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18 November, 2015

Pool House Expansion Project, Day Thirty-Seven, 17/11/15

Rotoplas septic tank arrives.

Day Thirty-Seven, 17 November, 2015

Man, the better part of a week since there's been any activity around the joint. A good part of that delay was due to rain. Not as much as with the last episode, still, it was often enough and enough coming down at times, that work would have been uncomfortable to say the least.

And then there's a thing called timing. We were hoping to be able to get the zinc to put on the roof right away. Unfortunately, that wasn't happening. For one thing, the right color blue, (to match the roof on the Mennonite house) wasn't immediately available. Capital Factory didn't have it available period. Also, they didn't have it in the gauge that we wanted. Lano's Hardware, didn't have it either, but could get it in both color and gauge, but we wouldn't be able to get it till Wednesday, the 18th. We were about two or three hours late in ordering it to have it on the truck from Spanish Lookout that would have arrived last Friday.

And then there's family medical emergencies. Omar's father, was thought to be having a heart attack late last week, so Omar needed to go deal with that. Which is still ongoing over in Chetumal. Communications between Corozal and Chetumal are sketchy to say the least. You'd think that for two communities separated by a river and nine miles, that that wouldn't be an issue. You'd be wrong. It's a big issue. Different phone systems, time differences, etc. Anyway, we're all hoping for the best for Omar's father, but we have very little information about that situation.

So, there have been a multitude of issues, all seemingly conspiring to bring the project to a halt for a few days. Carl wanted to bring the guys over here to have them start on the septic tank. He had had them working a little on his house up in Consejo, but the road between there and Corozal is anything but good.

He wanted to have them work at our place starting at 7:00 AM. That didn't happen. He texted me that they would make it about noon. That didn't happen. Finally, about 2:30 PM, Carl and three of the guys arrived. George started working on the piping for the drains going to the septic system. The other two workers, Errol and (I've forgotten his name) promptly started dewatering the hole for the Rotoplas septic tank as you can see below.
Emptying the Rotoplas Hole
Carl and I took off to Gomez Cemento Maya, in town, to pick up the Rotoplas tank.
Picking Up Our Rotplas Septic Tank
It was light enough they were able to get it into Carl's Sport Trac, and with a bit of twine to stabilize it, we headed back to our place.
On Board Carl's Sport Trac
Carl Undoing the Twine Securing the Load
After getting it untied, the guys moved it over against the lumber that had been covering the hole. We're planning to begin installing it in the morning.
Hauling It From the Truck to the Hole
Carl and I are investigating the finer points of how to properly connect the Rotoplas tank. I've found some information on the Intertubes at the Rotoplas website. There's some stuff in along with some fittings for the Rotoplas in a plastic bag that we haven't yet perused. I also emailed our neighbor, Brian, who lives with his wife Tracey, over in the nearby gated development. They have the same type of septic system installed, so he might be more familiar with it.

Below, George is beginning the trenching to run the pipes underground to the Rotoplas.
George Prepping Trenches For Pipes To Tank
There's still a bit of water in the hole. They'll be able to get the rest of that out in the morning. Then, they'll need to construct a concret donut for the cone end of the Rotoplas to sit in. and then we have to fill the tank with water before packing marl all around it to fill the hole back up. There's also the drain field piping to do, so there's plenty to keep the guys busy tomorrow.
The Hole Almost Empty
I'll be ready to document the progress and will keep you informed about that and what we find out about the tank.

There's many more photos than appear in each posting. You can see all the photos of the construction project on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/0wVc3s. There will be new photos added each day of the project.  

2 comments:

Wilma said...

I am very interested in how the Rotoplast septic system works for you, so don't hold back on details! Our rain gauge shows 23.5 inches of rain so far in November with the biggest day getting 8.7 inches! Really throws a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. Hope next week is more productive for you.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Wilma,

Will do. Basically, the Rotoplas (more properly called a Rotoplas Biodigestor) works just like the homemade pond filter I made back in Olympia. I've got some photos coming up in the next post that help explain how that all works in the Rotoplas.

Rain has delayed our project almost a week this time (and probably a week overall - so far), so we sure don't need any more. Sounds like you've got way more than enough water to deal with. I've seen some photos in the Belize media of the Monkey River area. Gets to be un-fun in a hurry.

We're looking forward to some serious progress. Hope you have the same.

Cheers,
Dave