UPDATED: It's not a zoo; it's a disaster. It's a zoo. Septic system install, & new expenses looming fast. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

UPDATE: It's officially a disaster. There's a very temporary fix, for now, but we're going to have to go with the permanent fix sooner rather than later, and it's gonna cost us. Big.

This is one of those things from the genuine "no one could have predicted" files. That water in the put, shown in the photo below, is not merely the water table; it's fed by a spring, right there. All these centuries, and no one ever knew that there was a spring in that spot; hell, if Wings had known, he might have sited the well differently, as well as a few other things. Anyway. None of that matters now, because this is where we are.

There are options for dealing with it, but they're hugely expensive. All that can be done, at the moment, is to proceed with the install as-is; it'll be at least a couple of months before we can move in anyway, and so there won't be any flow to the tank. Junior also ordered us the hermetically-sealed variety, rather than the two-piece version, which is a bit more expensive but much safer, and that's exponentially more important now. 

These situations are actually apparently fairly common, even here in the high desert, and they have a specific means of dealing with them; they install an evaporative system that takes care of the water inflow into the pit, and keeps it from overloading the system. But — and it's a big-ass but — that's a $17 grand system. 

Yes. Seventeen. Thousand. Dollars.

We don't have it.

Relocating it's not feasible; it'll be what we're already paying, again (save the tank cost, obvs), and there's no guarantee before they dig that it won't have the same result. What we're going to do, for now, is deal with it as-is, and if we have to pump it more frequently before we can convert it, that's what we'll have to do. But within six months (preferably sooner), we'll need to get them back out here to open up the pit again, install the evaporative system, and then dig the leach field. The good news is that it's $17K less what we've put into it, and today will not be $4,100, since they can't complete the leach-field part of the install. But we're still going to need to come up with $12K dedicated just to this. And no, none of this is them trying to bilk anyone; they're actually giving us a break, having just billed someone elsewhere $24K for a similar system. It really was something entirely unpredictable; no one has ever known of a spring on this land within six feet of the surface.


And yes, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to burst into tears when he said $17k. Not enough to keep from blurting out "Holy fuck," and then collapsing onto the nearest seat, though. But as with everything else, the process is under way, and there's no way out but forward at this point, so, hey, guess what, we've going to have to tack on another $12K to everything else we have to raise to finish this house. But it gives us a tiny bit of breathing room for the rest of this week, even if the bigger bill down the road will be a nightmare.

Anyway, yes, here's that PayPal link. Gah.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

This day was ridiculous by ten o'clock. More on that later. for now, this is how it begins, with the excavation. The guys were here at 8:30 ON THE DOT this morning. Their company name is In & Out, and they absolutely live up to it: No wasted time, no dragging stuff out. They also know their stuff, and while they're a little more expensive than some of the other area providers, they're right in line with most of them, and so we always go back to them for whatever's needed.

So, they got four feet down, and hit this:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

That's the water table in that spot. They're going deeper than four feet, but for now, they've got to get the water out. Wings's pump wasn't strong enough to handle the vertical slope, so they had to go back and get theirs. In the meantime, it did this:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That's up and entire foot. So they're pumping and excavating kind of simultaneously. In the meantime, this showed up:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That's the actual septic tank. Here's a close-up, for those of you who, like me, have never seen one before:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

And this stuff is something called EZFlow, which is being used in the install:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

They're long duffel bag-like tubes of foam pieces, much like those styrofoam "peanuts" used in packing and shipping. These, however, are made of something different, something high-tech and supposedly more environmentally friendly than the old fills and liners. They're also supposed to be safer in terms of protecting the tank, even apart from the eco stuff, so I hope they're as good as they're cracked up to be.

Another $4,100 will go out the door this afternoon.

::Pauses to scream internally::

::Deep breath::

Okay. Back at it. It's just endless, and there are so many more expenses coming down the pike. As in this week. We've been fortunate that Wings received the commission that permitted us to do this, and start the other big-ticket item, the exterior work, but that's only a start. And this, combined with all of the materials purchases and labor costs of the last month, have wiped us out. We're back to needing consistent daily shares to keep the work going; otherwise, we'll be calling a halt next week. Here are all the links:

1. First, to donate, the PayPal link is here.
2. Second, for sales (which we really need to make, and I'll be highlighting some of his high-end stuff on the site this week), the link to Wings's site (preferably with a testimonial, if you have some of his work), because sales are gonna keep this thing rolling. 
3. And finally, the link to our wishlist (which badly needs updating), with an emphasis on the Lowe's gift cards, because those are what will help us pay for all the stuff that will make this place liveable, like a water heater and flooring and so forth. 

We need to make some sales, and sales of some of his bigger-ticket items would go a very, very long way toward this phase (which is by far the most expensive, as all the guys are so fond of reminding of us : "Oh, you thought you had the expensive part done? Hahahaha, it's just beginning!"). Later this week, I'll be highlighting some of Wings's pricier works on the site, and it would help us a lot if folks would be sure to share those links far and wide; you never know who might be a collector, or just moved by a particular piece and inspired to buy. For now, I have to get back to the task list (and people) hectoring me from the sidelines about a thousand and one things, so many thanks and much love to everyone.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.