Building A Cabin Septic System

A really helpful book for those that wanted to save money by building a septic system by.

Building a cabin septic system.

Our land has mostly rocky clay soil which is a very poor filter. My wife has a small office in our shop and we finally put a toilet and sink in it. The state actively promotes eco friendly building practices which means off grid systems like solar and rainwater harvesting. The leach lines of any septic system need to be placed in soil that can adequately filter the liquids passing through.

Therefore we were required to do what is known as a fill and wait septic system. This system uses two 55 us gal 210 l drums as opposed to the 1 000 2 000 us gal 3 800 7 600 l tanks used for a standard home septic system. The system also has a dispersal field about one third that of a large home. Building an alternative septic system on wetlands is perhaps a greater challenge.

Of course you could consider eliminating your need for a large septic system altogether. In some cases an aerobic treatment system or a recirculating sand filter can produce water that is clean enough to discharge to surface water after disinfectant is added. My cabin has two bathrooms and also a pretty big kitchen with a sink and a dishwasher. Typically that costs a lot of money is highly regulated and for good reason but if you are careful and considerate you can create a small septic system that will handle a small cabin or trailer for one or two people.

All episodes in cabin in the woods episode 1 foundation framing and septic. A look at our septic system installation phase 1. If you find you have some space for a drain field you could also check into recirculating sand filter rsf or peat systems. Projects include a pre cast foundation system earth friendly septic system energy efficient appliances and more.

A conventional leach field cannot be used with a high water table. When i started going over the instructions in the book i was very skeptical about using the system as a small septic tank for my cabin to replace the old system. The main operating expense comes from getting the tank pumped out these units require more emptying than conventional systems.