New home questions about septic and well.

camaromann

camaromann

Forum Member
Me and my wife looked at a home built in 1997 in the Davisburg area. It has the original septic and well. Septic is in the back of the home and well is located in the front. At 22/23 years old how much longer should I expect this to last? Is there anyway to get a rough idea of average cost on a removal and replace of a tank and field? I will have a company come out that specializes in septic tank inspection and service, but wanted to hear from some peoples personal experience. The house is up on a pretty good hill. However as the property goes around the sides of the house it slopes down to allow for the walkout basement. At the bottom of this is where the septic tank is located in a kind of valley. Seems kind of odd to me. I will see if I can get a picture to load. Is there any drawback to a septic feild? Will it regularly seep up through my lawn with wastewater? I know nothing about them. We like the house a lot, but it is a very large investment. I just want to avoid thousands in repair immediately, and a torn up property, or less then ideal backyard conditions with standing water or water seeping up.Thanks for any help.
 
In the first few pictures the clean out is to the right of the basement door wall, under what looks like a small stump, that is actually a small little birdbath. If this is were the septic tank is, and the field is running away from the house..... Is it safe for my kid and wife and myself to run around over the septic field and play without fear of disease or getting sick?
 
The field will last a long time as long as you don’t damage it with driving on it and things like that, get the tank pumped out when needed and maintain it with the required chemicals to keep it going. You can not put a patio over it or anything like that as it will starve it of oxygen and it won’t allow the bacteria to live and decompose your waste. A inspection is key as they will be able to tell you the wall depth and when it was dug and also check the water for contamination etc. a septic inspection saved me about 35k when I almost bought a house with a bad one. Nice house btw.
 
Thanks. I would plan on using a reputable company and doing everything they say. 35k!?!? Wow! That is way, way more money then I would have thought. I was thinking of 10k or less to RIP out and replace. :jawdrop2:
 
The house needed an engineered septic field, the home owner had put a stamped concrete patio over the original field and that basically killed it. Normal field is between 5 and 10k
 
My parents House was built in the late 70’s. Their field is still oringnal, they just had to drill a new well. Well was around 10k,(also had to replace a few pumps over the years) a non engineered field is usually less than 10k.

Probably still ahead not paying a water bill all those years.
 
Our water bill each month down in Warren is around $100/month with me, wife, and 1 kid and 2 dogs. She waters the lawn during the summer months also. This new house on well and septic has 13 zone sprinkler. So basically free water(till the pump goes) and a nice green lawn all summer. I was told the well pump would run $1,500-$2,000 whenever it needs replacing. The bladder tank, water softener, house filter and reverse osmosis is all relatively new.
 
I was considering a small concrete patio out that basement doorwall for a future date. But I guess I'll leave that alone to avoid that massive septic bill.
 
One of my main concerns is will I ever notice I have a septic system? Will my kid ever be playing back there and get scummy water on himself or potentially get sick? As long as the septic system is working properly I am talking. It might sound like a silly question, but I'm 33yrs old and have never lived, or known someone who lived in a home with a septic system.
 
camaromann said:
I was considering a small concrete patio out that basement doorwall for a future date. But I guess I'll leave that alone to avoid that massive septic bill.
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a patio is fine just make sure it’s not over the field, usually the septic field is at least 50’ from the well. I’m sure the inspector will show you where the field is as they have to submit a print when it was built.
 
camaromann said:
One of my main concerns is will I ever notice I have a septic system? Will my kid ever be playing back there and get scummy water on himself or potentially get sick? As long as the septic system is working properly I am talking. It might sound like a silly question, but I'm 33yrs old and have never lived, or known someone who lived in a home with a septic system.
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you should never notice it.
 
Thank you guys. I appreciate the feedback. We might move forward with a thorough inspection of the septic tank and field.
 
camaromann said:
One of my main concerns is will I ever notice I have a septic system? Will my kid ever be playing back there and get scummy water on himself or potentially get sick? As long as the septic system is working properly I am talking. It might sound like a silly question, but I'm 33yrs old and have never lived, or known someone who lived in a home with a septic system.
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Short answer, no.

I have owned several well & septic homes, this present one for
19 years. Never a problem, had the tank pumped once and it
didn't even need it.

Normally you will never smell or have any health issues. I much
prefer my "on-site system". I believe it is healthier and cheaper.

You are doing the correct thing by having a professional inspection.
Continue to do research on these systems to educate yourself.

Have never used any chemicals in my system, ever, and don't know
of anyone who has - not needed.

One last thing, your water is not free. It cost money to run a water softener,
if equipped and that well pump is a 220 volt, it costs $$$ to run it.
 
You can have a septic system inspected. It's not part of a home inspection. My first house was built in '92, I sold it in '14. The person that bought had a home inspect then and well and septic inspection.

If you're serious have the well and septic inspected. The will dig up the tiles and inspect the tank and give you a report. Any decent home inspector can give you a referral for a septic and well inspection.
 
Is the septic system inspection something I (the buyer) need to handle? Or is that the responsibility of the seller to prove it is in good working condition and supply a report?
 
I paid for my inspection it was about $500. It’s a worth while investment and make sure the sellers have the tank pumped out as part of your purchase agreement. Kind of a fresh start( no pun intended lol) they work off of bacteria so you want to make sure you keep the bacteria alive, if it dies you will need to add chemicals to make a new bacteria to help break down the waste.
 
My house was built in the mid 70s and I still have the original well and septic, both work great. I have a separate well for my ~3.5 acre sprinkler system.

The biggest cost to well water is the salt you need to add to the water softener if you do that.

I had a septic inspection done when I purchased my house ~3 years ago. I think it cost me ~$150 and the guy inspected the tank, tossed dye in the system and dug up a leg of the leach field to inspect it. The older systems actually seem better built then the new stuff in my opinion.

As far as safety, make sure you get the well water checked a few times to see what is in it. You can get sick if the water is bad, but i'm guessing it isn't. The septic will never cause any issues unless it fails and you'll know it.

I live in Clarkson on Davisburg rd, close by!
 
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