My wife and I own an older home built in the early 60's. Since we bought the place we've been using it as a vacation home. Maybe a total of 10-20 days per year. I'm in the process of getting it ready for full time occupancy following retirement. The home has a very small septic tank. I'm estimating it at 400-450 gallons. The drain field consists of a single line that is approximately 100 feet long.
My concern is that the system will fail and if Murphy has anything to do with it the failure will occur as soon as we are on a fixed income. I've been in the house for about the equivalent of 6 months with no problems. The previous owner was a single woman. As a Neanderthal of a guy I tend to eat a lot of meat. Also my hobby is making sausage. I'm concerned about the grease from cooking and cleaning (in a dishwasher) will overload the system. I have the requisite grease jar and remove as much as I can but I'm concerned about the residue.
When it comes time the entire system will need to be replaced since the tank is so small and won't meet current code. Also in a very inconvenient place so even the drain will need to be relocated.
No one has ever accused me of under building or under complicating anything. So here is where I need the guidance. One of my projects is to redo the kitchen. As part of that project I will be replacing the floor. Since we have a crawl space it would be very convenient to open the floor and install what would become a new main drain. Also at the same time I'd install necessary drain for a gray water system for the washing machine. Since everything works now I wouldn't make the change over until necessary. This would all be installed before I finish encapsulating the crawl space.
While it may be a lot of work now it would mostly be sweat equity. It would avoid tearing up the new floor in the dining room/kitchen and having to reseal the encapsulated crawl space.
My real question is this: Am I following my usual pattern of over complicating things or am I following my usual pattern of planning for the future?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. My ego says that I have to put in the following disclaimer. When I was writing code in the middle and late 90's none of my work had to be corrected for Y2K. In addition most of the electronic systems that I have specified the equipment for or designed have outlasted the next generation of gear.
My concern is that the system will fail and if Murphy has anything to do with it the failure will occur as soon as we are on a fixed income. I've been in the house for about the equivalent of 6 months with no problems. The previous owner was a single woman. As a Neanderthal of a guy I tend to eat a lot of meat. Also my hobby is making sausage. I'm concerned about the grease from cooking and cleaning (in a dishwasher) will overload the system. I have the requisite grease jar and remove as much as I can but I'm concerned about the residue.
When it comes time the entire system will need to be replaced since the tank is so small and won't meet current code. Also in a very inconvenient place so even the drain will need to be relocated.
No one has ever accused me of under building or under complicating anything. So here is where I need the guidance. One of my projects is to redo the kitchen. As part of that project I will be replacing the floor. Since we have a crawl space it would be very convenient to open the floor and install what would become a new main drain. Also at the same time I'd install necessary drain for a gray water system for the washing machine. Since everything works now I wouldn't make the change over until necessary. This would all be installed before I finish encapsulating the crawl space.
While it may be a lot of work now it would mostly be sweat equity. It would avoid tearing up the new floor in the dining room/kitchen and having to reseal the encapsulated crawl space.
My real question is this: Am I following my usual pattern of over complicating things or am I following my usual pattern of planning for the future?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. My ego says that I have to put in the following disclaimer. When I was writing code in the middle and late 90's none of my work had to be corrected for Y2K. In addition most of the electronic systems that I have specified the equipment for or designed have outlasted the next generation of gear.
