It makes so much sense to run everything far away from the house. Our house's septic tank is literally 10 feet from the back door. Previous owners built a deck over it and we've had several expensive issues with it since we moved in 2 years ago. Kudos to you for thinking ahead!
I have had to dig a septic tank up under a deck once it was right under the beam 3 feet deep it was very expensive I wouldn't I would recommend installing a riser that can save time and money in the future. Good Luck 😃
I've installed hundreds of systems and serviced many more. The install looks good. Do service the tank. How often can be determined by many factors such as amount of people using it, garbage disposals, medication usage (believe it or not this takes a toll on good bacteria that eats your solids), etc. Rule of thumb is 5 years, but that's rule of thumb. As always I always say....it's your money. Do what you want to. The place is looking good ya'll.
I could see pumping 40-60 year old system every 5 years but a new well thought out system should go much longer! I am from the "maintain things" camp but 5 years is pretty often by my standards.
Trust me, in a couple of months when you can s••t, shower and shave in that beautiful bathroom that will be the best check written for the entire house! Lol
Dang Kelly you don't miss anything, great idea keeping the measurements for your septic tank and drain lines. When you get ready to do something in that location you'll know!
A few months ago, I installed a larger 1500 gal poly septic tank and risers. I installed the outlet filter like you have and added more drain field lines. The tank I removed was a 1000 gal poly tank that was installed 33 yrs ago. Still in perfect shape and I will be installing it for my new shop I’m building. Good maps and record keeping are crucial!
Glad to hear about the double cleanouts & two 45's instead of a 90, the proper word is "solids" for non liquids. Glad to see the end is near, flooring, bath fixtures, kit sink, a few doors, & the great room
Check another item off the list for the house 👍🏻 could add 2 of those 24x24 decorative steppingstone over the tank lids to mark the spots for easy future pumping
Your foresight is impressive. I wish I had that gift when I was first building our home 45 years ago. At that time, I was corner cutting to a great degree, and I have regretted it ever since.
@@TKCL Great videos, been trying to make it through them since coming across your channel. The finances do play a big part of any large purchase. I forget who’s channel it was now, but they were discussing cutting corners. They mentioned that if you need to cut corners, that it’s best to do it on the finishings. Since once completed it’s not cheap or easy to change structural or integrated items. But those finishing items like flooring, paints and similar items can be much easier to change later if wanted.
Hey Andrew how's it going. Man that was awesome Watching them put the septic tank in the ground. They did a really good job. I know it's awesome to have buddies like that that can give you a good deal on things like that. I also like how he smooth everything back out. A lot of companies they just leave it rough-looking. Hope you are staying warm down there. It's a nice wall 27 degree temperature here. Good video buddy you take it easy.
Just so you know , my septic failed after 6 years with those drainfeild covers with no perferated pipe inside of it . The fine dirt and muck still found its way to clog it all up and I had to get it all redone . 7 grand to get it all done originally and 3 grand to have the drain field done all over again 6 years later .
I would bet money your installation doesn't include one of those long hi tech round orange serviceable filter inserts preceeding your leach field which failed on you. Or you would not have had that possibility intentionally engineered system failure event, sounds like a very effective way for a sleazy contractor to double dip on every job... just say'en?
FINALLY CAUGHT UP!!! 😆😆 The house is looking amazing!!! We have learned so much watching your build!! After everything settles, will you EVER be able to drive over the tank and drain field area with your tractor?? Or will you have to drive around?
Andrew you should add tuff tite risers to the tank access openings, the green lids will look ok and you will have easy access to the tank to have it pumped out in the future
I can actually say I know a lot about septic tanks because of ours. Where I am it’s not so much the square footage of the house but how many bedrooms determines the size of your septic tank… Because that determines how many people are living in your home. All our paperwork on our septic tank is in with our home plans:) i’m curious did they tell you to use anything in your septic tank to help keep it clean? it’s all coming along you guys will be living in there before you know it :-) tfs stay safe and God Bless:)
Great video. I've always recommended for people to put a copy of their septic system in or taped to the breaker box. So it doesn't get lost even if the home is sold.
you know if you were to say on the video your measurements, you also have a video archive of the entire house being built you can refer back to forever...you know, if you lose your note pad.
You have come a long way on the infrastructure for the house. The end of the tunnel in sight now. You are an inspiration as a builder/contractor. Great job on building your farm. God Bless.
We put risers on the lids for our septic tank. Although you see them, it helps you to remember not to run over it with anything heavy. Lids are green so it blends in with the grass.
Risers on the lids is the best option. especially if you need to need to cleean out those filters. I would never have a septic system installed without them.
Looks way more impressive (and code compliant) than the last septic system I put in... 😎 300 gallon tote, a couple plastic barrels, and 30 feet of 4" pipe with a bunch of holes drilled in them.
@@TKCL The biggest expense was the load of gravel. About $500 total... system is working very well, too; despite an unexpected doubling of the amount of waste and water going into it.
Excellent explanation on how the system works and the layout. Ty! I’m excited to c how u will bury the gutter drains? Especially the ends. One of my drains has been crushed by farming equipment and I’m having a terrible time keeping it cleaned out so it drains properly.
Why not put in metal pins (pieces of rebar) on the points of the septic field and a point where the septic line turns from the house to run to the tank. Then if needed in the future, a metal detector could easily spot exact location. Maybe a metal plate laying on top of the tank for same reason.
I was waiting for the ultimate joke … You were talking about over sizing the septic system and in my head I just kept hearing you saying “overdoodoo is what I do!” 😂😂😂
Another great video Andrew thanks. That's a great idea to measure that all out for maybe future use. Again you and Tiffany are going to have one beautiful home and property. Good luck moving forward. Take care. 🇨🇦
Is aerobic system in your area much more than one with a leach field? I used to have one with a leach field till it failed and per code now or whatever due to the clay we have had to go aerobic. Our old tank was 500 gallons, the new aerobic is like uhh 1648 gallons
Excellent! If memory serves me, septic was main hold for getting your power setup. One question: Can you clean the orange septic filter and reuse? May keep potential problem at bay.
@@TKCL In my jurisdiction effluent filters are not required and I have never seen anyone use one but I put one in my tank anyways. It was a completely new system and the tank is setup for one just like yours. I was told to clean it once a year and did so for the first couple years and it was not needed! I think every 4-5 years would suffice. YMMV!!! But I definitely like the idea of the filter. Just checking up on your tank/filter/system regularly is a good idea too because like others have said, most people take the septic system for granted until there is an issue!! Sort of like an automatic transmission. And when something goes wrong its $$$$$$$$$$$ and hassle
I love seeing how the building codes are so different from state to state. Down the road will you be able to drive on your drain field with your tractor or will it crush it?
Looks and sounds like he knows exactly what he was doing. Good idea on the gutter piping. The best you can do some trash ( Pine needles) will make it into the gutters. Have a screen or some way to clean them out. I have to use a water hose and use it like a plumbers snake but it works.
That's defiantly a great way to save money but don't forget the most important thing when making them last is proper maintenance pumping and don't put certain things down the drain.
@@simplesepticsecrets exactly!!! So very true..alot of people don't realize those systems need to be cared for and proper maintenance. And like you said don't be flushing just anything into it. I like to use rid x on a scheduled basis
@@ArizonaHighDesertHomestead unfortunately I have seen that using that monthly can cause a lot of harm to the leach field it breaks down the waste partially letting pieces that would have normally went to the bottom float up and out into the Litchfield. Usually when Can tell if someone uses it because the top is clean and the middle and bottom is a thick black sap
@@simplesepticsecrets Thank you for the advice I need it..I guess I'm lucky then as I in the past have only used it 2 to 3 times a year..also my wife and I are big on getting it pumped out every couple of years
@@ArizonaHighDesertHomestead no problem I have been pumping and installing septic systems for 16 years and I am now trying to teach people about how to take care of there septic systems I put together a free guid of the top 5 things to never flush.
That's some good tractor work. But you need to slow down because my gas for you guys to move in the house was May 5th at this rate you guys will be in before that 🤦🏽♂️..... And if you had your own mini x you could have saved that much more money and done the septic system yourself I'm just saying, 🤷🏽♂️.... Incase Mrs Tiffany reads this comment 😁
You've probably already thought of it and done so, but I'd make a "map" showing where the drain line, tank, and field lines (drain field) is located Ooops, I didn't make it to that part of the video before I commented
A backflow preventer on the drain line between house and septic tank would prevent any back-up into the house if the first chamber ever gets overfilled/clogged up.
that 4" pipe should never give you ANY trouble if it doesnt get crushed or tree roots. If it backs up, its because the leech field is FULL or the effluent filter is packed solid! An ultra-wet winter with saturating rains could potentially cause a backup but that would be the only scenario in my opinion!! Especially with the slope and distance from the house, you should be good for a long time
The proper way is to use compass heading. Drive a piece of metal rebar/metal nail/large stake at the corners of the things you need to map out and drive them, in the ground. Thats why they use magnetic tape in construction of electrical lines and such.
Do not use a compass heading! The magnetic poles are moving alot and very rapidly. Use distance and angles or GPS or both. The house we bought says go 50 feet along the edge of the deck to get the box and angle to the tree stand for the lines. The stand was temporary, the trees in the area have disappeared. Aerial photos from the Era do not show it. No evidence during droughts or heavy rains. Haying equipment has been all over it. Owner cleaned paint brushes in the sink.
There are two things I really like that I’ve seen on mine. When people are excavating dirt and laying pipes and cables and everything else there’s a metallic tape, it’s very shiny and can be printed however you want it can say water or electric or sewage and what they do is they bury everything and about a foot above it they put this tape and then when you’re excavating again if you pull out a big shiny piece of tape in a scoop you know you’re about to hit something before you break it, the other thing I’ve seen which they could incorporate into the tape or something they called radio lines or something like that and they were basically like little cords of metal in them that could easily be detected with metal detectors or they have sensors or they can just drive over the ground and kind of map out exactly where you bury those lines so you can put them right over everything. If people start using that universally in the future can make excavation work much easier because every plumber could have the reader Skywalker around over your yard and map out and flag exactly where your lines are without having to dig first and just hope you miss stuff. The phone company already does it with phone lines so when you call for your utility companies come out and drop all those flags they can do that but anybody can get that stuff it’s available online. I was watching Andrew Cammarata, I’m not sure if you’re familiar with him or not but he showed a couple episodes where he was using the foil tape stuff and one where he dug some up and hit the tape before he hit the pipe and it saved the pipe. I’m not really into regulation or anything but it’s something I would really like to see the industry adopt doing, to do your whole system and all those pipes you just laid probably would’ve cost another 20 bucks to use the foil tape and 100 or so to run the radio wire. Another cool thing about the radio wire is there also coded so you can tell from the reader what they’re they have different wires for water or electric or sewage or whatever. It’s pretty simple technology but that could save a ton of work if you’ve got a dig out there or make a repair and I think it’s pretty smart.
Or you could make a RU-vid video of your self measuring recording and mapping out everything down to the degree of offset to create permanent documentation and store in your shop 🤔 Utilities have a completely different set of requirements, the right tool for the task at hand.
I don't believe I've missed a single Camarata episode, he is the only channel I seem to be able to make time for to watch. I am familiar with laying the tape as you mentioned.
I noticed the septic tank was only a few inches below grade. You might consider adding extra soil on top of the tank or the grass will not survive during dry spells. In 25yrs I have never needed any septic work, not even a clean out. I think the biggest reason is not having the washer drain into the septic. There is almost as much lint that comes out of the washer as does the dryer. Secondly, no oils or fat from cooking. Third, limit amount of bleach that goes into septic and lastly, add brewer's yeast every few months and you will have years of a worry free septic system.
@@eurotripper722 In the yard. Drilled a hole thru the wall. Put plants around it. Periodically I have to remove the lint on the ground or water will not soak in. Laundry bleach will kill the bacteria in the septic tank as well.
I really wanted to drain my washer elsewhere, but it was hard to do based on its location and passing my inspection. I 100 percent agree about fats and oils, we save spaghetti jars and drain off excess fat when cooking and place in the jars to be tossed. My friend was telling me a cup of sugar a month down the drain and any excess yeast (beer ect) will also keep your "bugs" in the system happy and digesting waste. Without a doubt the only two times in my life I've had issues with drainage, it was because of fat build up.
You are on borrowed time on that system should have it pumped out every four years, by not doing that solids are getting thru and it will clog the drain field up down the road
I disagree David, had the same exact system at my last home and I bet I went 15-20 years before finally getting my first pump out. It's all in what you put down the drain.
Andrew, i am really astonished how thoughtful you are and how much in advance you planned. I started laughing when you showed the flag and thought..well of course he marked it, he's not going to search for it:))) Big step, happy for you!
You will probably not have any problems for a long time. The only issue that I see that might arise, is the distribution to each row of infiltrators. That thin pipe manifold sitting in shallow dirt is going to shift, and only one of those lanes of infiltrators will be used. That means that one lane will receive all effluent for eternity until there is a big wet holiday and you have familiy in town and the ground is saturated from the wet weather, and your system is being punished by abnormally high household usage. Hard to say for sure but it looks like theres a pretty good slope to those infiltrators? They should be installed perfectly level so that water spreads out evenly and doesnt pond on one end. Where I'm from HE washing machines, low flow shower heads, efficient toilets, etc have all contributed to PRETTY LOW household water consumption. I think you could potentially HALVE the size of most systems and be safe. (Obviously just a point Im making for conversations sake, dont do it) What Im getting at, is it would be beneficial to connect those trenches somewhere in the middle so they spillover into each other before backing up. That is how most modern systems work where Im from. Then again your trenches are so close together that they probably will slowly perk into each other regardless. Youve got the equipment and knowledge to fix/adjust stuff down the line but most homeowners are in the dark and will have to call a professional to fix issues in years to come.
Land slopes and gives the appearance of not being level. I watched the installers and then the inspector both use a laser level and check grade. In theory if one backs up, the the pipe entering each chamber backs up and starts filling out the other chambers. Assuming a shift happens like you are talking about.
@@TKCL It sounds counterintuitive to do that but they are actually setup to do just that here! I cant say Im a fan but apparently it works :) They used to use distribution boxes to fine tune distribution to each leach line equally then I think they found long term they came out of adjustment with settling and stuff and just said well lets eliminate D-boxes and do sequential feed leach lines. Fun stuff
