Buying House with Septic System

[EscapedSuburbia]

I'm also new to septic and am curious about driving over the field. Should I avoid driving my 1800 lb UTV over it? How about my 4000 lb tractor? I've been staying off of it except with the mower but I'm curious how paranoid I should be. I also would like to level it a bit since it makes up the main part of my lawn and is a bit rough in spots. Any issue dragging a landscaping rake over it with the UTV?

 

[lman]

Good point, as when I hear to think septic, I think of the type I have had Many times, but there other types.

Mount systems, used in areas with high ground water, the drain field is a mount, built up with sand, the tank is lower, and there is a lift pump to take the water from the tank to drain field. There is a pump and they use a small amount of power. They are pretty tried and true, but not matter how good a pump is, its less reliable than gravity.

There are also lagoons, spray fields, and aeriated systems. Aerator systems are more money, and I haven't been around them at all, but they are used is certain situations. Lagoons are almost unheard of around here anymore, although you may find one left over from decades ago. Spray systems, never ran into on a residential; but its basically a septic tank, and no drain field, instead the effluent is sprayed over a spray field, grasses clean the nutrients from the water, and it evaporates, perks, or flows off as clean(cleanish) water.

We always called that a Mound system.

 

[paulsharvey]

We always called that a Mound system.

Yeah, thats what I typed, and I didnt know it changed Mound to Mount.

 

[al3]

What type of system is it? There are several, each having its own pros and cons.

A conventional/traditional system has a tank and a leach field. It can be gravity fed or have a lift/pressure pump of some type in the design. The field is below grade. The field usually consist of perforated pipe or a tent style plastic construction. Some fields are fed by gravity, some are pressurized with a pump. Some solid pipes have many perforations per foot, some have only 3 or so holes every couple of feet. Some tanks will have filter assemblies between the tank and field which are accessible and cleanable. Some of these are easier than others to get to. These screen come in many sizes and shape; some plug frequently, some not.

Tanks, and their components, are made of concrete, some steel alloy, some plastic/fiberglass compounds. Tanks have baffles which are used to separate solids from liquids. After time some of these component can fail.

A mound system always has an electric pump in the design. As implied, the leach field is built up above ground. Power is required for their continuous operation. Pumps have limited lives; some designs are more replacement friendly than others.

Someone else described a percolating design.

Most of the systems with pumps have some sort of alarm to let you know when pumps fail, and they do, so “stuff” doesn’t back up into your house. Some alarms have self test circuits.

In some states leach fields have inspection ports, pipes that rise out of the ground with caps on them. Caps can be removed and the bottom of the leach field can be observed for the presence of standing water---

In some states the size of the house/number of allowable bedrooms is tied to the septic system size, so house additions may be limited without expansion of septic capacity.

Good luck with the purchase.

 

[walnutman]

We purchased a house here in East Texas 5 years ago. The disclosure stated the system was 5 years old. A few years later the neighbor who used to live here said no, it's 20+ years old as there used to be a single wide where the house is.

Worked fine until the third year it backed up.
Had it pumped but some water was coming back from the drain field.
Guy said it's a problem.

Year later.. lots of rain... backed up again.
This time alot of water kept re-filling the tank.
I used my Honda water pump to stay ahead of it.

Had the septic guys evaluate.
Here's the thing. Here in Texas you can do anything you want outside the cities. This system only had one very long field line.
A proper design would split it up into four branches coming out of a junction box. This way if one branch clogs you have the others.

They took a hand auger and took a sample of the dirt. He said too much clay. These guys don't need much to know the deal. The ground is similar all around here.
Recommended going to an aerobic system with sprinklers. This system is widely used in the region due to the ground type.
I asked him about perk test and he laughed and said the same hole will perk in dry times and not perk in wet times.

So $8k later we are running an aerobic system. I must say it's a non issue except for the one time the float switches in the 3rd tank where the submersible pump is to spray the field came loose from the pvc riser. The wires need to be attached to the riser within about 12" so the float flips up and down as the level changes. With the wire unrestrained, the float just floats around on top of the water.
They used regular tie wraps and then black tape over the tie wrap.
They deteriorated from the bleach. Not only that, there are two float switches. One to activate the pump and a higher one to activate the alarm. Since they both came loose at the same time the alarm didn't work either LOL.

I asked the guy why they didn't use a more durable attachment he said boss doesn't buy anything but this. I said you just spent way more on this free service call than would pay for hundreds of stainless steel tie wraps LOL. I have some SS tie wraps if it happens again.

Long story longer.... gophers dig burrows and create passages for ground water to infiltrate the drain field. In times of a lot of rain, there are a couple of gopher holes that become geysers LOL.

Oh forgot to say there is a bleach dispenser in the last tank that sanitizes the water before spraying. The bleach dispenser is simply a pancake shaped 2 gallon plastic container under the third lid. The cap is accessible from above. You simply keep liquid bleach in it and it automatically dispenses as the tank level goes up and down by means of the syphon effect.
I get bulk bleach for about $2 a gallon at Atwoods. Uses about a gallon every 2 months at most.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have no idea what type of system it is, but I assume it is a traditional system. I think the house was built in the early 60's. I looked but I could not find any sign of it. I did notice that the washer drained out to daylight. We will probably install a small leach field for it. I have a feeling the ground percs well as it is on a hillside littered with limestone boulders and is adjacent to a old abandoned quarry. Does the buyer or seller normally pay for the septic inspection? I assume the buyer.

 

[QRTRHRS]

We have been on a septic system for over 30 years. I think the most important thing is to be careful what you put down the drains. Too much bleach can "kill" the action in a septic tank. Other harsh chemicals should be avoided also. My dad swore by putting a cup of oatmeal down the drain once a month. It keeps the tank active. There are commercial products that do the same thing. (Might have had something to do with he worked for an oatmeal company). You could do a perk test to verify what the field capabiltiy is.

I would also make sure you know exactly where the tank and fields are.

Doug in SW IA

Rid-X is one easily available additive. When we sold our previous property eight years ago, the man whom owned the truck/company claimed that baker's yeast once a month would do the same job. He also said that older people do not have as much bacteria in their systems as younger people making it more important to add something.

I did not have the tank pumped when we bought our current home. When I ran water and power to our barn, I misjudged the tank location based on where the pipe exited the foundation and got close enough with the backhoe to see the side. So, I dug up the inspection ports and added plastic risers. When the home is eventually sold, it will simplify inspection.

Mound systems have been referred to as "turkey mounds", lol. I have seen some in the front yard due to I suppose lot size?

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have no idea what type of system it is, but I assume it is a traditional system. I think the house was built in the early 60's. I looked but I could not find any sign of it. I did notice that the washer drained out to daylight. We will probably install a small leach field for it. I have a feeling the ground percs well as it is on a hillside littered with limestone boulders and is adjacent to a old abandoned quarry. Does the buyer or seller normally pay for the septic inspection? I assume the buyer.

It's possible that the system is a simple cesspool? In that case, even soiled toilet tissue is a no no. Whom pays for inspection/pumping is generally negotiated.

 

[paulsharvey]

I have no idea what type of system it is, but I assume it is a traditional system. I think the house was built in the early 60's. I looked but I could not find any sign of it. I did notice that the washer drained out to daylight. We will probably install a small leach field for it. I have a feeling the ground percs well as it is on a hillside littered with limestone boulders and is adjacent to a old abandoned quarry. Does the buyer or seller normally pay for the septic inspection? I assume the buyer.

Like anything, that's negotiable. When we sold, our real estate folks told us, the seller, go ahead and get the certificate, as it will ease the sale. When we bought, we Could have had it inspected, but it was only 4 years old, so we didn't bother.

Its around $700 here for the certificate, but replacement can be anywhere from $6k-25k. I would recommend probably having it inspected.

Now, if it passes, great. If it fails, you just need to build that into the offer. Either a large credit on price, back out of deal, ask them to replace, or its just a good enough deal that you, with open eyes, except the cost of replacing.

If there is no visible sign of the tank, thats good, if there is no noticeable sign of drain field, that either means its working Great, or there is a major issue.

Try Google Earth, often you can spot a greener letter E from space, than you can standing on the ground. Might be anything from 2 runs to maybe 5 or 6;

Depending on the fiancing, the bank (VA loan for instance) may require a septic certificate to write the loan.

 

[paulsharvey]

Also, a failed system, could be a total system ($$,$$$), just a drain field (most likely, and $,$$$), a junction box ($$), or something else.