In Texas, if I wrote in my report that the old septic system needed to be inspected by a licensed installer… this meant automatic failure. Why? Because the licensed installer followed one rule… if the old septic system did not meet every aspect of the current code, then they would fail it and red flag the house. No one could live in the home until a new system was installed, after a period was granted to make upgrades.
Some lake homes had very tiny lots and even a highly engineered system could not be installed in the limited area available. The homes could not be repaired and they could not be sold. They were condemned and no one could live in the home.
Sometimes I would walk up to a lake home on a tiny lot and see the potential problem about to unfold and caution my client to beware of what they were getting into. Can you imagine what it is like to buy a home and find out later you cannot live in it or even repair it. You can’t sell it and you still have to pay for it… Wow. The burden of the inspection was upon the buyer and not the seller at the time. The code and restrictions can be very severe around a body of water and even worse than a normal home not located by a lake.
John, here in New Hampshire we follow a methodology for evaluating septic systems which may become law if the current bill is passed and the state has defined “failure”.
When inspecting a septic systems in New Hampshire the system in question must meet the states definition of failure.
Septic systems in New Hampshire are a big problem. So many cheap alternative systems have come on the market and many were improperly installed. As you probably see with my posts we find many that are in trouble, it’s a huge concern with most home buyers here and one of the single most expensive building components to replace.
As far as water front property, we see alot of small waterfront lots which also have a well. It’s difficult to get a proper septic system in and be 75 feet from the well and shoreline. When inspecting waterfront property we do extensive research of state and town records to find out if a system is state approved or not.
We recently inspected a waterfront home that was on 1/3 of an acre with a well and shoreline. In 1997 the state granted approval to install a holding tank as a means to correct a failed system. Part of the approval was the home was to remain seasonal and records of regular pumping had to be submitted to the towns health officer (which were not). At some point someone installed a drywell connected to the holding tank which was in failure and was 25 feet from the shoreline.
As part of our due diligence on behalf of our client we found this information. They walked as they were looking for a full time residence, which this was not, although advertised as such and because the system had been altered from the approval and was in failure. I found out from a designer I know in that area that they were able to install an aerobic system to the tune of 30K.
New Hampshire is pretty good with working with folks who have failed septic systems and want to find a solution for all parties and sometimes that is a holding tank which requires monthly pumping.
Once again poor site work and the lack of proper compaction has lead to settlement of the sand not only under the filters but the D-Box as well.
The D-Box shown here settled and is pitched forward flooding out the middle row. As you can see the sand surrounding the filter is black. Had the D-Box been properly installed this may not have been a problem. The D-Box is also deteriorated significantly and the cover cracked in several spots.
This is why it’s crucial to find the D-Box and open it. If you had dug a couple inspection holes in the outside rows and not dug up the D-Box you would never know this system was in trouble.
And of course if you did only a flow test you would have passed it.
Another failed system. 34 year old stone and pipe system.
We opened the tank and it was flooded, outlet pipe under water.
The stones were covered with black slime referred to as a bio mat. The stones in a stone and pipe system will turn from their natural color to gray then black as the system ages. Once the bio mat has formed then the system is at the end of it’s life expectancy.
Surprisingly though when we ran water in the house to do the home inspection it didn’t back up. Makes you think about flow tests doesn’t it?
Here’s a good example of why a sewer camera is so benificial for septic inspections.
This is a 12 year old stone and pipe system that was inspected two weeks prior to us coming in. The other inspector said the system is in good condition just pump the tank, which they did.
We always use our sewer camera to locate and inspect the D-Box, in this case we got about ten feet out from the tank and found the main sewer line crushed. Because our camera has a sonde we were able to locate the camera head and dig up the pipe.
The sewer line is approximately 20 feet long and because it’s split there may be substantial sand in the D-Box. Our recommendation was to have the entire pipe and D-Box evaluated and repaired by a licensed septic contractor.
That right there paid for the entire inspection for our client which was substantial. Home, septic, water, radon air, radon water. Needless to say he was very happy he hired us.
We are also using the sewer camera to inspect the inside of plastic chambers. These images are from an Infiltrator brand chambered system. Eight rows of plastic chambers are laid out on a bed of sand and surrounded with crushed stone.
One inherent problem we’ve seen with these systems is the weight of the back fill pushes the plastic chamber down into the sand resulting in reduced capacity inside the chamber.
We now dill a hole in the top of the chamber and use the video camera to inspect the inside of the chamber. In this case the installer did a good job compacting the sand under the chambers. This is a 14 year old system with plenty of capacity remaining. The beginning of the leech field had some standing effluent which we consider normal. Once we have completed the load test on the system the chambers are reinspected and the holes are covered with black gorilla tape.
We were confident advising our client that this system was in good condition and had many years of life remaining.
Here’s a great example of a 5 row serial distribution system. This is a large diameter pipe system built on a bed of sand. This type of system does not have a D-Box and effluent flows from row one to row two ETC. As these systems age the first row will fill with effluent forcing it to the next row and so on.
This is a six year old system that was designed as a three bedroom, 450/GPD or six people. Loading has been considerable less as only two occupants are using the system.
Row one was full of effluent, row two was about 1/3 full and rows 3-5 were dry. Some black staining in the sand was observed in row one.
We typically will transect across rows 1-3 at the beginning and 4&5 at the end. Our opinion was this system was in good condition and approaching middle age, not quite there yet.
The first image you can see row 1 full, row 2 has a little effluent and row 3 is dry.
Second image rows 4&5 are dry as well as the sand removed from around the laterals.
Last picture shows the sand under row 1 is aging and is turning black.
The manufacture of this system recommends venting to help with air flow through the laterals. Although not on the original design we recommended venting to help with system longevity.
I get funny looks when I tell them I refuse to do a septic dye test. I always tell them to get a septic company to inspect the system. The realtors say the Heath dept does the dye test. I tell them it’s terribly inconclusive. I happy send them a link where they can buy the dye if they want to preform the test themselves. I think any of the ever do.
Good for you Chris. The only way to accurately evaluate a septic system is to dig inspection holes in the leech field to determine how the aggregate is aging.
Another older Elgen sand filter system, this one surprisingly made it 22 years. As typical with these system the bed was not properly compacted and the beginning of the EDA settled causing effluent to pond. When this occurs the beginning of the EDA goes into failure while the end looks new.
Compounding the problem was a clogged effluent filter in the tank which caused back ups in the tank during heavy usage and the main sewer line from the tank to the D-Box had root infiltration.
We now include sewer line inspections on every septic evaluation and have found two crushed pipes and one root infiltration in the last week alone.
Not going to do a long back story but I thought I would share a couple of pics from my last two septic inspections. Keep in mind the HO for the first pic said they had the tank pumped about 2 years ago and for pic #3 that is the outlet with 2in of water on top of the baffle.
The 2 owners of the house worked on the property fulltime in a building also on the property that had separate septic. Due to the timing of the inspection it is possible that they just had a shower or something that would have slowly drained through out the day while vacant. Just a thought but no there was no sign of the system backing up into the house.
Here’s another great example of why it’s so important to check the D-Box. In this example the D-Box itself is structurally sound but the cover was cracked and broken in several spots and some dirt was making it’s way inside.
This appears to be another case where lawn irrigation was installed after the septic system and apparently the D-Box may have been hit with the ditch witch.
The rest of this 17 year old system looked good and the owner will replace the cover.
Interesting find on today’s inspection. A hexagon D-Box. First one I’ve ever seen. There was a considerable amount of sludge in the bottom but structurally it was in good condition.
The septic system was installed in the early 1980s and was a split butterfly type system. In this configuration the D-Box is located in the middle with three rows of laterals to the left and three to the right installed on a stone bed.
There was some ponding of effluent under the laterals in the bed but no significant staining. We determined the system to be in fair or middle age condition.
Nice example of three steel tanks, all were leaking. Original systems for three camps built in 1957. All will need upgrading which will be tough on this waterfront lot surrounded by wet lands.
Current owner said they’ve never had a problem with them, and we found out why, all the gray water is being discharged under the cabins.
In the last picture you can see the outlet pipe is completely clogged with dirt and tree roots.
Nice example of three steel tanks, all were leaking. Original systems for three camps built in 1957. All will need upgrading which will be tough on this waterfront lot surrounded by wet lands.
Current owner said they’ve never had a problem with them, and we found out why when all the gray water is being discharged under the cabins.
In the last picture you can see the outlet pipe is completely clogged with dirt and tree roots.
