Monday morning the septic system installers showed up and began work. I met them at the site and we decided where to put the tank and the lines. I have been impressed with this installer. Before he even met with me the first time he had already called the health department to talk about what kind of system should be installed. After I hired them, they continued to talk with the inspectors, finally convincing them that a fairly conventional system could be used, even if installed at a shallow depth because we had plenty of topsoil to to cover the lines.
I was afraid they would need a jackhammer to get the septic tank in, but the backhoe did the job.
This equipment is actually called a track hoe. They’re compact and powerful little machines.
The tank itself came from a company up in Summerville. The driver arrived just at the right time. Here they are dropping the tank into the ground.
I came back periodically to check on progress. Here they are installing the leach field drain lines.
The lines are roughy half circles in cross section and made of plastic.
This depth would not be sufficient without additional fill, which they are adding in this picture.
The job was inspected and completed by late afternoon. The entire crew left with all their equipment and a check before we ate supper.
The installer warned me to keep any vehicles off the leach field because the drain lines are so near the surface. The health department inspector called me later in the afternoon to tell me the same thing. I made a “KEEP OFF” sign Tuesday and put it at the edge of the installation, and then I put yellow caution tape around the entire leach field.
The top of the well driller’s rig is visible just above the foundation walls in the last photo. The driller hadn’t worked on the site for the last two weeks, but he came back on Monday. The well is now at about 170 feet. They have hit water but only with a very low flow. I expect the well to end up at least twice as deep as it is now.
There is no real hurry on the well, which is a good thing since patience is necessary when the driller is using an old cable rig.
We hired a framer last week. He should start work in early August. If things go well, it should take only three to four weeks to dry in the house. So, by sometime in September we will probably be able to see the house in something other than our imaginations.
It’s great seeing all that progress there. Always so reassuring to have a thoughtful and conscientious work crew. It will be wonderful to see the house take actual shape!
Mark: I’m still astonished every time I see the red soil in your images!
We had to replace the leach field at the residence occupied by my land manager. When the work was completed, the land manager erected a post-and-rail fence around the leach field to keep anyone and everyone off. Now, it’s a big weed patch.
Robin — Yes, it’s good to have people you trust do the work.
Scott — Most of the soil up here is really red. It’s a mixture of clay and sand, which makes it better than pure red clay, but it still gets pretty hard when it’s dry. We’ll plant grass on our leach field. It’s going to be right out front, so if we want the place to look decent, we’ll have to mow regularly.