We've got a large cess pit under one lawn which was put in just before we
moved here (the grass is finally growing back over the top of it all and
the ground seems to have settled).

Only issue is that there are eleven white plastic caps which stick up out
of the ground by about 4" and which look horrible. They're commonly seen
around here, but I'm told that they're unheard of in other areas, so it
seems to be a regional implementation thing.

Are the 'hidden' systems likely to be a completely different design, or do
they still have these caps/pipework, but just conceal them beneath
ground-level inspection covers? I've never lived in a place with a cess
pit before, so I'm not sure what the typical setup is (are so many caps
needed because they pump the pit out from different locations rather than
one spot?).

I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the lawn
(the layout of them makes it a bit hard to put flower beds etc. around
them, and there's so many of them that covering them with something
decorative would just look goofy). Longer term though if there's a way of
hiding / ditching them altogether that would be better...

cheers

Jules

Jules wrote:
We've got a large cess pit under one lawn which was put in just before we
moved here (the grass is finally growing back over the top of it all and
the ground seems to have settled).

I didn't know that cesspits were still permitted! I thought that most
new installations were septic systems.


I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the lawn
(the layout of them makes it a bit hard to put flower beds etc. around
them, and there's so many of them that covering them with something
decorative would just look goofy). Longer term though if there's a way of
hiding / ditching them altogether that would be better...


Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover them
with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?

Build a gazebo over them?

In message , S Viemeister
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover them
with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if you
have more than one.

Build a gazebo over them?

--
Clint Sharp

Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if you
have more than one.



Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I used to
pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of gnomes in its
garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

Clint Sharp wrote:
In message , S Viemeister
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if you
have more than one.

Build a gazebo over them?

Dig a pond round it as a safe haven for ducks.

And claim it as your second home.

On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:16:40 -0400, S Viemeister wrote:

I didn't know that cesspits were still permitted! I thought that most
new installations were septic systems.

New installations are more likley to be glargester type things as the EA
will insist on a fairly high quality discharge, older places may well just
have a septic tank. Cesspits must be very expensive these days with each
empty costing £100 or more. Assuming you get some one authorised to do it
and dispose of the contents properly. Not just a local farmer with his
slurry tanker squirting it over fields...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:16:40 -0400, S Viemeister wrote:

I didn't know that cesspits were still permitted! I thought that most
new installations were septic systems.

New installations are more likley to be glargester type things as the EA
will insist on a fairly high quality discharge, older places may well just
have a septic tank. Cesspits must be very expensive these days with each
empty costing £100 or more. Assuming you get some one authorised to do it
and dispose of the contents properly. Not just a local farmer with his
slurry tanker squirting it over fields...

I think Jules is on the other side of the Atlantic, though.

"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe
cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around
them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if
you
have more than one.



Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I
used to
pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of gnomes in its
garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

I'm told that in Poland, Gnomes in the front garden is equivelent to a
red light in the window - but I've not personally tested this
assertion !

AWEM

Andrew Mawson wrote:
"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe
cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around
them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if
you
have more than one.


Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I
used to
pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of gnomes in its
garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

I'm told that in Poland, Gnomes in the front garden is equivelent to a
red light in the window - but I've not personally tested this
assertion !


I did eventually meet (at a relative's home) the lady who owns the
place. She claimed that it was her nephew who had the gnome obsession.
I don't think I'll mention the Polish thing to her.....

On May 24, 4:36 am, Jules
wrote:

I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the lawn

Paint them to look like toadstools.

On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:53:12 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

On May 24, 4:36 am, Jules
wrote:

I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the lawn

Paint them to look like toadstools.

Bit big for toads - just stools would do!
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

Andrew Mawson wrote:
"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around
them? Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if
you have more than one.



Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I
used to pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of
gnomes in its garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

I'm told that in Poland, Gnomes in the front garden is equivelent to a
red light in the window - but I've not personally tested this
assertion !

I wonder what Polish builders in places like Cheam think?

:-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

S Viemeister wrote:
Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around
them? Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if you
have more than one.



Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I used
to pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of gnomes in
its garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

We just have the one.... Norm the Gnome...

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rm/norm001.jpg

And

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rm/norm002.jpg

We like Norm :-)



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article ,
PeterC wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:53:12 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

On May 24, 4:36 am, Jules
wrote:

I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the
lawn

Paint them to look like toadstools.

Bit big for toads - just stools would do!
[OK I'll bite] Well they are over a cess pit

John

--
John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

Prepositions are not used to end sentences with

On Sun, 24 May 2009 09:54:14 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

S Viemeister wrote:
Clint Sharp wrote:
writes
Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover
them with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around
them? Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?
Gnomes. Just make sure you don't try to claim them on expenses if you
have more than one.



Some years back, on the way up to the north coast of Scotland, I used
to pass a house in Lairg, which had a veritable _army_ of gnomes in
its garden. Far too many to count as we went by.

We just have the one.... Norm the Gnome...

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rm/norm001.jpg

And

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rm/norm002.jpg

We like Norm :-)

He doesn't look gnormal.

There was one near Penrtith, in a village. It was on the front wall of a
garden (bolted down, I'd guess) and was bending over mooning and looking
round with a filthy leer. I liked that one as well.
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:16:40 -0400, S Viemeister wrote:

Jules wrote:
We've got a large cess pit under one lawn which was put in just before we
moved here (the grass is finally growing back over the top of it all and
the ground seems to have settled).

I didn't know that cesspits were still permitted! I thought that most
new installations were septic systems.


I think I'll paint the caps green for now so they blend in with the lawn
(the layout of them makes it a bit hard to put flower beds etc. around
them, and there's so many of them that covering them with something
decorative would just look goofy). Longer term though if there's a way of
hiding / ditching them altogether that would be better...


Making them blend in may be a bit of a safety hazard - maybe cover them
with hollow fibreglass rocks, and nestle real rocks around them?
Perhaps a rock garden and a bench or two?

re. covering them individually, problem is that there's two lines of
four with maybe 3' of spacing between them, and then another group of
three (not in a line) at the other side of the lawn, something like:

o o o o o o o o



o o
o


- I think the group of four on the right (which are toward the house)
are for a tank, and the remaing seven are some form of drain field (but
why seven - or why they're needed for a drain field at all - I don't
know)

Individual covers would probably look as bad as the caps. I'm not sure
how I could hide so many beneath benches etc. without it looking
odd, either. Rock gardens or raised flower beds might be a possibility,
though - although eliminating them altogether beneath ground-level covers
would be ideal I reckon.

I might see if I can find the name of the company who installed the
system and ask about those lower seven caps; if I could dump them
altogether then a bench or something over the 'upper' row of four caps
would look fine I think...)

cheers!

Jules

On Sat, 23 May 2009 15:16:05 -0400, S Viemeister wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2009 13:16:40 -0400, S Viemeister wrote:

I didn't know that cesspits were still permitted! I thought that most
new installations were septic systems.

New installations are more likley to be glargester type things as the EA
will insist on a fairly high quality discharge, older places may well just
have a septic tank. Cesspits must be very expensive these days with each
empty costing £100 or more. Assuming you get some one authorised to do it
and dispose of the contents properly. Not just a local farmer with his
slurry tanker squirting it over fields...

I think Jules is on the other side of the Atlantic, though.

Yes, I am (these days). I always thought cess pit was the UK term for
what's a septic system in the US - interesting to know that's wrong.
(Anyone care to summarise the difference before I go a-googling? I'm in a
lazy mood today

re. pumping I know our neighbour said it was about $100 every three years
to have their system emptied, so £100 is probably about right in the UK
(I tend to find pound/dollar amounts are interchangeable for most services)

cheers

Jules

In article . com, Jules
wrote:

Jules wrote:
We've got a large cess pit under one lawn

[spippety snip]
re. covering them individually, problem is that there's two lines of
four with maybe 3' of spacing between them, and then another group of
three (not in a line) at the other side of the lawn, something like:

o o o o o o o o

I may be wrong but family-in-law had cess pits which were basically storage
systems of brick or concrete pits that filled up and needed emptying every
12 / 18 months or so.

Septic tank is an enclosed tank (concrete or plastic in France) designed to
break down the waste and might need emptying every decade or three

My new septic tank has two removable concrete lids, 60cm diameter by about
4-5cm thick for inspection / emptying.

The outflow leads to a sand filter. (new specs locally) The sand filter has
a network of pipes with inspection chambers similar to those covers you
describe. I've only 3 I think plus some vent pipes. If you have a larger
septic tank, it may need larger area filter. (Or shallower filter / larger
area)

--
John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

On Mon, 25 May 2009 10:51:22 -0500, Jules wrote:

Yes, I am (these days). I always thought cess pit was the UK term for
what's a septic system in the US - interesting to know that's wrong.
(Anyone care to summarise the difference before I go a-googling? I'm in
a lazy mood today

Cess Pit: Container for foul waste water with no outflow. What goes in has
to be pumped out before it overflows.

Septic Tank: Container for foul waste water with an outflow. Normally a a
couple of chambers, serial in older brick constructions or concentric with
modern plastic tanks. The foul waste water settles out to some extent and
some anerobic digestion takes place. The outflow is not particulary
pleasant but better than raw sewage. This is normally discharged into a
buried drainage system where soil bacteria work on it as well.

Glargester: A trade name for a system constructed like a septic tank but
with the addition of a motorised stirrer and air supply. Air is
continually bubbled through the water and it is stirred. Aerobic digestion
takes place and the outflow is of a much higher quailty. I believe it is
suitable for discharge straight into an existing water course rather than
requiring a drainage field.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Glargester: A trade name snip


Google he say "Did you mean: Klargester"?

Andy

On Mon, 25 May 2009 21:25:23 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Mon, 25 May 2009 10:51:22 -0500, Jules wrote:

Yes, I am (these days). I always thought cess pit was the UK term for
what's a septic system in the US - interesting to know that's wrong.
(Anyone care to summarise the difference before I go a-googling? I'm in
a lazy mood today

Cess Pit: Container for foul waste water with no outflow. What goes in has
to be pumped out before it overflows.

snippage

Brilliant, Dave - thanks for that. Deffo a septic system here then,
although (far as I know!) there's no power to it. I think I have a very
badly-drawn layout diagram somewhere supplied by the people we bought the
house from, but buggered if I can figure out where I put it right now...
:-)

cheers

Jules

Jules wrote:
On Mon, 25 May 2009 21:25:23 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Mon, 25 May 2009 10:51:22 -0500, Jules wrote:

Yes, I am (these days). I always thought cess pit was the UK term
for what's a septic system in the US - interesting to know that's
wrong. (Anyone care to summarise the difference before I go
a-googling? I'm in a lazy mood today

Cess Pit: Container for foul waste water with no outflow. What goes
in has to be pumped out before it overflows.

snippage

Brilliant, Dave - thanks for that. Deffo a septic system here then,
although (far as I know!) there's no power to it. I think I have a
very badly-drawn layout diagram somewhere supplied by the people we
bought the house from, but buggered if I can figure out where I put
it right now... :-)

A conventional septic tank needs no power provided that gravity works for
you.

The first part of the now conventional process involves anaerobic digestion
of the accumulated solids in the one or two tanks; that is bugs that work in
the absence of oxygen and as part of their metabolism produce their waste
products, methane and carbon dioxide and others. This process reduces the
amount of solids accumulating. Normally this is followed by an aerobic part
of the system where the liquid fraction from the tanks trickles through an
irrigation system (grass plot or pebble bed) in the presence of air prior to
the water being discharged to a watercourse.