Cesspool for a toilet in a country house: types and methods of construction

In the vast majority of cases, the role of a storage tank for a country toilet is played by a cesspool, because not everyone is ready to tinker with the construction of a septic tank and filtration field.

It is not difficult to equip such an object, however, it is extremely important to choose its size and location correctly.

Indeed, in case of a mistake, the accumulated sewage will poison not only the soil, but also the life of the unlucky summer resident, as well as his neighbors.

Let's find out where it is located and what parameters a toilet pit in a country house should have: depth - width - length.

Cesspool options

This design is a hole that is dug near the house and where sewage drains. Some of the sewage is processed by bacteria, some settles to the bottom. The other part (liquid) seeps deep into the earth. So, what has settled to the bottom of the pit must be periodically removed so that the sewer structure does not overflow. That is why it is called a cesspool.

Today, pits for a toilet in a cesspool-type country house are not just depressions dug in the ground. A large number of modern options for constructing cesspools are offered, using different building materials or finished products. As an example, concrete rings, tanks built from bricks or concrete blocks, ready-made plastic or metal containers, even rubber tires from cars.

Monolithic cesspool for toilet Source reloky.sezyrokina.ru.net

Let's look at some designs using various materials and products. But let’s first outline one point.

It is important to accurately determine the location of the cesspool.

The minimum distance to the foundation of the house is 5 m.
To drinking wells or boreholes - 30 m.
5 m to neighbor's fence.
The best option is closer to the road, if the disposal of sewage waste will be carried out by a sewer truck. Or you will have to build a road to the pit.

The simplest version of a cesspool is a depression in the ground, over which a wooden house is installed. After filling the recess, the house is moved to another place, where a hole is also dug. And the used one is simply buried. After a year, the sewage turns into excellent humus. Trees grow well in this place.

The option is actually simple, but it is not suitable for a large country house. Still, I want to live well, enjoying the fruits of civilization. This means that at the dacha it is better to make a good, large hole so that wastewater not only from the toilet, but from the bathroom and kitchen flows into it.

Collection of toilet sewage with a filter layer Source mastergrad.com

See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in water supply and sewerage.

Calculation of the volume of a country cesspool

The difficulty of operating sewerage structures of this type lies in the fact that all sewage leaving the dacha is collected in a pit and is practically not disposed of independently, as happens in septic tanks. Therefore, there is no volume calculation as such.

Dacha owners decide for themselves what size the hole will be dug. The bigger, the better. You will have to pump out less often. Optimally – 2 m³ per person. For example, if 3 people permanently live at the dacha in the summer, then you will have to build a pit with a volume of 6 m³. Although this is not a strict parameter.

Pit made of reinforced concrete rings

Let's move on to considering the construction of pits from different materials. So, a sewer cesspool made of reinforced concrete rings for a toilet in a country house. It should be noted right away that installation of concrete products will require a crane, which will increase the cost of the project. But this design has a fairly long service life, almost eternal.

Cesspool made of reinforced concrete rings Source musorish.ru

Here is the sequence of construction operations:

Dig a pit at a depth above the groundwater level.
Its bottom is leveled and covered with sand 10-20 cm thick, which is compacted.
A reinforced concrete pancake is placed on the prepared cushion using a crane, which is purchased as a separate additional element to the concrete rings.
The reinforced concrete rings themselves are stacked on top of each other on the bottom.
A concrete cover with a hatch is installed on top.
The outer surfaces of the rings are treated with bitumen mastic or hot bitumen. This is waterproofing that will extend the service life of reinforced concrete products. It is optimal to do this not on the assembled structure, but to process each element separately before installation.
The gap between the rings and the walls of the pit is filled with soil.
The joints between structural elements are covered from the inside with a waterproofing compound, for example, Betonkontakt.
A plastic pipe is installed on the lid as exhaust ventilation.

A toilet for a dacha made of concrete rings is assembled in one day. This is one of the main positive characteristics of a sewerage structure of this type.

What kind of toilet can be built in a country house?

Just like several decades ago, the use of a conventional “village” toilet, where the cesspool plays the main role, continues to be relevant. But there are other options for this delicate structure. Summer residents can afford:

Powder closet;
Backlash closet;
Peat toilet;
Dry toilet.

Some of the listed options are a small vessel installed indoors at home. And the rest assume the presence of such an element as a cesspool, where feces and waste will flow. Compact garden toilets allow you to quickly solve the problem, but they are not always convenient for users. In addition, if there are a large number of guests, a larger structure may be required, based on a cesspool.

This is why most dacha owners prefer to build outdoor toilets, where the main element is a cesspool. This familiar version of the structure can be easily done with your own hands, which attracts the bulk of summer residents. In addition, you only need to choose one type out of two:

Regular cesspool;
Sealed cesspool.

The location where the pit of the future garden toilet should be located largely depends on the choice.

Video description

How to build a well from reinforced concrete blocks is shown in the video:
See also: Catalog of small-form projects presented at the Low-Rise Country exhibition.

Pit made of bricks or concrete blocks

Cesspools assembled from piece building materials are no longer practically used in suburban construction, as they are obsolete and cannot compete in quality and long-term operation with those assembled from reinforced concrete rings. In addition, such structures take a very long time to build - if you plan to lay a large pit, this may take a month or more.

The only plus is that the structure can be round in cross-section or rectangular. However, this is not its distinctive feature.

When constructing a brick cesspool, the sequence of operations performed will be as follows.

A pit is dug, the bottom of which is covered with sand and crushed stone 30 cm thick.
Formwork made of boards 100 mm wide is installed around the perimeter.
A mesh of reinforcement is laid inside.
Concrete solution is poured.
After the bottom has dried, which can last 20-30 days, they begin laying the walls of the pit with a band of elements.
After raising the walls, a cover is installed on top: concrete, metal or wood. A hole must be made in it for installing a ventilation pipe, as well as a hatch for pumping out sewage.

Pit for a brick toilet Source mos24.ru

Barrel pit

A cesspool for a toilet in a country house made from a barrel is an old, long-used option. For this purpose, previously used metal barrels with a capacity of 200 liters were used. They were simply installed one on top of the other, cutting out the bottoms. The bottom was left at the bottom of the barrel, and the lid at the top. They were connected to each other by electric welding.

A good and cheap option, but with a short service life. The thin metal of the barrels quickly succumbed to corrosion, holes appeared in them, through which sewage entered the ground, polluting it.

From iron barrels Source in4o.ru

Frame assembly

The frame of the country toilet is made of beams. Basically, beams come in thicknesses of 40x50 mm, 50x50 mm, 70x50 mm, 100x50 mm, 100x100 mm - with lengths of 2, 3, 6 meters. The price increases in proportion to the increase in the thickness of the beam section. It is not necessary to use large material. To make a high-quality fastening, you will need good metal corners and wood screws.

The design of the country toilet consists of four load-bearing supports that must be installed vertically.

The pitched roof is assembled last

Installation of the roof is done only after installing the longitudinal bars, which should protrude 0.4-0.5 meters beyond the toilet. The protrusion at the front will be designed as a visor, and at the back as a rain drain.

The toilet design should include a frame made of timber for the toilet seat, without which no restroom is complete. The toilet seat itself should be located at a distance of 0.4-0.5 meters from the entrance.

The strength of the entire building can be increased by diagonal jumpers. They need to be made at the place where the side and rear elements are fastened.

The door to the toilet can be made in various designs

The toilet structure includes an entrance door. A frame is made under it from two wooden blocks, and on top they are fastened with a simple plank.

It is necessary to observe the size of each element when cutting and installing, otherwise the structure will become distorted.

Features of operation

If the sewerage structure is done correctly, then there will be no problems with its operation. The main problem is pumping out sewage. There are three options here:

the old grandfather's method - rope and bucket;
fecal pump and container;
sewerage machine.

Today you can increase the pumping frequency. To do this, dry bacteria are poured into the pit. They come to life in a humid environment and actively process organic matter, leaving activated sludge at the bottom, which is a good fertilizer for plants. But, as practice shows, over the years, fat deposits increase on the walls and bottom of the sewer structure, reducing its volume. Even bacteria can't cope with them. There is only one way out - to clean the pit manually by letting a person inside.

Cleaning the cesspool Source misanec.ru

Door installation and toilet seat arrangement

Before installing the door, you need to calculate all its dimensions so that it fits well in its place. The door in the country toilet is hung with 2 or 3 hinges. To close it from the inside, you can provide a latch. To prevent it from being dark in the toilet, you can install a light bulb there. If this is not possible, a small window cut out on the door would be an excellent option. It will also provide additional ventilation. The window size should not be too large.

The toilet seat is made from boards or lining. The previously made frame is sheathed with them. The toilet seat can be painted upon completion of all installation work. A small hole is cut in the middle to satisfy the need.

Cost of work

The question of how much it costs to build a toilet in a country house with a cesspool is no less relevant today than it was several years ago. An economical option for a summer house, which is used only in the warm season, the optimal solution.

Today, many companies present a service - installing a turnkey toilet in a country house. They offer several options, in which they mainly use plastic containers as a cesspool. The price varies depending on the volume of the barrel, the size of the toilet itself, the finishing and other things. For example, a wooden house measuring 1x1.2x2.2 m and a barrel with a volume of 1 m³ costs 25,000 rubles.

Selecting a location

Before digging a pit for a cesspool, you need to choose a place for it. A list of certain rules allows you to choose the optimal location.

There is no need to create a foundation for a wooden toilet

This list consists of the following items:

The pit must be placed at a 25-meter distance from water sources.
To avoid a strong odor in the house, the toilet must be 12 meters away.
An outdoor shower or bath should be located at a distance of 8 meters from the cesspool.
Pens with animals should be located at a 4-meter distance from the country toilet.
When installing a country toilet, it is necessary to take into account the direction of the wind on the site. This will avoid the appearance of an unpleasant odor in the house.
Groundwater should be at a depth of 2.5 meters. Otherwise, installing a latrine using a pit cesspool is prohibited.

If you are building a latrine without using a cesspool, you can ignore these recommendations and rules, with the exception of wind direction. Completing this step will prevent an unpleasant odor from appearing in your home.

Adviсe

When more than five people use such a toilet, it is recommended to install forced ventilation.
You should not leave the dry closet lid open after use.
A large number of users can lead to excess fluid, so it is worth pre-equipping the drainage of fluid from the dry closet into the drainage system of the dacha.
It is better to make the ventilation pipe longer - up to 4 meters.
If you don’t want to carry a heavy, filled tank, it’s better not to wait until it’s full. Or take a model not only with handles, but also with wheels.
To increase efficiency, it is better to use granulated peat mixtures. They are more expensive, but absorption increases 4 times.
Do not send the contents of the bottom tank directly to the beds. It should ripen in a compost pit or container for six months to a year.

Practical fencing

Until recently, slate was the most common roofing material, with a large number of operational advantages.
Today its popularity has fallen slightly; more modern materials have appeared on the market: bitumen shingles and metal tiles. It’s a pity to throw away the old covering, which is why many people have warehouses of old slate sheets in their dachas. It’s a shame to throw it away, and there’s no need to do it. You can easily assemble and make a temporary toilet, an outdoor shower from slate sheets, you can build fences from it, covering a fence made from a chain-link mesh, for example. This solution will protect the garden plot from the prying eyes of passers-by and the penetration of neighboring dogs.

A standard slate sheet has a length of 175 cm, the sheet is cut in half and simply, with an overlap on the chain-link, is dug into the ground with its lower edge to a depth of 40 cm. If the soil is thoroughly compacted after this, no additional fastenings are needed to stabilize the fence. If desired, slate can be easily painted by choosing the right color; it is not difficult to easily integrate it into the style of your site. Please note! Such a partition can protect a personal plot from the spread of weeds that try to gain a foothold on the edge of the neighbor’s plot with their roots.

Important!
According to sanitary standards, the depth of the drainage pit must exceed the level of the drinking source. Otherwise, the drainage pit may contaminate the water source.

City property owners do not face such a question as installing a sewer system. The supply of water and its disposal after operation is carried out at the expense of housing utilities. But it is extremely difficult or even impossible to provide central sewerage to country houses and dachas. Therefore, residents often have to organize their own drainage system. This installation is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. In this case, the most important thing is to know how to properly make a drainage hole, and what you will need for this.

We use brick

If the conditions on the site allow you, you can make not only the bottom of the pit filtration, but also its walls. This will allow you not to pump liquid out of the toilet for at least 4-5 years. To do this, it is necessary to lay the brick on a cement-sand mortar, leaving a gap of 1-2 cm between the rows. It is recommended to fill the space between the walls and the ground with small crushed stone, which will additionally filter out biological waste.

Types of brick cesspools

To create a sealed pit you need:

Fill the concrete bottom.
Lay out the walls using red bricks and cement-sand mortar. Use seam dressing to keep the masonry strong. Brick can be laid on edge.
Use a plumb line to check the verticality of the walls. Check this after laying each row of bricks.
Plaster the inside surface of the pit.
Additionally, apply bitumen mastic to achieve complete sealing.
Brick walls should protrude 10-15 cm above the surface so that rainwater does not flow inside.

DIY brick drainage pit

Materials required for construction

If the soil is dense and well-absorbing, a lot of starting materials will not be required. In this case, there is no need to strengthen the walls of the pit. The bottom can be filled with crushed stone and rack sand. However, cases with such ideal land are not common in our country. In the vast majority of cases, the walls of the pit have to be strengthened, otherwise it may crumble. Brickwork, slate or similar material works well for this. Another option: a plastic or metal barrel with a cut out bottom, in the lower part of the walls of which you will need to make several holes so that the drain water is filtered through the ground.

An advantageous pit shape option is a cylinder. A pit made in this form distributes the load on the soil evenly, reducing the risk of structural failure to a minimum. The cube-shaped camera is inferior in this regard.