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Septic tanks suck
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imported_Briareos
Junior Member
It's not as though people have much of a choice. Either you are close to the city sewer or your not.
I guess you could go out and dig an outhouse pit....
Anyway your county should definitely have a record of the placement of the septic tank. They need to know so it's not near any water sources.
I guess you could go out and dig an outhouse pit....
Anyway your county should definitely have a record of the placement of the septic tank. They need to know so it's not near any water sources.
New mandates for what, by whom and where? Do you know what you're talking about at all?
A new septic system shouldn't cost 20 grand, the only reason I could see is that it's because of regional pricing in the tri-state area, but even then 20K is insane. I had an entire septic system installed from the lines out of the house house, to the tank, through the leech field, for around 5K all said and done.
The way to find out where your leech field is (if you have one, which you should), is by taking a septic tank testing dye pack and flushing it down the toilet or getting the test dye and putting it down the bath drain and running the water for 30 mins. The dye will make your lawn a different color where the water comes to the surface. Usually a very easy process.
A property survey will usually show the location of the septic system as well as the survey held by the county/town tax/property records.
mattpegher
Platinum Member
Its the price of living in the country. All in all the only problem I have is how it makes part of your yard untouchable, in case you want to build or dig. I just replaced mine to move it farther from the house and it wasn't that bad but I didn't have to touch the leech field.
i had to pay about 2500 bucks to have a new one put in. and thats easy, i would imagine, compared to replacing one. dig large hole, set tank. dig another hole, set distribution box, dig field, lay lines, cover all.
replacing one would be alot more involved, id hate to go through that. had mine pumped out last week though. 20k sounds way out of line, though. it would be a bitch to do it and keep the lines intact, but 20k? christ!
boomerang
Lifer
See if there is a cleanout plug outside the house. There should be one where the waste pipe comes out so that any clogs could be snaked out. The waste pipe itself should be buried, but the plug in the cleanout stack should be visible.
Get a piece of thin steel rod from the hardware store. You can use it to find the path the waste pipe takes. Push it down into the earth to find the pipe. The cleanout will give you the general direction it's going. The same steel rod will help you locate the tank itself. The cover is usually on one end of the tank. There may be more than one cover.
The health department should be able to give you the general location of the tank, but I would advise using the steel rod to verify. You can do a lot of digging trying to find that puppy.
If it's an older system, it may have a steel handle to assist in removing the lid. If you have access to a metal detector, it can help out. But, most new systems use plastic handles.
It's a common fallacy that the greener grass will show the septic tank. If the grass is greener it is usually over the drainage field itself. The grass may grow greener over the tank if the field is clogged and the tank is overflowing. You would more than likely have sewage backing up into the house if this is happening.
In the winter, the snow melts over my tank before anywhere else in the yard. I've put a 24" diameter patio stone over the cover. Very little digging to do and no grass to mess with afterwards. I put the dirt on a small plastic tarp. I hate yard work so I try to minimize my labor.
If soil conditions are poor, an engineered system is required. An engineered system may be required also, it you have a small lot. There may not be enough physical room for a conventional field. The initial construction can be very costly as is any subsequent replacement. I would imagine costs would vary across the country.
Edit: I just had ours pumped last week also. $150
Get a piece of thin steel rod from the hardware store. You can use it to find the path the waste pipe takes. Push it down into the earth to find the pipe. The cleanout will give you the general direction it's going. The same steel rod will help you locate the tank itself. The cover is usually on one end of the tank. There may be more than one cover.
The health department should be able to give you the general location of the tank, but I would advise using the steel rod to verify. You can do a lot of digging trying to find that puppy.
If it's an older system, it may have a steel handle to assist in removing the lid. If you have access to a metal detector, it can help out. But, most new systems use plastic handles.
It's a common fallacy that the greener grass will show the septic tank. If the grass is greener it is usually over the drainage field itself. The grass may grow greener over the tank if the field is clogged and the tank is overflowing. You would more than likely have sewage backing up into the house if this is happening.
In the winter, the snow melts over my tank before anywhere else in the yard. I've put a 24" diameter patio stone over the cover. Very little digging to do and no grass to mess with afterwards. I put the dirt on a small plastic tarp. I hate yard work so I try to minimize my labor.
If soil conditions are poor, an engineered system is required. An engineered system may be required also, it you have a small lot. There may not be enough physical room for a conventional field. The initial construction can be very costly as is any subsequent replacement. I would imagine costs would vary across the country.
Edit: I just had ours pumped last week also. $150
The OP said 20K, not you. 10K is also bordering on insanely expensive.
How many septic tanks have you had replaced for your house? I've replaced three myself.
I cannot believe that if a septic tank is older than 8 years you would have to have it replaced. Or did you mean damaged AND older than 8 years? In that case, why would you mention the older than 8 years part? If it's damaged then it needs to be replaced.
I still stand by my opinion that you have no idea what you're talking about. Actually, my company does a good amount of business in Ohio, I could find out the regulations very easily.
skyking
Lifer
Out here in tree-hugger land, pressure systems are becoming the norm, and some areas fail the perk test completely and require a evaporative mound system. Those things top 15K!
Boomerang had some great ideas for you, OP.
basically follow the inlet pipe to the tank. It is easy to follow that along, rather than pothole the heck out of your yard looking for it.
Boomerang had some great ideas for you, OP.
basically follow the inlet pipe to the tank. It is easy to follow that along, rather than pothole the heck out of your yard looking for it.
waggy
No Lifer
we have one of the largest tanks you can buy. the family that put it here had 7 people and they never pumped it for 7 years (they did not know they had to.
so we had it checked and pumped fully before we moved in. the guy checked it out and said it was in good shape. but damn did it stink when he opened it up heh. bad part its right where i want to build a deck. bah
so we had it checked and pumped fully before we moved in. the guy checked it out and said it was in good shape. but damn did it stink when he opened it up heh. bad part its right where i want to build a deck. bah
mugs
Lifer
To clarify - the company that came to pump it told us they're pretty sure where it is (based on sticking a pole down one of the vent pipes), which is about 150 feet from the house and 8 feet underground. So we have to have an excavator dig it up and put an extension on the lid opening to bring it up to 2 feet underground so we won't have to have a backhoe dig it up in the future.
We think the reason is so far from the house is because our property used to be joined with the property next to it, and it is (roughly) between the two houses.
We think the reason is so far from the house is because our property used to be joined with the property next to it, and it is (roughly) between the two houses.
If what is damaged? The tank? Well if the tank is damaged from wear and tear, not extenuating circumstances, then it is standard to replace the entire system including the leech field because the entire system is probably worn and out of date. The leech field isn't the lions share of the cost in a septic system, it's the tank and the labor.
I guess I could see a septic system costing 10K for a brand new system built and installed from square one, but that is still a ridiculously high cost. The cost of 10K will get you a top of the line 4+ bedroom septic system designed to last an easy 20 years, but is still on the extreme high end of cost. A septic system that costs over 10K has some special circumstances surrounding it, or is just a flat out inflated cost. I know how much these things cost from having to pay for them and from reviewing builders/contractors specifications/build contracts on a daily basis for my livelihood, so trust me.
I have never seen a cost to install a septic system, even the largest and highest quality, ever reach $10,000. There are special septic systems required for certain terrain, land location and soil types. One of them is called a Mound system, which can run between 5K-12K, tops. Two other types are called recirculating gravel/sand systems and a Wisconsin at grade system, both of which cost between 5K-8K.
The most expensive and complex system is called an evapotranspiration system, which is a pressurized system that is used in very specific locales where the soil cannot absorb the fluid and runs a risk of contaminating a shallow water table. These systems are complex and expensive and utilize all of the standard septic system methods, but under directed pressure. They can cost up to 30K.
The average cost of a septic system is under $10,000 for the vast majority of homeowners in this country. Doing a few minutes of research and pulling up two build contracts from new constructions near the NY/NJ border I observed that the cost for one was 8K and the other was an astounding 26K(for a specialized system that was located directly on a lake)! Now the general cost of costruction has to be taken into account for that area as well. It looks like the cost to build in that area averages $300/sq ft, easily.
Sorry for the long and boring post about septic systems, but I had to clear this up.
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