Septic Lesson#6 How to Make Concrete Tank Risers

Now one of the best things you can do to make, to keep on top of the septic tank

pump-out schedule is to make it as easy as possible to get into the tank. And for

years people just buried their tanks and they had to dig down, find them, move some

soil in order to get the pump-out guy to come in and do his work. That's just too

much hassle and that's why I'm a big fan of tanks that are accessible from the

surface. And I want to show you how I've made that happen with some concrete and

a patio slab. This is just a regular 24 inch by 24 inch patio slab and it sits on

top of, it sits on top of this concrete here. Now this is not part of the tank

Originally my tank was completely buried. That's the top of the tank there

And I had first, when I dug it out, I didn't, when I dug it out the first time

I didn't want to have to dig it out again. So I built a wooden box around it

Pressure treated wood and I treated it with some creosote. That lasted about 10

years but it rotted out. So I replaced it with this concrete one. If I was working

with wood again and I used wood that was meant for pressure treated wood

foundation I think it would be fine. I don't think it would be rot, I don't think it would rot. But if you want to go concrete then that's what I'm here to

show you. So the inside here is smooth and that's because I formed it with some

plywood. Three quarter inch thick plywood that formed the inside face of the box

And the the sides, the the plywood that was here and here, fit inside the pieces

of plywood that were here and here. And held together with just some finishing

nails. So that the whole form could be ripped out afterwards. After the concrete

is in place. Now the outside doesn't, you don't have to be so particular about it

All you need to do is use a straight mouth shovel to dig down and make a

straight wall. Essentially the the soil is the outside of the form. And I made it

about this wide. About this thick. That's how thick the concrete is. It's sitting

right on top of the tank. And you with the plywood in there you can just pour

your concrete in and smoothen it up. You should have the top of the plywood form

level because that marks the level point of the concrete you're pouring. And then

when the concrete is still wet, put the patio slab on top. Because that will

squish the the concrete and and make a good fit. Sort of a customized fit for

that that patio slab. And and then you're done. When it's hardened you can pull

that off and then use a crowbar to to pry and break the plywood out. And now

you've got a really good way of getting down into the tank. And if there are any

trees around, and trees can kind of sniff out these sewage fumes pretty well

especially maple and other leafy trees, they won't be able to get their roots

into the place here between the concrete wall and the top of the tank. So it's a

root proof arrangement as well as being very convenient