Household Septic System

txdon · Mar 21, 2015

JRobyn said:
I used about 1/16" x 36" long brass rods from the "K&S" metals box at the local hardware. Bent the "handles" about 6" long in the vise. Mine work good!

- Jay

Is this the proper way to hold divining rods, or it there another youtube that shows it better?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95J85E7DNU

jlgurr · Mar 21, 2015

OP here. Two photos of my suspected tank location. In photo1 you can see the basement wall and heat pump. Coming directly perpendicular from that wall and about 4 feet from the corner of the house you see a flat rock in the lawn. That flat rock marks 15 feet which is what the health department sketch says the tank is from the house.

In photo2 you will see the flat rock still, in the right. Now looking parallel to the house you will be looking across the tank and into the drain field. The flat rock marks the right side of the tank so it will be extending into the lawn however wide it is from that rock. The drain field extends straight back in the photo to the tree that appears to be above the tarp on the ground. It's all very flat and probably not more than six inches difference from the rock to the end of the field. Honestly, I can't see much of any kind of witness marks. At the flat rock I poked a probe 18" deep every 12 inches in a 10' square there. The ground is hard clay and I gave up after my arms turned to rubber.

vtsnowedin · Mar 21, 2015

jlgurr said:
OP here. Two photos of my suspected tank location. In photo1 you can see the basement wall and heat pump. Coming directly perpendicular from that wall and about 4 feet from the corner of the house you see a flat rock in the lawn. That flat rock marks 15 feet which is what the health department sketch says the tank is from the house.

In photo2 you will see the flat rock still, in the right. Now looking parallel to the house you will be looking across the tank and into the drain field. The flat rock marks the right side of the tank so it will be extending into the lawn however wide it is from that rock. The drain field extends straight back in the photo to the tree that appears to be above the tarp on the ground. It's all very flat and probably not more than six inches difference from the rock to the end of the field. Honestly, I can't see much of any kind of witness marks. At the flat rock I poked a probe 18" deep every 12 inches in a 10' square there. The ground is hard clay and I gave up after my arms turned to rubber.

View attachment 417526 View attachment 417527

What is that sag in the ground about ten feet closer to the camera then the flat rock? I'd probe there.

jlgurr · Mar 21, 2015

vtsnowedin said:
What is that sag in the ground about ten feet closer to the camera then the flat rock? I'd probe there.

Rotting tree stump... :thumbdown:

Paul Thornton · Mar 21, 2015

You can use any wire, I've used coat hangers.

vtsnowedin · Mar 21, 2015

jlgurr said:
Rotting tree stump... :thumbdown:

Well it was a shot.
So there was a tree there when they put the tank in? That puts a limit on where they dug the hole.
How far down have you probed under the flat rock?

dave1949 · Mar 21, 2015

Logically ( I know that's not fool proof LOL) the waste line should exit the walk-out basement near the toilet down there. That would be the sensible layout. Are there no cleanouts for the waste line that you can see? There could be a cleanout hidden behind the interior wall covering.

Is the flat rock anywhere near/in line with the basement toilet?

You must have some tree roots in the leach field lines if the pic isn't fooling me.

jlgurr · Mar 21, 2015

vtsnowedin said:
Well it was a shot. So there was a tree there when they put the tank in? That puts a limit on where they dug the hole. How far down have you probed under the flat rock?

Yeah, I was surprised a tree was that close. Might not have been there in 1978 though.

Probed about 18" deep under the rock. I placed the rock there so it doesn't have much significance to finding the tank.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

jlgurr · Mar 21, 2015

dave1949 said:
Logically ( I know that's not fool proof LOL) the waste line should exit the walk-out basement near the toilet down there. That would be the sensible layout. Are there no cleanouts for the waste line that you can see? There could be a cleanout hidden behind the interior wall covering.

Is the flat rock anywhere near/in line with the basement toilet?

You must have some tree roots in the leach field lines if the pic isn't fooling me.

Yep, you guessed it right Dave. The rock would be where the toilet line would enter the tank if the line comes straight out from the house wall. There is sheetrock on the basement wall but I've drilled a hole through the same wall in the rec room for a propane line. It doesn't seem thick enough to have a cleanout behind the sheet rock and there is no obvious cleanout between the wall and the flat rock.

Yes, I am definitely concerned with tree roots in the leach field lines. There are trees everywhere in the yard. There is one tree that would seem to be on the very edge of the field. It's in the left side of the second photo.

dave1949 · Mar 21, 2015

Somewhere in your basement walls, there has to be a drain line coming down from the upstairs plumbing that connects to the waste line to the septic.

Logically--again

--it should line-up with an upstairs toilet.