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Disintegrating floor and drainage problems
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:27 pm
by reshields
I am a novice when it comes to MH. About a year and a half ago I bought a refurbished older MH for my daughter & family - depending on their, and the seller's, knowledge...I know - "stupid". I am told it is a "fixed concrete foundation" home.
(1) I have a serious drainage problem in that there is septic tank backup every other day. I've had a company come and drain it twice in the past year but we still have problems. Granted, we are a family of 6 in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath MH, so we do have a lot of use and laundry. However, I would think a home made for a large family could accomodate that usage. I've thought about finding someone to re-route the washer drain to a gravel-filled "hole" to alleviate that water draining into the septic tank - if I can find someone...but I am in serious need of advice.
(2) The floor is disintegrating at the back sliding door area. I don't know why - unless there has been flooding at that area and I wasn't told about it. What can I do?
Thanks to all who may help.
Re: Disintegrating floor and drainage problems
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:42 pm
by David Oxhandler
The drainage problem most probably has nothing to do with the home but rather the septic system. The septic system is not part of the home or put in place by the home builder. It is installed by a local septic contactor independant of the home. If you have pumped the tank a few times and continue to get back ups after a short time your problems is most likely with the distribution box or drain field. Liquids should siphon out of the tank thru a distribution box. This is nothing more than a box with one pipe bringing liquid in from the tank and two three or more pipes that take the liquid out into the drain field. If you are lucky you may find roots or other solids. like Q-Tips, Tampons, or small kids toys that have been flushed blocking the flow of liquid from the septic tank to the drain field. If the d-box is clogged then as the tank fills there is no place for it to drain except back up the lines into the house. It is relatively easy to locate, inspect and if needed clean our or replace the distribution box If the d-box is clear the most likely problem is a failure of the drain field. After the liquids thru the d-box it is routed to the drain filed. This is most times a series of perforated pipe... set on a bed or rock in a trench. The liquid runs out the pipe thru the holes and perks into the ground thru the rock. The rock prevents sand from blocking the drain holes in the pipe. Roots will seek out the (enriched) liquid running from the drain field and can grow thru the pipes blocking the flow... again if there is enough blockage once the septic tank is full the liquid has no place to go except back up the drain lines into the home. Another possible failure of the drain filed can come from saturation. Drain fields are generally designed to be big enought to take a level of flow expected from the number of bedrooms in a home. If there are more regular users of the system than it was designed for then the volume of liquid will saturate the soil below the field 'till it cant absorb any additional liquid and the back up into the home starts. Or there are times when a drain field will become saturated after a number of years of normal use and again cant take any additional liquid. One more possibility is that too much cooking grease has been poured down the drain. Cooking oil and grease will go thru the tank out the d-box and down to the drain field Unlike most other liquids these are not dissolved in water and as they drip out of the drain pipes they form what is called a bio-mat. A waterproof layer that prevents the liquids from draining into the ground... again with no place else to go.... you guessed it... plumbing back up. If the problem is a drain filed that wont absorb any more liquid, regardless of why you will need to extend or replace the drain field. This can be a very costly operation if you have a limited amount of space and have to remove the old drain filed pipe and soil in order to install new. The pipe rock and soil that is removed is considered hazardous waste and will be costly to dispose of. If you can extend the drain field your cost should be quiet a bit less You should consider a grey water system to handle the drainage from your laundry. Most existing washing machines use a huge amount of water and when they drain use a lot of force to push the drainage out of the machine. If your doing a lot of loads regularly ... and with as many people as you have in the house you probably are, this alone could be the cause of your field saturation. A second drain filed just for the laundry is always a good idea. I have seen this done with a short run of pipe into a 50 gallon drum with dozens or holes in and around the bottom and sides, buried in the ground on a bed of rocks. Be aware that this is not legal in many areas today. You dont want to violate any local health rules and have to pull your investment out of the ground under a court order Unless you have some experience in this area you would be well advised to call in three or four licensed septic contractors. Let them make inspections and offer competitive bids to resolve your problem. Ask about a grey water system for the laundry and if local soil conditions make this a necessity The floor problem at the door is a classical in almost all wood framed structures. When there are wet conditions outside and people come in they bring in moisture on their feet that gets deposited around the entrance. Over time this will cause the floor decking to warp, rot or if it is particle board just dissolve. Pull up the floor covering and replace the bad decking. If the home has particle board floors use a like thickness of plywood for the replacement. The longer you let this go the bigger the problem area will grow so dont put this off. Paint the replacement floor area with oil based paint and cover it with a scrap of floor vinyl under the carpet for waterproofing. If you need more help with the floor take a look at Floor Repair Info Kit from Aberdeen Repair
Good Luck... come back and let us know how you resolved these problems.