How to make a decorative cover for a septic tank with your own hands

Interesting decor options for septic tanks

Before you take on decorating a sewer well yourself, you should study what has already been invented. Let's first evaluate the offer on store shelves for summer residents. It is possible that there you will find a suitable option or get creative ideas for crafts: both the first and second will be a positive outcome. We will try to list ways to decorate septic tanks:

• imitation of boulders and stones;
• decorative figurines and garden sculptures;
• beautiful sewer covers;
• all kinds of individual creative solutions from scrap materials;
• flower pots;
• painting the hatch with bright colors;
• masking the septic tank with plants.

Man-made stumps and boulders on a manhole cover

Decorating septic tanks with man-made stumps and stones is a universal solution that is suitable for any landscape. They are made in different sizes and can be used for camouflage and other “unpresentable” moments in the country. Such structures are lightweight, so they are easy to deliver, install and move if necessary. Long service life and low cost are the last arguments in favor of purchasing an artificial stump or stone.

Figures and sculptures will hide the unsightly

If you want to decorate your septic tank in a bright and expressive way, you can purchase decorative figures specially designed for this purpose. They cost more and often weigh more, so transportation and installation are more difficult in this case. The materials used for their production are metal, plastic, concrete, ceramics and gypsum. Not every sculpture is suitable for your site, but this circumstance is more than compensated for by the wide variety of similar products.

Factory-made decorative well covers

The issue of sewer manhole decoration is resolved automatically if you initially purchase an original cover with patterns. Such a product has a pattern or ornament that can be emphasized with the help of paints. The tradition of making decorative sewer manholes from cast iron is especially strong in Japan.

Beautiful industrial hatches can be decorated not only by casting, but also by using glass, stone or pebbles. In this case, decorative art rises to such a high level that our attitude towards the sewerage system itself fundamentally changes.

Creative solutions will decorate the septic tank cover

Both professional designers and ordinary garden owners find unusual ways to decorate sewer wells. Metal, stone, wood, and any available materials are used. Look at the photo to see how the result is a cheerful ant on a rock slide, a compass among flowers, a bench for relaxation, and an ocean-sized turtle.

The photo above demonstrates that simple materials can produce interesting results. A sculptural group on the lid of a septic tank can be made from a variety of objects that are allowed to be on the street. If you have an old barrel, why not find a new use for it? It will be interesting to make a craft for a well, mill or bridge with your own hands, and a low fence is certainly accessible to everyone.

Beds and flower beds directly on the septic tank hatch

The decision to decorate a septic tank at the dacha with a flowerpot suggests itself. This is especially true if the sewer outlet is located in a flower bed. The container can be very different, but its dimensions are limited by the ability to move. In this case, stones or pebbles, as well as a low fence made of plastic or wooden blocks, can be an additional decorative element.

The easiest way to decorate a septic tank is with paints

It's simple and fun to decorate a manhole with paints. This technique is especially appropriate if the septic tank lid is located on the path. Images of flowers and bugs in the country are always appropriate. Your favorite cat also has the right to be photographed in the places where he walks. Entrust this creative work to a teenager or get creative with him!

Tall plants will block the sewer system in the country house

Plants are great for disguising a septic tank in the garden. This technique is especially appropriate if the sewer cover is large. Of course, it is better to paint it green. In this case, it is convenient to use perennial flowers and shrubs; perennial plants are even better. In just a year they will have grown up and will be able to cover up unsightly objects in their summer cottage.

Homemade designs

It should be noted that garden decor is quite expensive, so many owners decide to save money and make the decoration themselves. Solutions can be very diverse. Here are some of the most common options for homemade jewelry:

• Portable flowerbed. The slab covering the septic tank wells can be decorated with flowerpots in which flowers can be planted. Instead of one flowerpot, you can install a portable stand on which to place flowers in pots. You can make a portable flowerbed from any waste materials - an old tire or even from old glass containers, laid with their necks in one direction. To make such a structure, you will need a steel pallet, on which the base of the future flower bed is fixed. Then the resulting container is filled with soil into which ornamental plants are planted.
• Layouts. From slats, boards, polystyrene foam and other available materials, you can assemble models of various buildings - a mill, a wooden hut, or even a medieval castle. The main thing is that the resulting structure is mobile, that is, if necessary, it can be easily moved.

DIY sewer cover decoration made from tires

We looked at a considerable number of examples for the purpose of decorating a septic tank in the garden. Now let's discuss how to decorate and protect a sewer cover outside the yard from cars.

Savvy people have long noticed that car tires are great for these purposes. A worn-out tire is easy to size, it is not interesting for boys, and the wind will not blow it away, no one will get hurt in a collision with a vehicle, and the tire costs nothing. It's not uncommon for people to pick up a knife and a paintbrush to decorate a helpful tire. We offer our own laconic, cheerful and effective design for a sewer hatch.

Our decorative craft will imitate a “No Traffic” road sign, and in its center we will place the silhouette of a tank, hinting at heavy trucks. To do this, select an old tire of suitable size, wash it thoroughly and dry it. In those places where dirt still remains, you can work with fine sandpaper. Then it needs to be painted red and left to “bask in the sun.” If we want the paint to last for a long time, the tire should be pre-primed and weather-resistant paint materials should be used.

To decorate the middle of the “road sign”, it is better to use a piece of galvanized metal or plastic. A disc with a diameter 30 mm larger than the size of the inner hole of the tire should be cut out of it. We paint the middle white or a more practical yellow color and leave it to dry in the sun. We find an image of the tank on the World Wide Web, print it in the required sizes and cut it out along the contour. Then we apply the model to the dried disk and trace it around with a black marker.

Now the drawing can be painted over from the inside with black paint. This work is easier to do with a small brush, but in our case we managed to do it with a 50 mm wide tool.

So, the finished product took its post on the road near the house. Now the bright color of the decoration will not leave drivers unnoticed, and the humorous tone of the craft will lift the spirits of those around you!

When the first joy of installing a septic tank on the site wears off, they notice that the elements protruding above the surface do not look very attractive, if not terrible. A manhole cover can spoil the appearance of a landscaped area and disrupt the unity of the landscape. The decision comes to hide this element or make it an attractive detail, a kind of decoration.

Decorating a septic tank so as not to turn one unattractive element into another ugly one is a real art. The tips in the article will help you choose an option that you can do yourself. They buy a lot of things in stores, all that remains is to install the product in place.

With lock

Considering the theft of hatches, it is necessary to take care of their safety.
Therefore, it is quite logical to install a lock on it. Plus, it allows you to organize protection for the inspection well.

Advice! If its installation is carried out in a fenced local area, then a lock is not needed. If it is outside the fence, then it must be present.

To install the lock, you need to make a reliable frame. For sewer covers there are the following types:

• Spacer devices.
• Threaded connections.
• Flag.

Manhole cover options

Wastewater accumulates in tanks and produces unpleasant odors, so one of the main requirements for lids is tightness. They must also protect the septic tank from rain and melt water, and be durable - able to withstand the weight of a person. A lightweight product is desirable - for access during inspection, maintenance, and repair of sewerage structures.

Manufacturers offer the following types of manhole covers:

All products have an unattractive appearance and spoil the design.

Specifications

Decorative covers

Construction stores and online resources offer designer covers for septic tanks. There are various design options, the most common are:

1. Garden sculptures - funny animals, gnomes, cartoon characters are popular. If the septic tank has two or three chambers, lids with such sculptures create an original composition.
2. Decorative stones will decorate the garden. Natural appearance, several boulders on each cover stand out effectively against the general background.
3. Stumps are an imitation of natural wood. A beautiful stump disguises the hatch. The options are simple and with additional decorations.
4. Mini-beds and flower pots - all that remains is to fill the containers with soil and plant the plants. Designed for flowers with short roots. The structures can be easily removed if necessary.
5. In the form of individual items: books, other household items. Suitable for classic landscapes where flashy elements are out of place.
6. From stone chips. The product consists of two parts: a plastic base on the bottom, glued pieces of natural stone on top. They use jasper, marble, granite.

How to disguise a cesspool

Whatever the sewer system, an unsightly manhole is always present.
Even being very neat, it does not add beauty to the landscape, but rather resembles an eyesore rather than requiring urgent action to be taken. And measures are taken by planting place X with climbing plants, hiding it behind a fence (at the same time, they often forget about the need to ensure free access to the structure).

A very original solution, but this flower car will have to be moved more than once (every time you need to open the hatch)

Decor of an ordinary cesspool

The vintage look of brickwork is achieved very quickly - this is facilitated by high humidity (the brick is overgrown with moss, as if by magic). But this is only possible in a primitive drainage (forbidden!) cesspool. In other situations, the brick will remain banal.

The lid is made of varnished board. The hatch is decorated with a flower arrangement located in a plastic container (easy to move). Decorating the cesspool hatch with vegetation is the most common option. And perhaps the simplest. It is not necessary to come up with something extra original - just put a garden composition on the hatch and plant ground cover plants around it.

You can do it even simpler - cover the unsightly area with rolled lawn.

Under one of these decorative stumps there is a sewer hatch.

However, these methods are good when the structure does not protrude upward, like the hatches of finished septic tanks.

Sewage treatment plant hatch

If the sewer cover “rises” above the surface, trellises and climbing plants (especially hops, thick, beautiful and growing incredibly quickly) help.

If the hatch is small, you can install a hollow decorative flowerpot (with a composition) on top. These pots are made of lightweight material - polystone. Possessing the properties of stone (strength, weather resistance), it is almost weightless and flexible in processing: wood, brick, plaster, concrete - the material is identical to any surface. It is from polystone that massive-looking but very light flowerpots, gnomes, and small architectural forms used by landscape designers are made.

Polystone is an artificial stone and is practically indistinguishable from natural stone. The hatch can be hidden under a picturesque “stone” block.

A simple but nice solution

Also the simplest thing is to install a flower bed on a hatch, and an interesting thing is to install a flower bed turned upside down (several of them nearby - and it’s not clear what the hatch is under, but it looks non-standard, aesthetically pleasing).

A couple of figures, and the sewer hatch turns into a decorative item

Behind the gate is a compost pit

This pile of compost is hiding behind a bush.

DIY lid decor

Purchased products are original, but cost a lot. If you already have a hatch, then many of the above options, as well as others, can be done independently.

Drawing on hatches is an art. If you have talent, you can try your hand at decorating the lid. This is a popular destination in the world. Similar works decorate the streets of Milan and Japanese cities, at the same time fulfilling a direct role.

Various decorating ideas

Natural materials

In the garden or nearby forest you can find things that will decorate the landscape. Possible options:

1. A shallow container is placed on the lid, into which cones, branches, and small stones are placed, creating an original composition.
2. A cut of a thick log of several centimeters, laid on the lid, looks impressive. The diameter is chosen equal to or slightly larger than the hatch. To ensure durability, they are varnished, or you can first stain them to highlight the grain of the wood.
3. The hemp looks original, but you shouldn’t take big ones - they’re heavy and it will be inconvenient to maintain the septic tank. It is better to take a low one, of small diameter with protruding roots that will cover the lid.

What needs to be done

Insulation of a sewer can be done in several ways:

• insulate the hatch cover;
• insulate the walls of the well itself.

It will be better to combine both methods. In such a case, you can be completely sure that the well will not freeze during winter.

As an additional precaution, you should also take care of the thermal insulation of sewer pipes

Cover insulation

To prevent cool air from entering the well, you should take care of a high-quality cover; a concrete cover is not suitable for use in winter. It would be right to purchase a ready-made insulated product. If this does not work, you can make a similar cover without outside help.

To do this you will need:

• wooden boards or two sheets of stainless metal;
• expanded polystyrene.

Everything is made extremely simply: you make a lid of the required shape and size from wood (or metal). It should close the drain well hatch very tightly.

Attach polystyrene foam to the resulting lid and cover it with another layer of wood. This cover is extremely simple to design, but it protects the sewer well from frost.

If possible, you can make a small decorative house that will cover the above-ground part of the well, protecting it from frost. The easiest way to make such a wooden house. First of all, it is very easy, and second, the material does not require additional insulation.

Wall insulation

As we have already said, it is best to insulate the walls of the septic tank during installation.

For example, let’s take a well made of concrete rings, since this particular tone is considered very popular.

The main sequence of actions is as follows:

1. There must be a hole around an already installed well, the width of which is up to 0.5 m.
2. The insulation of a simple well with penoplex is shown. The lower ring is carefully covered with thermal insulating material. This can be polystyrene shell, expanded polystyrene. The selection depends only on you. The gaps between sheets of insulation material must be sealed with installation foam. After which the heat insulator should be covered with a layer of plaster and protection from the negative effects of moisture.
3. We insulate the rest of the well in the same way.

If you plan to insulate a structure that has been installed for a long time, you will need to dig a pit with a depth of at least 1.5 meters near it and thermally insulate this part.

The main thing: 1.5 m is the average depth of freezing of the ground, therefore you should not limit yourself to insulating only the upper ring of concrete.

Conclusion

Insulating a sewer well is very simple. The process does not take a lot of time and effort, and does not require expensive materials. But thanks to high-quality thermal insulation, your sewer system can last longer.

Answer to the question

Question No. 1. How to make an artificial stone for a manhole cover?

Make a frame from rigid wire with a diameter of 5 mm. The internal volume is filled with polyurethane foam. Covered with several layers of fiberglass, impregnated with synthetic resin. Stone chips are poured onto the uncured resin of the top layer. The cobblestone is strong, can withstand the weight of a person, and is also an excellent heat insulator.

Installing a cover on the hatch of a well or septic tank is a prerequisite, otherwise debris will get inside. More serious consequences in the form of a person or animal falling into an open hatch cannot be ruled out. When building a local sewer system on a site with your own hands, you will need to choose the right closing element for the hatch, and, if desired, also decorate its location so that the landscape design is not damaged.

When arranging a sewer system, both central and autonomous, you cannot do without such a part as a cover installed on the neck. This element is necessary for the neck of the septic tank, as well as to close the hatch of the sewer wells.

When building a drainage system with their own hands, many owners want to not only install a lid for the septic tank, but also decorate it by installing, for example, an artificial decorative stone on top of it.

Floristry and greenery

The manhole cover can be turned into a flower garden by organizing a small flower bed on it or placing a slide for flower pots. They will have to be removed from time to time to maintain the septic tank. Therefore, flower beds and pots should not be large and light.

The trellis will help decorate technical wells. In addition to the fact that a trellis can become a decoration, it has the practical function of supporting various plants and zoning the territory of a site. Artificial stone fits into alpine slides or rockeries. The variety of stone shapes, colors, and sizes will have a positive effect on the selection of mutual combinations of stones, decoration with plants and placement of accents in the composition.

Bright, unusual decorative covers will help to beautifully hide a sewer well or cover an uneven area or hole. Lifeless stones can add color to the landscape and become a decoration for the garden or yard of the house. They highlight the beauty of plants, decorate ponds, flower beds, and add style to compositions and originality to ideas and installations. DIY stone is an interesting and affordable idea for closing hatches.

What are they?

There are many options for covers that are used for installation on the neck of a septic tank or well hatch.

Material

Various materials can be used to manufacture this sewerage element. Caps can be used from:

The cover material is usually selected depending on the material of the septic tank body. For example, all models of treatment plants with a plastic body are equipped with lightweight plastic covers. The same models are worth purchasing if you are installing a homemade structure from plastic containers, for example, from Eurocubes.

Dry stream

This method of decoration is preferable to use for septic tanks with filtration fields. The stream is laid out from natural materials. It can be one of the elements of an alpine slide. To make such a stream, it is not necessary to take an expensive natural stone - you can buy ordinary river pebbles.

If you don’t have extra money to purchase decorative septic tanks, then you can make them yourself, using leftover building materials, uprooted stumps or decorated old barrels.

Decorating the lid

After completing the installation of an autonomous sewer system, most owners think about how to decorate their site and disguise sewer manhole covers. Is it necessary to decorate sewerage equipment?

The owners must answer this question themselves. In principle, modern lids look quite aesthetically pleasing, however, if desired, they can be made even more beautiful.

The decor can be bought or made by yourself. You need to choose decor options taking into account the basic style of landscape design. In addition, when choosing an option, you need to take into account that the decor must be mobile. If it is necessary to service the septic tank or check its operation, the decor should not create obstacles to opening the hatch.

Boulders

One of the simplest decor options is artificial stone. These are hollow structures inside that look very impressive. But since artificial stone is relatively light in weight, the decor can be installed quite easily.

If it is necessary to carry out maintenance on the septic tank, the artificial stone can be easily removed and set aside for a while. Advantages of this decor option:

• artificial stone looks attractive and retains its decorative properties for a long time;
• artificial stone is not afraid of the “whims” of the weather, it is not afraid of rain, frost, or wind;
• artificial stone can have different shapes; you can choose a simple false boulder or an imitation of an alpine slide. Sometimes artificial stone is made in the form of a dome, the top cover of which is decorated with various sculptural compositions. You can also choose an artificial stone, the appearance of which resembles the stump of a cut tree.

Advice! You can make a hollow boulder to decorate the neck of a septic tank with your own hands. For production, cement mortar is used, in the preparation of which stone chips are used as a filler. In addition, dye can be added to the solution. The prepared solution is poured into a pre-made mold and allowed to harden.

Flowerbeds

Instead of buying a decorative element, you can decorate the installation site of the septic tank with your own hands. One of the simple and aesthetically attractive options is the construction of a mobile flower bed. You can make such mobile flower beds from various materials. The simplest option is a flowerbed made from an old tire. Necessary:

• select a tire of the required diameter;
• cut off the side parts on one side;
• on the other hand, it is necessary to attach the bottom; to make the bottom, you can choose any suitable but strong enough material, since it must withstand the load exerted by the soil poured inside the tire;
• To make our improvised flower bed more attractive, the side parts can be painted in any color, or decorated with small pebbles, stone chips, and shells. To implement the last decorative option, glue is used;
• if desired, you can make a two-tier flower bed using tires of different diameters;
• The finished flowerbed is filled with soil and flowers or ornamental plants are planted in it.

Advice! For mobile flower beds, you need to choose plants that have a shallow root system.

Garden figurines

Today in stores for summer residents you can see a wide variety of garden figurines that can be used to decorate the lids of septic tanks. Since private houses, as a rule, use two- or three-chamber septic tanks, two or three hatches have to be decorated. Using garden figurines, you can create a wide variety of compositions.

Decorative figurines are made from polymer materials, so they can withstand any external weather influences while maintaining their attractive appearance.

So, the lid installed on the neck of the septic tank is a necessary element of an autonomous sewage system. The presence of this element ensures the safe operation of the septic tank, and also makes it possible, if necessary, to carry out maintenance of the treatment plant. If the owners believe that the covers of treatment plants spoil the appearance of their site, then they can choose a decorative option. Decor options can be varied; you can buy ready-made decorations or make them yourself.

Color

The boulders will not necessarily be made to match the color of some natural rock.
Imitations can be painted in different tones, and they may well have different images on them. As one example, there are drawings that imitate rock paintings left by ancient people. It is not necessary to order false boulders with such an imitation - it can be done independently, using stable, weather-resistant, water-resistant paints. A rather unusual solution is to camouflage sewer manhole covers with artificial boulders that will glow in the dark. In daylight, the products look like ordinary stone, but with the onset of darkness they begin to glow with a greenish or bluish light. This effect is achieved due to phosphorescent substances added to the material.