Friday, August 8, 2014

Filling in the Big Hole...

Last week I posted about the new drain field aka the big hole that we had in our yard.

This week, the excavator finished his work.

Yesterday we had the old septic tank pumped out and he destroyed the old one by tapping on it with the bucket of his track hoe and smashing it to pieces...


He then dug out a larger, deeper hole for the new tank, which is three times the size of the old one.  It was fun watching him...that bucket just seemed like an extension of his hand!

Early this morning the new tank arrived on a crane truck...


It was lowered into the hole...


...and centered to line up with the existing pipe from the house and the new pipe into the drain field...
(the crane operator has a nifty remote control in his hand that he used to maneuver the tank)


Once it was in place, the excavator hooked up all the plumbing and began covering the tank. It was only a short time that we couldn't run any water from the house.  I put notes on the faucets and we put books on the toilet lids as reminders.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been fun to be hooking things up, only to have some "not so clean" water come shooting out the pipe!


Everything has now been covered up, and we have a lovely dirt yard to play in...


Jim just finished going over it with the disc to get out the large clumps, and the landscaper has already been here to take a look at it and give an estimate for reseeding!  He was only a mile or so away when he got my email that we were ready for him...how's that for quick service?

We aren't sure when all that will happen yet, because the dirt needs to settle around the tank for a while. Regardless of how long that takes, it sure is nice to be able to do laundry, take showers, wash dishes and know that we should be in good shape for many years to come!

8 comments:

  1. It's all quite a process, isn't it?!
    Three cheers for a new tank, and alleviating any worries about future issues.

    Maybe you could plant sunflowers and pumpkins on the dirt instead of grass :)

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  2. At our other house, that was a constant worry. In November it would always have to be pumped. I was so glad to move here and be on a line.
    All of the worry you have with one. It is so nice that that one was so big.
    I am sure every thing will grow back quickly. Well, if you don't get early fall. :) It is interesting watching those men work those pieces of heavy machinery. It does look like an extension of their hands.

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  3. way to go! now you can go, go, go! ;) nice big tank - like you said, should last for years and years!

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  4. Laughing at Tex's comment I am so happy you have that big hole finished and now no worries for a long long time. Hug B

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  5. Congratulation on getting a brand new septic tank, lol... It's a very important piece of equipment that we sometime take for granted.

    When I was a younger housewife I used bleach often to keep everything sanitized but it was also killing the bacterias in the septic tank that was needed to digest all the raw sewage that was going in there daily. We had to have it pumped every year.

    Now you can return to normal and in no time your lawn will e beautiful again. A great job out of the way.
    Hugs,
    JB

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  6. Watching skilled big equipment operators is sometimes more fun than a circus. Congrats on the final results.

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  7. My parents just went through the same thing. Only difference is while all that work was going on a rattlesnake went up the septic line and ended up in the house! Lesson learned, don't do septic in rattlesnake country in the fall when they are looking for somewhere to hibernate. I'm sure it is a relief to have it all done and over with.

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  8. wow, that is a process. Makes me glad for city water/sewer :)

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