Submitted by Ana White on Thu, 2011-07-21 06:10
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Printer-friendly versionSend to friend- ‹ previous
- 55 of 62
- next ›
Momplex Stats
Money Spent So Far:
$9500 + Property
Time Spent So Far:
200 Hours on Site + Planning It took us two days to put these two pipes in the ground.
Yes, we might be slow, working without a crew of contractors, often with kids running wild on the hill. But there is good reason these two pipes consumed two full days for the Ram with his Dad's help. Because you see, these pipes connect to a septic tank.
We dropped the septic tank in and ran the line to the Momplex in this post. And that was NOT it.
There's more to a septic system than a strange looking tank, two pipes, and a run from the drains.
When you flush, it swirls down the pipes, and down the sewer line to the septic tank. The septic tank has a baffle in it that keeps solids in but lets fluids drain through. It's the solids that you pump every so often. But the fluids pass through and go into either a leach field or a drain field. Eventually, the wastewater filters through soil and purifies, re-entering the water tables.
And although our septic system has functioned perfectly for years with a leach tank (installed by the multi-talented Real Alaska Man a decade ago) we were recommended by several professional sources to use a drain field. From information we gathered, a drain field system will be more effective, last longer, and is less expensive and easier to install.
I'll agree with all but the "easier to install" part.
It all begun with Snort digging trenches. Then we rented a backhoe from our local Heavy Equipment Rental spot (Snort does alot of things, but backfilling isn't his forte) and filled the bottoms of trenches with leach rock.
This is regular gravel, or what they might call pit run.
This is leach rock. It's simply gravel run through a screen, so only rocks of a certain size are sorted out. Leach rock drains really well, ensuring the leach field does not back up into the septic tank. We had to have the leach rock delivered from a local gravel pit.
Once the leach rock was placed in the bottoms of the trenches, and graded to the satisfaction of the Boss, we layed special pipes on top of the leach rock.
These pipes are indeed special. I know because we paid extra because they have holes in them. Think of them like designer jeans, holes = $$$$$$$. Trust me, you want holey pipes. Everybody has them.
Once the leach field and tank are all connected, everybody gets a blanket of foam just in case we have one of those winters, and then a nice comfy layer of sand. And then we backfilled the whole system, leaving just two pipes sticking out of the ground from the septic tank.
And there you have it, a do-it-yourself septic system. We did have the system installation quoted by a local contractor for $8200. Ram price? $5000. Not bad, not bad at all. An extra $3000 is a set of appliances for Mom.
Oh, and Mom, you can now flush.
If there was a toilet to flush.
- ‹ previous
- 55 of 62
- next ›
Love these posts!
Just wanted you to know how much fun I'm having reading all the udpates on "Momplex". It's been fun living vicariously through your efforts. Building a house has always been a dream of mine, maybe someday we'll attempt it ourselves as well!
We just bought a house with a
We just bought a house with a septic tank. It has been interesting seeing how they are all put together. Thank you for a wonderful site.
I know this has nothing to do
I know this has nothing to do with your construction but I love when you post picture like the lead in photo here -- The Blue and Green contrast is my favorite view of creation. It makes me want to move up there every time I see it!
help!
We have new house with a septic tank and we don't know anything about it - how it works, where it's boundaries are and what do we need to do to keep it working! Can you give me any advice on where to turn for info? Thanks!
I've been wondering for a
I've been wondering for a while why you call him RAM! Thanks for clearing that up :)
Your family is so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!
The pipes aren't level to the
The pipes aren't level to the horizon. You need to start over. Lol
Post new comment