Costs of septic, well, and electric on new property (Rathdrum: renting, new home)

[trumpethim]

My wife and I have decided to move to NID in about a year. I'm retired and semi-working and my wife works for a company that is also moving to Kootenai County. (We're not able to give the details on that company yet for various reasons.) My wife was told that she can transfer to NID and work in the new place when it is built about a year from now.

I have obtained a realtor out of Rathdrum and am scouring the listings for a new home, but I'm split between open land and a new build, or an existing place. I spent 30 years renovating and building homes in Arizona, so building new is my preference.

My question is, "Is there anyone here that has recently put in septic, well, and electric on a new property that can give me an estimate of the cost of doing so?" I realize that there are variables in this, like how far away the existing electric is, the type of ground and depth for a well, and septic variables. (I've never put in septic before.) I plan to build a 3 or 4 bedroom with 2 baths, and the location will probably be somewhere fairly close to Athol. I'm trying to stay within the red lines on the attached map...Thanks all!

[Shaner]

Your question has a million variables too it so I will be very general

Electricity depends on your distance from a pole. I believe Kootenai electric does up too 300 ft for free (don't quote me as it has been a bit since I last checked)

A well can cost anywhere from 14-30k depending on depth. I would say budget for 20k as most well seem pretty shallow in those area's, but you can look for yourself on the State of Idaho webpage. I don't know Bonner Counties page.

Last septic I was involved with cost around 8k for a 2200 sqft home.

I know those are all over, but I hope they help.

[Disciple1975]

I would estimate 30k total.

[trumpethim]

Thanks guys! This will give me an estimate to go by. You both seem to be in the same general price range.

There were also some properties that I was looking at that already had the utilities installed, or at least water and power, so this will help a lot in my choices!

If anyone else chimes in, I'd love to hear your estimations.

[oldafretired]

I had a house built last year in the area within your red line close to Spirit Lake in Kootenai County. The house is about 250' from the road.

KEC charged $2500 for the transformer and I don't see a charge for the line to the house so that must have been included.

I didn't need a well so I don't know what that costs but the water meter to connect to the local water supply cost $5500.

I had a septic tank installed but the builder didn't give a separate cost for that and included it with the cost of excavation (for a 1550 sq ft house with attached 1200 sq ft garage), 250' gravel driveway, tree removal, and water line from the meter to the house. The cost for this was $12K.

Had a couple of visitors the last few days:

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Awwww, what a picture! Just don't get between mom and calf!

We were all set to have power brought to the house from the neighbor's transformer box (we have an easement in the deed from the box to the corner of our property), but it would end up costing over $8000 just to dig the trench, so we're making do with a generator for now.

As for the well, that was estimated at somewhere between $10K and 20K. And the septic (we're approved for a septic, of course, otherwise you can't get a building permit) was estimated at around $6000. So we had to make a choice three years ago: Would we like power, a well, and septic but no structure, or would we like to start building? So we opted for the structure, and we'll get the rest added before our retirement date. But of course the smart thing to do is to have at least the well secured before building. We've been renewing the septic permit every year. In Bonner Ct it is only good for 1 year at a time, so if you let it lapse, you have to go through the process again.

[trumpethim]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Awwww, what a picture! Just don't get between mom and calf!

We were all set to have power brought to the house from the neighbor's transformer box (we have an easement in the deed from the box to the corner of our property), but it would end up costing over $8000 just to dig the trench, so we're making do with a generator for now.

As for the well, that was estimated at somewhere between $10K and 20K. And the septic (we're approved for a septic, of course, otherwise you can't get a building permit) was estimated at around $6000. So we had to make a choice three years ago: Would we like power, a well, and septic but no structure, or would we like to start building? So we opted for the structure, and we'll get the rest added before our retirement date. But of course the smart thing to do is to have at least the well secured before building. We've been renewing the septic permit every year. In Bonner Ct it is only good for 1 year at a time, so if you let it lapse, you have to go through the process again.

Thanks again! I'm looking forward to seeing wildlife crossing my future home! And thanks for the info. I'd say that an $8000.oo trench would make anyone sit up and take notice! In my case, since I did these things for a living, I was the guy that did the work, and I'm no different now. I've got to check into the availability of renting a backhoe. We used to save a lot of money by doing our own trenching and the like. Those things can usually be done by the homeowner if he knows the required depth and where the easements are and such. Septic and wells are a different story though. That entails drilling equipment for wells and knowing the specifics of how to set the septic tank and leach bed. Most subcontractors, (at least in Arizona), will allow you to do prep work for them if you show them you know what you are doing and you do things the way they want it done. I've done almost all phases of building for myself as a homeowner, and for the things that I was not licensed and owned the property, I went on the homeowner DIY qualification, and if necessary I would pay to have a licensed sub come over and look at my work and adjust what needed to be fixed to bring it up to code.

I have already looked at both Kootenai and Bonner's web sites for building permits, and I understand how they have a time limit on a permit to be renewed. The prices seemed very fair, Bonner County being a bit cheaper than Kootenai. I've dealt with building departments many times, and usually the people in those departments are very open and helpful, along with being down to earth. Many a time they've told me about something, or corrected something in my plans and saved me a huge headache and some money and time.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by trumpethim

Thanks again! I'm looking forward to seeing wildlife crossing my future home! And thanks for the info. I'd say that an $8000.oo trench would make anyone sit up and take notice! In my case, since I did these things for a living, I was the guy that did the work, and I'm no different now. I've got to check into the availability of renting a backhoe. We used to save a lot of money by doing our own trenching and the like. Those things can usually be done by the homeowner if he knows the required depth and where the easements are and such. Septic and wells are a different story though. That entails drilling equipment for wells and knowing the specifics of how to set the septic tank and leach bed. Most subcontractors, (at least in Arizona), will allow you to do prep work for them if you show them you know what you are doing and you do things the way they want it done. I've done almost all phases of building for myself as a homeowner, and for the things that I was not licensed and owned the property, I went on the homeowner DIY qualification, and if necessary I would pay to have a licensed sub come over and look at my work and adjust what needed to be fixed to bring it up to code.

I have already looked at both Kootenai and Bonner's web sites for building permits, and I understand how they have a time limit on a permit to be renewed. The prices seemed very fair, Bonner County being a bit cheaper than Kootenai. I've dealt with building departments many times, and usually the people in those departments are very open and helpful, along with being down to earth. Many a time they've told me about something, or corrected something in my plans and saved me a huge headache and some money and time.

Not any more in Bonner County! For the past 5 years or so you haven't been allowed to dig your own power trenches. I can assure you that if we could have dug our own trench, we'd have power now. I'd have dug it myself with my tiny garden shovel if I had to! But aside from that, the Bonner Ct department people are absolute sweethearts: helpful and understanding.

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Not any more in Bonner County! For the past 5 years or so you haven't been allowed to dig your own power trenches.

Really? Wonder what the logic is for that. Do you happen to know if this only applies to the line from the power pole onto your property, or, for example, also if I want to run electricity from a sub-panel in my shop building down to the chicken coop?

Dave

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

Really? Wonder what the logic is for that. Do you happen to know if this only applies to the line from the power pole onto your property, or, for example, also if I want to run electricity from a sub-panel in my shop building down to the chicken coop?

Dave

Don't know anything about the regs, but I'll bet are several good reasons for the permit change; one would be surety that the underground electrical meets safety specs, another would be to make sure a trench is not left unfilled after the job is only half done before plans changed, and a third would be a little bit of extra money from properties that are never improved, despite the owner's best intentions.

Lots of newcomers find themselves forced to change their plans, and things like open ditches can be hazardous in all kinds of ways.