How to dig a toilet in the country. A toilet pit is the right do-it-yourself device. Construction of a cesspool

🔨 A country toilet is easy to do with your own hands, if you make some efforts and efforts. We have selected drawings with dimensions for popular country toilets that will last you for decades! Also in the article you will find a step-by-step photo-instruction for the construction of a country toilet.

The most time-consuming step in the process of building a latrine will be digging a pit, but this work can also be done. The aesthetic side of the building is a secondary issue, the most important thing is to properly arrange a cesspool and create a reliable foundation for an above-ground structure.

It should be noted that some owners of suburban areas do not build a toilet according to the rules and manage with an ordinary bucket substituted under the toilet seat. But, one way or another, waste products need to be put somewhere, so you still can’t do without a capital pit. Therefore, it is better to do all the work correctly once and not return to this issue for many years. It is especially important to make a capital building if the residents spend a significant part of the year in the country.

When if if you don’t want to spoil the design of the territory of the site by installing it, then you can hide it in the far corner behind the house, or you can come up with a design for it that will help to organically fit the building into the landscape.

Choosing a place for a closet and its design

Usually the toilet is installed closer to the far boundary of the site, and this is understandable, since at least a slight smell will be present in or near this room. But sometimes they use another option, arranging a cesspool near the house, and a free corner of the house is allocated for the toilet, leading a wide sewer pipe into the pit. This design is mainly used in cases where water is supplied to the house, and there are plans to install an insulated container for collecting waste.

In any case, you should adhere to the standards established by the sanitary and epidemiological services. They must be observed in order to protect yourself, your neighbors and the environment from undesirable consequences, such as infectious diseases or soil contamination.

If a cesspool is arranged, it must be located at a distance of at least 30 m from water sources, and its depth should not reach groundwater.
If a septic tank is installed, then it is located no closer than 15 m from the house.
If you plan to use an insulated container, which will be cleaned as it fills cesspool machine, then it can be installed anywhere, since the waste will not flow into the ground.

An insulated container is also a way out in cases where groundwater does not run too deep and a cesspool dug in the ground is not possible.

Usually the pits of the simplest country toilet have an area of \u200b\u200babout one square meter. If the pit comes off round, then its diameter should be approximately 1 m. Its depth is 1.5-2 m, depending on the depth of groundwater.

After the place for the pit is determined, you can proceed to the choice of toilet design.

The first thing to consider is the weight of the structure - it will largely be determined by the material that is planned to be used for construction. The house itself should not be too heavy, because over time, the soil under its weight may begin to sag and, in the end, the building will deform and be damaged.

For construction, wooden bars and boards, or thin metal - galvanized profiles and corrugated board, are well suited.

If it is decided to build a toilet booth from logs or bricks, then you will have to think about a well-fortified foundation. But there is absolutely no need to build such heavy buildings, since they still will not become warmer than light buildings. It's better if it's necessary thermally insulate the room with heaters that are light in weight, for example, foam. Such a building will be both light and warm, not blown through during the cold season, and it will not be excessively hot in it in summer.

Having decided on the material, you can proceed to the size of the booth.

Typically, a standard toilet has a width of 1 m, a height of 2.3 m, and a room length of 1.3 ÷ 1.5 m. However, these dimensions are by no means a dogma and may well vary. In any case, the room should be comfortable for any family member to be in it, both standing and sitting.

What will be required to build a toilet

Having decided on the design and placement of the toilet, they acquire the necessary materials for its construction. A wooden or metal "house" can be bought ready-made. If you decide to build it yourself, then you will need the following materials:

Boards and wooden blocks.
Fasteners - nails and screws.
Metal corners to reinforce the structure of the wooden frame.
Door handle, hook or latch to close the door.
Roof covering material - slate or corrugated board.
Plastic or wooden toilet seat with a lid.
At necessary - foamst for the insulation of the booth, and the material for the inner lining of the insulated walls, chipboard, thin board or plywood.

For the device of the cesspool you will need:

Cement, crushed stone, sand.
Reinforcement to strengthen the foundation of the house.
A metal chain-link mesh for covering the pit and metal brackets or pins for attaching this mesh to the ground.

Another option, instead of a grid and plastering it with concrete, may be a brick, which is lined with the walls of the pit.

In addition, for the device of the pit, they often use those that have holes in the walls. Many summer residents prefer old rubber tires of large sizes.

Another, the most environmentally friendly option, can be ready-made capacity- septic. They are produced in different sizes, so you can choose the right one, depending on the number of family members and the length of the period of residence in the country.

Naturally, when building a country toilet, you can’t do without tools, so you need to have:

A hand drill that can help when digging a pit.
Shovel and bayonet shovel, with a length and a short handle.
If the soil in the area is rocky, you may need a rock drill.
Hammer and screwdriver.
Grinder - "Bulgarian" with discs for stone and metal.
Electric jigsaw.
Marking tool - ruler, tape measure, square, building level, pencil or marker.

Prices for popular septic tanks

Cesspool device

Toilet classification
by type of waste disposal

Of course, they always start with marking and digging a hole. It will have a square or round shape, depending on the chosen design.

1. If a two-chamber plastic septic tank will be installed, then the pit is dug in such a way that the inlet pipe is located directly in the toilet cubicle, since a toilet seat will be mounted on it. The neck of the second chamber should remain outside the room - it is needed for regular pumping of accumulated fecal matter.

Tanks come in different shapes, and the dimensions and shape of the pit will depend on this. The size of the pit must be made 20-30 cm larger than the existing capacity, since the soil must be well compacted around it.

2. If the walls of the pit will be finished with concrete or brick, it can be made round or square.

After digging a hole of the required depth, at its bottom it is necessary to arrange drainage from large rubble, stones, fragments of bricks
Then, its walls are covered with a metal chain-link mesh with cells measuring 50 × 50 mm. The mesh is fixed by driving into the ground with steel wire shackles or pins.
To make the walls stronger, you can additionally reinforce the walls with a metal grate with large cells 100 × 100 mm.
Further, by the method of throwing, a concrete solution is applied to the walls, which is left until it dries completely. The total thickness of the concrete layer should be about 50 ÷ 80 mm.
After setting the first layer, the walls are plastered to a smooth state with the same concrete mortar. The plastered hole is left to dry.
The pit is covered with either a finished reinforced concrete slab, or made locally. It will serve as a foundation for the toilet and a platform around it.
Boards are laid on the pit, which should go beyond its limits by 700 ÷ 800 mm and be sunk into the ground to the same level with the ground. Boards must be treated with antiseptic agents. This wooden substrate under the foundation can be completely replaced with concrete columns.

Two holes are left on the surface for installing a toilet seat and for a cesspool, which should later be covered with a lid. Formwork is installed around future holes.
A dense polyethylene film is spread over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe future foundation.
Reinforcing mesh is laid on top of it, which is enclosed in formwork around the entire perimeter of the future foundation.

The height of the hole formwork must be the same as that of the entire foundation formwork. Formwork boards will serve as beacons when leveling the surface.
The concrete solution is mixed, poured onto the site, leveled and left to dry. For the durability and strength of the outer concrete layer, it is possible, after the initial setting, to iron the wet surface with dry cement.

On the finished site after its full maturation, it will be possible to install a booth for the toilet. A hatch must be arranged on the hole intended for pumping out accumulated waste. You can buy it at the store or make your own. The hatch cover should be easy to open and close.

3. Another option would be a round pit with car tires laid in it. But it should be noted that this type of cesspool is not suitable for permanent use. Such a toilet can only be used in country conditions, when residents come only occasionally, for example, on weekends, otherwise the collected waste will often have to be pumped out.

For a cesspool of this type, a round pit is dug 150 ÷ 200 mm larger than the diameter of the existing tires.
A drainage layer with a thickness of 15–20 cm is laid at the bottom of the pit.
Then, tires are laid exactly in the middle of the pit. on the to the other to the ground.
Around the tires, as they are laid, drainage from crushed stone and sand is filled up and compacted. This process is carried out to the very top.
When the tires are completely laid, a shallow strip foundation can be arranged around the pit. To do this, a trench about 500 mm deep is dug around the perimeter of the future toilet, into which concrete will be poured.
trench bottom compacted and covered with a layer of sand of 50 ÷ 70 mm, which is also compacted and closed with a layer of crushed stone of the same thickness.
The waterproofing is made of dense polyethylene.
Then you can proceed in two ways:

– weld and install the reinforcing grid, mount the formwork 100 ÷ 150 mm high above ground level and then pour concrete mortar;

- lay out the foundation of brick, and then plaster it with cement.

After the mortar has hardened, the formwork is removed from the cement foundation, and the brick is leveled from above.
A roofing material is laid on its surface, which will separate the concrete surface from the wooden one.
A finished toilet structure is either installed on the foundation, or it is built independently.

For the convenience of the construction process, a wooden base-frame made of powerful bars is first fixed to the foundation, and other structural elements will be mounted on it, depending on the chosen building model.

4. It is impossible not to mention one more way to equip a cesspool - using metal barrels with a cut bottom. They are installed one on top of the other and in the same way as in the previous case. Around the resulting pipe, a gravel mixture or a mixture of sand and crushed stone is tamped.

Cesspool of metal barrels - obviously will not last long

Prices for country toilets

country toilet

It would seem that the method is simple in execution, but it has much more disadvantages than advantages. Metal barrels under aggressive influence both from the inside and outside, from the side of the ground, corrode very quickly, and such a toilet will last for a very short time.

Popular country toilet projects

Construction of a country toilet house

When both the pit and the site for installing the toilet room are ready, you can proceed to the installation of the house according to a pre-compiled scheme.

Toilet houses can have a wide variety of forms, for example, even in the form of a fabulous hut. The uninitiated will not immediately determine what kind of room it fits so perfectly into the landscape design of the site. It is quite possible to do such a structure with your own hands, knowing the scheme of its assembly.

The photo shows an option partially made of logs, which give this building a decorative effect, mask the purpose of the building itself.

The original teremok - you will not immediately understand that this is a toilet

The diagram shows the basis for building a log cabin, only boards are used instead of logs. You can clearly see how the walls are assembled and the roof slopes rise. Allocated interior space and selected location toilet seat.

Approximate scheme "teremka"

The next step will be the roof lathing, roofing and wall cladding with the material chosen for this - it can be either wood or metal.

Such a house can either be installed on a cesspool, or used as a room for a dry closet.

Video: making a house - "teremka" for a country toilet

Another version of the structure of the toilet, which is called the "hut". In this case, the house is built in the form of a triangle, and its side walls are also a roof. The form is quite simple, so it will not be difficult to build a building.

Toilet - "hut"

This design is not only easy to build, but also convenient to use - it is stable at the base and quite spacious inside.

Installation of a toilet - "hut"

The presented figure shows the entire internal structure of the house, the installation location of the toilet seat and the method of lathing the roof walls. Sheathing of the front part of the building and the rear wall has begun. The “hut” house can be placed on an equipped cesspool, as in this case, or it can also be used as a room for a dry closet.

This form of the house can be called traditional, since most often it can be found on the plots. But even such a simple design can be decorated according to your preference.

For example, it was decided to make a toilet in this backyard territory under a Japanese house. This is evidenced by hieroglyphs written on a tablet hanging on chains, a Japanese lantern at the entrance, and even an additionally arranged roof. In addition, the interior design of the room is also designed in the general style.

A similar attitude to the design of the site suggests that even from such a structure as, you can make a small work of art if you make a little effort.

An approximate scheme for the construction of such a toilet is shown in the figure. It clearly shows the arrangement of a cesspool, the installation of a toilet structure and a hatch for cleaning on top of it. The design is quite simple in the device, and it is not difficult to build it. But in order for it to be reliable, it is necessary to achieve the rigidity of the ligaments of all parts among themselves.

The interior space of the toilet, arranged above the cesspool, in the process of building walls, may look like this. That is, the base bars are installed on the foundation, on which the frame of the future structure is fixed.

After the final finishing of the toilet from the inside, the room can have such a neat and cozy look.

If desired and opportunities can come up with another design for a country toilet, but you need to do all the interior decoration from warm materials. It is not recommended to use ceramic tiles for decoration, as this is a very cold type of material, and besides, in winter, the tile also becomes very slippery.

Video: several options for a country toilet device

dry closet

If there is no way to build a country toilet, or there is simply no desire to get involved with construction work, then you can use a dry closet. This option will save you from digging a hole and, possibly, from installing a house.

Dry closet - an excellent solution for country conditions

- this is an autonomous toilet that does not require a separate room or connection to branch communications

The dry closet consists of two compartments-chambers, the upper of which plays the role of a toilet, and the other serves for the biological processing of waste. In the second, lower chamber, there are active substances that decompose feces and turn them into a homogeneous, odorless mass. The action of the bioactive liquid for the decomposition of waste is enough for ten days, then the chamber is cleaned by pouring the contents into the central sewer or into the soil. The method of disposal will depend on which active substances will be used in the dry closet. These substances are t three types: composting, chemical and microorganic. Each of them is suitable for a certain type of dry closet.

For a composting dry closet, peat is used as an active substance. It has a high absorbency - for example, one kilogram of peat absorbs ten liters of liquid. The odorless compost obtained from active processes is perfect for fertilizing garden beds.

Usually, complete with such a dry closet, there are tons of ventilation pipes that remove unpleasant odors during processing.

The dry closet, whose work is based on the use of chemicals, has an indicator that will indicate that the container needs to be cleaned. Waste processed in this way is discharged into the sewer in order to protect the environment. For such models, special substances with non-freezing properties are produced.
The third type of this useful device is a dry closet, in which microorganisms are involved in the processing of waste, turning them into compost. The resulting material is environmentally friendly and harmless to soil and animals, so it will not be ore to dispose of it.

Advantages and disadvantages of a dry closet

high levels of environmental safety;
ease of use;
lack of unpleasant odors;
affordable price;
durable material.

odor leakage is possible, installation in a ventilated area is required;
if the receiver tank is very dirty, you will have to wash it yourself.
in rooms with low temperatures, it is not possible to use a peat dry closet. From the cold, all processing processes stop, the contents of the lower reservoir freezes, as well as the peat itself. The problem is solved by transferring the dry closet to a warm room.

If desired, a dry closet can be installed in the most ordinary, self-built room, which is located in the courtyard, and for the winter period, bring it into the house, setting aside a convenient corner for these needs.

Prices for a popular range of dry closets

Dry closets

Biological products for toilets

To help the owners of summer cottages with pit latrines on their territory, special tools have been developed similar to those used in dry closets.

Before using the product, it is necessary to study the instructions, as the composition is poured or poured in parts. How to use such substances correctly can be found in the information on the package, since each agent is dosed differently. Such a substance is used, as a rule, very sparingly. For example, one package or a can of some funds is enough for a year for a cesspool with a volume of 3.5 ÷ 4 tons.

So, there are many ways to solve the problem of a country toilet - there is always the opportunity to choose one or another option.

If the frequent call of the sewer truck is inconvenient for the owners of the site, you can arrange a country toilet without a cesspool. Such structures are equipped with recyclers that fully or partially process waste, so the use of special equipment is required much less often or the need for it disappears altogether. An odorless and pumping toilet can be both simpler and more difficult to construct, but its convenience fully compensates for the money, time and effort spent on construction.

You can build a country toilet without or purchase a ready-made factory design. In the first case, you will save money, in the second - time and effort, so there are always options to choose from, you should only take into account the features of each type, the nuances of installation and operation.

1. Dry closets are becoming more and more popular among summer residents who visit their sites not too often and do not live outside the city for a long time. Such models can only be purchased, but they compare favorably with compactness, light weight and minimal maintenance requirements.

Dry or liquid tank filler contains bacteria that decompose waste. Peat-filled models are also very popular. This eliminates the possibility of decay, the formation of a sharp unpleasant odor. Dry closets can be installed on any site, regardless of its topography, soil type and groundwater level, and waste is treated for further processing, after which they become natural fertilizer.

Peat dry closet - a convenient option without arranging a pit and pumping it out regularly

In addition, there are also models of electric dry closets in which waste can be dried to the state of ash.

Dry closets can be located both directly in the house and in street buildings.

Important: Waste from dry closets, which are filled with chemicals, cannot be disposed of in compost and used as fertilizer.

2. Septic tank- this is a whole family of designs of treatment facilities for the disposal of waste not only from the toilet, but from all plumbing and household appliances in general, including washing machines and dishwashers. They differ in performance and degree of wastewater treatment. Septic tanks () can be purchased or self-built, but in any case, their installation will require land work - the tanks are always underground, and a pipe is also laid underground from the house to them.

The choice of design depends on a number of conditions. For example, soil remediation models are not recommended for areas with clayey, tight soils or where groundwater is close to the surface. Septic tanks can basically be one-, two- or three-chamber. The number of chambers largely determines the quality of water treatment, and the total volume of tanks is selected according to the average daily volume of wastewater.

Usually, toilets are connected to septic tanks, which are located in the house.

3. Powder closet- This is a convenient and economical toilet in the country without a cesspool. After each visit, the waste is sprinkled with a composition that promotes their transformation into compost. In some cases, ash or sawdust is used for these purposes, but peat or peat-sawdust mixture is most effective. As the tank fills up, its contents are unloaded into the compost pit for ripening. In this way, you can get a safe organic fertilizer and solve the problem of disposal.

Factory-made powder closets (peat dry closets) may have special backfill distributors, devices for separating waste into solid and liquid fractions. Homemade models are easy to manufacture and are supplied with a peat container and a scoop. The reservoirs of powder closets are hermetic and mounted on the surface, so such structures can be installed in any area.

Location selection

Sanitary standards for human waste disposers are important, first of all, for septic tanks with soil aftertreatment and for latrines with pit latrines. Nevertheless, it would be correct to observe them for sealed drives as well, this will ensure that troubles are avoided, even in emergency situations.

To the source of water supply (well or well) from your toilet, the distance should be at least 25 meters.
Given the wind rose, you can install the structure in such a way that unpleasant odors are carried away from your house and from the house of your neighbors.
From the fence, the toilet should be located at a distance of 1 meter.

Building a toilet

Country toilets without a cesspool are not only utilizers, but also buildings in which the entire structure (dry closet, powder closet) or part of it (, toilet seat) will be placed, connected to underground tanks in the case of using a septic tank for arranging a public sewer Location on.

materials

The above-ground part of the country toilet is, most often, a frame structure with inner and outer skin. To build it you will need:

for the frame - timber or edged board,
for sheathing - lining, boards, siding, corrugated board, etc.,
for the device of the toilet seat - boards or plywood,
for the roof - roofing felt, slate, galvanized metal, corrugated board, tiles (metal or ceramic).

You can assemble the door yourself or purchase a ready-made block.

Assembly will require hardware (screws, nails, bolts) and tools.

The structure should be installed on a foundation, which will require concrete mortar or bricks.

Foundation construction

Having a foundation will increase the reliability of your building and avoid trouble. A toilet house or, as it is also called, a “birdhouse” or a “hut” is a fairly lightweight structure, so both a strip and a column foundation will be the best option for it.

For construction strip foundation along the perimeter of the installation site, a trench breaks out, on the bottom of which a sand cushion with a height of at least 15 cm is laid. The sand layer should be compacted with a vibrotamper or manually. After that, formwork is assembled from any available material (boards, plywood, galvanized metal sheets, etc.). To give strength to the structure, a reinforcing frame is required, which is assembled from metal rods with a cross section of about 12 mm and wire. The formwork with the frame placed inside it is poured with concrete mortar.
Column Foundation implies the arrangement of supports at the corners of the house. Such pillars can be made of reinforced concrete, by analogy with a strip foundation, or made of brickwork. It is also possible to use asbestos-cement pipes, which are partially filled with concrete for strength.

Building a house

From the point of view of the design of the house itself, an odorless and pump-out cottage toilet that does not have a pit latrine is built in the same way as a pit toilet.

After the construction of the foundation, it is covered with sheets of roofing material. This layer provides waterproofing and increases the service life of the structure.

In the future, they act according to the following scheme:

It is recommended to cut a hole in the door or above it for natural light during the daytime, after which the toilet for giving without a pit is almost ready for use. It remains only to take care of the internal equipment - install the seat and cover, a shelf for accessories, a waste container, a peat tank and a scoop (if you choose a powder closet).

In a separate article on our website there is a description of factory dry closets, and there you can also read about those left by their owners.

Often on the site it is necessary. Read about its types and popular models in another article.

And about shower barrels and tanks, and their features, here.

Ventilation

Ventilation is needed not only for cesspools, but also for toilets that work without such a drive. The presence of a ventilation pipe will ensure the removal of an unpleasant odor and the flow of air necessary for the life of waste-processing bacteria.

The simplest solution would be to install a plastic (strong but light) pipe with a diameter of 100 mm and fix it on the outer rear wall of the building. The pipe is usually installed so that its upper part is about 20-50 cm above the level of the roof, and a deflector is installed to provide traction.

Each summer cottage should have amenities, even if the owners come there rarely and for a short time, not to mention seasonal residence. Laying a full-fledged sewer is a very troublesome task, but, needless to say, useful, but at first you can limit yourself to a toilet on the street. The design of a country toilet in most cases involves the construction of a cesspool. If one or two people live in the house, you can limit yourself to a dry closet or backlash-closet, in other cases you can’t do without a pit. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about toilet pit latrines.

The main task of cesspools is to localize wastewater with their subsequent removal or decomposition. In the first case, this happens with the help of sewers, in the second - with biological preparations (bacteria). A cesspool is a large depression (about 2 m) in the ground of a rectangular or round shape. The walls and bottom of the recess can be lined with various materials: brick, concrete, blocks.

Location selection

There are certain sanitary standards that must be followed when choosing the location of the cesspool on the site. First of all, it should be located near the fence or within easy reach of the sewage truck (if such a method of emptying is intended). It is best to dig a hole in the corner of the site.

Norms for the placement of cesspools according to SNiP:

The pit should be located at least 12 m from a residential building.
There should be at least 1 m between the pit and the fence.
A minimum distance of 4 m should be maintained between the pit and the trees, for bushes it is reduced to 2 m.
There should be about 4 m between the cesspool and outbuildings (this also applies to buildings in which animals are kept).
The pit should be located at least 30 m from any source of water, whether it be a well, a pond or a lake. It is forbidden to build cesspools without a bottom near any bodies of water.

It should be borne in mind that if you planned to dig a hole in the corner a meter from the fence, and on the other side of it there is a neighbor's house or a large tree, then the distance between the pit and the fence should be increased to 12 m or 4 m, respectively.

Volume calculation

The volume of the cesspool of the country toilet should be made taking into account several factors. Fundamental is the number of people permanently residing on the site and their water consumption.

Consider the factors affecting the volume calculation:

Permanent residents - the average daily rate of water consumption by an adult is about 150-180 liters. At first glance, it seems that this is too much, but there are average indicators for that. At the same time, the pit should always be made with a small margin in terms of volume in case of arrival of guests or unforeseen circumstances.
Soil characteristics - if the site is located on land that passes water well, the volume of the pit can be only 40% of the total runoff per month. If the soil is hard or clayey, that is, it does not absorb water well, you should make a volume with a margin. Naturally, this factor affects the calculation of pits with a drainage bottom (without a bottom).
The depth of the pit can be no more than 3 m, otherwise it will not be possible to clean it well. This applies to sealed structures. But the septic tank can reach a depth of more than 3 m, since in this case natural cleaning will occur.

Important: If the groundwater in your area lies close to the surface (above 2.5 m), you will have to refuse to dig a cesspool, or make it completely shallow.

Types of cesspools

There are sealed cesspools and structures without a bottom. Of course, they have a bottom, only it, unlike sealed ones, plays the role of a filter, trapping large undecomposed particles and passing only liquid into the ground. Below we will briefly consider the technologies for building cesspools from various materials.

brick pit

One of the most popular options for building a pit for an outdoor toilet with your own hands. Brick is relatively inexpensive, and you can learn how to make high-quality masonry pretty quickly.

To create a sealed (capital) cesspool made of bricks, they first dig a pit, then level its bottom and fill it with sand and gravel with a layer 20-30 cm thick. Having carefully tamped such a drainage cushion, a steel mesh is laid on top for reinforcement and poured with concrete. When the screed dries, lay the brick walls on the cement mortar and coat them with bituminous mastic from the inside so that the sewage does not seep into the ground.

Instead of bricks, you can use cinder blocks or other block materials that are resistant to the damaging effects of moisture and strong enough to stay in the ground for at least 10 years. The video below shows the process of building a septic tank for a toilet in the country:

A pit with a filtration bottom is simpler to implement, since the bottom of the pit is covered only with sand and gravel drainage without reinforcement and subsequent screed. The laying of brick walls takes place according to the technology in half a brick with dressing. The stability of this design is worse than in the previous case, however, the cost is several times less.

Before deciding on the construction of a "bottomless" pit, some restrictions for it should be taken into account:

A pit without a bottom cannot be built with a shallow groundwater.
If the daily volume of sewage exceeds 1 m³, the pit will not be able to cope with the load.
If there are water bodies within a radius of 50 m.

Helpful Hint: If nothing interferes with the construction of a brick pit, use semi-blocks instead of ordinary blocks - this way you will save a decent amount. After the walls are erected, the space between the outer side of the masonry and the earthen wall of the pit should be filled with clay to form the so-called clay castle (see figure below).

A pit with a filtration bottom has clear advantages over a sealed one. So, due to the natural outflow of fluid into the ground, it is not so often necessary to use the services of sewers. The structure serves for quite a long time - 20-25 years with proper care, and repairs will not cause much trouble (you only need to replace the masonry in the right places and re-cover it with waterproofing). Wastewater is distributed evenly in such a pit, so the risk of soil contamination is minimal. The only serious drawback of a pit without a bottom is periodic silting and the need for regular cleaning. Fortunately, special biological preparations help to cope with this, which we will discuss below.

Pit from tires

Oddly enough, a functional cesspool can be made from old and useless car tires. On the one hand, the best option for economical owners, on the other hand, such a pit is not suitable for everyone. The design of tires is relevant only for small volumes of wastewater, for example, if 1-2 people live in the country seasonally.

The advantages of this solution are obvious:

the design is easy to install;
the cost of work is minimal (costs for sealant and pipes);
you can build such a hole in a day.

The good news is that any tires can be used to build such a pit, including those from trucks (a diameter of more than 1 m allows you to increase the volume).

Unfortunately, without drawbacks anywhere:

a tire pit will last no more than 15 years;
there is a high risk of leakage due to soil movements;
you can build such a pit at least 30 m from any water source (not every site is so large);
the risk of developing an unpleasant odor over time;
difficult to repair and dismantle.

If the above warnings do not scare you, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the step-by-step instructions for building a pit from car tires.

Main points of work:

For full ventilation, in order to avoid the appearance of unpleasant odors, install a ventilation pipe so that it rises from the pit by at least 1 m (ideally, it is better to raise the pipe higher so that odors immediately go up and not remain at the level of human growth).

Pit made of concrete rings

With large lifting equipment, building a cesspool of concrete rings is as easy as shelling pears. The money and effort spent will be fully justified, if only by the fact that a concrete pit lasts many times longer than a brick pit, and even more so made of tires.

Technology for the construction of a concrete cesspool:

By the way, today you can even purchase special plates (ready-made screeds) installed on the bottom of cesspools. Such plates are both sealed and perforated to create filter pits.

Pit cleaning and care

In order for the cesspool to last longer and not cause problems, you must immediately accustom yourself to properly care for it. First of all, find out the phone number of the sewers and study the range of biological products for septic tanks. Ideally, you need to call a sewage truck once a year, but this is only if the pit works equally stably and properly. In fact, only a few can boast of such luck.

The intensity of the work of any cesspool worsens over time, but it happens so gradually that at first it goes unnoticed, and then some problem immediately pops up: blockage, silting, unpleasant odor, leakage, etc. To prevent this, it is necessary to clean latrines and toilets from time to time. To do this, many habitually call for sewers, forgetting about the existence of biologically active drugs.

The use of biological products

Biologics for latrines and latrines work in a very interesting way. In fact, this is a lot of microscopic bacteria that break down solid particles of sewage in a short time, turning them into a liquid and absolutely safe substance from an environmental point of view. Human waste products and dead organics are food for these bacteria, so they not only quickly process everything that has managed to drain into the pit lately, but also eliminate all blockages by cleaning the sewer system.

Features of the use of biological preparations for cesspools and toilets:

Bacteria break down not only fecal matter, but also paper, vegetable cleanings and any other organic matter, as a result of which the amount of waste is significantly reduced.
Biological products are completely harmless to the materials from which cesspools are made, be it brick, concrete, rubber or plastic.
Bacteria feed only on organic matter, so household and construction waste, including glass bottles and polyethylene, should not be flushed down the toilet or thrown into the pit.
Bacteria are living, albeit extremely small, creatures, so contact with chemicals can be detrimental to them. If the drains contain chemicals (chlorine, detergents), the bacteria will die.
The bacterial agent for cesspools and toilets begins to act 1.5-2 hours after being introduced into a liquid medium. The unpleasant odor goes away first (after 4 hours), and this is evidence of successful work.
In winter, no one is engaged in biological cleaning of cesspools, since bacteria are active only in the temperature range from + 5C to + 30C.

Before making a biological product, carefully read the instructions (not all of them work the same way). So, there is a liquid for toilets and cesspools, which can be immediately poured into a septic tank, and there are granules or powder that must first be diluted in tepid water.

A country toilet without a pit is a deplorable sight, so you need to take care of construction from the very first days of acquiring a site. We hope this article will allow you to choose the most suitable pit option and implement your plans at the lowest cost.

After acquiring a plot for a country house or cottage, the new owner is faced with the question of how to make a cesspool? Not even a day can be done without this attribute on the site. Depending on the period of stay in a country house or in the country, it is necessary to choose the type of toilet.

Original outdoor toilet for a summer residence

For year-round living in a house outside the city or frequent vacations in the country, when you need to use daily, in addition to the toilet, shower and sink, it is necessary to build a cesspool toilet. If the cottage is used as a place of rest on weekends, then it is enough to build a cesspool with your own hands to collect sewage under this one.

There is no general requirement for choosing a site due to the difference in sites in terms of soil composition, landscape, and the availability of access roads. But the location of the toilet and cesspool is strictly regulated by building codes and regulations.

According to them:

If the site is crossed, you should not choose a low place for construction, as the cesspool will be filled with melt and rainwater. When choosing a high elevation of the site, there is a possibility that the toilet will collapse due to soil erosion. An important factor in choosing a location is the prevailing wind direction on the site.

When using a sewage truck for pumping sewage, you need to take care of its convenient and safe access, given that the standard length of the hose is 10–15 meters, of which about three meters are immersed directly into the pit.

Characteristics of cesspools

The cesspool is designed to collect domestic wastewater and sewage for individual buildings where there is no central sewerage. According to its characteristics, it is divided into filtered and hermetic.

Filtered sump example

Filtered or absorbent cesspool

A characteristic feature of the pit is the absence of a bottom in the structure, due to which sewage, having passed through the filter elements, such as sand, crushed stone, brick waste, enters the soil. This reduces the number of calls to the sewage truck and saves money. The construction of such an object does not require much skill from the performer. However, if a large volume of water is consumed, then the cesspool and the soil are not able to accept it.

Summer cottages, where the volume of sewage is up to 1 m³ per day, is mainly equipped with a filtered septic tank directly above the toilet cabin.

In country houses and cottages, an absorbing pit is often used in separate sewers for use under domestic wastewater: bacteria for cesspools have time to process particles of shampoos, powders and other similar elements before they enter the soil.

This is what an absorbent cesspool looks like

The main condition for canceling the construction of a filtered septic tank is the presence of soil water at a depth of two meters and above from the surface.

Sealed cesspool

The construction methods of a hermetic septic tank are identical to those absorbed, with the exception of the installation of the bottom and the high-quality sealing of the pit throughout the volume. For this, bitumen is suitable for insulation inside the tank and clay - outside.

Septic tank as a constituent element of a treatment facility

To solve the problem of receiving and cleaning sewage, they use. This is a technically complex design that allows using biological products to treat wastewater. The simplest is a container with a pillow of sand and gravel laid out at the bottom, through which the crude mixture passes.

An example of a multi-chamber septic tank for a house

A more complex septic tank design consists of two or three tanks connected to each other by overflow sewer pipes. In the first, mechanical wastewater treatment is performed, in the second, bacteria are used for cesspools, bringing the effluent and liquid to a state suitable for technical needs.

Installation of the third tank increases the degree of stonecrop up to 60% of the initial degree of contamination due to settling of particles in the liquid. In addition, sediment in the form of silt can be a valuable fertilizer for the garden. However, building a septic tank is a rather laborious and costly operation.

Materials for building a septic tank

The design of the cesspool can be built from a variety of building materials. Depending on the complexity of the work and the level of funds, septic tanks are built from bricks, plastic containers, monolith, concrete rings.

There are craftsmen who build a cesspool in the country from large used tires.

Calculation of the size of the cesspool

To calculate the size of the pit, you need to provide the following:

The number of people living in a house or in a country house, subject to the consumption of 180 liters of water per person per day;
Soil composition. So, clay soil is reluctant to let liquid through, and the volume of the septic tank must be built with a margin;
The margin from the surface of the site to the filled cesspool should be at least 1 m in order to prevent, during heavy rainfall, sewage from going beyond the boundaries of the cesspool;
The depth of the septic tank should be no more than three meters, as this is the optimal height for the productive operation of the sewer machine.

Cesspool ventilation

The potential for unpleasant odors from the cesspool makes it necessary to take seriously the issue of equipping it with ventilation for air circulation.

Cesspool ventilation scheme

If the manufacturer has already provided channels for ventilation in the factory plastic container, then when the cesspool is being built from other building materials, it is necessary to lay holes for the ventilation pipe.

Good sealing of the floor slab and a tightly closing well hatch through which cesspools are pumped out will help to reduce the smell emitted by the pit. In sanitary premises, it is enough to install a pipe with a diameter of 50 cm on the roof along the channels used for exhaust from a gas boiler or building ventilation.

To equip ventilation in a latrine, it is enough to install a plastic or asbestos pipe with its lower end into the pit, through the floor, by 15 cm, and with its upper end into the roof of the toilet at a height of 20–30 cm from it.

The pipe diameter must be at least 100 mm. A deflector is installed on top to protect against precipitation and enhance ventilation draft.

Drawing for the manufacture of septic tank ventilation

You can not spoil the country toilet by drilling holes, but fix the exhaust pipe on its back wall. The effect will be the same.

Maintenance of a septic tank and a cesspool with drugs

If at the dacha the volume of sewage is less than 1 m³, and they do not contain impurities from chemical elements, then the microorganisms present in the soil will clean up the sewage themselves, and this issue will not bother the owner. If the volume is larger, then various means and preparations are used to speed up the cleaning.

A cesspool cleaner based on chemical cleaning can be as follows:

Biological products for cesspools are designed to decompose household and fecal sewage with the help of natural microorganisms, for which fats, proteins, cellulose, starches and feces are the basis for their energy. They are applied to various types of wastewater and a large volume of their use.

The most popular biopreparations according to the type of their application are:

For latrines and pits: Dr. Robik, Sanex, Micropan.
For dry closets: Biola, Biofresh, Sunnifresh.

Features of biological products in a septic tank

Biological drug Dr. Robik is recognized as the most effective remedy, as it contains concentrated bacteria for cesspools and can process complex compounds and easily break down tissues, phenols and fats.

Biological products that have entered the consumer market successfully replace chemicals that threaten human health and nature, accelerate the wear of metal products, and have a negative impact on the life of the cesspool.

One and perhaps the most important drawback of a biological product for cesspools is that, unlike a chemical agent that acts at any ambient temperature, an antiseptic is productive at an air temperature of +4 to +30 degrees.

That is why the issue is so acute in the cold season.

The performance of biologics may decrease for the following reasons:

With irregular use of sewage. First of all, this concerns a country septic tank. Microorganisms will work unproductively and may even die. Therefore, simple sewage should not be allowed for more than two weeks. The ideal liquid level above solids is at least two centimeters.
When household chemicals containing chlorine enter the sewer. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a biological product, the performance of which does not decrease even if chlorine and other chemical components enter the wastewater.
When antibacterial filters, manganese or drugs penetrate into the sewage.

Mechanical maintenance of a septic tank

In a country house or in a country house, periodic maintenance of septic tanks is required, and when they are filled, pumping out cesspools.

Pumping out by machine

It is not a problem to entrust the pumping out of sewage to enterprises that have sewage equipment. It is enough to contact and determine the time of work. Untimely pumping of cesspools can lead to wastewater overflow, and it will be very difficult and unpleasant to eliminate this oversight. Good specialists will qualitatively clean the cesspool septic tank and remove the problem of waste disposal, but it will be quite expensive.

If there is a septic tank with a small volume on the site, then work on cleaning it can be done independently.

Pumping out manually with a pump

Cleaning of cesspools is carried out both with the help of a pump and without it. The choice of fecal pumps on the market is very diverse both in terms of cost and performance. Pumps are available with a cutting device, which eliminates clogging of the hose.

Cleaning can also be carried out using a water pump with a filter pre-installed on it.
Before starting work, it is necessary to find a sealed, tightly closed container of sufficient volume. The cesspool pump will pump sewage into it.

Manual pumping without pump

Cleaning the pit without a pump is carried out using a bucket on a strong rope and a shovel. Manual cleaning of cesspools is carried out by scooping sewage with a bucket and moving them into a container. This process is extremely unpleasant and dirty.

The only plus in manual cleaning of the pit is the better removal of silt and solid formations from the walls and bottom of the septic tank.

After cleaning, the collected sewage must be disposed of in specially designated places. Therefore, it is worthwhile to calculate the benefits of using a sewage machine that will do this work more than once.

Any owner of a summer house wants the rest on the site to be as comfortable as possible. For these purposes, in the absence of a central sewage system, a toilet is made. But constantly cleaning it and pumping out accumulated waste is not a particularly pleasant experience. So, in this article we will look at the best ways to make an odorless and pumping out toilet for a summer residence.

A comfortable toilet will greatly facilitate your stay in the country

Quite a high finite cost of use - the pit is regularly filled and requires constant cleaning, which implies frequent high costs.
Over time, the walls of the pit tend to collapse and, as a result, the accumulated waste penetrates directly into the soil and groundwater, thereby depriving you of the opportunity to fully use the well or source.
There is often an unpleasant smell near the toilet, which makes staying in the building unbearable.

Thus, cesspools have quite a few shortcomings that can be easily eliminated when considering other options for arranging country toilets.

Toilet for giving without smell and pumping out: three possible solutions

There are three possible options for building a toilet without the need for pumping. All of them fundamentally differ from each other in terms of final cost, expediency in connection with the time of residence on the site and summer cottage conditions, therefore, before making a choice, carefully study the description of all solutions.

Peat dry closet for giving

This option is optimal due to a number of reasons. Firstly, this is the cheapest solution, for which it is not necessary to build any complex structures. Secondly, by processing human waste, dry closets produce an excellent fertilizer for the soil for planting a variety of plants. Thirdly, this solution does not take up much space, and for its proper and efficient operation, you only need special peat, which you can easily purchase at any hardware store.

The main advantage of a peat toilet is that it needs to be cleaned only once a month, even with active regular use.

As mentioned earlier, all the options presented have their own installation nuances. In the case of a peat closet, they are as follows:

The optimal place for arranging such a toilet would be an ordinary hozblok. This will solve the odor problem.
In order to eliminate absolutely all the liquid, it is imperative to create a drainage system, and if the toilet is located in the house, bring a hose to it.

Thus, the installation of a peat dry closet for a summer residence will solve a number of problems and troubles associated with the arrangement of a bathroom.

Important! The main condition for the absence of an unpleasant odor in any of the options is a carefully thought out and equipped. Forced ventilation will provide fresh air, so that the aromas will not stagnate.

Concrete or plastic septic tanks

This option is a whole specially equipped system, which is designed to collect and clean liquids and waste. At each stage, the liquid is purified using different components, which eliminates the possibility of harmful substances entering the soil. The principle of its operation is quite simple and consists in the gradual purification of liquids in sections, and then the final filtration on the field.

Advanced Modern Designs

These odorless and pump-out toilets are improved and improved septic tanks, with a higher level of cleaning. The most commonly used options are:

Ultrafiltration septic tanks make it possible to purify the liquid to such an extent that it becomes possible to reuse it. In addition, a big plus of this method is that it does not use any harmful chemicals.
Ion-exchange devices allow you to purify water to the desired condition and make it much softer than before cleaning;

Electrochemical designs allow you to purify water using special reactions;
Membrane osmosis is the most modern type of liquid purification, and allows you to purify water to a distilled state. This becomes possible thanks to special membranes, passing through which water molecules are purified from all kinds of impurities that are dangerous to human health, such as mercury or chlorine.

How to choose a septic tank for a summer residence: practical recommendations

The choice of a septic tank should be approached more than responsibly. Be sure to read the selection rules, as they will provide you with a reliable and durable result.

First of all, conduct a special examination or ask your neighbors in the area what is the depth of groundwater. It will depend on this factor whether it will be possible to have filtration fields or whether it will be necessary to buy a closed depth filter.
Calculate the approximate daily amount of waste that enters the tank. Based on these calculations, select a volume that will allow you not to empty the container every week.
Be sure to take into account the season of your residence in the country, as many structures do not tolerate frost.

Helpful advice! If you do not live in the country in the winter, then choose frost-resistant options, otherwise the bacteria inside the container will die and will no longer be able to service the toilet.

Thus, the choice of a septic tank for a summer residence is a crucial moment, on which all further operation of the closet will depend.

Related article:

Read an overview of popular models, specifications, prices and reviews in a special publication of our portal.

Do-it-yourself country toilet without a cesspool

The most popular option among the self-made toilets for summer cottages, the photos of which are presented above, is the construction of concrete rings.

First of all, building materials are purchased - 9 rings and 3 hatches for them.

Three holes are pulled out in a row, with a diameter of 2.8 meters and a depth of 3 meters.
For the first two pits, you need to make a concrete pad.

Three concrete rings are installed in each of the pits using special equipment. The gaps between them are filled with a special hydrophobic mixture, and the remaining cavity between the ground and the ring.

Toilet for a summer residence: photos and recommendations for installing a sewer system

The pipe layout has the following sequence:

The pipe that descends into the first tank must go at an angle.
The second pipe should be 20 centimeters lower.
The third, which will connect the last two tanks, descends by the same amount.

Drawing conclusions

An odorless and evacuated cottage toilet is a great option for a modern summer cottage, which will provide you with a comfortable and pleasant stay. For more confidence in your abilities, watch the video below.