house septic help!

[Princess Valiant]

my house is having a back up problem from the poopy tank and its been determined that the leach feild has failed.

so my thought process is : i have heard some negative feedback on the newer rockless infiltrator systems and i always thought the best way was the old fashioned rock and pipe leach feild

so my question is: i got a quote from a company for $2500. for an infiltrator system ....should i trust that ....or look for a company that will do a rock and pipe system like the original system was??

History: my house was built in 1975 and its the all original system ....great big concrete tank which i have reason to believe that its a dual chamber tank ....we have determined the tank is good ...i have documents showing it was pumped regularly all its life.
two years ago i replaced the PVC pipe from the house to the tank so i know thats good.

behind the tank the i have lots of open space to go out with the new leach feild and im at least 150 feet away from my well pump house as per code.

any advice??? any knowledgable input is greatly welcomed bcoz im just getting educated about all this and this my first time with a problem of this nature ....but im trying to do my research first

 

[danthedewman1]

First I would get another opinion , just for ***** and giggles, couldnt hurt. Also I was told on mine to make sure your pipes for venting thru roof arent clogged. Good Luck..DAN

 

[4spdragtop]

As Dan said make sure the "stink/vent stack" isnt clogged, its probably good though. I have had to do this before and ran pipe called "big o" and no not that kind of "O" LOL. It is I believe 3" in diameter corrugated pipe with perforated holes with a white sock over top of it. The holes allow for liquid to seep/leech out and the white sock stops soil/rocks/debris from getting in and clogging the pipe up.
Why has the leech filed failed?? that seems weird. You should have one pipe that leads from the septic tank and this one pipe will have several "branches/tees" off of it. If the leech/septic bed has failed I think the problem would be the main pipe that "feeds" the branches/tees....

 

[stansblue72]

How did he determine that the drain field is bad? If it has failed you would most likely smell sewer and see seepage of black water in the area where the drain field is.

X2 on getting another opinion.

 

[Joe Mopar]

Rainidart70 I'm a licensed installer in Ct. What type of soils do you have where you live as this will determine what kind and how big a system you will require. Do you have any idea how deep the normal ground water table is in your area ?

 

[R4Sedan]

I just kinda went through this I have a 1700 Sq. ft. house built in '85 I get it pumped every year. It just started backing up. I was told I needed a new leach field. I originally have rock field. I was told now per county it has to be a bigger leach field so they have to use the easy flow (Styrofoam). I got two estimates one was $2225 and one was $2150, Both including permits of $300. The easy flow system I was told would only last maybe 6-10 years. Far cry from the 27 the rock has already lasted. I eventually got a hold of somebody that took my junction box cover off and 3 out of the 4 drain lines were clogged. He flushed them drained my tank and for $300 done deal and yes I was stressing about dropping two grand hope this helps,Rani.

 

[shanson30]

Do you have any trees in the area of your leach field? Might just be one area that needs to be dug up. I have replaced lines that were completely full of tree roots. Good luck with it.itching

 

[inkjunkie]

Well aint that some sh&t!!!!! (Sorry, could not help myself) From what I understand the vaults allow you to downsize the drain field quite a bit, as long as your soil allows them. I will be building a home in a different spot on our property so I will need another septic/drain field. I will be doing it myself and plan on the vaults. Neighbor used them here in Washington. He did the field himself and priced it out both ways. Ended up being less $$ using the vaults then rock, largely because the local gravel yards had no rock at the time.

 

[Princess Valiant]

Do you have any trees in the area of your leach field? Might just be one area that needs to be dug up. I have replaced lines that were completely full of tree roots. Good luck with it.itching

no trees in the area .....just grass ....and we i am thinking the leach feild failed bcoz i was told that the pipe in the feild is prolly corroded and collapsing in on itself ............at the point where the pipe from the tank feeds into the leach feild is really really green grass there ....much more than the rest of the grass ....so that says excess water is collecting there .......but thats just at the begining where the feild begins

 

[norshorblufish]

That is very possible because the waste water acts as fertilizer.

I agree with JOEMOPAR it all depends on the type of soil you have.
You will need a percolation test. That's when a pit is dug and filled with water. The water absorption into the soil is timed.

I would also check with your county building department on what their regulation are too.
And yes get a second opinion. And get some referrals too.

Good luck

 

[Princess Valiant]

this is the document i got from the health dept.. dont know how much this info helps

 

[Princess Valiant]

this stuff is hard ....its like taking a test ....i hope i get the right awnsers.....hehehe this is man's work ......but the good thing is im learning ........living here in this farm house has taught me a lot bcoz i have to learn to do: drywall .....plumbing.(sweating copper pipes in the middle of night) LOL .....asphalt work (driveway) ....gradening....tile work ...electrical...everything LOL ........when you cant afford to pay someone to do it, you get motivated real easy....bcoz there is not always ppl around to help me LOL

now im getting septic system 101 LOL :toothy9:

 

[shanson30]

According to your permit you have plastic pipe about 4 ft deep. Not a root problem and plastic pipe doesn't corrode. Dig up just the wet spot and probably find a broken joint and stopped up with mud. Downstream might still be good.

 

[Joe Mopar]

Not sure why your system got clogged, you may want to check to make sure your tank outlet has a baffle on it. This will keep the solids from leaving the tank. Your soils seem real good ,I would just do a new trench along the older one. Your system is pretty low, if you could ( depending on tank depth ) I would keep system higher. If you can't you will be fine at that depth. I'd say to have someone come in and replace the trench with new would be 2400.00 - 2800.00 at least around here.

 

[norshorblufish]

That is a final inspection I believe when it was installed in 1974.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

The rules and regulation on septic systems may and probably have changed since then.
This system is more then likely out live it's life expectancy. But then again it may just be a pipe joint has come apart. The only way to find this out is to dig in that area.

We can give you all kinds of advice which might be good or bad. Every state and county has different rules and regs. So what's OK in your area may differ from the rest of us. I know here they had some changes a few years back.

I would get a hold of the county and see if they have a list of qualified contractors in your area. Talk to your neighbors maybe they can refer you to someone that's done a lot of systems.

Here's a web site don't know if it will answer some question or not.
http://county.pueblo.org/government...-city-county-health-department/septic-systems

 

[AdamR]

Rainidart70 I'm a licensed installer in Ct. What type of soils do you have where you live as this will determine what kind and how big a system you will require. Do you have any idea how deep the normal ground water table is in your area ?

shitty job

 

[Princess Valiant]

i think im going to dig it up and see ......its more work on me but then i will know for sure instead of guessing........my uncle will pay for it bcoz he is the actual owner of the house but he depends on me to keep up the house....thats why i live here rent-free .........so if i can save him a heap of dough....that makes it worth it......i hadnt even thought of digging it up there and looking.

the lid is dug up right now bcoz i had it pumped two weeks ago ........and in just two weeks the tank is full of water.........the other day it snowed and after the snow melted the tank overfilled through the lid.......

plus i want replace the lids with plastic risers .......i hate having to dig everytime i pump it .....plus the great big concrete lid is ridiculous ....it prolly weighs more than me and there is no way i can move that ...so it needs to go...

i understand that even if i dig it up ....there is still a chance that its finished and needs to be replaced ...but to me its worth the work to know for sure for sure........thanks FABO for the input

 

[Princess Valiant]

Not sure why your system got clogged, you may want to check to make sure your tank outlet has a baffle on it. This will keep the solids from leaving the tank. Your soils seem real good ,I would just do a new trench along the older one. Your system is pretty low, if you could ( depending on tank depth ) I would keep system higher. If you can't you will be fine at that depth. I'd say to have someone come in and replace the trench with new would be 2400.00 - 2800.00 at least around here.

Can Baffles go bad???

 

[tekslk]

Myneighbor went to the county, that was wrong it cost him a ton. I pump mine every 8-10 years sometimes I throw a dead possum or something else in it. It sounds like yours needs dug up get one of the good old boys that comes out after dark to do it.

 

[4spdragtop]

I am not very familiar with these, but why in the world does the piping go in a "U" shape?? (think path of least resistance)The place we owned before, basically after the tank the pipe lead straight out, then to additional lines. Stupid *** computer I cant upload a drawing!! Sorry

 

[inkjunkie]

this stuff is hard ....its like taking a test ....i hope i get the right awnsers.....hehehe this is man's work ......but the good thing is im learning ........living here in this farm house has taught me a lot bcoz i have to learn to do: drywall .....plumbing.(sweating copper pipes in the middle of night) LOL .....asphalt work (driveway) ....gradening....tile work ...electrical...everything LOL ........when you cant afford to pay someone to do it, you get motivated real easy....bcoz there is not always ppl around to help me LOL

now im getting septic system 101 LOL :toothy9:

That is what it is like out here as well. One thing about doing everything on your own is you get some satisfaction out of it....

 

[RedFish]

Looking at the corners in that drawing, I have to think it has a history of problems. Ancient Greece had better systems LOL
There are a lots of different ways to add on to the existing system though.
My drain field is laid out sort of like the fork drawing below. More like a pitch fork and running due south. Installed August 1985. Tank has been pumped only once. Anyway...
I wish you luck with it.

 

[inkjunkie]

Looking at the corners in that drawing, I have to think it has a history of problems. Ancient Greece had better systems LOL
There are a lots of different ways to add on to the existing system though.
My drain field is laid out sort of like the fork drawing below. More like a pitch fork and running due south. Installed August 1985. Tank has been pumped only once. Anyway...
I wish you luck with it.

That is how our present drain field is, a 3 tine fork....

 

[CudaChick1968]

this stuff is hard ....its like taking a test ....i hope i get the right awnsers.....hehehe this is man's work ......but the good thing is im learning ........living here in this farm house has taught me a lot bcoz i have to learn to do: drywall .....plumbing.(sweating copper pipes in the middle of night) LOL .....asphalt work (driveway) ....gradening....tile work ...electrical...everything LOL ........when you cant afford to pay someone to do it, you get motivated real easy....bcoz there is not always ppl around to help me LOL

now im getting septic system 101 LOL :toothy9:

Isn't home ownership great??? But look at you -- you could even kick Barbie's the Plumber's butt, tile her condo and rewire her Corvette. :-D

I have nothing to add to the septic tank discussion except that I have one and will be watching this thread to learn something along with you Rani. Grand-dad's Septic Service pumped ours ... the business card said "We Take Crap From Everybody."

 

[mullinax95]

Friend of mine had to have a new system put in last year because of trees and roots finally took it's toll. The installer used the non gravel type system(pipe with styrofoam) and this year my friends system is backing up. He is having his new beautiful Zoysia grass moved so the work can begin. He's not a happy camper.