My wife and I are starting work on our new home in north Florida when I return from Iraq in a few weeks. Our land has a current septic system for the trailer that we are replacing. The house’s elevation will be a few feet lower than the trailer so we won’t be able to use the septic system with out a sewage pump. In the long run would I be better off using the sewage pump or coughing up the cash for a new septic system?
Thanks for any input, Jeremy
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Replies
Why not raise the house elevation. Might be less expensive in the long run and less maintenance.
jeremy,1st welcome home and thanks for your service to our country.
how olds the septic now? does it handle 1 bath now and your building a new house with 3 baths? might have to replace it.
the ejection pump cost is no big deal,400 for pump and another 200 for pit and plumbing.thats alot cheaper than a septic around here,approx 8-10k .after being over there just a flusher might seem great.larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
does it handle 1 bath now and your building a new house with 3 baths?
1 bath or 300 baths doesn't matter, it's the number of bedrooms---- or in other words, how many people will be living there that determines septic size.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” —Albert Einstein
i was thinking here,they want to know how many baths,because i buy your theroy.2 people,1 bath or 30 they flush the same amount.
i got rid of mine and went with city sewer because of the cost of a new system.larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
There's a few factors that need to be considered.
Cost is the major one.
As mentioned is the current one big enough?
What about building the house higher ( as mentioned).
& maintenance.
The best plumbing system has the fewest moving parts & works on gravity.
Pumps work great, I don't even remember how many I have installed, but by design they will eventually fail. They need maintenance, & some things can clog them that wouldn't normally clog a gravity system.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” —Albert Einstein
The new home will be about 3-5ft lower than the trailer was. We already have the system aproved for the new home. 3bed 2bath. I don't think it will be cost effective to bring up the level of the home that much. The pump will have to push up about 5ft elevation (head is the term I think?) an the septic tank will be about 50-60 ft away. Any advice on brand and size? I've been looking at the "little Giant" systems and "liberty simplex"
Thanks for the help, Jeremy
Make sure you have the property tested for 3 br. Our county recently enacted MUCH more stringent perk criteria and crushed some friends' hopes of a new house.Liberty = Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
American Heritage Dictionary
Most of the Little Giants that I have installed have been for condensate & clean water removal.
Liberty systems are well estableshed waste water pumps for residential.
Contact liberty & tell them the parameters & they will size a system that best fits your needs.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” —Albert Einstein
Recalling the string of hurricanes we had here in N FL and the 1-2 weeks of power outages everyone had, I'd be looking at forking the cash for a new system.. Depending on the local power grid to move your sh*t uphill is, IMO, a bad idea around these parts (I'm in Columbia Co).But I'd keep the old one and hook up a pumped redundant line to it as a back-up.
Thanks for the advice, we're actualy building in Columbia County (Lake city) Me and my wife grew up there.
Ahh, (un)lucky you. You just missed out on avoiding the new impact fees (in effect Feb 1 2008). I believe it's $3,200 for a single family dwelling. Cash. Up front. Fortunately, I got my building permit late last year. No one said a word about an imminent impact fee. Sly dogs...I did get to pay for my septic permit twice though.. Because they also failed to mention that if the system was not completed within a year, the permit expires. ;-) The second time I paid for it, the cost had been jacked another 50 bucks to about $370. Oh, you're gonna love the Columbia Co. Building Dept.!
If you haven't already done so, you need to check to make sure that drainfield is sized appropriately for the new house and that you will be allowed to connect to it. As has already been pointed out, adding a pump and pump tank to the system isn't a real big deal. Pumping effluent to the drainfield may increase the useful life of the drainfield because the dosing cycles allow the soil to dry and re-aerate before between doses, as opposed to a constant flow into a gravity-fed drainfield. (I'm referring to using a second septic tank with an effluent pump between the septic tank and drainfield, not a grinder-type pump with a small tank.)
If the existing system hasn't shown any signs of failure, I'd be reluctant to install a new one just to avoid a pump. If you do install a new drainfield, try to avoid damaging the old drainfield. It may be useful if the new one fails down the road.
I installed a mound type septic system. I was told by my County Sanitary Official this was the only one they'd accept. (My water table is 24" down) we have a pump in the second tank which pumps to the distribution box. Five years and we've had no problems. I think I paid $250 for the pump.
Welcome home, thank you for your service!