Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-23-2008, 06:40 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,196,841 times
Reputation: 1505

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by AustinB View Post
We had our tank pumped about 2 months ago, and it cost $200.-. According to the septic tank lady at UMO, you should have your tank pumped every 3-5 years.
A good home inspector gave me this formula - take the number 7 and subtract the number of people who flush in the house. 2 people - 5 years, 3 people - 4 years, 4 people - 3 years, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-23-2008, 07:07 PM
 
216 posts, read 679,885 times
Reputation: 466
Thanks, everyone, for all your advice.... I can estimate that, depending on the soils and the site, I am at least looking at 10K. I don't mind a few hundred every few years for pumping; I am just trying to figure out approximately how much these things will cost as I look at land.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod, MA
406 posts, read 1,648,814 times
Reputation: 256
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoFanMe View Post
Interesting to see this thread at this time. I attended a building inspection in Falmouth on Friday on a house built in 1956. The septic inspector was worried as he determined that the system was original and also noticed that the washing machine bypassed the system and dumped its waste into a pipe that went over a ravine (above a well known river) - unfortunately this is not all that uncommon, but also not legal. While he did his stuff, my client and I went inside with the other inspector only to be informed that the leach field was perfect, which surprised him to no end considering the age of the system. It turns out that somebody had installed a "cheater" pipe which bypassed the leach field and pumped raw sewage into the woods and down the ravine to that same river.

The homeowner, who has only owned the home for 2.5 years, was completely stunned as she didn't perform this inspection prior to purchasing the home in 2006 and is now facing a complete new system or my clients will walk. It was quite an interesting day, that's for sure.

I can't understand someone who's making a large purchase skipping the septic inspection...that's crazy. Unless you are a plumber maybe.
Before we bought this home we paid for two other inspections on homes...they both failed. Yes we were out a few bucks...but it's small compared to what we would have been out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30088
Our septic design cost us $300.

Our septic tank was $400, Transfer station was $200, leech field was $800.

Our Grey-water goes out into the forest, and does not connect with the black-water system.

Our septic tank has a 2 inch pipe included that goes to the bottom, and allows it to be pumped at any time. I like this. The tank does not need to be dug up and exposed before pumping it out. I can un-thread the pipe cap at anytime, hook-up a suction hose from my fire-pump, and pump it dry in an hour. Since I can do my own pumping, and I can do it without a great deal of work, I think that future issues will be minimal with our septic system.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 07:30 PM
 
3,027 posts, read 7,886,956 times
Reputation: 3911
I don't call washing machine water raw sewage,it is gray water,I have never let washing machine drain into septic.Water does not hurt a thing.What about tons of fertilizer or farm animals do to eco system?I know it is illegal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 09:20 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,196,841 times
Reputation: 1505
Quote:
Originally Posted by CapeCodder View Post
I can't understand someone who's making a large purchase skipping the septic inspection...that's crazy. Unless you are a plumber maybe.
Before we bought this home we paid for two other inspections on homes...they both failed. Yes we were out a few bucks...but it's small compared to what we would have been out.
You'd be surprised at what I see on a daily basis in this crazy business. Many people buy on emotion and overlook some very basic things or choose to ignore them because they "have to have this house." In the go-go years of 2001-2005, when there might be multiple offers on a property, it wasn't uncommon to waive all inpsections to make the offer stronger than the competitors.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,196,841 times
Reputation: 1505
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanBev View Post
I don't call washing machine water raw sewage,it is gray water,I have never let washing machine drain into septic.Water does not hurt a thing.What about tons of fertilizer or farm animals do to eco system?I know it is illegal.
You misunderstood me. This particular home has the washing machine discharge away from the septic system through a culvert and into the ground. It also has a cheater pipe for the solid wastes, which drains on the other side of the property, bypassing the leach field.

Water is not the issue, it's what's in the chemicals you add to the water to get your clothes clean.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 09:35 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30088
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanBev View Post
I don't call washing machine water raw sewage,it is gray water,I have never let washing machine drain into septic.Water does not hurt a thing.What about tons of fertilizer or farm animals do to eco system?I know it is illegal.

Tonnes of fertilizers might be illegal in some regions. I do not know how much petro-chem fertilizers can be dumped here without eco concerns.

Farm animal residue is not illegal here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2008, 09:38 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30088
One huge problem with laundry soap is the sand added for bulk.

It collects in a septic tank, or fills a leech field.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-14-2008, 08:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 8,405 times
Reputation: 11
Default cost of septic

i had a new system installed at my house in north berwick last fall. soil test/design for a 3 bedroom system that was submitted to the town cost 400. i provided a small backhoe and site plan that may have reduced the total cost. the actual install was 8500. i thought that was a very reasonable price. i'm sure the specifics on site will cause the numbers to vary somewhat. that included pump out and filling in the old tank, replacement of the old pipe from the basement foundation wall , and some extra loads of fill to shape the area up.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top