12-24-2010, 04:18 AM
I recall from reading the Uniform Plumbing Code years back that if you want to bury a waste line and a potable water line in the same trench they must be separated horizontally and vertically with the water line higher, so it makes sense that there might be some similar concept for waste lines and catchment tanks.
Obviously part of the kitchen described above is over the tank. Is the sink itself within the footprint of the tank? Is this house in Hawaii?
Years ago I recall seeing a report from somewhere in China where a lot of people were getting sick at this apartment building. The building had a catchment tank. Well, there was a waste line running above the tank, which apparently had no lid. The waste line was leaking into the tank. Incredibly gross thing to think about. Now I know that the problem was probably poor construction or failure to obey codes but the question remains of what our codes would say about it.
I really like the concept of the tank under the house. Does the tank extend completely under the house like an extra thick slab, or are there discrete tanks along one side?
I tend to get carried away with certain things. One of my pet peeves is what would be the best foundation to have here in earthquake country. The answer I came up with is a cellular mat foundation. Instead of one single thickness of concrete slab, there are two slabs several feet apart. The upper and lower slabs are connected with vertical walls. In large buildings the result is an egg crate type effect with usable rooms underneath, although the door openings through the walls must be heavily reinforced and kept to a minimum since the walls are transmitting the shear forces between the upper and lower slabs. Anyway, if you built something like that and did it right you would get a super strong slab that you could lift by one corner and it would have these nifty compartments that would be ideal for safe rooms, music studios, or catchment tanks, anything that didn't require windows.
Thanks
Obviously part of the kitchen described above is over the tank. Is the sink itself within the footprint of the tank? Is this house in Hawaii?
Years ago I recall seeing a report from somewhere in China where a lot of people were getting sick at this apartment building. The building had a catchment tank. Well, there was a waste line running above the tank, which apparently had no lid. The waste line was leaking into the tank. Incredibly gross thing to think about. Now I know that the problem was probably poor construction or failure to obey codes but the question remains of what our codes would say about it.
I really like the concept of the tank under the house. Does the tank extend completely under the house like an extra thick slab, or are there discrete tanks along one side?
I tend to get carried away with certain things. One of my pet peeves is what would be the best foundation to have here in earthquake country. The answer I came up with is a cellular mat foundation. Instead of one single thickness of concrete slab, there are two slabs several feet apart. The upper and lower slabs are connected with vertical walls. In large buildings the result is an egg crate type effect with usable rooms underneath, although the door openings through the walls must be heavily reinforced and kept to a minimum since the walls are transmitting the shear forces between the upper and lower slabs. Anyway, if you built something like that and did it right you would get a super strong slab that you could lift by one corner and it would have these nifty compartments that would be ideal for safe rooms, music studios, or catchment tanks, anything that didn't require windows.
Thanks