The Septic System Owner's Manual
This is a thorough, non-technical handbook and guide to the basics of septic systems — the physical process that takes place in the septic system and the simple technology needed to make it work. Emphasis is on conventional septic systems powered by gravity flow, filtering through soil, and the natural soil organisms that purify sewage. The book covers, in addition to septic tanks and drainfields, septic system maintenance, what to do if things go wrong, and alternative systems such as mounds and sand filters. There are also chapters on greywater systems, composting toilets, and a unique history of waterborne waste disposal.
Until now there has not been a comprehensive, nontechnical book for homeowners about the intricate workings of a septic system—what it is, how it works, and how to maintain and repair it.
Lloyd Kahn started building more than 50 years ago and has lived in a self-built home ever since. If he’d been able to buy a wonderful, old, good-feeling house, he might have never started building. But it was always cheaper to build than to buy, and by building himself, he could design what he wanted and use materials that he wanted to live with.
Lloyd set off to learn the art of building in 1960. He liked the whole process immensely. Ideally he’d have worked with a master carpenter long enough to learn the basics, but there was never time. He learned from friends and books and by blundering his way into a process that required a certain amount of competence. His perspective was that of a novice, a homeowner, rather than a pro. As he learned, he felt that he could tell others how to build—or at least get them started on the path to creating their own homes.
Through the years, he’s personally gone from post and beam to geodesic domes to stud-frame construction. It’s been a constant learning process, and this has led him into investigating many methods of construction. For five years in the late ’60s to early ’70s, he built geodesic domes. He got into book publishing by producing Domebook One in 1970 and Domebook 2 in 1971.
He gave up on domes (as homes) and published his company’s namesake Shelter in 1973. Since then, Shelter Publications has produced books on a variety of subjects and returned to its roots with Home Work in 2004, The Barefoot Architect and Builders of the Pacific Coast in 2008, Tiny Homes in 2012, and more.
Building is Lloyd’s favorite subject. Even in this day and age, building a house with one’s own hands can save a ton of money and—if you follow it through—you can get what you want in a home.
Peter Aschwanden (1942–2005) was an artist and illustrator, based in New Mexico. He is perhaps best known as the illustrator (under the name Junipero Scopulorum) of the 1969 book How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot, written by John Muir. Aschwanden died of cancer in 2005, at the age of 63.
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