Digging the hole for the pozo was by far the most time consuming task of the small cabin septic tank for various reasons including that the soil was mostly rock after about 2 feet down and also that they dug with just a pickaxe, shovel and ice breaking bar. So after about 4-5 days of digging they were finally able to move on to the next steps in building the tank.
Once it was dug, they needed to make footers for the bottom. In order to do this, the wheelbarrow method of hauling concrete was once again employed.
Lots of grunt work!
Setting the footer
Next was to bring over all the cinder blocks and then start to build what we called our “castle.” The castle that holds poo.
First line around
More hauling and dumping
The castle and the cabin
And the final step was to do the top of the tank. This will also serve as a landing for the stairway up to the deck of the house.
Forms ready!
First they made the molds/forms for the concrete. Then yet again more mixing and hauling of concrete by hand through the jungle and then finally, they smoothed it out.
Nice and smooth -the small hole will be used to take out the wooden forms once it cures and a cover will be made
We are enjoying this space on the other side of the property more and more as we can start to see our vision manifest into reality. A building project of even this size is not for the faint of heart. This takes quite the commitment, especially the way we have gone about it (aka the hard way) and there have been a few nights of tossing and turning, mulling over our decisions. We are constantly checking and rechecking and trying to avoid or correct mistakes (there will ALWAYS be mistakes), but it’s on days like these when we see big progress toward our goals, we know we are on the right track. After all, the challenge is part of the reason we moved here in the first place! It’s just hard to always keep that in the forefront of our minds.
Silly turkeys playing in the cabin!
The project will be slowing down for a few weeks, but the next step is in the other direction: the roof!
Wow, all your work looks great! That’s a big project!
How many inspections do you need on a septic system and are the inspectors showing up when they promise?
I needed something like 5 inspections for my solar system here in NM. It was frustrating because someone needed to be home for 3 of them and they really didn’t give any time of day. One time they didn’t show up at all and Katrina waited all day and was pissed. Then they had the nerve to come the next day when they didn’t tell us and no one was home. They even charged us for that!!! I am glad I didn’t try to do the project myself just because of inspections/permits. It really was only just one day of work and then 3 months of waiting but tomorrow my system is officially done. I can’t imagine what all the frustrations are building a house! I love seeing all the turkeys and chickens in your pictures. I think we are going to get a few chickens also.
What will happen when your castle is full of poo? Do you dig up a new hole? How long will it take to fill up? Will there be any smell coming from the castle? Will it also hold shower water or just toiliette stuff?
Just wondering 🙂
The septic will leech into the ground on 3 sides and thru the bottom. Stuff breaks down quickly here and it shouldn’t ever be full. The shower water will not go into the tank, just one toilet. The tank we have for our cabana that we live in has no smell so I assume this one won’t either. They are built nearly identical.
Haha, I had some of the same questions. Awesome hard work there! With all the hard rock below the tank how will it leach very well? We here in Illinois have a two tank system and then leach lines that go out into the back yard.