Thursday, September 8, 2011

Digging in the Earth

I am definitely an "earthy" type girl.  But my most recent project has left me a little less dirt loving than usual.

With the home renovation, a new bathroom and laundry tub was added to the house.  Unfortunately, as life unfolded, this part of the remodel was never finished.  It has been several months now, and in order to get it done before the cold weather arrives, I decided it was time to get started.

I can't afford to rent a proper machine right now, so it was me, my pick-axe and a shovel.  First I had to locate the septic tank.  A tip for anyone looking to find their tank - look for the spot where snow begins to melt first (obviously requires a cold climate).   I found mine after a few test holes, and began digging.  I found the concrete tank and after locating the corner, I was able to dig along the edge until I uncovered the existing pipe.

Now I had to dig trenches from the two pipes coming out of my house to the septic tank.  It took me two full days of digging.  My soil is a combination of hard packed clay and huge rocks, so it was pretty slow going.  The pick axe definitely made things easier.  The fact that there was a railroad tie embedded in the soil defining the edge of the old driveway, definitely slowed me down, but after an hour or so I had it removed.

The plumber is coming tomorrow, and I can't wait to have things up and running.  It will definitely make me feel like my house is getting closer to being finished.

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