Waterproofing septic tank of concrete rings

One of the indispensable conditions for achieving comfortable living in a country house or in a country house is the availability of all sanitary appliances and their normal functioning, which is impossible to achieve without good sewage. Immediately comes the thought of installing a septic tank made of reinforced concrete rings on the territory of their manor. To build such a building at home is not at all difficult. To do this, you need to dig an excavator or a hole manually, and install concrete rings using a mobile crane (or manually).

After completing the installation work, it is necessary to seal the septic tank for proper operation. In this article, let's look at all the details of the work on sealing. Using these recommendations, it will not be difficult to do the work on your own.

Purpose of sealing

Currently, the use of a septic tank of concrete rings is popular among owners of summer cottages and private houses. But it is no secret that for proper operation of the septic tank, it is necessary to carry out its waterproofing - this will make it airtight. Perform this work should be mandatory. If we neglect these rules, the septic tank can become a source of infection in the garden. Sewage will leak through the leaky walls of the septic tank, thereby infecting the groundwater. And the ingress of the groundwater itself inside the septic tank will overflow it and lead to incorrect operation. That is why the sealing of a concrete septic tank is so necessary and constitutes a defense of the entire concrete structure.

For sealing mainly used:

• bituminous waterproofing;
• penetrating waterproofing;
• polymer cement waterproofing;
• plastic inserts;
• silicone.

By its structure, silicone is characterized by a high degree of density. Processing the entire surface of the concrete rings, silicone gets into all the holes and gaps. Thereby preventing both the ingress of groundwater into the septic tank and the release of sewage into the ground. Of course, other means of sealing are used, but silicone has the highest degree of protection.

Sealing process

So, you have installed concrete rings in the excavated pit with the help of a truck crane. If the edge of the ring has a special lock for mounting, then its connection will be tight. Rings with a flat edge do not have good density, so the joints must be sealed with cement-based sealant.

Special tightness should have a bottom ring with the bottom of the pit. When the design of the ring has a poured bottom, the question of additional sealing disappears. But if you installed a simple ring, then the bottom of the pit must be concreted before installation. The bottom of the pit is concreted using reinforcing mesh. From pieces of reinforcement to the size of the bottom of the pit, the grid is laid out on a brick. The rods are tied together with wire and poured with concrete with the addition of rubble. After installing the ring on a home-made bottom, all the gaps formed between the bottom and the flat edge of the ring are well sealed. Sealing is also performed with cement-based sealants. Further, sealing is performed depending on the location of the groundwater. After all, this whole process is intended to prevent the contact of sewage with the soil and water.

A septic tank made of concrete rings is sealed in two ways:

1. With a low location of groundwater, reinforced sealing is performed on the bottom of the septic tank. This prevents microbes from entering the soil and water through the slots.
2. At high occurrence of groundwater, there is an instant infection due to contact with sewage. Therefore, perform enhanced sealing of the upper part of the septic tank.

The best option is to completely seal the concrete septic tank. It is performed by installing plastic cylinders. The cylinder is made of polyethylene with a wall thickness of 8 mm. Its height can be from 1 to 4.5 meters. The material from which the cylinder is made, has a high tightness. It is more profitable to install a solid cylinder, to reduce the consumption of silicone for sealing seams.

The polyethylene cylinder is cut with a jigsaw to the desired size and inserted into concrete rings. All joints and seams, for full sealing, filled with silicone. To prevent rain and melt water from flooding the septic tank, additional strengthening of the cylinder top is performed. To perform this work, annular stiffeners are used.

After all the sealing work has been completed, the pit with concrete rings is filled with earth and the septic tank is ready for operation.

After the first winter, it is necessary to check the structure for tightness. Because of the frost and thaw, the ground is displaced, and concrete rings can move from their place, breaking the isolation of the septic tank. To avoid trouble, you must immediately begin restoring the septic tank and its tightness.

Isolating a septic tank from concrete rings is simple and can be done with your own hands. To do this, you will need to become familiar with the technology of the work being done, collect some information and purchase the necessary materials. For better information, you can watch the video at the end of the article. And if everything is clear, feel free to get down to work.

Video

This video demonstrates how to eliminate water leaks between concrete rings:

This video shows how a waterproofing test was performed on a concrete ring.