Gotta dig a new septic tank

[PeterInBrat]

I do not believe this at all unless it was back in 1865, 27 cubic meters is over 7,000 gallons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's a lot of $hit processing capacity!

It's a box 3 meters on a side. So it's a wall 12 meters long and 3 meters high, plus a slab. That's a wall of 36 sq meters total and there are about 10 blocks per square meter.

Figure $10 per square meter plus side work? Sounds like about $500 to me.

 

[susan77]

Peter--- Can you come visit me (and my septic tank) next week in Las Terrenas ?!!!
You wrote:

If you are getting flooding only in rainy season, the problem would be that your water table is rising with the rains. This is bad. A new tank or leach field won't do anything. You may want to install an underground sump hole/inspection hole in your yard to pump ground water away from the area, which would be illegal in the States. A stop gap is to pump your tank before the wet season starts, but if conditions are esp bad, your tank could be flooding from ground water. Being close to a swamp is not a good sign.

We DO have an inspection hole and we DO pump water out of during flooding-- And I'm sure the tank is flooding from the ground water-- We can't stop the flooding, but we MUST be able to flush the toilet which is what I thought a new septic tank would allow...??
Thank you again-

 

[susan77]

It's a box 3 meters on a side. So it's a wall 12 meters long and 3 meters high, plus a slab. That's a wall of 36 sq meters total and there are about 10 blocks per square meter.

Figure $10 per square meter plus side work? Sounds like about $500 to me.

My maestro quoted me: 6 sq feet: $1000 9 sq feet $1300 Again...this is for a ONE bathroom house!

 

[granca]

susan77, I sent you a pm.

 

[PeterInBrat]

Peter--- Can you come visit me (and my septic tank) next week in Las Terrenas ?!!!
You wrote:


We DO have an inspection hole and we DO pump water out of during flooding-- And I'm sure the tank is flooding from the ground water-- We can't stop the flooding, but we MUST be able to flush the toilet which is what I thought a new septic tank would allow...??
Thank you again-

I don't think a new tank will make any difference given the info you've given me unless you can make it higher than the original. If the original is cinder block, is there a way you could extend it to above the water table at its highest? Otherwise, you could build an improvised sand filter to try and keep up with the incoming ground water and run the pump from the equivalent of your distribution box.

You shouldn't need more than about a 500 gallon tank for two people which is around 65 cubic feet which is a box four feet on a side interior dimensions. 4x4x4 = 64 cu feet = 480 gallons. Build a 4x4 box 6ft deep and you should be fine. My only concern is in the DR, TP is made from rougher paper which may take longer to break down in the tank. If the scum layer is overloaded, it will block the baffles.

 

[PeterInBrat]

I still don't see why a contractor would suggest a new tank at all. One method would be to build a charge tank after the septic tank, which is the dosing chamber in the diagram.

Then from the charge tank, it would be pumped to an above ground sand filter. For your needs, this could be an above ground cinder block sand filter and then into your leech field, which apparently doesn't exist yet. It would prob perk through the yard in the wet seasons, but the sand filter should remove most bacterial action by then.

The goal is to keep the water level in the tank at the correct level. Once it is over full, paper and other solids won't flow into the tank freely and cause back-ups, but you are prob more than aware of this!

 

[PeterInBrat]

A contractor might be tempted to have the baffles made from 90? PVC pipe elbows (and it should be made from PVC pipe). They should be made from T fittings and be accessible from the top. That way, if you get a blockage you can push it into the tank to clear it. It will cost $5-$10 more per fitting(I don't know DR prices) but will save a lot of headaches down the road. The outgoing baffle should have a short pipe going down into the middle of the blackwater to prevent the scum layer from getting into the leech field.

I'm prob assuming a lot that they use baffles at all instead just of pipe in and maybe pipe out.

 

[donluis99]

It's a box 3 meters on a side. So it's a wall 12 meters long and 3 meters high, plus a slab. That's a wall of 36 sq meters total and there are about 10 blocks per square meter.

Figure $10 per square meter plus side work? Sounds like about $500 to me.

3m x 3m x 3m deep = 27 m3 or a 7,128 gallon tank, for US$500.00 / RD$20,500.00 no freaken way

That's at least 450 blocks, that alone is RD$11,250.00, just gonna stack them, no
mortor, what no zapata, no floor, no top?

What about empanete, can not just build a tank out of block, just like that, its gotta be sealed too?

Even if Jose digs the hole with couple of his Haitian buddy's its gonna take them 4 or 5 days of diggen, that isRD$7,000 on the low end, average price would be RD$9,000.00.

Hope you have some place to put that 27 m3 of fill, other wise that's another RD$15,000.00 +/- to haul away.

g'luck

 

[PeterInBrat]

This is what a baffle SHOULD look like.

Easily Inspect and Replace Your Septic Tank Output Baffle When Necessary - YouTube

 

[donluis99]

My maestro quoted me: 6 sq feet: $1000 9 sq feet $1300 Again...this is for a ONE bathroom house!

Its not the no. of bathrooms that decides, number of people on average that will use that bathroom.

I would venture to say, that the 6 sq. feet you mean 6' x 6' x 6' deep which equates to 36'3, so about 1,600
gallons, pretty significant, generally a 750 gallon tank is sufficient for a family of 4.

Is his price including the pozo?

Usually is additional and many driller will, even here ask that you go pay for the permiso, her ein SDN is like
RD$860.00

g'luck

 

[PeterInBrat]

3m x 3m x 3m deep = 27 m3 or a 7,128 gallon tank, for US$500.00 / RD$20,500.00 no freaken way

That's at least 450 blocks, that alone is RD$11,250.00, just gonna stack them, no
mortor, what no zapata, no floor, no top?

What about empanete, can not just build a tank out of block, just like that, its gotta be sealed too?

Even if Jose digs the hole with couple of his Haitian buddy's its gonna take them 4 or 5 days of diggen, that isRD$7,000 on the low end, average price would be RD$9,000.00.

Hope you have some place to put that 27 m3 of fill, other wise that's another RD$15,000.00 +/- to haul away.

g'luck

Three ppl 4-5 days to dig a 27 cu meter hole? A 100+ man hours? I dug a 30 ft by 3ft deep trench in the DR once for a rural school and the soil wasn't that bad. I did it in an afternoon. I can dig up to a cu meter in an hour depending on the soil and I'm an old geezer. I guess proper work boots and a real shovel would help..

Agreed though that 750 gallons would be plenty for her needs.

 

[Criss Colon]

"Peter", now I know why I can't think straight.
My "Scum Layer", is blocking my "Baffles"!!!!!
Not to mention my "Leech Field"!
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[donluis99]

Geez, thanks all this talk about septic systems, wife starts complaining about the kitchen sink not draining at all now, its been a little slow for a while.............

So we find the grease trap, open it up an wew weh, huge grease trap, about 3' x 3' x 3' and full to the brim, 15 years of kitchen crud

g'luck

 

[PeterInBrat]

Grease traps makes sense if you're dumping fryer oil and lard down your sinks. It can do very bad things to a septic system and prob worse to a Dominican one.

 

[donluis99]

Well our system is all criollo, grease trap at the kitchen, grease trap at the end of the pipes from the 4 bathrooms all going into a tank maybe 1,500 gallons divided in 2 compartments then finally draining into a 60 feet deep well.

15 years old no problems beside the previous mentioned grease trap clean out 15 years after construction!!!

Anyway last December I decided to do maintenance to the septic system tank, pump her out, 15 years sounds like, well probably about time right?

Well had to actually find it first, right, we finally find it, 2 compartments 2 tops, ok call the vacuum truck so it shows up early. We bust open the sealed tops, truck arrives, late as expected, stick a board down there to gage the depth of the sludge, expecting to be to the top, well was less than 1/4" after 15 years????

We pumped it any way, I mean after all the trouble and all, also we found and uncovered the disposal well and sucked it as dry as we could with a vacuum truck, only effective to 26 - 28 ft max!

I think we're good now until 2028!

G'luck

 

[Criss Colon]

"DON", first rule in the DR,..."If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!
I have 15 years in my house too.
Cleaned out two grease traps, don't know where the "Septic Tank" is, or if there IS one????
I live at the top of a hill, the "Underneath" is that "Coral" like rock.
There is a 10 0r 12 inch PVC pipe that goes strait down, where everything seems to go.
I don't know, and I don't WANT to Know!
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