Pool House Expansion Project, Day 94-95 - 28-30/01/16

Septic System, Lighting, Doors, Bed, Tiling, Cabinets, Baseboards, Trash,

Day Ninety-Four and Ninety-Five, 28-30 January, 2016

Thursday seemed like a slow day, although there was a lot of progress. I don't know how to describe it, really. And that continued through Friday. In fact, I actually took no photos on Friday. Thursday's work just continued.

I guess maybe because revisiting the septic system after all this time. Here's the drain field finally being put to rest, so to speak. Trenches all dug and perforated pipe being put in off of the manifold. All the perforated pipe will be covered with fabric to help prevent marl infiltrating and clogging the perforated pipe in the drain field.

Drain Field Manifold

 This is a bit of a larger view of the drain field. It will be gravel lined, the pipes put in with fabric, and covered with more gravel, then covered with marl.

At Work on the Trenches

The septic piping as it leaves the house. The left side is gray water from the laundry room and bathroom and routes directly to the drain field. The right side is from the toilet and goes to the Rotoplas.

Drain Field As It Leaves House

Saturday's work started anew with enough differences that I fired up the trusty Nikon.

Speaking of the Rotoplas, here's its final set-up. On the left is the large access hatch to the Rotoplas itself. In the middle is a very small white cap. That's hose access to flush out the Rotoplas when needed. To the right is a drum with lid containing the valve and where the pooper pumper will recover the stuff as it's flushed out by the hose. Something to look forward to, I'm sure.

Septic Tank and Fittings

On a lighter note, here's our seven-light Vanity light, newly installed with three bulbs just to show it works.

Bathroom Vanity Light Installed

And our closet doors. For some reason, that makes the room look really tropical to me.

Closet Doors Installed

And the bed that used to live in the room that is now the pantry, laundry, freezer, fridge, and storage room. It looked big in there, but now in the new bedroom, it looks kinda small. It is a queen size. It'll be an experience sleeping on it again after our double bed in the Mennonite house. This is also the bed I slept on for a month when I injured my back falling on the curb a year or so ago.

Bed Finally In the Bedroom

We have screen doors. They've turned out quite nice. All we need now is latches and some sort of spring return for them - oh, and the doggie doors from upstairs, of course.

Front Screen Door

Here's the front screen door from outside. Looks nice.

Front Screen Door From the Outside

Mr. Cobb, the electrician installing porch lights. This one's a little strange right now. This doorway goes nowhere. That's because, eventually, there'll be a new pad built/poured for a circular stairway up to the flat roof part of the house. That will be our observation deck, and my easy access to the weather station that I hope to resurect one of these days.

Mr. Cobb Hanging Porch Lights

Our closet now officially has light.

Closet Has A Light

And the shower is getting tiled. Omar does good work with the tile. He's looking forward to adding the bling tile for Dianna.

Omar Tiling the Shower

Our bathroom vanity medicine cabinet is resting for the moment on the bed. It takes up the full width of the bathroom.

Vanity Cabinet Resting

Now we're talking. Here's the vanity lights with all seven lit up with LED lights. They only take four Watts each. So, in total, they don't consume as much current as a forty-watt bulb.

Vanity Light All Lit Up

Our back screen door is a clone of the front screen door. It too doesn't have a latch or spring return mechanism... yet.

Back Screen Door

Our erstwhile carpenters are busy installing the wood baseboards all around the inside area of the house. There won't be any baseboard in the walkway or veranda.

Fitting Baseboards

But, right now, there is trash in the walkway, and lots of it. I think a dump run must be in the offing soon.

Lots of Trash

Here's the septic fittings all done and outfitted with the sewer gas flapper valves.

Exterior Drains to Septic System and Drain Field

And once again, an overview of the septic system and the drainfield. It'll look quite nice when we've got plants growing.

Septic System The Big Picture

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.    

Pool House Expansion Project, Day Thirty-Nine, 19/11/15

Rotoplas Septic Tank Work and Roofing Zinc Arrives

Day Thirty-Nine, 19 November, 2015

Yesterday evening, Dianna and I cut out about a half-hour early to have dinner with Bruce and Colleen. My last conversation with Carl was that they were going to add water to the Rotoplas and let it sit all night. I told Carl, that if they turned on the water, it was ok to leave with it filling the Rotoplas and that I would shut it down when we returned from dinner.

Dianna and I returned about 7:15 PM or so, and we noticed the hose wasn't hooked up. I assumed they had filled the tank and headed for home.

This morning when I got up, after securing the doggies in their pen, and opening the gate for the guys, I toured the work site, as usual. One thing I noticed right away, was the Rotoplas was a little off-kilter. Not much, but enough that you could tell. Uh-oh, something must have happened. Maybe the thing floated before they could fill it with water.

When they arrived, Carl told me they filled the tank and it started to tilt. They thought maybe it had too much water and became top-heavy.

Anyway, they brought Omar's gasoline water pump to de-water the Rotoplas. But, since it had been about six months or so since Omar had used it, naturally, it wouldn't start.

Omar's Pump Won't Start

They tried several times to crank it, to no avail. Then they added some gas to the carburetor, nope. Carl checked to see if there was a spark, yup, but no go still. Some French aimed at the pump didn't help either.

Best Minds In the Business

I got my sparkplug socket wrench and they took out the old plug. It was wet, so they knew fuel was getting to the cylinder.

Carl and I had to go to Lano's to check on the zinc and I needed to find some staples for my electric stapler, so Carl took the plug along. Long story short, the zinc was fine and ready for delivery, no staples of the correct size anywhere, and the spark plug was the problem.

So, back to the Rotoplas. This photo shows the outfall for the sludge - the solids, etc., that don't get consumed by the bacteria in the biodigester. This is the stuff that the pumper truck has to suck up. Notice the concrete around the cone bottom.

Waste Pump-Out Line

Here's a glimpse into the top of the Rotoplas with the cover removed. They've got the pump piping stuck into the bio-digester innards to drain off the water so they can reorient the tank.

Cover Removed Showing Bio-Filter Media

You're probably wondering what is in the bio-digester, right? You can almost see something between the boards. Well, here's what you see. Pieces of plastic water bottles, chopped up into two- to three-inch pieces.

Chopped Plastic Bottles Form Filter Media

What this does, is exactly the same thing that we did in Olympia with our homemade pond filter. No, we didn't dump trash into our filter, and no one did that with the Rotoplas. What it is, is a way of providing a lot of surface area, besides the tank itself for bacteria to adhere to (the more bacteria, the better, ergo, more surface area is good) and as the poop and other effluvia flow over and through the plastic bits, the bacteria eat most of it, digesting it all. Hence, calling it a bio-digester is correct.

While I was explaining the operation of the thing to Omar and the guys, I thought that some smaller material would allow for more bacteria, which is true for a pond, but probably not so true for something like this that's dealing with turds of various sizes and consistencies, toilet paper, and the occasional dead cucaracha that gets flushed down the drain.

Bio-Filter Media Inside Rotoplas Bio-digester

Like I said, the spark plug was the problem. Here's the pump, happily spewing water all over the place so the guys can re-orient the tank and then get it properly hooked up and then marl poured around the tank.

Finally Able To Pump out Rotoplas

Here, they're getting the toilet line hooked up. Looks easy, but it's always a chore.

Connecting Toilet Waste Line To Rotoplas

And, the zinc arrives. It's the right color and everything.

Roofing Zinc Has Arrived

Off-loading the zinc begins. It's heavy (26 gauge), long, and very awkward to deal with.

Beginning Offload of 24-Sections

They have to move it from the trailer over to some pallets to lay it gently down, without scratching it or bending it either.

Set Them Down Gently

After this, there's only one more piece to go. There were twenty-four in total. A real chore.

Nearing the End of the Offload Process

And, there it is all nice and pristine looking. Next to it is the roof flashing pieces and the drip guard pieces. that other pile is the ridge cap pieces.

Nicely Stacked on Pallets

Something else that came along with it, the foam inserts. There's 'inside' and 'outside' pieces. The inside pieces go under the zinc sheets near the bottom of each sheet, while the outside pieces go on top of the zinc up by the ridge caps. They actually go under the ridge caps, but outside the zinc sheets. The whole purpose of each is to keep bugs, vermin, and other critters, like bats, etc., from moving in under the zinc.

Inside and Outside Foam Inserts for Zinc

One thing the guys almost forgot to do, was to count each of the zinc pieces, to make sure we got everything that was on the invoice. It came out right.

Counting the Number of Pieces

Ok. That's it for this episode. Stay tuned for more.

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.    

Pool House Expansion Project, Day Thirty-Eight, 18/11/15

Roof Work and the Rotoplas Septic Tank

Day Thirty-Eight, 18 November, 2015

The day started with two areas of emphasis, the roof eave extensions and installing and hooking up the Rotoplas septic tank.

The eave extensions entail installing a short piece of lumber that extends out over the roof eave. this allows the roof to provide some protection for the eave, especially the join between the roof and the gable end.

Working On Roof Eve Extensions

 Omar and Errol are cutting out a notch so that the extensions fit flush with the gable truss, which ensures that the roof will fit tightly against the gable.

Omar and Errol Working On Eve Extensions

 Here's some of the extensions in place. It will present a more uniform appearance when it's done, as well as provide more protection for the gable ends.

Completed Roof Eave Extensions

 While the work on the extensions was going on, there was work on the ground. Really, more in the ground, as the crew needed to level out the hole, drop in the Rotoplas, and fill with concrete around the base cone of the tank to provide rigidity and support for the tank.

Leveling the Bottom

 The Rotoplas has been installed over a base level of concrete. It's trued up and braced in order for the various bits of piping to be installed.

Keeping the Tank Vertical and Centered

 The guys constructed a small dam, then began filling the area all around the cone end of the Rotoplas with dry mix concrete, using up the excess rain water that had remained in the hole.

Dry Mix Concrete Making A Collar

To ensure that the dry mix gets around all sides of the Rotoplas, it was easier to just shovel the mix down the back side than try to pour buckets full from the front side.

Adding Dry Mix Around Rotoplas Base Cone

There are several drains from the house that need connecting. Carl and Omar are figuring out how to connect the various bits and pieces to make that happen.

Omar and Carl Determining Best Fit

From the left, the drain for the laundry and bathroom sink come out and down. There will be a screw-on clean out cap added to the opening you see there. Additionally, the drain for the shower is next. It will be joined to the laundry/bath sink drain. This pipe will coninue from the bottom of the tee, along and under the drain for the toilet on the right. After it passes under the toilet drain, it will connect with the drain field from the Rotoplas outfall.

Drains For Laundry and Bathroom Sink, Shower, and Toilet

The toilet drain will have a sewer gas vent installed at the top of the tee that you see. the pipe continues on and is connected to the Rotoplas.

Toilet Draain to Rotoplas

Omar is supervising installation of the valve system to drain remaining sludge out of the tank.

Cleaning Threads For Sludge Drain

The design of the Rotoplas, ingenious in the way it will function, allows you to add water via hose to the tank and send the remaining sludge out the valve system into a small catchment basin, enabling a pumper truck to suck up and haul away the remaining effluent as the hose water brings it out from the Rotoplas into the catchment. Almost two separate systems inside the Rotoplas.

Rotoplas Operation Diagram

Late in the afternoon, the twenty-foot pieces of lumber for the roof truss diagonal bracing arrived. The guys will stack it till it can be installed in the morning.

Bringing In the Truss Diagonal Bracing

One can only work so long in the day, and you just have to get away and relax. There's nothing like a good nap on a warm afternoon to make things right. Just ask Chanel.

Chanel Napping

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.   

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.