Septic tank and field questions - Looking at a home

[Steve42]

Now that we have a closing date on our house, we have some decisions to make. One of the frontrunners is a home that was built in 1996 and added onto in 2005.

Our realtor acquired a drawing from the county illustrating where the septic tank and field lines run in the back yard. A retired contractor friend went with my wife on a visit to the house and he is mildly concerned about the proximity of the slab for the addition to the main line (I assume from the tank to the distribution box). He can't say for certain one way or the other, but they are close.

If we decide to make an offer on the house, we could make it contingent on an independent septic system inspection including location and marking of the field lines and the field integrity not being in question. How does such an inspection take place?

Also, one of my biggest concerns is the location of the septic tank. The driveway comes up beside the house on the right end and it ends at a fence. The fence has a drive-through gate, but the septic tank is just past the gate (beside the addition), so I don't believe it's possible to drive anything larger than a lawn tractor through there without getting on top of the tank. If I wanted to build a storage building in the back yard, I would have to use a cement company with a concrete pump to get the slab poured, but I did want to find out just how much is "too much" weight driving over a septic tank? Can a small backhoe/loader like a John Deere 310 safely cross the tank for coming in to grade for the building and perhaps to dig for a small septic tank if I decided to plumb the shop?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[DonL]

The John Deere 310 weights around 12,000 lbs. +

I would not drive that over a septic Tank or Lines.


Good Luck on your project.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

quote; normally eight feet or more buried inside soil.

I am not sure about your installers, but here they are usually 2 to 4 feet down depending on the depth the pipe leaves the house.

 

[Smooky]

Contact the local health department (LHD) or environmental health office:
http://www.adph.org/administration/Default.asp?id=505


420-3-1-.90 Inspection of an Existing OSS
(1) When requested by the homeowner, their agent, or a lending
institution representing the owner or buyer, a physical inspection of an existing
OSS may be performed by the LHD. Documentation of the physical inspection
may be provided to the requesting party upon completion of the inspection.
http://www.adph.org/onsite/assets/OnsiteRules4-10.pdf

 

[LLigetfa]

There is about 6 inches of earth cover on my septic tank. I would not drive a 12,000 lb tractor over it or over the lines.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Bottom line is you never want to drive over a septic tank or field with nothing more than a riding lawn mower. The tank is probably fiberglass and they're quite strong but there maybe pipes going vertical for clean outs, etc. They may be below the turf where you cannot see them and a heavy weight of a vehicle can punch the pipe right into the tank.
However, a mini or compact excavator or a tow behind back hoe (usually at rental shops) may work for you. Place sheets of plywood over the septic tank to spread the load but you may need to wheel barrow out the dug up dirt. Where i work we rented one to dig a good size hole to access the irrigation pipe and dig a 270 foot trench to expand the irrigation system. At one point the operator got it tilted to much when filling the hole back up. It was very easy for me to push it upright while the operator was in the seat.

 

[hj]

Depending on the area, there may be more concrete septic tanks, with reinforced concrete lids, than fiberglass ones. Those covers CAN be driven over by fairly heavy vehicles, especially when they have a couple of feet of dirt on top of them.

 

[DonL]

I would take part of the Fence down, may be no need to enter the Gate. Maybe move the Gate.

Fence is cheaper than a Septic system.

Concrete Pump trucks can Pump from the road.


Good Luck.

 

[LLigetfa]

In the old days before pumpers, we used cranes or wheelbarrows. Still do in some cases. Often we mixed our own concrete rather than use readymix. Nobody knows what work is anymore. Seems like they want to use heavy equipment for even the smallest jobs.