All About Septic

Well, the house was not installed today. We still don't have water, or even a foundation, but by god we have septic! It was actually a pretty fascinating process to watch.

First he was kind enough to take out a few sassafras trees with his backhoe. It was like watching someone flick over the candle on a cupcake. John called shortly after this display and refused to bow to my pleas that I NEED a backhoe.

Next he dug a hole for the box.

Then they lifted the septic tank in. It's a giant concrete rectangle, somewhat like a mausoleum. This is funny because Mr. Jones also does "vault" work. Staring down into the six-foot hole with the multi-ton concrete box dangling over it, I felt a little sick. I've never had a particular fear of being buried, but what coursed through my veins could only be described as terror. I told John when he got home that he could gift me, he could sell me, he could even set me on fire, but he could NOT bury me in the ground. *shudders*

This will hold about 1,000 gallons of waste and water.

Once the tank was in place, it was time to dig the trenches for the fill line. Because of the angle and length of our lot, they had to do two runs. Something to keep in mind when planning your septic system is that (at least in Alabama) you must stay at least 5 feet from all property lines.

The really cool thing about the fill lines is.... everything. The middle piece is the actual pipe to the septic tank. It's just a piece of accordianed plastic, but the ends are specially molded so that they each snap together both effortlessly and tightly. The stuff surrounding the pipe and filling the two "logs" on either side is: Ba-ba-bum! Packing peanuts.

Yes, they've finally found a use for styrofoam that doesn't end up in a landfill or an ocean. Because styrofoam is non-biodegradable, lightweight-yet-sturdy, and shaped to allow airflow, it makes the perfect fill material. Years ago they used varying grades of gravel to achieve the same filtering effect. This makes the job go much faster, though. Just lay out the "logs" and go.

Between the concrete of the tank and the peanuts in the fill, our system is rated for 200 years!

Once everything is in place, they used the backhoe to fill the gaps and spread out the excess dirt as evenly as possible. The only thing left was a tiny corner of the tank and a pipe to connect to the house. Ignore all the roots. They are one of the major reasons I hate pine trees so much. The roots can go deeper than you'd think and they spread out unbelievable distances, and they're almost impossible to get rid of.

All in all, it took two guys about 2 1/2 hours of steady work. Now if only the rest of the process could have been this easy.