I am sorry it has been such a long time since I caught you guys up on the progress but let me try to move you forward in time from where I left off.

Blake and his guys began to clear the 120 ft by 40 ft area for the evaporation field.

The rocks they took out of the area to make it level were huge.  I put my coffee cup on one rock to show the relative size.  Once Blake began to take out the rocks, he dropped down into the shelf and it was difficult to find a place to stop pulling rocks out to get a level run.

The pile continues to build.  I will keep the rocks for a future build of a dam on another part of the land.

Finally some top soil was brought in to start to build up the field.

Not complete yet but a good start.

Septic: Setting Tank

The 3 compartment septic tank was installed this past week.

The tank was made of 4-inch thick concrete with a sealed lid. Each compartment had it's own access for maintenance.

The hauler backed right up to the edge of the hole, extended a support arm on each side.

The arm on the right went out farther since the tank will swing to that side.

The crane unfolded and the chain was connected and they began raising the tank with just a chain around the circumference.

The tank was perfectly balanced and never wobbled.

Only one time they had to lift the tank and reposition because of a small outcropping of rock.

Once it was down, they immediately checked for level in all directions and alignment with the septic drain from the house.  It was perfect!

The hole had only 1 inch to 6 inch clearance.  Amazing how accurate Blake had been able to rock chisel through the almost solid rock.

They began to fill the three compartments with water for two reasons: 1. to check for leaks and 2. to prevent the tank from moving since we were expecting a 2-4 inch rainfall.  Blake said he had seen an empty tank floated out of the hole by water getting below the tank.

One seepage did show up but Blake patched the outside with some fast-drying cement.

The connections were made to the black and grey water lines.  The black boxes are covering the switch valves to control whether the grey water goes into the septic or out to the yard for landscape reuse.

This is another view showing the grey water line that is capped for the time being and the switch will be closed not allowing the grey water to exit but to be diverted to the sewer temporarily.

All excavation rock removed and loam stacked ready for the drain field to be connected.

Looking back towards the house.  Much cleaner than it has been in a couple of weeks.  Blake and Oscar did a great job.  The pump, filter and alarm and electronic controls are yet to be installed and connected.

Back Splash and Trenching

More work that was completed -or almost completed- this week.

This is the side of the counter in the Dining Room

Completed back splash behind the garage area for the appliances.

Kitchen counter with open area left for electrician to cut a hole for the wires for the under-counter lights that I added back to the kitchen. The tiler will have to return after the electrician next week.

This back splash is made up of marble and grey glass.  It doesn't have the grout in between the tiles so the grid shows through.

This is Corey from TREX Rentals to cut the trench for the electrical run from the permanent pole to the house and also from the pole to the gate for the opener and lights on the pillars.

He had to go around the tree with its roots as well as be careful of that rainwater system again.

He was still able to get very close to the pipe but looks like some more digging will have to be done under the pipe.

Almost to the permanent pole.  For about 35 feet he was sawing through solid rock of about 18 inches.  

This is the view from the gate back down to the house.  The last 200 plus feet did not have to be as deep so it went very fast.

Cory even cut two trenches for the wire to go to the opposite pole for the openers and lights.  All in all, Cory had his work completed in two hours.

One final thing I have been working on is the mantle for the rock wall in the Great Room. Lots of sanding and I lost count of the number of coats of Poly.  Turned out nice.

Septic Day Two

I know this is long but I found the process interesting and thought you might like to see the progress as they worked.

Notice the trench is under the rainwater pipe and the pile is beginning to build.

Blake has switched to the trench that needs to be dug for the grey water to exit to the side and be collected in some sort of pool yet to be built.

Blake was an absolute artist with this chisel.  He cracked the solid rocks and never put a scratch on the pipes or lost any water.

Oscar had to get down in the trench at time to remove the cracked rocks.

This shows the cleanouts to be placed on the black and gray water lines.  There are other safeguards to be placed on both lines.

Blake had to work on the solid rock on the bottom of the pit with the chisel

This is a good picture of the gray water trench.  There were a lot of rocks to be removed from this area as well.  The other guy is my back splash tiler, Eddy, taking a break.

Still breaking the rock shelf up.

Finally to the level they need to be.  The pink paint marks the bottom but a couple of yards of sand will be placed under the tank.  You can see the chisel marks on the solid rock.

Rainwater pipes still intact.

Look at the size of those rocks.  I think they would make a great base for potential dam at the back of the property. Now Blake can set the tank and begin the work on the field.