Almost no summer cottage today can do without a sewer, water supply and heating system. Cesspools are rather inconvenient as constructions for drainage. They are outdated, but purchased septic tanks are quite expensive, so they could not be the best option. In this regard, quite often home masters install a septic tank.
You can also follow their example, however, before starting work, you must definitely familiarize yourself with the technology. After all, if you do not observe it, you can provoke an environmental disaster on the ground. Groundwater can be contaminated, as are nearby sources of drinking water.
A standard kit usually consists of:
- chambers for cleaning impurities;
- chambers for sedimentation;
- well for filtration.
The latter is sometimes replaced with a filter field. The design features of a septic tank usually depend on the number of residents. If there are only a few people in the house, and they use a dishwasher, actively use the bath and shower, and also use a washing machine, then two cleaning chambers will be sufficient. At the same time, the sewage system will take a rather large amount of sewage, so the latter will need thorough cleaning.
A septic tank may have only one sump tank, which will be enough for a small family. This is true when there is a small amount of equipment in the house. Such a system usually has two wells. If you have to equip a sewer for 5 people permanently residing in the house, then you should use the building codes. According to them, the volume of the cleaning chamber should be equal to the number of drains in three days. This value is approximately equal to 3000 liters. In this case, you should purchase a concrete ring, the volume of which is 0.62 m 3 . In this case, 5 rings are required for each well. Three will be enough for each camera.
Seat selection
Before installing a septic tank, you must choose the best place to carry out the work. It is important to take into account the tolerances that are specified in the regulatory documents. For example, the structure should not be located close to human housing and sources of drinking water.
Before starting the marking, it is important to remember that the step to the apartment building from the sewage treatment plant is 5 m or more. If you make this distance more impressive, then difficulties and costs may arise when laying the pipeline. A distance of 50 m or more should be maintained from the water source to the septic tank. In this case, we are talking about wells and wells.
When installing a septic tank, you must remember one of the main rules, which is to provide an access road for special vehicles. The groundwater level at the installation site should not be high. If the pipeline turned out to be quite long, then every 20 m it is necessary to install inspection wells, which should also be in the places of turns.
Preparation of pits
Installation of septic tanks is carried out after preparatory work. They provide for the excavation of a pit. It should turn out large enough so that the cleaning chambers and the filtering well fit into it. If you want to save time, then it is better to use special equipment. Otherwise, manual labor should be applied.
It is important to prevent sewage from entering the soil. Therefore, at the installation site of the settlers, it is necessary to fill the concrete base. In the role of drainage is a 40-cm sand cushion. On sale you can find concrete rings with a blank bottom. They are ideal for sedimentation tanks and do not require additional concreting. The foundation should be prepared. The most suitable option for this would be a pillow, the thickness of which is 50 cm. It consists of gravel, gravel and sand.
Ring setting
The septic tank rings are installed in the next step. For this, lifting equipment is usually used, because it is impossible to manually lift concrete structures. Rings should be installed according to the scheme and tightly interconnected with cement mortar.
It is important to provide for soil movements. To do this, the elements are fixed with metal brackets or plates. When laying the pipeline, it is permissible to use a pipe with a bend that resembles a water seal. This eliminates the leakage of unpleasant odors from wastewater.
Joint protection and backfill
Between the rings there are seams that should be repaired with cement mortar or with a ready-made mixture of the “Aquabarrier” type. Outside, the surface is coated with waterproofing. In order to achieve greater reliability, fused sealants should be used. The design can be reinforced with plastic liners. They are represented by a cylinder of suitable volume, which is located inside the well.
Waterproofing should prevent the penetration of effluents into the ground, this will not only extend the life of the structure, but also eliminate odors. The next step is to backfill. To do this, the soil removed during the formation of the pit should be mixed with sand and distributed around, compacting the mass. Each tank on top should be covered with a lid with a hole for the hatch. Seams should be sealed as described above.
Using a two-well system
The design of the septic tank is settling tanks based on prefabricated tanks. Each tank is connected to a subsequent overflow pipe. Usually a septic tank of two wells is enough. The first capacity will be cumulative. Its bottom should be waterproofed. The main protection of this well is the accumulation of sewage for sedimentation. Heavier suspensions remain at the bottom and decompose upon fermentation to organic simple components. The second tank is a soil filtration tank. Under its bottom is a pillow of sand, gravel and gravel. It is needed for mechanical filtration.
Drainage well
A drainage well for a septic tank is a structure similar to a cesspool, where treated effluents enter, and then they are filtered and seep into the ground. For giving this option of the device of the system is the most acceptable. It is inexpensive, simple and capable of handling small volumes.
You can install such a drainage well even on soils with problems. For the device, it is necessary to prepare the pit by laying a circle in a brick. Between the products left holes through which water will escape. In order for the water in the septic tank to not stagnate, you can use a reinforced concrete ring, in the walls of which holes are made. Sometimes for this purpose a plastic barrel without a bottom is installed.
Plastic well installation
A plastic well for a septic tank is quite common today. It has strong and durable walls, is lightweight, and can be installed without the use of special equipment. Installation technology remains the same. First, a place is selected, and then a foundation pit is prepared, the dimensions of which are slightly larger compared to the tank.
The septic tank must be installed so that the lid remains above the ground. This allows you to control the operation of the installation. For the reason that the plastic well for the septic tank is quite light, it undergoes deformation and displacement when the soil moves, it is important to take protective measures. For this, the tank is supplemented with a concrete monolithic sarcophagus. If this condition cannot be fulfilled, then backfilling of the bottom of the pit with gravel should be performed.
Conclusion
Quite often, owners of suburban real estate ask themselves questions about what is the advantage of concrete structures that form the basis of septic tanks. Firstly, they have a low cost. Secondly, they are easy to maintain. Thirdly, such systems can be independently equipped. However, the design has some disadvantages. They consist in the presence of smell and the need to periodically use the services of a cesspool machine.