Expert Advice
Maxwell: Searching for your septic tank? Here’s a simple solution
August 27, 2010
Steve Maxwell
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Q: How can I find the openings to our septic tank? Like lots of other country properties, the access hatches are underneath soil somewhere and covered in grass. It’s time for a pump out and I’d like to avoid digging randomly until I find the top of the tank.
A: The only way I know of to find a septic tank is to look for the weeping bed (a sometimes-raised area of grass), then dig around somewhere between the house and the weeping bed until you find the tank and access hatches. It’s very inefficient, difficult and disruptive, and that’s why I did something about it at my place.
After I spent way too much time digging to find the hatches the first time my septic tank needed pumping out, I created two boxes made of pressure-treated lumber. These extend down from the surface of the lawn to the lids on top of the concrete tank. The wooden boxes have removable lids on the surface, making them easy to find and use. Now pump outs are fast, easy and don’t damage the lawn. Since the wooden lids are flush with the ground, we just mow over them.
Q: Do oil finishes make wood slippery? You’ve written about finishing outdoor wood with oil before, but I’m concerned about the results.
A: Although oil does make most things slippery, there are two reasons proper wood finishing oils don’t cause this problem. The first is absorption. Finishing oil always soaks into any kind of bare wood. There’s almost nothing on the surface, even a few minutes after application. In addition to this, finishing oils are formulated to react with oxygen and harden. Even if residual oil was left on the surface, in a day or two it forms a varnish like skin that isn’t slippery. Oil is easy to apply, has low odour, never peels and is easily renewed with more coats.
Q: What’s the best way to insulate the underside of a 10-by-15-foot sunroom? It stands three feet off the ground and I’m confused about where to put the vapour barrier.
A: The purpose of a vapour barrier is to prevent the movement of air through insulated structures like walls and floors, but vapour barriers are only necessary when the insulation itself is unable to prevent this unwanted air movement.
The best insulation for your floor (and for many other applications) is the kind of spray foam that’s capable of blocking air infiltration all on its own. Given the amount of space you’ve got under your sunroom, the application of spray foam on to the underside of the floor and between the floor joists is a fast, easy and highly effective way to create a very warm floor. Besides preventing the passage of air through the insulation by osmosis, it also seals cracks and air leaks. The only drawback is the high cost of spray foam, but I have a suggestion.
To create a properly insulated floor, you really should have at least R15 worth of insulation, and that’s about three inches worth of foam. More is better. Instead of building up this much spray foam alone, you’ll save quite a bit of money by cutting two-inch-thick pieces of rigid foam to fit between the floor joists, then apply spray foam over top to seal everything. You can easily spray this yourself, using one of the two-part spray foam systems designed for do-it-yourself application. I’ve had good results with Tiger Foam(1-888.844.3736; www.tigerfoam.ca).
Steve Maxwell is Canada’s award-winning home improvement expert, technical editor of Canadian Home Workshop magazine and co-author of The Complete Root Cellar Book. Sign up for his free homeowner newsletter and pose your home renovation questions at www.stevemaxwell.ca. Steve will do his best to answer all queries, but letter volume sometimes prevents individual response.