Hey guys, help about septic

[jjwv_mu_rivals]

I'd really appreciate some help here. I'm going to be putting in a new septic system. I've been researching. My old system was just a 500 gallon tank (3 bedroom; 2 bath 1300 square feet) and about a 50 foot leach field with rock/gravel base. The new home we plan on building will be 3 BR 2.5 bath and approximately 1800 square feet (1.5 story home).

Now, what I came across was the gravelless system for leach field. I'll give you a picture of it.

I'm going with a 1,000 gallon tank this time. I'm also wanting to know if anyone has done the gravelless system and if so what input do you have on it? I figured this is the perfect place to discuss something like this with all of the sh*t that gets discussed daily. [winking]

And it wouldn't be the same without this:

 

[PriddyBoy]

Why are you putting in a new one?

 

[jjwv_mu_rivals]

Why are you putting in a new one?

Building a new home within the next 12-18 months.

 

[MichiganHerd]

Home size is irrelevant. It's really all about the number of people within the household. I have a 1,000 gallon and a 500 gallon tank, which was here when I purchased. 3,600 square foot, and three full baths. There's only two of us now, so we could probably get by with only a 1,000 gallon, but I'm kind of full of ****, so the extra 500 gallon tank comes in handy. Just make sure you have it cleaned every 2-3 years. Last thing you want are CR89's backing up into your house.

 

[PriddyBoy]

Building a new home within the next 12-18 months.

Good, then it's not due to failure. The system you've shown is the ****, Ha! Those flex drains do a great job of distributing finish water via slow drip. As long as you're not too close to the creek (water table) or bury the lines in low-perc clay, you should be in great shape.

 

[jjwv_mu_rivals]

Good, then it's not due to failure. The system you've shown is the ****, Ha! Those flex drains do a great job of distributing finish water via slow drip. As long as you're not too close to the creek (water table) or bury the lines in low-perc clay, you should be in great shape.

I'll be about 150 feet from a creek. I worried about those interlocking non-gravel system. Installation looks easy. And the science behind it makes a lot of sense; fact that gravel will eventually compact at the bottom, below the perforated pipe, and will not allow the effluent to fully be absorbed by the soil. This allows for a steady, slow-drip as you called it, absorption.

I've ready some negatives about this type of leach field failing, but the conventional systems fail as well.

 

[jjwv_mu_rivals]

Home size is irrelevant. It's really all about the number of people within the household. I have a 1,000 gallon and a 500 gallon tank, which was here when I purchased. 3,600 square foot, and three full baths. There's only two of us now, so we could probably get by with only a 1,000 gallon, but I'm kind of full of ****, so the extra 500 gallon tank comes in handy. Just make sure you have it cleaned every 2-3 years. Last thing you want are CR89's backing up into your house.

I figure I'll go with the 1,000 gallon (there's four of us; wife and 2 kids) and then get the risers also to make it easier to pump every 3-5 years.

 

[mneilmont]

I figure I'll go with the 1,000 gallon (there's four of us; wife and 2 kids) and then get the risers also to make it easier to pump every 3-5 years.

Had price today for drain 800 gallon tank and new field drain of 100 feet. Fielddrain three feet wide filled with 3 inch crushed rock. Price $2200. Last job about 2 years back and didn't use the crushed rock. Price $1200 plus $300 to drain.

A bit pricy, but reputation best in tri-county. One job that I don't fancy doing often, and normal time is during holidays with a couple more families visiting.

 

[atlkvb]

Home size is irrelevant. It's really all about the number of people within the household. I have a 1,000 gallon and a 500 gallon tank, which was here when I purchased. 3,600 square foot, and three full baths. There's only two of us now, so we could probably get by with only a 1,000 gallon, but I'm kind of full of ****, so the extra 500 gallon tank comes in handy. Just make sure you have it cleaned every 2-3 years. Last thing you want are CR89's backing up into your house.

I'm similar to MichiganHerd. (1000 gallon tank) We have a 5BR 3100 sq ft 3 1/2bath on a fully finished basement.

When the basement was finished, I had to have a sump pump installed to get the sh*t up into the tank which was above grade. But MichiganHerd's post is accurate as far as what matters is how many folks live in the house.

They say it's good to have it pumped every 5-7 years, but that's assuming a full load of folks dumping their sh*t daily. If you use it less, you can really get by once every 5-to-10 years. I know some folks who haven't had to do except for once in 15-20 years!

When you pump it, you don't want to drain it. Leave a nice two inch layer at least because you want bacteria left to grow and eat other bacteria from the new sh*t.

If you drain it, it will fill up faster because it takes a while for the bacteria to grow and multiply.

Did you know WVU'S ag department published a nice "how to" manual on septic tank maintenance? My county's water department sent me a copy of it. (says published by WVU on the back)

Linking it here:

https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/publicutilities/pdf/SepticTankKit.pdf