Septic Tanks vs. Public Sewer

[nsx13]

Anyone have any bad experiences with a septic tank before? I'm looking to upgrade and I ran into a nice home, but since it's not in a development, it has a septic tank. I heard just stay on top of the maintenance (ofcourse, have it checked out by a licensed home inspector). Besides resale issues, any other things to watch out for? This home I'm looking at is on 2 acres, 2 car attached garage, and a 6 car detached garage, backs to a golf course, and has a nice koi pond, built in 1983, finished walkout basement, etc. Thanks in advance! :smile:

 

[TyraNSX]

Check with real estate agent, but I believe it is seller's responsibility to have it pumped out before closing. Find out how many lids there are (2 chambers to tank so 2 lids) and make sure they are marked either by a stake or something or on an accurate drawing of the lot. You don't want to be digging lots of random holes 5 yrs from now trying to find them. Is the leach field adequate and draining ok or coming to the surface? Might be worth talking to an engineering company that does these & maybe have them inspect it too. Rid-X a couple of times a year is supposed to add bacteria that help breakdown the sludge so it doesn't need pumping out as often. Good luck. I wouldn't let it put you off the house just make sure it has been cared for & is in good shape. Find out where the well is in relation to the tank & leach field too.

 

[queenlives]

we bought a house (originally built in '48) with a septic tank and have had no issues w/it... like the other poster mentioned, i would require the seller provide proof of condition and i might also ask to have it pumped as part of the sale. if they've got records maint records for the life of it, that would be a +, too.

 

[T Bolen]

Pay a septic guy to inspect it - do not rely on a home inspector to determine the condition. That is not their area of speciality. The cost to pump out the tank is nominal - the cost to dig up the leach field and replace are staggering, not to mention the damage to the landscape.
Mine cost around $5k plus new sod.
I got 17 years out of mine with some abuse. If kept up correctly you should get 25 years of life. It may be at the end of it's life.
Only bad experience was when I had another garage built and a heavy construction truck crushed one of the leach lines. It took over a year to present itself as a problem. Know where the entire system is located and keep the trucks off.
Sounds like a cool house!

 

[druby]

My house has a septic tank and we had the house built in '92. We have had no problems but we do flush stuff (like Rid x but we bought from a manufactorer) each month. It has worked great. The nice part is that we don't have to pay a sewage fee to the county each month and they charge based on the water usage. We are on a private water system and end up paying $33 for water each month for all we can use. Considering our previous house was on city water and we paid over $150 every 2 months during the summer and that was over 13 years ago.

:biggrin:

 

[steveny]

Some older tanks are steel. The steel tanks tend to decompose much quicker than cement tanks.
On two sides of the tank there are baffles. The baffles allow all waste in and allow only the liquid waste to go into the leach field. Make sure the baffles are in good shape. When the tank is pumped before you buy the house have the guy who pumps it check it out for problems. The solids should be floating on the top of the liquids. The pumper should have a mirror on a long pole to look down in the tank and inspect the baffles. If solid waste gets into the leach field, the leach field will clog and need to be replaced. The leach field is the most expensive part of the system, unless the system operates on a pump, then it would be the pump/transfer component.
Make sure the house has a house trap on the main line leading to the tank.
As a general rule it is a good idea to pump the tank every 2-3 years and more often if you have several people living in the house.

 

[Dtrigg]

We purchased a home a few weeks ago that has a septic tank. We had no idea how it worked, but most of the areas in Raleigh have them. I had two inspectors come out to review the system. I was amazed as to how knowledgeable and informed these guys were. They explained how the system worked, walked me around the leach field, and told me how to maintain the system it maximize its performance.

I must admit, talking to the septic guy was not my favorite thing I was looking forward to, but it was liking to speaking to a "fluid engineer". These guys were great, gave us a go and we did it. Each guy spent over an hour with me. I am sure I'll do business with one of them in the future to set up an annual contract for maintenance/monitoring of the pump and draining.

They both told us that using something like a Ridex or something like that to assist our system was a complete waste of money. They also told use to look for biodegradable paper system like Scotts when we purchase (check the pack of the package to see if it is friendly to septic systems).

 

[nsx13]

Just want to thank everyone for their input - it's a great community we have here on prime! :smile:

 

[steveny]

Just want to thank everyone for their input - it's a great community we have here on prime! :smile:

Anytime you need help with CRAP let us know.:wink: :biggrin:

 

[nsx13]

Anytime you need help with CRAP let us know.:wink: :biggrin:

Too funny!!! :biggrin:

 

[NsXMas]

holy crap, that's a lot of info!! Who says NSX Primer's ain't full of a lot of shit?