Septic Oh My!

Replacing a 4 line septic system with a larger 15-line drainage system is no joke. It took the workers 3 days to cut down trees, grind them up using the Intimidator, and now an additional 4 days to dig the trenches, lay the piping, and put in the new septic tank, distribution box and the additional pump that we need to make sure the system never fails. 

Our soil testing showed four different types of soil and I'm no expert on this, but this is why we needed such a widespread system. Our backyard is now almost the size of a football field...which will be great when it's graded and we have grass! Well...great for little boys who want to play, not necessarily for a dad who has to cut it all...riding mower or not.

The next stage will be to cut off our deck and "office" in order to fill in the current septic tank and attach the new lines to the main lines. Hopefully that will happen next week if not sooner. 

Day One

My four year old and my two year old boys have set up dining room chairs to watch the excavator be lowered from the flatbed truck. How is my new kindergartner going to focus with all of this exciting construction! I think we'll make construction a part of our studies: trucks, types of soil, trees, rock, basic geometry etc. 

So many trees came down. Three of my kids mourned the "death" of Theo, the giant oak. 


Here is one of the tallest pine trees that we had. All of these needles on the ground sure made the area fragrant!

I assume that the Intimidator (below) will be used to make wood chips tomorrow. Free mulch?

The plan is this: tomorrow the drain field is replaced. We'll see if they can get it done in one day. Then our current deck and the room built over it (by previous owners) will be dismantled. An electrician needs to come to move our phone line and take care of some minor details. I suppose the footings for the new addition will be next or will it be the bathrooms who are going to be updated? Don't know. We'll find out.

Countdown

Walk with us as we venture into our 4th and biggest home renovation. Years ago at our townhouse, we finished a basement, turning into a master bedroom suite. Then we moved to this house and put in a great room addition, finished the walk-out basement and renovated the kitchen. 

So why do more?

We are a family of eight and currently the youngest children, ages 4 and 2 share our bedroom...not cool! We put our house on the market 4 years ago when I was pregnant with the 4 year old, but well, our house never sold. This past January we decided to stay put and make this house work for a larger family.

Hopefully this renovation will be done by Christmas, but since I've watched my share of DIY and HGTV I know that anything can happen when it comes to timelines.


 I'll be posting design, decor and organization ideas. With daughters that love aesthetics as much as I do, and little boys that love to makes messes as much as I don't, it'll be an interesting juxtaposition of practicality and artistry.