{DIY} Septic Tank Box: Part 1

Yep.  That’s what we started to build last weekend.  When you live in Likely you have your own well for your water and your own septic tank.  Ours is right there in our back yard, and it’s really not buried that deep.  As you can see from the photos I took this weekend, we have two green tank lids that stick up right out of the dirt.  They’re made of plastic and plastic + sun = brittle plastic.  We didn’t want the tank lids to get sunbaked because that would be downright dangerous if something (or someone – eek!) fell through.  Fortunately the septic tank is only as old as our home ownership journey (which is about 16 months), but we didn’t want it to be left out there in the elements any longer.  So a few weeks ago, Glenn dug some holes, poured some concrete and set some recycled wood posts in, which was the beginning of our new septic tank box.

Although we needed to build a box around the septic tank, we still needed to be able to access the tank for pumping, etc.  So when planning the design we decided to make the box do triple duty: protect the tank, act as extra storage, and built at seat height for a little extra seating outside.  As I said before, Glenn used some scrap posts that we had around and he set them in concrete around the box.  He then purchased some brackets and framed it in with 2×4′s to reinforce the box and add strength.

Here’s a photo, admiring the new window in Harper’s room.

But it reminds me that we still need to paint the trim on the house…..

Harper was a big help, too…and you can see that the green plastic lids are right there, sticking up out of the dirt.  Perfect size for a little girl I know to fall through if they somehow got damaged..  Not good!

This (above) is right after Glenn cut the tops of the posts off with his chain saw.  Good thing that Glenn is married to an interior designer, because I knew right off the top of my head, exactly what height to build the top at for a standard seat.  Or he could have just walked inside with a tape measure and measured a chair…

It’s approximately 18″…in case you were wondering.

Does your man own a chain saw? Mine does. And he uses it…a lot.

Almost done! Doesn’t our new grass look nice? A little patchy still, but at least we have grass now.  We should be able to fix that this winter while there’s snow on the ground.

Finished! With the frame, anyway. Now we just need to put the sides and top on. Hopefully it will be finished this weekend, but you know us…fishing might be a little more important while the weather is good.   Isn’t this a beautiful November so far? Here in Northern California it’s been sunny and in the 70′s!  Love it!  Not looking forward to the gloom and cold.

Happy Veteran’s Day! Go thank one you know tomorrow…or every time you see them.  I’m giving a shout-out to my cousin, Matt, who is stationed in the army in Hawaii (poor guy, right?) but he’s also recently home from his 2nd Iraq tour and he’s only 24.  He’s also my hero and I really hope that I get to see him over the holidays!

xo, L.

PS – My giveaway for 3 Rosebud cards is still going on through this week!  Head over there for the details!!