These examples from our experience are simply to give you ballpark figures. They show that it is the scale of the additional work beyond the simple connection itself that will impact your costs the most. They also show that costs for connecting to the mains drainage are likely to vary throughout Croatia and even within the same village, as ours did.
Simple connection
- Council connection fee, including manhole cover: € 210
- Builder costs to make the connection: € 467
- installing new pipework (to bypass septic tank and link with pipework preinstalled under barn during property restoration)
- decommissioning septic tank
- repairing damaged lawn
Note: normally you would also have to pay your builder for connecting your pipework to the sewer line. This was not required in our case, as luckily the exit of our preinstalled pipe came so close to the route of the main drain, they connected it while installing the sewer pipe itself. This is very unusual!
- Total: € 677
Complex connection
- Council connection fee: € 300
- Builder costs: € 5,500 – covering:
- Our connection:
- Work on our land:
- demolishing and rebuilding a pergola (for access)
- digging c. 5 m of trenches and installing pipework
- digging beneath wall
- decommissioning septic tank
- repairing damaged ground
- Work on neighbour’s land:
- removing (and re-laying) sufficient drive paving bricks
- trenching 10-15 m and installing pipework
- Work on our land:
- Neighbour’s connection:
- digging short trench through lawn and pipework
- decommissioning septic tank
- repairing damaged lawn
- Making two connections in pit (one each for us and the neighbour)
- Our connection:
- Total: € 5,800
Note: we also agreed a compensation payment with the neighbour for allowing work on his land and disruption.
