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Need advice on purchasing home with well/septic

Discussion in 'General' started by Chris, May 14, 2019.

  1. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    Long story short, my wife and I are looking at an old farm home that we both love that was originally built in 1815. She loves the house and I love the heated 3 car garage with nice large driveway. The home sits on a half acre and has a well and septic system.

    I have never dealt with a septic system in the past, and the reading I'm doing makes me want to run. Am I being over cautious? I don't like the thought that if I would ever need to move the septic, I wouldn't have the available property to move it to another location that won't contaminate the well.

    Again, I've never dealt with these, so I have no idea what I'm looking at. What are some questions that need to be asked? What are some warning signs to look for? Should I just say forget it and look at something else?
     
  2. Jed

    Jed mellifluous

    I know you have to do a percolation test before you put in a system around here. I'm wondering if there's a way to do a percolation test to see how well the drain field is holding up. If it's draining ok you shouldn't have a problem. Do you know the last time it was pumped?
     
  3. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    Not yet. I am waiting for more information to come over.
     
  4. Photo

    Photo Well-Known Member

    Had a septic system when I lived in Nc .I never had a problem and I lived in the house for about 12 years. We even had to run the gray water through the tank.I use to use the generic rid x once a month don't really know if it helped or not but gave me a little peace of mind. I also tried to avoid driving over the leach field.
     
  5. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    get it inspected...
     
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  6. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    Yeah, I grew up in Orange County, CA and lived in metro Detroit for the last decade. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don't know my ass from my elbow when it comes to wells/septic. As far as getting it inspected, what does that entail?
     
  7. Dr.Duct_Mossbur

    Dr.Duct_Mossbur Well-Known Member

    As was said above, get it inspected. What is the likelihood you will want to get it moved? Also, the Likelihood that you will want to do an addition? In my area, your septic has to be a certain size based on the size of the home.

    Outside of these nuances, there's nothing wrong with it. I've built homes on both well and city and both have their drawbacks. There's a little more upkeep (water softener, pumping septic, etc) but it's definitely not something I would let stop me from living in a home I loved.
     
  8. SteveThompson

    SteveThompson Banned by amafan

    I've dealt with septic systems for decades and never had any significant problems.
     
  9. rd49

    rd49 Well-Known Member

    Nope, my sister and her husband are battling a faulty system right now. Expensive to replace and more expensive to hookup to municipal sewer that is now available. I would run away.
     
  10. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    usually involves hiring a pro with a camera and expertise and provide a written report. Usually a home inspection company would have some contacts. Would also be sure the property records indicate septic.
     
  11. tjnyzf

    tjnyzf Well-Known Member

    I'd be more concerned that the well is adequate than I would about dealing with a septic. As long as the septic passes inspection no worries. They aren't that hard to maintain.

    We were fortunate our well provided plenty of water and we never ran out. The neighbors across the street would be jelous in the summer when they saw me running sprinklers for the lawn and washing my car in the driveway at the sametime. In the middle of summer they sometimes had to wait and let their well re-fill between loads of laundry!
     
    Circacee likes this.
  12. FZ1guy

    FZ1guy Hey...watch this

    Get it inspected. I have owned a couple dozen systems, both good and bad. Have it pumped and the tile lines rinsed out. This will tell you if there is a root problem or if the lines are blocked. You will also be able to see that the tank is ok, as in not caved in and the inlet and outlet Tees are OK. Small problems can be fixed easy, big problems are big $$$. If it is all ok, just get it pumped out every 8-10 years.

    As for wells, as long as there is water at the sink, you should be fine. I had to replace my pump when it was only 5 years old ($2000) but this is not normal. I have great water, so no softener needed.
     
  13. 600 dbl are

    600 dbl are Shake Zoola the mic rula

    As others have echoed, get it inspected. They are pretty much maintenance free.

    Short list of things not to put down the disposal or toilets.

    • cigarette butts
    • disposable diapers
    • sanitary napkins & tampons
    • handi-wipes
    • pop-off toilet wand scrubbers
    • trash
    • condoms
    • hair
    • bandages
    • rags & strings
    • coffee grounds
    • paper towels
    • anti-bacterial soaps – biodegradable soaps only!
    • no “biocompatible soaps”
    • latex, plastic or metallic objects
    • hard toilet paper – soft is better for the tank.
    I've been on a well system as well. If you live in area prone to power outages that can last (hurricanes/ice storms), look into getting a generator for it. Water softener is a must in most cases.
     
  14. rwdfun

    rwdfun

    Just bought a little place in the country and had the same uneasy feeling about well and septic before I did. Luckily our county seems pretty strict with them. Septic has 2 large tanks before the drain field and when I asked if that was overkill they said welcome to Washtenaw county. They also require the septic to be inspected and well tested before owner can sell. Septic tanks were concrete and in good shape The tanks were also pumped. Investigating online originally had me scared. Our place is 25 years old and was worried that it would need replacing in the next 15 years or so. What's actually true is that the concrete tanks can last way more than 50 years if taken care of. Online says you need to have them pumped every 3-5 years but that could be overkill if you don't throw everything down the drain. We trash most debris and really the only solids that go down are from the crappers. I lived on a well in the middle of a city growing up and never once remember it being pumped or having any problems with it either. Make sure you know where the drain field is and never drive on it.

    As for the well, it's easy and cheap to test. Do it once a year and you'll probably only see chloroform once in a while. That isn't bad for you just a precursor to potential issues. Flush it with bleach and purge and you should be good for at least a few years. Our well is 150ft which from what I can tell is deeper than normal so most of our system seems to be well engineered.
     
  15. Champer

    Champer Well-Known Member

    One thing you can do - there are probably not many well or septic companies near you, which means the ones that are near there probably are the ones that worked on it all at some point. Make some calls and see if there are any records of work performed.

    We moved to some land 3 years ago with well/septic and the only issue we've had so far is the pipe right above the well pump developed holes so the pump sat running for 24 hours a day for about 2 months before we noticed and got it fixed (~$1000). Those were some really high electric bills. The company that came out to do this work had all the records of our well so they said the last time they were out was 12 years ago and they put in new pipe and the pump.
     
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  16. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    The house is in Pennsylvania if that makes any difference.
     
  17. Banditracer

    Banditracer Dogs - because people suck

    Been in my house 32 years with septic. I've had to pump the tank twice. That's with 4 people in the house, 3 of them girls. I use this once a month if I remember https://www.millerplante.net/septictreatment.aspx . Nothing to worry about having a septic tank if it's done right.
     
  18. R Acree

    R Acree Banned

    Inspection and check local regulations. I know with the heavily clay based soils here, you cannot put a house on a septic system on lots under an acre. There are alternatives, but they are expensive.

    We have had septic systems and they worked trouble free for decades, but replacement costs are not cheap.

    EDIT: The reason I bring up lot size if the impact it could have on replacement. If there is a minimum size and you can't grandfather in, your options become limited.
     
  19. RM Racing

    RM Racing Tool user

    The drainfield is going to give you more problems than the tank, as long as you pump the thing out every 5 years or so. If you have a crapload of rain, like Atlanta had this winter, many drainfields will fill with groundwater, and your tank will overflow above ground. In our neighborhood alone (all septic) five houses had to either move or reconfigure drainfields because the groundwater pushed effluent above ground continuously. Keep in mind that we had the wettest year in recorded history. Mine did it slightly for one day when we did a lot of laundry, but has now subsided. I pumped mine out and had the drainfield cleaned out in 2016. For the taxes we pay, I continue to be agitated that we do not have sewer. We will solve that by moving soon. Gwinnett County is a high tax/low result bureaucracy. Rant over.
     
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  20. Bloodhound

    Bloodhound Well-Known Member

    Also, avoid powdered laundry detergents and bleach in the laundry. Kleenex of "facial tissue" is hard to breakdown also, it goes into the trashcan. As said above, add Rid-X once a month or so to keep the bacteria healthy. Prior inspection is also very well recommended so you don't find out it has a crack in it or something oddball that requires a lot of earth moving equipment and cubic dollars to be removed from your savings.
     

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