How to build a cesspool of tires: step-by-step technology of self-construction

Nikolay Fedorenko
Checked by a specialist: Nikolay Fedorenko
Author: Lydia Korzheva
Last update: April 2019

It is difficult for a resident of the city, accustomed to comfort, to spend even several days in a country house without amenities. To build an expensive sewage system on a site visited infrequently is irrational. But to abandon the idea of ​​somehow improving your temporary housing is not worth it.

A practical and inexpensive option - a cesspool of tires, this solution will significantly improve the quality of country life. We will tell you how to make a simple and budget coffin yourself. In the article we presented, the steps of the construction are described in detail, valuable recommendations are given.

What is a cesspool?

The cesspool can be given the following definition: it is a fortified well that is dug in the ground to transport waste into it through sewer pipes. So that you do not have to call the sewage machine, you often need to make preliminary calculations.

The basis is the volume of water consumed by one person per day. It averages from 150 to 200 liters. Thus, 3 people permanently living in the house during the summer period spend 9000 l (9 mᶾ) maximum or 6.8 mᶾ minimum for 15 days. This will be the necessary capacity of the pit.

Cesspool
A cesspool is not a construction that can be built anywhere. It must meet sanitary standards and SNiP

Pros and cons of building a tire

In favor of the device cesspool of tires, you can bring the following arguments:

  • material available;
  • the cost in some cases is zero;
  • work on the device is not difficult;

The operation of a home-made structure from tires is convenient, but remains effective for no more than 15 years.

The opponents of such a decision are right in their own way:

  1. Sealing is not perfect.
  2. To dismantle the structure, when all its possibilities are exhausted, if it succeeds, then with great difficulties. You just have to fill the hole with soil.

Pits from tires are most often made without a bottom.Upon receipt of waste from the house, the liquid seeps through the crushed stone filter pad into the underlying soil layers, and thick waste in the form of silt remains at the bottom.

In such pits, it is extremely undesirable to drain water mixed with chemicals. However, they are ideally suited for the disposal of gray effluents generated during hygiene procedures, cooking, etc.

Hand-made construction of a cesspool

Having decided to arrange a cesspool of tires, without resorting to the help of specialists, you need to decide what types of tires to choose for this. Any suitable, you can take tires from heavy vehicles, cars, tractors.

When choosing the first option, you need to be prepared for the fact that you have to deal with huge and heavy tires. But the rake will turn out voluminous and roomy.

Tires for the construction of a budget cesspool
All tires used for the cesspool must be the same size. Depending on their size, you may need from 6 to 10 pieces

If a deep hole cannot be dug due to the proximity of groundwater, then the required volume is obtained due to the width. Here, tires with large dimensions are just needed.

The components of the preparatory phase

You should start by searching and preparing a place for an important point in the sewer system - a cesspool or drain hole. The main thing is to retreat at least 5 m from the house, 2 m from the fence, and if there is a body of water, then the distance to it should be at least 25 m.

With a close location of groundwater, this distance is increased. If the relief of the site is uneven, the structure is placed at the lowest point of the site.

Plot plan
When choosing a place for a cesspool, it is important to be guided by the provisions set forth in SNiP 30-02-97, otherwise a fine may await you

At the next stage, large-diameter tires are prepared. In rural areas, the easiest way to find tractor tires. On average, about 8 pieces are required per pit.

The subtleties of digging a pit

To facilitate the digging process, the topsoil is cleaned of vegetation and debris. The well in its parameters should exceed the size of the pit, so that in the future it was possible to perform wall compaction.

It is necessary to take into account the recommendation of experts regarding depth - it should exceed the diameter by 2 times. Another 1 m or more is added so that the drains do not freeze if it is planned to use the pit in winter.

To dig such a hole, it is quite possible to do with improvised means without involving equipment. Take 2 types of shovels - bayonet with short and long cuttings and something in the form of a scoop, bent 80 относительно relative to the holder. The first is used to destroy the rock, and the second is cleaned up loose soil.

Foundation pit
You can dig a pit under the casket with your own hands, but you will have to work hard - you will have to remove about 25 mᶾ of soil from the pit

Before embarking on earthworks, they outline the outline. The easiest way to do this is with a tire laid on the ground - its outline is drawn around with a sharp peg and 5-10 centimeters are added to it. Digging begins with a standard bayonet shovel with a long handle.

As they deepen, a long stalk becomes an obstacle, so they begin to use a shortened version. To the size of the pit remained the same throughout the depth, the tire is periodically lowered into it to control it. The bottom is designed with a slope relative to the hatch.

Tire installation and drainage

After digging a hole, car tires are stacked on top of each other in a column, having previously cut off one of the rims. To protect the cesspool from meltwater, the depth of the pit is calculated in such a way that the top tire rises above the ground by half its height.

If tires from heavy vehicles are selected, then you cannot use a knife or grinder to cut the cord. All due to the fact that there is a steel thread inside the tires. In this case, an electric jigsaw with a metal blade will help out.

Tire laying
Before laying in the pit tires need to be prepared - get rid of the elements that will interfere. The inside is cut off on one side.

You can even cut the rim of tires where there is no such thread, even with a knife. It must be sharpened well, moistened with water and run a blade along the bar of laundry soap. Then the tool is driven into the rubber layer, and moving around the circumference, cutting is relatively easy.

The cracks between the tires are sealed. It is best to use bitumen based sealants. Some cover the cracks with cement-sand mixture, but this is not worth it, because the design does not have sufficient rigidity and such a seal will quickly crumble.

To provide at least elementary additional waterproofing, the tires are wrapped with plastic wrap or roofing felt. Broken bricks and rubble are poured into the remaining gap between the walls of the well and the constructed structure, well-packed. In the center of the finished cesspool, a drainage well is drilled using a drill, this will prevent sewage stagnation.

A pipe is inserted into the drilled trunk so that it protrudes relative to the base by 1 m. Holes are made in it at different heights. The top of the pipe and the holes in it are covered with mesh material, which will protect it from clogging with large particles. The bottom of the pit is covered with a 10 cm layer of rubble.

Drain hole
A drainage hole in the center of the pit is made with the use of a garden drill. It is necessary in order to increase the drainage area of ​​the sewer

Sewer pipes are located between the slopes - several if they connect a shower and kitchen sink or just one for the toilet to the sewer. To prevent the spread of unpleasant odors, cover the pit with a lid.

Making a floor slab for a pit

Upon completion of the construction of a makeshift septic tank it is dug around the perimeter of 0.2 m to create additional support for the stove. Its manufacture is the most difficult and materially expensive stage of construction of a simple septic tank.

Planks with an emphasis on the end face are installed on the surface around the pit. Wood flooring can be replaced with a metal profile with high load-bearing capacity.

On the prepared structure, formwork is laid from the boards. Openings for pipes and a hatch are left in it. Sometimes, instead of boards or profiles, corrugated board is used as a formwork.

Cap
The sewage pit can be blocked with a factory-made reinforced concrete slab, but you can also make it yourself. The form is chosen arbitrary

A mesh with a mesh size of 1.5 to 2 cm is made of reinforcement with a diameter of 12 mm. The reinforcement at the intersection is ligated with wire or welding is used to connect the bar.

After completion of this work, the surface is poured with concrete. To improve the filling of the mesh with the mixture and eliminate air bubbles from the pouring, concrete is bayoneted during the pouring process.

When the entire area is covered, the mesh is slightly raised, ensuring the reinforcement fully enters the concrete. After that, pouring is continued until the required plate thickness is reached. The product must stand to gain the necessary strength. It takes up to 28 days for this process. The plate can be made separately, and then install it on the walls of the pit.

After the allotted time for concrete hardening, the formwork supports are removed and the construction of the hatch walls is started. They are laid out of brick, plastered from the outside, and a layer of bitumen is applied to prevent atmospheric precipitation from entering the pit. Further, they fill the plate with a layer of earth, level it.

Hatches are mostly bought ready-made. You can purchase a concrete or cast-iron product, but you need to consider that they have considerable weight. Good performance in polymer-sand products.

Cesspool with overflow

From tires, you can build not only the simplest cesspool, but also something like a septic tank. The volumes of cleaning will be small, but for a cottage with non-permanent residence this is quite enough.

The technology is similar to standard, but there are some differences:

  1. The bottom is made out with a thick layer (about 40 cm) of crushed stone, but a drainage pipe is not installed.
  2. The side parts of the tires are cut to increase the volume of the rake.
  3. A concrete pipe is placed in the center of the pit, orienting it vertically. Its cross section is ½ of the diameter of the tires, and the height is equal to the corresponding parameter of the pit minus 10 cm.
  4. In the upper part of the pipe, make 1 large hole for overflowing clarified liquid or a number of small ones. In the same area, a pipe with a diameter of 10 cm is connected, through which the drains are removed from the house and the joint is sealed.
  5. The bottom of the pipe is concreted. The design is closed with a lid with a hole for ventilation. According to the standards, the height of the ventilation pipe should not be lower than 4 m.

Can do cesspool with overflow and in a different way. If the number of tires is sufficient, they dig out not one pit, but two. Connect them with an overflow pipe. Wastes from the house are fed to the first mine for sludge.

The layout
Having built a cesspool with overflow, you will be less likely to use the services of a cesspool machine, you will be able to process wastewater in a larger volume

Here, the sludge settles to the bottom, and partially purified liquid through the pipe enters the second compartment. Thus, it is possible to process a larger volume of effluents, but such a design will cost more.

Device cesspool without bottom impossible if groundwater is less than 2 m from the surface.

Between the level of water located in the ground and the conventional bottom of the constructed cesspool there should be a thickness of soil with a minimum thickness of one meter. Only in this case, the wastewater disposed of in the underlying rocks will undergo sufficient post-treatment to seep into the groundwater.

Rules and frequency of cleaning

The pit will have to be cleaned periodically, each time causing a sewage machine. Can be used fecal pump or clean it by hand using a bucket with a rope tied to it, but such a procedure is both unpleasant and time-consuming, and the waste itself will have to be disposed of somehow. If neither the first nor the second methods pass, bioactivators can be used.

Pit cleaning
The easiest way is to call a wastewater machine to pump waste from the cesspool, but for this you need to provide access to the cesspool

The bacteria used to decompose organics are grown in a special broth.This biological material may be dry, but the bacteria in it are inactive.

In order for them to begin to multiply and fulfill their function, enzymes are used. Microorganisms retain high stability and vitality due to the presence of nutrient salts and enzymes in a concentrated preparation.

As soon as the composition enters the aquatic environment, bacteria are activated. The drug, reacting with organic masses, destroys their structure by decomposition of molecules into gas and liquid and leaving sludge in the sediment. As a result of water being absorbed into the ground and gas escaping, a significantly smaller amount of waste remains in the cellar.

Bioactivator cleaning
This is how the process of wastewater treatment looks like an example of a toilet with a cesspool. At 2 months of using bioactivators, the effluents are clarified and an unpleasant odor disappears completely, and at the third month, the volume of waste

Bioactivators must be constantly fed. If a new portion of organic matter does not enter the cesspool within 2 weeks, they die. Microorganisms can fulfill their functions only at positive temperatures. Lead to the death of a colony of bacteria and swabs in which aggressive chemistry is present.

Biological agents pose no danger to humans or the environment. They simply activate the natural processes of decomposition, contributing to an increase in the concentration of bacteria living in the organics.

Modified microorganisms placed in tablets and gels, for example “Dr. Robik”are able to process not only the organics present in the effluent, but also individual mineral compounds, paper. They have a large period of activity.

Malfunctions can occur in the system, as a result of which the pit will begin to spread an unpleasant odor and fill up very quickly. If this cesspool is completely hermetic, then the situation explains the increase in water flow, but if the bottom of the pit is equipped with a filter layer, it is most likely a decrease in throughput due to siltation of the bottom.

To save the situation, you need to free the pit from the liquid contents, then pour water into the cesspool and leave it there for several hours so that the sediment at the bottom softens.

For the decomposition of sludge, biological products intended for this purpose containing microorganisms capable of destroying the precipitate formed during the decay of organics are added to water. After waiting a few days, the pit is cleaned again.

We refine the hatch of the cesspool

The cesspool lid often looks like a foreign body against a green lawn and flower beds. Therefore, many try to disguise it with something. There are many options, but you need to choose one so that the design of the site is not affected, and if necessary, the decor could be easily removed.

An artificial stone in the form of a boulder or small stones, of which a slide is laid out, can be put on the hatch. On sale there are stones with a recess where flowers are planted.

Decorative cover
Manhole covers are made in standard sizes. Choosing a designer product, you will solve the issue of masking the hatch is very simple

You can decorate the hatch with a decorative cover. Particularly beautiful look products made from polymer-sand composition. Their colors are very different. Sometimes their surface imitates various materials. There are covers with sculptural images in the form of stumps, anthills, animals, cartoon characters.

With the features of the construction of a cesspool from a barrel for a country sewerage system next article, the content of which we recommend to read.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The author of this video shares his experience with the design of a toilet casket in the country:

An interesting idea: the home master did not cut the lid, but used the inside for horizontal drainage:

This wizard applied his custom solution:

The article provides a generalized technology for the construction of a cesspool of tires.In the process of the device, some nuances may arise, perhaps you will come up with some new solutions. The main thing is to act and your life in the country will become more comfortable.

Want to talk about how you built a cesspool of old tires with your own hands? Do you have information on technology that is useful to site visitors? Please write comments in the block below, ask questions on the topic of the article, post a photo.

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Visitors Comments
  1. Pavel

    I think this is a cheap way to arrange a cesspool. Some effort is required to build an option without a bottom. First of all, you need to remember that the more capacious it is, the more wastewater can take. It is practically not a problem to find tires that have become unusable, and after a hole has been dug, it is necessary to fit them to each other. Both wooden and concrete covers are allowed on top.

  2. Seryoga

    I think that the construction of a cesspool of this type is allowed in country houses, where sewers are very rarely used, or in cottages. And there is nothing complicated in the device - the main thing is to choose the right place for the cesspool and determine the cleaning method. Then determined in the volume of the pit, calculating it taking into account the dimensions of the tires. We dig the well manually or by machine, we put the tires one on one, thereby strengthening the walls of the well, make a reliable cover and do not forget to monitor the cleaning.

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