mnahrgang
July 18, 2008, 2:02am
1
Had a call from someone who is concerned about an old oil tank in a basement of a home they are considering making an offer on. From what I was told, the oil tank is no longer being used. Is located in the basement and appears to be in “pretty good shape”.
They were told by the step dad that it could be a potential explosion and that it would cost about $6000 to remove. :roll:
I freely admitted that I don’t have a lot of experience with these things, but said I would do some research. So…
What would be your concerns about such a tank, and what would be a reasonable way and cost to dismantle and remove the tank if that is what they wanted to do. (She told me she didn’t think there was anyway they could remove it whole.)
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
gbeaumont
July 18, 2008, 2:07am
2
Hi Mark,
Heating oil will not explode unless either under pressure or atomized, the cost of removing a tank from a basement should be a lot less than $6k.
If it is abandoned it should be pumped out and removed, typically under $1,000. (at $4 a gallon less if its full!!
BTW I have never seen an oil tank that could not be removed, if that were the case they never would have got it into the basement.
Regards
Gerry
jhagarty
July 18, 2008, 2:12am
3
$600 - $1200 to remove the tank. Fairly routine in this market area…
ccurrins
July 18, 2008, 2:12am
4
Or find someone that wants to convert it into a barbecue pit, and they might take it for free.
mnahrgang
July 18, 2008, 2:19am
5
What type of company would be called to do the removal? Could any contractor do that, or what?
gbeaumont
July 18, 2008, 2:21am
6
Hi Mark, I’d contact any heating oil distributor or oil boiler repair company.
Regards
Gerry
ccurrins
July 18, 2008, 2:35am
7
mnahrgang
July 18, 2008, 7:09pm
8
Thanks again everyone for your help. Here’s a copy of the e-mail I just sent.
I did a little research and nothing has really changed from what I told you on the phone last night. Here’s what I know…
First of all, the tank is not an explosion risk because heating oil will not explode unless it is either atomized or under pressure, so safety really isn’t a concern. Of course if there is oil in it, and it leaks, then the spill would be more of an “environmental” concern, and just a mess to clean up.
While the tank isn’t really a safety concern, the consensus is that it should be probably be removed all the same. Even though I haven’t seen the site, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that it won’t be a major problem because they had to get it in the basement somehow, so they should be able to get it back out again the same way.
I think your cost is going to probably be in the $1000.00 range. Less if there is usable oil the company can salvage out of the tank. Of course the specific circumstances involved could make the removal somewhat higher, but the general consensus of my colleagues is in the $600-$1400 range.
One suggested finding someone that would want to take it for free and make it into a barbeque pit. (Now I like that. That’s thinking outside the box. :o) Try http://www.freecycle.org/ and see if someone wants to come and get it for free. You never know!!!
If you want to have it professionally removed, here’s a couple of links that might be helpful. The first one is the oil supplier for the mom of one of my colleagues. He didn’t know if they removed tanks or not, but he thought they might have a referral. The second is a phone list of others that might be of help.
Thomas Oil Co Inc http://www.magicyellow.com/category/…_Louis_MO.html
Hope that helps. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.
)
No kidding.