Building a house in Trinidad

[MaxPower]

Yummy.

samlal/Wraith King/matr1x aka Slim,

How many calories in a rat?

Btw were your other accounts deleted or suspended?

[sam1978]

1200 calories depending on the size.

Venes are just like rats. Filthy living conditions and habits.

[randolphinshan]

Yummy.

samlal/Wraith King/matr1x aka Slim,

How many calories in a rat?

Btw were your other accounts deleted or suspended?

Hello Brother Max

Ignore this fool Matrix aka Slim he is not relevant now or ever was

[sam1978]

Look who talking about fool. MR fool himself.?

[MaxPower]

Yummy.

samlal/Wraith King/matr1x aka Slim,

How many calories in a rat?

Btw were your other accounts deleted or suspended?

Hello Brother Max

Ignore this fool Matrix aka Slim he is not relevant now or ever was

Top of the evening to you my good man.

All Slim accounts cut so he is getting even more unstable.

It appears that we may have found our fork lift guy.

[pugboy]

everybody needs a forklift guy of some sort

It appears that we may have found our fork lift guy.

[sam1978]

Max needs one to lift his member. If only there were miniature forklifts.

[VexXx Dogg]

Friends,

Try to keep your places clean.

Clear and clean your houses both inside and out.

My problem is an area thing. Fishing village, fish market walking distance away, indiscriminate dumping, nasty neighbours.

As much as I try to keep my corner clean, and my dog also takes a fair number of them out - the unfortunate reality is that these vermin eh going anywhere. I pepper the yard with poison blocks every few months, esp when I see garbage bags being torn at the bottom.

[BIGBOIKC]

Good Day to all.

I am seeking a qualified Draftsman for an upcoming project for a single family home built out of steel.
Feel free to reach out to me to discuss further information about this project.

Call or Whats App: +18687843836

[ProtonPowder]

Friends,

Try to keep your places clean.

Clear and clean your houses both inside and out.

My problem is an area thing. Fishing village, fish market walking distance away, indiscriminate dumping, nasty neighbours.

As much as I try to keep my corner clean, and my dog also takes a fair number of them out - the unfortunate reality is that these vermin eh going anywhere. I pepper the yard with poison blocks every few months, esp when I see garbage bags being torn at the bottom.

get a cat, cats are prolific hunters

[VexXx Dogg]

Friends,

Try to keep your places clean.

Clear and clean your houses both inside and out.

My problem is an area thing. Fishing village, fish market walking distance away, indiscriminate dumping, nasty neighbours.

As much as I try to keep my corner clean, and my dog also takes a fair number of them out - the unfortunate reality is that these vermin eh going anywhere. I pepper the yard with poison blocks every few months, esp when I see garbage bags being torn at the bottom.

get a cat, cats are prolific hunters

Can't stand 'em, and neither can my dog.
My lil rothound whacks them when they come the yard. Had to dispose of dozens of cat corpses over the years, he hates them invading his space.

[ProtonPowder]

the next option is a big ole fowl, them eating all them thing, centipede and cockroach too

[supercharged turbo]

Any thoughts on this?

I'm seeing most people constructing their homes now with a steel structure first and then blocking up after.Is the steel option cheaper/better than casting your own beams?What are the advantages/disadvantages of the steel beam structure?

Saw someone advertising on fb...are these prices good?

Screenshot_20210429-102346_Facebook.jpeg

[carluva]

Morning guys.

Any recommendations for where I can get a decent effluent pump?

The soakaway for my septic tank has crashed and I need to do a new soakaway system incorporating a separate chamber with a pump, due to the current system falling under the grade elevation of the main drains in the neighborhood.

What places can I check and are there any brands that I should consider or avoid?

[pugboy]

common problem many places now

[demented]

Looking for recommendations for someone to clear a lot of land and backfill as required. Land is relatively flat, located behind Woodland Hindu School. Thanks.

[NR8]

Looking for recommendations for someone to clear a lot of land and backfill as required. Land is relatively flat, located behind Woodland Hindu School. Thanks.

Family have property right behind the school. As you said, the land is relatively flat, gently sloping. If you going to build, some would recommend doing your foundation in the existing undisturbed soil and then filling the surrounding since there isn't much to full.

[ftitan]

Anyone know any good draughtsman and builders in Sangre Grande area? Looking to at least get an approved plan and find some options for when material prices cool down.
Thanks.

[carluva]

common problem many places now

Yes it seems so.

In my case, the septic tank was constructed back in 2010 with the "old school" soakaway pit, i.e. trench with boulders and the top lined with polythene to avoid soil clogging the boulders.

In 2016, the septic tank was opened as I has to do a new cover. But with all the rainfall the last couple of years, I have no doubt that the soakway has crashed and the current soakaway is most likely an underground pool. I pumped the tank in February and then again two Fridays ago (had a leaking toilet which overfilled the septic tank after the kiddo used it). Well, with all the rainfall over the last week since pumping, I opened up the cleanout port and voila, its full once more (I intentionally did not refill with water as I wanted to see if there was leakage for myself). So this confirms that I am having back flow of excess water from the soakaway into the septic tank. The outlet line from the septic tank is also likely partially blocked as a result of this backflow which must have occurred several times.

The plan is to do an exploratory excavation to locate the outlet line from the septic tank and to establish the elevations that I have to work with. From there, it will be a new soakaway pit with an outlet to a secondary chamber where I will have the effluent pump. Unfortunately, I have to work with existing grades and do not have the elevations to spill any "purified" water from the soakaway to the community drains via a gravity flow. This sets the need for the pump. The soil type is dense clay so percolation will be very very low again driving the need for the use of the pump. The added advantage of the pump is that any water that builds up in the soakaway via rainfall can easily spill into the pump chamber from where it will be pumped out, thereby eliminating the back flow to the septic tank.

The TT standard was consulted as was a Guyanese standard (based on TT Standard). A colleague at WASA also gave me some WASA approved drawings for construction of an entire septic system, including soakaway, chlorinator, leach field etc. So the intent will be to build a new system incorporating the designs from WASA and these standards.

Question now for you out there regarding the soakaway pit. Do you think it is better to build the soakaway pit contained within a four wall underground chamber with the floor open? Or should the conventional manner of building the soakaway in a trench/pit be used? If I am building a four wall chamber, the blocks cannot be loaded nor can I leave weep holes (due to the poor percolation and definite ingress of excess ground water into the soakaway.

I will post some pics of what is going on as well as some excerpts from the drawings and standards if interested.

[pugboy]

did your water table increase with the recent rains ?

[carluva]

I suspect that could be a genuine possibility. Why?

[wheelbarrow]

…

[pugboy]

it could greatly reduce the soakaway percolation capability.

what you could try to do is reduce the amount of water your toilets utilize.
eg fill some small dasani water bottles with sand and water and put them in the toilet tanks to take up space.

your toilets use rubber flapper mechanism or elephant siphon?
rubber flappers can leak slightly.

I suspect that could be a genuine possibility. Why?

[carluva]

One is an elephant siphon.

The other two are push button with the "spring" return on the seal. It was one of those that had the leak.

But even if I reduce the amount of water per flush, I'll still have an issue in rainy season.

Generally, the rainfall and poor percolation has just caused the crash hence the need to explore and redo. In our last dry season back in 2020 and before, this was never a problem. It only came to be an issue in the last 6 months for sure but was likely occurring for about a year.

it could greatly reduce the soakaway percolation capability.

what you could try to do is reduce the amount of water your toilets utilize.
eg fill some small dasani water bottles with sand and water and put them in the toilet tanks to take up space.

your toilets use rubber flapper mechanism or elephant siphon?
rubber flappers can leak slightly.

I suspect that could be a genuine possibility. Why?

[pugboy]

wonder if wasa will ever do sewer installs in the future

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Morning guys.

Any recommendations for where I can get a decent effluent pump?

The soakaway for my septic tank has crashed and I need to do a new soakaway system incorporating a separate chamber with a pump, due to the current system falling under the grade elevation of the main drains in the neighborhood.

What places can I check and are there any brands that I should consider or avoid?

Water source is a good place to start.

[carluva]

More like a good place to run away from.

Their prices are through the roof and probably more suitable for a commercial establishment.

I called them and it's ridiculous how expensive they are compared to other suppliers.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

More like a good place to run away from.

Their prices are through the roof and probably more suitable for a commercial establishment.

I called them and it's ridiculous how expensive they are compared to other suppliers.

I know they have most hard to get items...ive been meaning to post pics of the "new" accepted sewer designs up east. Main reason its this way is due to the high water table level. Tomorrow id post pics.

wonder if wasa will ever do sewer installs in the future

Was told that in the near future, house plans will be submitted to WASA before final approval is given. Sewer installs may not be far behind

[adnj]

common problem many places now

Yes it seems so.

In my case, the septic tank was constructed back in 2010 with the "old school" soakaway pit, i.e. trench with boulders and the top lined with polythene to avoid soil clogging the boulders.

In 2016, the septic tank was opened as I has to do a new cover. But with all the rainfall the last couple of years, I have no doubt that the soakway has crashed and the current soakaway is most likely an underground pool. I pumped the tank in February and then again two Fridays ago (had a leaking toilet which overfilled the septic tank after the kiddo used it). Well, with all the rainfall over the last week since pumping, I opened up the cleanout port and voila, its full once more (I intentionally did not refill with water as I wanted to see if there was leakage for myself). So this confirms that I am having back flow of excess water from the soakaway into the septic tank. The outlet line from the septic tank is also likely partially blocked as a result of this backflow which must have occurred several times.

The plan is to do an exploratory excavation to locate the outlet line from the septic tank and to establish the elevations that I have to work with. From there, it will be a new soakaway pit with an outlet to a secondary chamber where I will have the effluent pump. Unfortunately, I have to work with existing grades and do not have the elevations to spill any "purified" water from the soakaway to the community drains via a gravity flow. This sets the need for the pump. The soil type is dense clay so percolation will be very very low again driving the need for the use of the pump. The added advantage of the pump is that any water that builds up in the soakaway via rainfall can easily spill into the pump chamber from where it will be pumped out, thereby eliminating the back flow to the septic tank.

The TT standard was consulted as was a Guyanese standard (based on TT Standard). A colleague at WASA also gave me some WASA approved drawings for construction of an entire septic system, including soakaway, chlorinator, leach field etc. So the intent will be to build a new system incorporating the designs from WASA and these standards.

Question now for you out there regarding the soakaway pit. Do you think it is better to build the soakaway pit contained within a four wall underground chamber with the floor open? Or should the conventional manner of building the soakaway in a trench/pit be used? If I am building a four wall chamber, the blocks cannot be loaded nor can I leave weep holes (due to the poor percolation and definite ingress of excess ground water into the soakaway.

I will post some pics of what is going on as well as some excerpts from the drawings and standards if interested.

The septic outlet is typically 12 inches below the surface. Unless you have a commercial building on a single lot or the entire yard is paved, an effluent chamber, chlorinator and lift pump seems excessive.

Typically a leechfield is used in lieu of a soakaway pit when the water table is high along with a backflow valve at the outlet to prevent stormwater ingress, if that's a problem.

WASA also approves leechfields.

Neither option is cheap but a leechfield will be less costly and less maintenance.

Was told that in the near future, house plans will be submitted to WASA before final approval is given. Sewer installs may not be far behind

Don't you already need supply/waste isometrics and septic tank/sewer connection details for WASA approvals prior to permanent connection?

[shake d livin wake d dead]

common problem many places now

Yes it seems so.

In my case, the septic tank was constructed back in 2010 with the "old school" soakaway pit, i.e. trench with boulders and the top lined with polythene to avoid soil clogging the boulders.

In 2016, the septic tank was opened as I has to do a new cover. But with all the rainfall the last couple of years, I have no doubt that the soakway has crashed and the current soakaway is most likely an underground pool. I pumped the tank in February and then again two Fridays ago (had a leaking toilet which overfilled the septic tank after the kiddo used it). Well, with all the rainfall over the last week since pumping, I opened up the cleanout port and voila, its full once more (I intentionally did not refill with water as I wanted to see if there was leakage for myself). So this confirms that I am having back flow of excess water from the soakaway into the septic tank. The outlet line from the septic tank is also likely partially blocked as a result of this backflow which must have occurred several times.

The plan is to do an exploratory excavation to locate the outlet line from the septic tank and to establish the elevations that I have to work with. From there, it will be a new soakaway pit with an outlet to a secondary chamber where I will have the effluent pump. Unfortunately, I have to work with existing grades and do not have the elevations to spill any "purified" water from the soakaway to the community drains via a gravity flow. This sets the need for the pump. The soil type is dense clay so percolation will be very very low again driving the need for the use of the pump. The added advantage of the pump is that any water that builds up in the soakaway via rainfall can easily spill into the pump chamber from where it will be pumped out, thereby eliminating the back flow to the septic tank.

The TT standard was consulted as was a Guyanese standard (based on TT Standard). A colleague at WASA also gave me some WASA approved drawings for construction of an entire septic system, including soakaway, chlorinator, leach field etc. So the intent will be to build a new system incorporating the designs from WASA and these standards.

Question now for you out there regarding the soakaway pit. Do you think it is better to build the soakaway pit contained within a four wall underground chamber with the floor open? Or should the conventional manner of building the soakaway in a trench/pit be used? If I am building a four wall chamber, the blocks cannot be loaded nor can I leave weep holes (due to the poor percolation and definite ingress of excess ground water into the soakaway.

I will post some pics of what is going on as well as some excerpts from the drawings and standards if interested.

The septic outlet is typically 12 inches below the surface. Unless you have a commercial building on a single lot or the entire yard is paved, an effluent chamber, chlorinator and lift pump seems excessive.

Typically a leechfield is used in lieu of a soakaway pit when the water table is high along with a backflow valve at the outlet to prevent stormwater ingress, if that's a problem.

WASA also approves leechfields.

Neither option is cheap but a leechfield will be less costly and less maintenance.

Was told that in the near future, house plans will be submitted to WASA before final approval is given. Sewer installs may not be far behind

Don't you already need supply/waste isometrics and septic tank/sewer connection details for WASA approvals prior to permanent connection?

Yes, but iirc the building inspector usually reviews those documents. This time they looking at sending your stuff to WASA...so yuh know that's an extra 6 months wait to get house plan approved.