.
Electrics, wiring can be fiddly and frustrating. They need careful handling but do fall into the realms of DIY if you are capable, careful and methodical. If you are in any doubt about your competence or ability, pay someone.
Anybody looking to discuss their own project of renovation or conversion is invited to contact us.