The $20,000 Throne

Getting the septic system installed was a huge hurdle (and cost). However, it is pretty useless without some facilities attached to it! For some reason, my initial thoughts were that I could actually do the work in installing a toilet. Seems like all you needed to do was cut a hole through the concrete and attach a drain pipe, right? I was an expert after watching a few YouTube videos after all. I was soon convinced to let the pros handle it, which was pretty much the only reasonable decision. I had already framed off a corner of the barn for a small restroom with sink.

By now I knew the drill. Lookup the procedure on the Warren County Health Department website, research the permit process, and start printing, filling out, and making calls. As per usual, I called 3 plumbers to get estimates. The first call I made was a mess, as the guy actually laughed at me and said I couldn’t do what I was doing. He said that I can’t put in the septic and build the house later (Warren County was fully aware of our long-term plan). Then he proceeded to give me an outrageous quote for about $6500 to do the whole thing. The next 2 calls went much better and I set up a couple of on-site appointments. The first guy looks it over and says he will send me a quote in a few days. By the time the quote actually showed up I had already committed to the third guy. The quote was also outrageous, I figured he just didn’t want the job. The quote from All American Plumbing was very reasonable and they could start in “2 weeks”. Of course they could.

 As it turns out, the permit/inspection process for plumbing connections is very complicated and makes absolutely no sense. The main goal of the stringent inspections is to ensure that the new connections do not disrupt the county sewer system nor the water supply. Our situation uses neither sewer or public water as they are not even available at our location. Yet we were grateful that we had the county looking out for our best interests. 

Looks simple enough

 AAP provided us with an isometric diagram, and said he would need to cut out a bit of concrete out of the floor. Instead of just a hole, it turned out to be a lot more concrete than I ever thought. The removal and re-pouring turned out to be a major factor in the whole cost. In addition to the toilet, we were also planning a sink and provisions for a hot water tank and a pressure pump.

The whole corner is gone!

I forget all the details, but the next few weeks were filled with lots of concrete moving/pouring, inspections, scheduling changes, and even some roofing work as a venting tube was required to go up through the roof and not out the side of the building as we were hoping for. 

Up and out!

Needs to handle all the pressure I can throw at it

We also got to go toilet shopping! We bought a model which claims to be able to flush 20 or so golf balls at a time. Probably won’t test that claim, as septic systems are very limited as to what you can flush. 

Provisions for the water pump visible on the left

 I bought a sink and faucet even though those items won’t be needed for a while. Due to all the costs and well-digging uncertainty, we are not going to get a water system at this time. We will still need to have a supply of water for flushing on hand, stored in gallon vinegar bottles. After the final Warren County blessing, I was able to install the flooring and toilet. By that time it was winter and frozen water rendered the toilet useless for a couple of months.

The nice folks at All American Plumbing even helped us out with our now beleaguered driveway.