Back to the Septic Fix

Larry lost sleep last night worrying about how to approach installing a new intake pipe into the tank. One of the "fixes" for our septic problem, is to create a "drop" for the flow from our house to the tank. He discovered that the existing pipe has about a two inch rise instead of a drop. Fluids can flow uphill, once roots are removed, but solids cannot. He dug up to the wall of the homemade tank to reveal a rim of brick. He grew up down here and, as a teenager, built a septic system and tank with his grandfather.

Where he grew up, outside of Columbia, he was in "the sandhills". Drainage is excellent there. In those days, one dug a hole about five feet deep, lined it with concrete block that was filled with concrete; leaving the bottom open. Then they cut an intake hole and an outtake hole a few inches from the top, and lined them with cement. The drain field was a series of shallow, rectangular (about eighteen inches long) concrete blocks cut in half and laid open-face-down on the ground with about an inch or so of separation between them. Stones were laid between and around the separations, then sand and soil covered it all up. The fluid found its way through the stones (that kept soil from getting into the "pipes") into the sand for leaching.

Here, we are in yellow and red clay that over time turns to rock with compression. Also, one to three-inch quartz-like rocks are peppered throughout the clay to make digging a chore, and ruins the tips of shovels and axe-blades alike. If you chop at a root in the ground, you inevitably hit rock, which chips at the blades and the edges. We really don't know how Fred, the previous late owner, designed this septic system. But Larry has ventured a guess about where the outtake pipe is located and how far down on the tank it is. He has to do more digging today to find that outtake point, possibly having to remove some of the soil over the tank lid, being careful not to compromise the lid or chip it in any serious way. The location of the tank is a walking area, so care has to be given for safety reasons.

He lost sleep because he is afraid of what will happen if he breaches the wall of the tank in order to replace the intake cast-iron pipe with PVC. This project has so far been a mushroom of discoveries. He has to lower the pipe overall to create a "drop", which will increase the efficiency of the flow to the tank. PVC is nice and slick, so solids will move through it cleanly. But without the drop angle, they may continue to sit at the new forty-five degree bend he will create. The terra-cotta bend now is about ninety degrees.

I called my brother, Jim, this morning, who works with septic systems in Massachusetts as a career, for a consultation. Larry surmised that in the 1950's when our system was built, the technology was about the same everywhere: there were fewer rules, homeowners did the work themselves, and the design was kept pretty simple. Jimmy suggested to Larry that he not worry about replacing, or creating, a "T" ballast inside the tank for the intake pipe (which would allow waste to flow and drop into the tank, while preventing back-flow). Jim suggested he just remove the cast-iron pipe, chisel the hole lower, and after the new PVC is installed, just plug up the hole and the entire entry area with a wheelbarrow of cement, allowing waste to just pour into the tank. Larry read online that plugging the holes with cement is a common practice now, as it was when he was a boy. Jim's advice was very helpful, and now Larry is outside digging.

Our plan within a year is to completely replace this entire septic system anyway when we renovate the house. We just need a system that works until then. We are both sick of having to snake the pipe every three days to prevent toilet overflow, and flow of disgusting-looking "stuff" into the tub next to the toilet. Another problem is that the kitchen sink empties into this system. So when the system clogs, any water from the kitchen sink also causes junk to rise up into the bottom of the tub. It is truly disgusting and rusty-looking. No smells to deal with at all, amazingly. Just a tub that is very difficult to keep clean.

Right now, I don't use that toilet. If I have to, and we have a note taped to the toilet lid for family and guests, pee in the toilet, I leave paper in the plastic-shopping-bag-lined waste basket. I'm sure some of you are yelling, "TMI" (Too Much Information), right now, but I thought a true picture of our predicament was warranted to get the full, quality-of-life impact of the problem.

Because this project is taking longer than expected (there's only room for one person to dig), it may be the only large project we get completed in our remaining weeks here. We will be heading back up north at the end of the month to begin preparing our Massachusetts house for sale, hopefully this summer. And, we own my sister's house up there, so we will also be putting that on the market at the same time. She says she's ready to move on, so here we go! We are not at a loss for work, that's for sure. This is retirement?

Now you know why we enjoy coffee and breakfast in a leisurely manner each morning. We have to gear up for the hours ahead each day and make sure our plan still makes sense. And, we take a few hours to relax and watch the changing light on the water, the rising of the lake level, how many fisherman are braving the cold and wind in what kinds of boats, and most importantly, the birds outside our windows fighting over turf surrounding the feeder and splashing in the birdbath. We keep binoculars on the table next to the sofa to check out bird markings, and to see far away. More about bird watching in another blog.