Digging up the house - and yay for the mini digger

Last week Doug and team moved the fosse septic (or septic tank) at the back of the house. The previous owner put it in because it is too far from the kitchen sink around to the proper fosse at the front of the house. It is small and is really a grease trap (which usually then feed in to a septic tank).

It was placed right up against the house with the water flow out of it along the back of the house. Which means, because of the clay sole there, that the back of the house gets even more damp than it would just from the rain (and doesn't always smell great).

It sounds a pretty gross job as the water and fat (descriptions of how grease traps work describe a 'crust' which looks gross and smells worse) had to be emptied out before it could be moved.

It has been moved further away from the house and the existing perforated pipe along the back of the house replaced with one which is solid (ie no holes in it) until the end of the house and then the perforated bit which lets the water drain away.

The water supply needs to come in to the house at a different place (and the crappy metal bits replaced) so the new pipe will be laid in the same trench

In its new location, won't be filled in until the new water pipe is laid

Pipe all along the back of the house in its trench

Gravel in the trench

The awesome digger. Imagine doing all that by hand!

Some hand digging still had to be done