All About Septic Systems – Part 2 of 6

Getting a Septic System Inspected

If you are considering purchasing a property which has an on-site septic system, it is important to get the system inspected by a professional company that specializes in septic installation and maintenance. A thorough inspection involves digging by hand or machine, depending on the age or placement, a visual inspection, possibly remote camera work, as well as pumping out the existing waste. Regular home inspectors do not perform septic system inspections.

You wouldn’t ask a home inspector to ignore the roof, disregard electrical or plumbing systems, or skip the basement, crawlspace or attic. Similarly, getting a septic inspection done is crucial to the due diligence phase of your purchase process. If you can’t flush the toilet, take a shower, do laundry or wash dishes in your new home, you may as well be camping: you need to inspect the septic to make sure all is well! Make sure when you write up an offer on a home, you allow time for the septic inspection alongside any other inspections you are performing.

Below is an overview of the steps and concerns for most inspections of gravity-fed systems which consist of a holding tank, distribution box and leach field. There are many alternative systems and variations on that which is described here, so ask your agent to help you obtain the permit for the property you are pursuing to learn the details of the system in place.

1) Scheduling considerations

Most septic work is done when the weather is nicer, except for emergencies. If you’re purchasing in the spring or summer, you might need to allow extra time for inspections to accommodate a busy septic company’s schedule. Alternatively, if you’re purchasing in winter, weather delays can happen.  As soon as you have a ratified contract on a property, get a recommendation from your agent for a local, trusted septic inspection company. Your agent can help coordinate the date and time of the inspection and help guide the listing agent and sellers through the process. Many sellers have never had their septic system professionally inspected, either at the time of their purchase, or while they have owned the property, and they may assert that since they haven’t had problems, a septic system inspection isn’t needed. Don’t be deterred. You have a right in Virginia to have septic system inspected.

2) Inspection Day

How Long Does It Take? Most thorough inspections are about 2-3 hours. If it is very hot, very cold, or raining, this can make for an unpleasant experience, but it’s a great opportunity to understand how your system works, see problems in person, and ask questions of the septic company while they are on-site. Of course, the duration of the exam can vary, depending on the kind of system installed, how deep the tanks are underground, etc…

Is it Gross? Does it Stink? A well functioning system will have some odor, but not much. If you are squeamish or especially sensitive to smells, this may not be for you. Once the lid is off the tank where the solids and liquids get processed, you usually have to be quite close to the tank itself to notice any odors.

3)  Locating the Septic System Components

Obviously, this is critical to a thorough inspection. Further, knowing where all the components of your system is can help you avoid future problems with improvements you want to make on your property conflicting with the septic.  Some sellers who are not careful plant gardens, trees, install decks, patios and driveways and even home additions right over tanks and other parts of a septic system! Companies who install sprinkler systems, run cables for satellites, wiring for outdoor lights, etc. will often install these right over existing components. If you are not aware of where your system is located, these installations can be damaged when it comes time, years down the road, for troubleshooting septic problems, for inspections or replacement.

4) Locating the Septic Tank

Having the original septic permit available, if possible, can help the inspector to quickly narrow down the location of the septic tank. Additionally, the contours of the land, the experience of the inspector, and other clues on the site also enable the inspector to find the tank. Once they have zoned in on the correct location, inspectors will use a long, metal probe to confirm the presence of the tank (assuming it’s not buried many, many feet underground, which is another good thing to know), and then find the location of the lid or lids. Most tanks have a lid over the incoming pipe from the house, and one over the outgoing pipe to the distribution box or the leach field.

5) Opening the Tank Lid

A good inspector will take care not to dig too big of a hole, both to reduce the time needed to expose the tank lid, and to minimize damage to the land/yard. However, sometimes this can be a tricky process if there are plantings over the tank, if the tank itself is in an awkward location or if the ground is frozen.  Some excavations take 30 minutes and some take hours or require mechanical equipment like a backhoe, which can add cost. Not every septic company travels with a backhoe, so this can mean a delay during your inspection period. Be sure to factor the time of year and weather when making the offer on a home and allow the appropriate number of days for the home inspection period.

Most tank lids are round or square. In some older tanks, the lid is as big as the tank itself, and sometimes made of concrete: this requires not only a backhoe to expose the tank, but also chains and equipment to lift the lid off the tank.

6) Assessing the Health of the Tank

When the lid is off, immediate assessments can be made. Is the smell overwhelming? That could be a sign that there is not enough bacteria to break down the solids. Are there visible items that are not biodegradable, like baby wipes, or grease, or feminine hygiene products? This is an indication that the sellers have not been careful stewards of their septic system, and can be a red flag for other problems. Likewise, the level of the liquid is key: too high and that can mean the distribution tank or leach field is not doing it’s job of handling the waste and liquids. Too low, and it could mean that the tank is leaking somewhere.

7) Pumping the Solids

The next step in the process is to pump the waste from the septic tank to a truck, so it can be disposed of elsewhere. Once you purchase the home, a periodic pumping of the tank will be part of your regular maintenance of the system, but for the day of the inspection, this pumping allows a complete visual examination of the inside of the tank and for an assessment of the approximate size of the tank. If it was installed correctly, and according to the permit, it should be appropriately sized for the intended use and occupancy. Pumping out the tank also allows you, as the new buyer, to start ‘fresh’!  The pumping process should allow the technician to remove the maximum amount of solids, leaving behind perhaps an inch or two to provide starter bacteria for incoming waste. Once the tank is emptied, it might take anywhere between a few days to a few weeks to refill with liquid from toilet-flushing, showering, laundry, etc.

Here is a great animation of what happens after a tank is pumped.

8) Locating and Inspecting the Distribution Box

These boxes, which are a critical part of the septic system, are usually cement, but newer ones may be made of plastic. They are typically rectangular, with a lid and several holes. Think of a three dimensional piece of swiss cheese, feeding septic liquids out into the field. The D-box is usually located slightly downhill from the tank, but it could be located uphill, if the best location for the leach field is up, not down from the home. In these cases, a septic pump is installed to move the sewage up to the D-box. The D-box could be just 10 or 20 feet away or as far as 100 feet away. Probing, as with the location of the tank, is done to locate the edges of D-box lid, to minimize the amount of digging.

Once the D-box lid is exposed, it’s lifted off, and like the holding tank, assessed. Was the lid intact and on straight? If the distribution box was previously uncovered, and the lid was not put back on squarely, dirt and debris could have fallen into the box, causing back-ups either into the holding tank, or one of the outgoing pipes. Does the number of installed outgoing pipes match what was required by the permit? Is the liquid level the same for all pipes? The system is designed with a specific number of pipes out the leach field, given the make up of the soil, the other components, the size of the home, etc. Each pipe should be taking on liquids equally. The liquid level should be just barely above the bottom of the pipe itself. Newer systems allow for ‘speed levelers’ to make minor adjustments to the slope of the pipes to be sure they all act evenly.

9) The Leach Field

This can be many hundreds of feet in size and consists, typically, of perforated PVC pipes, of a specific length, of a specific number, set a specific distance apart, as instructed by the permit. This keeps the system in balance with the size of the field, and the ability of soil to handle the incoming fluids. Inspections don’t dig up this field, but you should be sure that there is nothing on TOP of this area, like buildings, structures, etc. It is important this is area remain visible to allow for troubleshooting and quick access if there is a problem.

10) Closing Up

Once each of these items is inspected, all the tank lids are replaced and covered up with the material that was on top. Things should look back to normal in a few weeks, given our climate. Many sellers with nice, green lawns will be concerned about the damage to their grass but a careful inspector will do their best to minimize the size of their holes, and may put tarps down to protect surrounding areas.

When the inspection is done, assuming there are no issues, you will get an invoice from the septic company that you will need to pay, prior to closing.

If there are problems with the system, the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent will work together to come up with the best solution to move forward.

Read all the posts in this series –
1. What is a Septic System?
2. Getting a Septic System Inspected
3. Common Septic Issues and Problems
4. What Happens if a Problem is Found at the Septic Inspection?
5. The Difference between a Buyer’s Septic Inspection and a Seller’s Septic Inspection
6. Maintaining a Septic System

You can also download the EPA Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems for more general information, including helpful illustrations of septic systems.