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Hey all. New homeowner here. I bought a house with a septic system. The tank is located in an area that I would like to put a patio. I was thinking about just making a paver patio, not a cement slab. Is this possible? I've read conflicting information. It wont be over the drain field, just the tank. The lid is raised, so that will not be blocked or covered.
Thanks for any info
If you can get at the lid in case you have to have it pumped, I don't see any problem doing the patio. As long as the drain field is open it should be fine.
Talk to your local planning department. Whether it's possible to do this without damaging the tank or not may be a moot point if they won't issue a permit for the work.
Hey all. New homeowner here. I bought a house with a septic system. The tank is located in an area that I would like to put a patio. I was thinking about just making a paver patio, not a cement slab. Is this possible? I've read conflicting information. It wont be over the drain field, just the tank. The lid is raised, so that will not be blocked or covered.
Thanks for any info
I would not suggest putting anything over any part of your septic tank. First, weight of the patio can cause issues with the tank causing it to buckle. We just had this happen to ours. We had it pumped for the first time and the pumper saw that the tank is at a 45 degree angle and is cracked. Turns out that when the construction crew installed the tank they ran over the ground many times with heaving equipment and caused it to buckle. Second, eventually you will most likely have to have it dug up at some point, even if its only for an inspection or to have it looked at. If that happens then the patio will have to be removed as well.
Hey all. New homeowner here. I bought a house with a septic system. The tank is located in an area that I would like to put a patio. I was thinking about just making a paver patio, not a cement slab. Is this possible? I've read conflicting information. It wont be over the drain field, just the tank. The lid is raised, so that will not be blocked or covered.
Thanks for any info
I see no problem with doing what you described... other than the fact that you plan to sit on the patio and have a picnic or drinks over top of a septic tank. I would hope that you could pick a more pleasant location for a place to have a barbeque and grill some steaks.
Paver patio will be fine over any part of the tank itself. I've had a septic system for 20 years and never had it pumped until last year.
The house was for sale and the people wanted an inspection of the tank. There is no such thing as an inspection of a septic tank without pumping it out also. I told them I would not give permission for pumping. They came back and said they would pay for the inspection/pump. I said part of the paver patio must be removed so the cost would also entail replacing the patio and sodding the grass. They said fine, cost to them was right at 1000 dollars.
The inspection/pumping came back excellent, could have probably gone another 20 years without pumping.
There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding septic pumping schedules. I've had 4 over the last 50+ years, including our current vacation home. Never had a septic pumped and when 3 of those 4 house sold, the new owners either demanded a pumping or pumped after purchase. ALL came back fine and in no need of pumping.
Just as long as you realize that a septic tank is a composting container. It will have fresh excrement in it every time the toilets are flushed. It shouldn’t have a smell but psychologically for some people this might be off putting. So don’t tell your guests.
Paver patio will be fine over any part of the tank itself. I've had a septic system for 20 years and never had it pumped until last year.
The house was for sale and the people wanted an inspection of the tank. There is no such thing as an inspection of a septic tank without pumping it out also. I told them I would not give permission for pumping. They came back and said they would pay for the inspection/pump. I said part of the paver patio must be removed so the cost would also entail replacing the patio and sodding the grass. They said fine, cost to them was right at 1000 dollars.
The inspection/pumping came back excellent, could have probably gone another 20 years without pumping.
There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding septic pumping schedules. I've had 4 over the last 50+ years, including our current vacation home. Never had a septic pumped and when 3 of those 4 house sold, the new owners either demanded a pumping or pumped after purchase. ALL came back fine and in no need of pumping.
We had ours pumped once in 42 years. Only reason we did it was because my son flushed a bunch of paper towel and they got caught on a rough spot on the pipe going into the tank. When we opened it, the guy said "It looks perfect, keep doing whatever you do to maintain it". If you put 'septi-free' or something similar in the tank on a regular basis you should not have any problems. I do it once a month.
We had ours pumped once in 42 years. Only reason we did it was because my son flushed a bunch of paper towel and they got caught on a rough spot on the pipe going into the tank. When we opened it, the guy said "It looks perfect, keep doing whatever you do to maintain it". If you put 'septi-free' or something similar in the tank on a regular basis you should not have any problems. I do it once a month.
Septic tanks are stronger than decades ago, but it would be a hard no from me. They can collapse. That's why one doesn't drive over the tank. Your state and local laws may prohibit this. My state does not allow for a patio of any kind over a septic tank. The edge of any patio or deck must be 10 feet away from the edge of the tank. For us, that would place it over part of the mound system. Placing something on top of the mound or septic field is another big no, no with septic systems.
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