Wednesday, July 8, 2020

septic system is in


Yesterday was probably the most productive day I've had in at least a week since mostly all I've done is...nothing. Checked in with John the septic guy who arrived in the morning to continue work on the septic system, fixed breakfast, ordered the meter box pole which will be delivered Thursday, called my PC doc for a referral to a dermatologist, checked in with Rocky over at the shop buildout, went to the library to turn in one book and renew the other, went to the dollar store that had a sign on the door that said debit/credit card or exact change only and then turned around and went back to my car since I wanted to pay cash and didn't have exact change or any change for that matter, did the weekly run to the grocery store, called the guy to come spray the ditch and front fence line with poison now that the county finally mowed the ditch (I know but out here in the country sometimes that's the only thing you can do), and washed the dishes that had piled up.

The septic system is going in in bits and pieces, getting all the bells and whistles attached, because it is so hot and we have plenty of time and John has other endeavors to attend to. 


There's a water pipe that runs from the meter at the fence in front all the way to the back of the shop that had to be crossed with the drain line from the septic tank to the spray heads so I got out there Saturday evening and started digging holes to locate the water line starting at the meter, the second one about 3' away, next one even further, etc. When I would get to the water pipe I pounded a stake next to it, sighting along the stakes getting my holes further and further apart, my goal being to place a stake about where the drain pipe from the tank would cross the water line. Located the pipe in each of the first four holes but could not find it in#5. By that time I was so hot and sweaty I thought I was going to either pass out or throw up so I quit and went in. Sunday morning I was back out there mid-morning dug two more holes further on, finding the pipe, with the last hole where it needed to be for John and the trencher.


John and Joe worked from evening to dark Monday night trenching and laying pipe for the spray heads to avoid the unseasonal heat and humidity. 

this is one of the spray heads that will pop up to disperse the water from the septic tank

He showed me two large hunks of concrete yesterday that were buried that he hit with the trencher, probably where poles were for a sign as this property used to be, among other things, a Waste Management site, said he couldn't have hit them any more dead center if he'd had measurements showing exactly where they were. 

these things are bigger than they look in the picture

All that remains to be done now for the septic system is connecting the sewer pipe to the house and spreading out all the rest of the dirt.

It's looking like just about everything is going to be done by the end of the week...septic system done by the end of today, meter box pole delivered tomorrow, water hooked up on Friday. Once all the utilities are all hooked up and functioning I have to get the surveyor back out to check that the house is high enough above the floodplain and that will be the last of my responsibilities towards getting the house. I'm not sure when Rocky and John are going to get the meter box pole planted but soon and then Pam will have to take over getting the electricity hooked up and the AC and the skirt installed. She'll do a walk through/punch list with the seller (we've already noted a few things that need to be taken care of) and then the house will be ready for her to start moving things in.

And Rocky is finishing up the build out in the shop today. We have tried to use all manner of materials lingering from previous work at our house and jobs that Rocky has had so the room is half sheetrock and half beadboard, the half bath is sheetrock on the inside and beadboard on the outside, I had to buy a little vanity but we re-used the sink from the bathroom remodel earlier this year and Rocky had a piece of countertop for the vanity, a toilet, sheetrock mud, some insulation and other miscellaneous stuff all from previous jobs and already paid for (we basically cleaned out his garage) plus some lumber we had in the barn that he ripped down for molding. I still have to fetch the big stainless steel shop sink  from our friend Gene who is giving it to us cause he doesn't need it and has no where to put it that will go against the left wall in the corner (you can't see the sink hookup as the trash bag is in the way)  and we have a faucet set for that that Rocky had previously given us.





12 comments:

  1. Is there a drain field for the septic tank or does all water go up through the sprayers? I saw an installation like this on youtube behind a tiny house but they really did not go in to much detail about how it works, basically they just said you can't drive over the heads.

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    1. our system at our house has three separate tanks and an underground drain field but it's probably 18 years old. now they use a different aerobic system. the tank has three chambers and by the time the water gets to the third chamber it's good enough that it can be sprayed onto the ground. the spray heads pop up at night, spray, and then pop back down.

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  2. You have been busier than beavers. That is an ingenious septic system (I think. They have become much more involved since I last installed/upgraded).

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  3. Good lord, Ellen! Pounding in the ground to find the water pipes! How do you do it?
    I'm sure you'll be glad when all of this is done and dusted, set up and running. And a whole lot of it will be because of your hard work, sweat, planning, and organizing. You really are amazing.
    That little bathroom is quite tidy and neat. I like it.
    Does the new house come with it's own heating and air unit? Just curious.

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    1. 40+ years of running my studio and etched glass business comes in handy. getting close to the end of my management of the project. and yes, the house has it's own heating and AC. the furnace is already installed but the AC condenser won't be installed until the electricity is hooked up.

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  4. There are so many details to getting this house up & running - and that doesn't even count the hard work you did on the fence. Sheesh! We're going to be doing the opposite at Mike's dad's house - hopefully this winter. There is a house trailer (single-wide) that his family lived in while he was in middle & high school that no one has set foot in for YEARS. We've been married almost 30 years & I don't think anyone has been in there that whole time. As far as I know, they all just walked out the door (moved into his grandmother's house that was already on the property) & left everything behind for the mice & snakes & what-all. Anyway, I won't be doing any manual labor to get that thing dismantled & disposed of - you can pay people to do that & I propose to go that route because I am a sloth.

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    1. well, I did sort of have a playbook since my daughter went through all this last year so I was calling her a lot.

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  5. If we ever have another major renovation lined up and provided the virus shit is done and dusted, can I hire you as site manager? Food and board included etc.

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  6. Well that looks like hot, miserable work, but I guess it's good to have it done! Do you have to build up your septic system at all? In Florida, where my mom lived, newer regs require septic tanks to be a certain elevation above the water table or flood plain or something -- and since so much of Florida is so low and wet, houses wind up with big mounds in the yard containing the septic tank. It's visually kind of a drag but I guess it's ecologically healthier, at least in the Florida climate. (Oh -- I just read the bit above about the sprayers -- ingenious!)

    What on Earth are you going to do with those huge hunks of concrete from the footers for the sign?

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    1. no didn't have to build it up. I think it should have been another 6" deep as one end was about 4" above ground level but I'm not the expert and it did get all covered up though I have to get out there with the heavy rake and a shovel to even it all out.

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    2. oh, the big hunks of concrete. maybe you remember that there is a concrete bunker in the property, actually not a bunker though that's how we refer to it as it's open, just four concrete walls. anyway, John tossed them in there with the tractor.

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  7. You are amazing. I wish I had a sister like you:) That bathroom in the shop looks really nice.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.