Evelynn Renee

Anne Miller wrote:Also, you might do what we did with our washing machine.

We made a "French drain" that runs along the side of the house.

First, we dug a deep trench, then we added pea gravel because that is what we had.

A pipe brings the washing machine water into the trench.

No one knows the French drain is there.  I never see any water on the ground though I only wash clothes for two people.

The French drain can be disguised as a flower bed with perennial brushes.

I like this idea, how does it hold up during freezes? And is it visible if someone did an inspection of the home for resell? I'm not entirely certain what all they check during that...

Pete Podurgiel wrote:First thing I would do is call the septic guy and ask why his "fixes" aren't working. Curious though, how many people in your household? The septic field may be undersized, but sounds like you weren't having problems untli recently.  

If you wahing machine is old then it probably uses more water than it needs to (my washer uses 30 gals for a medium load). They aren't cheap, but a new efficient washer would help alleviate some of the problem. My buddy tells me the new ones spin out very well so that puts less strain on the dryer and he saves some money there.

Other suggestions would include treating the system with Ridex or "green gobbler" septic treatment. These treatments take time to work so would be best to use a laundromat for the wash cycle, if that's a possibility. This will give your system some time to heal (maybe 15-30 days?). Sounds like you believe TP (I assume toilet paper) may be a contributing factor as well. Look for septic-safe brands (this goes for laundry detergent as well). If that doesn't fix the problem, I say you need to have your septic/leachfield inspected & repaired if you need to do things "by the book".

Yes, previous to having them come and pump and do what he claimed was a repair to help, things have got much worse. We had a clog in the mainline. Not a huge deal. But figured since it hadn't ever been pumped since living here that we might as well. I have just been racking my brain trying to figure out what on earth to do. If I set the alternatives then what do we do to sell the house later on? From what I understand here in TN if we purchased property and never had running water or a septic installed then we could use alternatives? But the second you already have conventional systems and then want to switch they won't allow that.

As for the toilet paper, I don't know what the problem is but I was just thinking maybe stopping putting in the toilet would help. Maybe instead using a bidet and cloth wipe system? We use cloth diapers for the little one anyways so it just seemed like a sensible switch. If I install alternatives how do you hide them in case an inspection needs to be done later for resell of the home? Is that even possible? Then I also have freezes so what ever system is implemented it has to be able to perform in cold climates.

Has anyone ever sold a home after implementing alternatives in a state that doesn't "allow" those systems? What happened?

As for the washing machine yes we have an older one and intentionally switched back after purchasing a really expensive set that not only didn't wash clothes as well but fried during a storm, just outside the warranty and the company refused to stand by it and the cost of repairs was insane. more then just replacing it. So no, I will not be using the new ones. Personally feel like they are total waste and designed to fail. But to each their own 😉

So we live in TN in a conventional home with all the "normal" stuff. Running water, septic, etc. Then we woke up years later and decided we wanted a different lifestyle and to be more independent from the system. The situation I have found myself in is this. Septic tank had a major clog in mainline. We had a company come out fix it, pump the septic , install a clean out because there wasn't one, and they also installed something on the drain field side of the tank, some kind of pipe he said would help, but ever since we've been having issues.  Now any time I wash clothes, it backs up, too much TP, it's a problem, you name it I'm dealing with it. It's a nightmare. I say okay how do we fix this. What if we take some of the pressure off the tank by running the washer to a grey water system (I'm thinking worms underground but haven't worked it out completely) because the washer is what is causing most of the issues. but if I'm honest we should remove the sinks and bathtubs as well just to give more longevity to the septic because then it would only be carrying the toilets. So I start researching and find out that in TN if you already have conventional systems installed they won't "allow" you to do grey water?!? Is anyone here in Tennessee and working around this? Main issue is that we will probably want to sell in the future. And I can't afford to install another entire septic. I'm scared to death some authority will get called out here and they will condemn the house.  Has anyone else dealt with something similar? What did you ultimately do? Any and all ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

I am in TN and need to take some of the work load off of my failing septic (traditional) I figured recycling the grey water from my washer and kitchen sink and showered would be best? I get freezes so I thought one of the worm filters would probably be best. Can anyone tell me where to find design plans? Does anyone have one? Comments? Pros ? cons?

What about alternatives for black water?   I'm considering doing something different all together for my toilets and retiring the septic completely... Can anyone point me in some good directions for ideas and possible DIY designs? They must be low cost and simple enough to not need a doctrine to install .. lol.

Thanks for your time and assistance 🌷

Hi. I am researching to design a couple small greenhouses for my property. One of them will mainly be used for starting seeds and to create a heated space for my chickens during winter, the other a sunken greenhouse for year round more permanent plants.  So far I'm looking at lots of ideas on design elements but like others inputs especially if I've missed something that might be useful as far as uses, utility, heating/cooling, water harvesting, etc. I have a HUGE pile of arborist wood chips (FINALLY the wood chip god has favored me and I have so many wood chips I can literally build a house inside the pile. NO JOKE!)

I plan to do a jean pain style heating system with a water tank inside a greenhouse and the pile outside butted up to my chickens coop. So it can serve dual purpose of heating the greenhouse through hoses of water and providing a heated space for my chickens. I'm toying with the idea of cover that area to hold the heat a little more, kind of similar to what edible acres does with their heated high tunnel for their chickens. I think I will also build a bin along the greenhouses back northern wall and create a long compost bed their for heating and use that to put my seed trays on for germination, as well as a grate on top of my water tank connected to the hoses for starting seeds on top.

For the permanent greenhouse I plan to sink it with a French drain (I live in Tennessee and worried about possible flooding of it. I don't think I would need geo thermal in it because it's sunk? I like the design element of the trench that Paul uses in his greenhouse model. I didn't know if I should plan to put a rocket mass heater in this one for the winter? Was thinking the mass should run on the north wall and could be best used for seed starting like the compost wall in the other one.

So so far I've looked into sunken greenhouses, compost heating systems, some geo thermal... not sure how deep in TN though, I don't think our frost line is much lower then 2.5 feet? And using a heated water tank to heat the greenhouse and or also running heated water tubes in my in ground beds. As well as rocket mass heaters.

I would like to implement systems that don't require lots of input and are fairly simple and low cost to run and not a terrible amount of work and maintenance. Have I overlooked anything? Am I missing anything cool I might be able to utilize?

Thanks in advance for any and all help and assistance.

I have windows to up cycle and clear tin for my permanent greenhouse and like the idea of maybe using cob?  The seed starting GH, I am planning to construct using self harvested cedar or other poles and pallet wrap on individual panels and then screwed together and attached to in ground set posts. How do I calculate the best angle for my roof to capture and reflect the most sun? My site unfortunately isn't the best so I need to reflect fr where it will be sitting.