what have I got?

Support your community
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
K

kentannenbaum

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
11
Reaction score
4
Location
,
We own a 3/bedroom 1900 farmhouse with a new septic tank installed two years ago. The house is on a bedrock ledge and it's "thought" we have a drywall, not a drain field but I don't know. Don't know if there's a d-box either. When we do multiple washes and depending on moisture in the ground we smell "the" odor near where the possible drywall is. My question is: Am I best off having a video scope done to see where the exit pipe from the septic tank goes? I know where the outlet from the tank is an what direction it's heading from when the tank was put in. OR, should the driveway be dug up to follow the path, not spending extra on a video? Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks, Ken
 
You have a conundrum.
If you're doing the digging and want to save money, dig away.
a camera with a locator can take the guess work out of it.
 
Went for the video yesterday. When the lid was lifted found the tank filled to the brim. So it had to be drained and the video will happen today. I was lucky it didn't back up into the house. No clue what will be found but great that discovery is on the way. The baffle had come undone in the tank which points to a defect in the tank installation two years ago. Pisses me off knowing a poor job was done setting it up properly. Also, that could be the bulk of the problem, solids allowed to go on down the line. We'll see. Either way, a pro was the way to go. Thanks.
 
I hope things work out for you. Do you know what size tank you have and how often it is supposed to be drained?

I'd be pretty pissed off in your situation too. But better to be pissed off than pissed on.
 
inattention to detail, most likely was knocked loose when the hole was backfilled

shows a couple of things. no sand was used, no compaction,

I dig a hole 12'' deeper than needed. fill hole with 12'' of sand, level the sand, set tank
backfill with sand around ank to the top
then the top soil over tank
spread the remaining dirt over the yard
 
The house is in Catskill, NY.. Whatever the code, they did a careless job,despitehow tough it was. They had a small backhoe that had to break through a couple of feet of bedrock since the tank is taller than the old metal tank it replaced. The line from the house also broke loose a year after the install and a plumber had to replace that entire line. That company folded (in business 30 years) or I would have gone after them for the money. Anyway, the current issue is not entirely what they did, the broken pipe crossing under where we Park that leads to the d-box on the other side (20ft) is being excavated today, that should solve the odor issue we've had for two years. Whether our ancient field needs some help I won't know til later also.

No photos and sorry about the language barrier. Actually, I speak Lowes more than Home Depot.
 
I'm no expert, but from what I recall from the literature when I was getting a new septic tank and field lines, the lines should not run under where you park. The soil is not supposed to be compacted too much. If it does get too compacted, it interferes with the percolation rate. It is also possible for the weight of the vehicles to crack/break the lines. I think there are also sanitary reasons to not have them going to a place where people are likely to be walking. I could be wrong though.
 
Zanne said:
I'm no expert, but from what I recall from the literature when I was getting a new septic tank and field lines, the lines should not run under where you park. The soil is not supposed to be compacted too much. If it does get too compacted, it interferes with the percolation rate. It is also possible for the weight of the vehicles to crack/break the lines. I think there are also sanitary reasons to not have them going to a place where people are likely to be walking. I could be wrong though.
Click to expand...

You're not wrong... :cool:
 
Listen, life gets always gets in the way when you're making other plans. This house was built in 1900. The septic line that collapsed was probably put in 60/70 years ago. It happens to cross the only logical place for the driveway but as of yesterday is much deeper than it was and packed in the proper gravel, not just soil. While you're right about best procedures, this is the best solution. I'm confident. Thanks for chiming in!
 
kentannenbaum said:
Listen, life gets always gets in the way when you're making other plans. This house was built in 1900.

The septic line that collapsed was probably put in 60/70 years ago. It happens to cross the only logical place for the driveway but as of yesterday is much deeper than it was and packed in the proper gravel, not just soil. While you're right about best procedures, this is the best solution. I'm confident.

Thanks for chiming in!
Click to expand...

Hey, you asked... :D

Watch the soil over the line for settling in the future.

Simply put, you do not operate machinery over septic lines and/or leachfields. If the connection at the tank is not broken, the PVC tubing can develop low spots or be crushed... ($$$).
 
Now, I could be wrong on this, but the health inspector was telling me that the field lines should be no deeper than 12". I don't know if that is standard in other places or if it was just specific to the type of field lines I got.

Making them deeper will just mean the soil will be more compacted over time.

Kultulz is right in that the field lines should never be placed somewhere that has frequent traffic traveling over them.

If possible, it is best to route them away from any traffic.
 
kentannenbaum said:
Listen, life gets always gets in the way when you're making other plans. This house was built in 1900. The septic line that collapsed was probably put in 60/70 years ago. It happens to cross the only logical place for the driveway but as of yesterday is much deeper than it was and packed in the proper gravel, not just soil. While you're right about best procedures, this is the best solution. I'm confident. Thanks for chiming in!
Click to expand...







Au Contraire Mon Frere !!!!!

Votre esprit est déjà pris, vous faites comme vous voulez
 
:confused:

Someone asks a question... seeks advice... many try to help and panties still get wadded.

Just like the gentleman who had that horrendous WH tempering tank install that miraculously didn't become Cape Carnival. He has an attack because it was pointed out a TPRV discharge line installed was PVC.

If I seek help... and I have been advised many times I should... I take what I need to hear (and understand) in addition to what I may not want to hear.

But then I am perfect...my mommy told me so several times... :D
 
you have to hold your tongue,

when you walk in and the cat piss damn near knocks you down.
or trash is piled up in 200 black bags
or you have to kick the dirty clothes out of your way
or turn down the advances of a nice looking woman
only house I ever walked out of. the garbage started moving, cat, rat, possom I dont know
but i got up and said "i gotta go"

hardest calls are old people, that are lonley for conversation, kids dont come to visit.
some of they are very interesting to talk to. but, I AM ON THE CLOCK
I can sit and drink tea and talk all day, I gotta charge for it

if you want to stand and look over my shoulder. I have AND WILL put your butt to work.
i will tell a nosey owner to go get such and such off the truck in a minute.
that usually puts a stop to it
 
Last edited:
Zanne said:
I'm no expert, but from what I recall from the literature when I was getting a new septic tank and field lines, the lines should not run under where you park. The soil is not supposed to be compacted too much. If it does get too compacted, it interferes with the percolation rate. It is also possible for the weight of the vehicles to crack/break the lines. I think there are also sanitary reasons to not have them going to a place where people are likely to be walking. I could be wrong though.
Click to expand...


Seriously, You probably know more about septic systems and leach field than I do. It's something I have never had to deal with except when a drain line from a house to one was blocked.

I think the line going to the D block is like any other sewer drain line.
Soil percolation around that line is not a factor until it reaches the D block and gets distributed to the leach field. But any drain going under a traffic lane should be protected from damage for sure.
 
only slightly related to original posters problem.

My step son and his dad had this piece of property. Step son bought it from his dad. the leach field is the narrow area to the right of the driveway in front of the house. My step son cut out the area in front to add more parking and installed the block wall. When he owned it the driveway was still dirt.
After he installed the wall he had a constant trickle of water coming from the bas of the wall. :eek: He cut into the front of the saturation area of the leach field. :eek: Looks like the new owners laid concrete down.

$hit Happens when you don't know everything but enough to dick things up.

Capture.jpg
 
you need 100% compaction to drive and park.

the effluent will not percolate in 100% compacted ground

the rock around the pipe is not for percolation, it is to keep the holes in the pipe from clogging with dirt

the ground, the soil, is what gives you percolation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top