Goings on about the place this past year (Part 1)

By | December 19, 2013

So, I just noticed the last post I had here was on April 12th about losing our beloved tree. Fittingly, this event more or less is the cause of why I haven’t posted in quite some time. Since that day for all of spring and the better part of the summer we have been busy in a domino of events.

The tree was cleaned up and opened up the backyard considerably. At about that time we started to notice an undesirable aroma in the house (a.k.a septic smell). We located the source of the smell which was coming out of the sump area. So naturally we took the least cost approach. We scoured the pump area with bleach, etc. Seemed to work for a couple of days. But coincidentally it was cold outside so not a lot of water was flowing into the sump.

Then the spring thaw happened and the odour picked up. It was at that time I noticed that the exit pipe from the sump had sprung a leak just outside the house by the foundation. So I dug the area up and inspected the damage…not bad but beyond my capabilities as some plumbing tools were required.

So after that was fixed, I figured this might be what solves the problem. Perhaps some ground water was flowing back into the sump. Nope.

So I then called the septic guy to take a look at the main pipe from the inside. Fortunately, the tank wasn’t backfilling into the line as far as he could tell. He then recommended calling an engineer to come in with an optic hose camera to snake it into the tanks and inspect the walls for cracks….maybe there was some seepage.

After spending a few hundred on that project, it came up negative. The house was becoming quite uninviting at this stage. So, next step, have the tank cleaned. Which is a pain in the ass because it sits under the deck. So I pulled up the necessary boards and unscrewed the lids for the septic guy. Unfortunately he was backlogged (heh heh) so I had to wait 2 weeks with a half exposed deck.

Finally after cleaning, the guy noticed that the area around the lids were crumbling. The tank was the original tank made of concrete and apparently in this area they only last so long. On this street alone in the past few years he mentioned that at least 10 or 12 tanks have been replaced. And the state of this one….it was on it’s last leg and was definitely leaking out the top. Time for a new tank.

So at this point….a couple of plumbing jobs, some engineering investigation, a tank cleaning, inconvenient aromas in the house. About a months headache but not too much $$ spent. Things were about to change quickly…..

Stay tuned.

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