GCLL
New Member
I'm new to the forum. Sorry for the long winded first post. I had a house built 3 years ago on a 10 acre lot. Unfortunately, in an attempt to save a few bucks my builder did not build my house up high enough and I am now paying the price.
Due to the elevation of my house they were forced to put my septic field in a low area of my property. If my house would have been raised up 12" or so then the septic field could have went in another area less prone to saturated soil. Any time the soil is saturated, mainly in the spring and fall I have problems with my septic system. The field gets saturated so my septic tank gets overwhelmed and it then clogs the filter and I have to "fish" out the filter and clean it.
The builder knew that the area for the septic field was low because the county required him to put a curtain drain around the perimeter of the field to carry off excess water. It obviously is not adequate.
I've been in contact with the person that installed the septic system and he came out and dug a 500' swale to help redirect surface water from the field. This cost less than $1000, but the builder should have addressed this. It proved to be somewhat effective as I no longer have standing water around the field except for a couple of hours after a heavy 1.5"+ downpour.
This still is not enough, however, as I still find myself having to clean the septic filter at least monthly in the spring and fall. I talked to the installer again and he told me the next time that it clogs he wants to come out and check things out. I think he wants to just make sure that I'm not abusing my septic system, which I most definitely am not. I am overly cautious and try to minimize water usage during wet times.
He suggested installing a less restrictive filter which is obviously just a bandaid for a bigger problem.
I know I am going to need to lawyer up to get anywhere with this and I'm not looking for legal advice, I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar issue and what the outcome was.
Thanks.
Due to the elevation of my house they were forced to put my septic field in a low area of my property. If my house would have been raised up 12" or so then the septic field could have went in another area less prone to saturated soil. Any time the soil is saturated, mainly in the spring and fall I have problems with my septic system. The field gets saturated so my septic tank gets overwhelmed and it then clogs the filter and I have to "fish" out the filter and clean it.
The builder knew that the area for the septic field was low because the county required him to put a curtain drain around the perimeter of the field to carry off excess water. It obviously is not adequate.
I've been in contact with the person that installed the septic system and he came out and dug a 500' swale to help redirect surface water from the field. This cost less than $1000, but the builder should have addressed this. It proved to be somewhat effective as I no longer have standing water around the field except for a couple of hours after a heavy 1.5"+ downpour.
This still is not enough, however, as I still find myself having to clean the septic filter at least monthly in the spring and fall. I talked to the installer again and he told me the next time that it clogs he wants to come out and check things out. I think he wants to just make sure that I'm not abusing my septic system, which I most definitely am not. I am overly cautious and try to minimize water usage during wet times.
He suggested installing a less restrictive filter which is obviously just a bandaid for a bigger problem.
I know I am going to need to lawyer up to get anywhere with this and I'm not looking for legal advice, I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar issue and what the outcome was.
Thanks.
