About Me

Arizona, United States
I'm a work-at-home mom who enjoys the beautiful sunsets here in the high desert.





My Designs

For the free patterns for these afghan squares I designed for My Reading Afghan, click here.

My Recently Completed Projects

On The Hook

Ravelry CAL Afghan 1 in progress
Ravelry CAL Afghan 1

Ravelry CAL Afghan 2 in progress
Ravelry CAL Afghan 2

Ravelry CAL Afghan 3 in progress (squares 1-4)Ravelry CAL Afghan 3 in progress (squares 5-8)
Ravelry CAL Afghan 3

Ravelry CAL Afghan 4 in progress (squares 1-4)Ravelry CAL Afghan 4 in progress (squares 5-8)
Ravelry CAL Afghan 4

Ravelry CAL Afghan 5 in progress (squares 1-4)Ravelry CAL Afghan 5 in progress (squares 5-8)
Ravelry CAL Afghan 5

Ravelry CAL Afghan 6 in progress (squares 1-4)Ravelry CAL Afghan 6 in progress (squares 5-8)
Ravelry CAL Afghan 6

Ravelry CAL Afghan 7 in progress (squares 1-4)Ravelry CAL Afghan 7 in progress (squares 5-8)
Ravelry CAL Afghan--Flower Burst 7ARavelry CAL Afghan--Flower Burst 7B
Ravelry CAL Afghan 7

Ravelry CAL Afghan 8 in progress
Ravelry CAL Afghan 8

Ravelry CAL Afghan Blocks:
Dream Catcher
Cross My Heart
Cygnus
Chocolate Delight
Flower Burst

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

What You Need To Know Before You Buy A House With A Septic Tank


  • Septic tank location.

  • Accessibility of the septic tank.

  • The location of the 'clean-out'.

  • The location of the leach field.

  • Whether there was/is a septic tank permit (and you need to have and keep a copy).

  • Date of septic tank installation (should be on permit).

  • Name, address and phone number of septic tank installer.

  • Type of septic tank--concrete? fiberglass? home-made on site? manufactured and brought to site? if concrete, with or without rebar?

  • Size of septic tank in gallons.

  • Configuration of septic tank--where are the lids?

  • Date septic tank was last cleaned.

  • Whether the last cleaning included removal of the solids or not.

  • How often the septic tank has been cleaned.

  • Whether there have been problems with the septic tank or problems with cleaning the septic tank in the past.

  • Names, addresses and phone numbers of companies who have serviced the septic tank in the past.


What you need to know if you are building a house or adding any type of structures to or near a house that depends upon a septic tank for sewage handling:

  • DO NOT CONSTRUCT ANYTHING ON TOP OF THE SEPTIC TANK!!!!!

One thing you do not want to experience in this world is a sewage backup and/or a lack of drainage in your home. This is NOT a pleasant experience, and you should go out of your way to ensure it never happens.

I have learned more about this than I ever wanted to know, and after living for 3 (count 'em--3!!!) weeks without a working drainage system, I never want to go through such a thing again.

We did not know anything about septic tanks when we bought our home and therefore took the previous owner's word that the little 3 or 4-inch cap in the concrete driveway was all that was needed should the septic tank ever need cleaning. Oh, how wrong that was!

I have since learned that NOTHING should ever be built on top of a septic tank and cars should NOT be driven over a septic tank. Also, in order to properly clean the tank, the lid needs to be accessible so that it can be removed in order for the solids to be evacuated from the tank.

We now have 3 big holes in our driveway, 2 in the concrete and 1 in the dirt right next to the concrete (all in an effort to find the septic tank lid so the tank could be cleaned), but at least we now know where the septic tank lid is, and if we ever have enough money to repair the holes, we'll know to keep the septic tank lid accessible in case of future need.

If I had it to do over again, I would have required the previous owners to provide that access as it should have been as part of the contract/offer to buy the house. What you don't know CAN hurt you.

Moral of the story: Do not buy a house with a septic tank unless you are able to see the actual septic tank lid with your own eyes.

Some more things I've learned from this experience:

  • If I ever have a house built, the septic tank will not be under the driveway or any other structure.
  • If I ever have a house built and a septic tank installed, I will make sure gray water does not drain into the septic tank and that the septic tank is for sewage only.

  • Do not put bleach down drains that drain into a septic tank. It destroys the bacterial process that breaks down the solids in the septic tank.

  • Avoid drain cleaners and other chemicals that can inhibit or destroy the bacterial process that breaks down the solids in the septic tank.

  • Use Rid-X or similar compound regularly to maintain the bacterial process that breaks down the solids in the septic tank.

  • Make sure that any company that cleans out the septic tank cleans out the solids as well as any liquid.

  • Do not take having a working drainage system for granted, but express thanksgiving in prayer every day that the toilets flush and the drains drain.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yuck! We were going to try to build a house with a septic system in North Georgia, but now are selling the lots. (For more reasons though, like money, proximity to Cardiac Treatment) This makes it easier to let go of those lots and be livin' the easy life of city sewage!

 

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