Did you like it that I didn’t use a naughty word in my title?..
Aren’t we funny creatures? We much prefer someone to write ‘sh#t’ rather than ‘shit’, but of course you still read ‘shit’ didn’t you?…
Just a sidetrack while I get to the real subject of the post – which funnily enough is ‘shit’. Actually its not that funny because it looks like our leach drains in the backyard have packed it in. I noticed a soft, gooey patch in the lawn last Saturday as I was mowing and the waft of wastewater coming from it told me it wasn’t a broken retic pipe… The last time this happened was when we were in Lesmurdie and I can tell you that cost a sh#tload to fix!
I did a little digging in the area and then called the plumber to have a look. It seems roots have invaded the drains and they either need the roots cutting out, or the drains replacing. So I’ve been reading up on the subject, as I often do and weighing up whether this is a DIY project or time to call a professional.
The advice I’ve had is that cutting the roots out is not a great solution because as they invade they crack the drain and their presence is then what actually holds the drain together. Remove them and the spider cracks they have created may well lead to the whole thing collapsing. Just to actually dig it out and get rid of the roots it would mean digging out about 10 cubes of lawn and sand and of course hacking thru roots…
10 cubes is a fair bit. I don’t mind digging, but I’d never do that by hand on a building site. So it looks like a job for an excavator. And then there’s the question of fix the drain or replace it? Fixing sounds like a risky option, but then a ballpark cost on parts for a new one is around $1000. I don’t think I could DIY and gamble on getting it right…
It looks like a job for a plumber and an excavator… and then someone to come and fix up the retic and relay the turf. I’d just got that section of lawn looking really nice…
I’m sure I will get a good story out of this about the need to deal with the shit in your life before it seeps out and starts to have an effect on those around you. Right now there is a gentle waft of effluent around the house reminding me that all is not well in the septic world…
So I guess a few thousand dollars will be parted with and middle earth will once again poo in peace…