Cost of Septic? (Falmouth, Blue Hill: how much, house, purchasing)

[Hepcat]

Hi, all.....still looking at land in Maine, and my head is spinning. I saw a home on nice acreage that I really liked, though; the house is a tear down, but the realtor told me the value is in the land and septic. I haven't seen it firsthand, though.

Having grown up in an urban environment, septic is totally foreign to me. Many lots I have been looking at on-line specify that a septic design has already been done.....which I imagine is a good thing.

I was just wondering.....does anyone have a ball-park range of what it might cost to install a three-bedroom septic system in the York County area? Anyone recently build new?

I just don't know what the best option is....any advice would be appreciated.

[Maineah]

We had our tank replaced and our baffle system extended about 10 years ago and it was around $20,000. We had a short, temporary road built to accomodate the trucks and heavy equipment and they restored the area back to lawn when they were done so that added significantly to the price of the job. Septic systems are not cheap to install.
Septic tanks need to be pumped out about once every three years for about $300.00 which is not too bad .If you forget to do it the system will remind you with a cellar full of sewage.

[CapeCodder]

I had to install a Title V septic when I lived on the Cape...brand new it was almost 5k. It had an 1800 gallon tank and was square instead of the round type...that price included them removing a huge oak that was in the way of the thing. In Mass it depended on the town as to how much it cost to dispose of the waste.

I'm surprised at how much Maineah had to pay...yikes.

[lovemaine]

Yeah, $300 seems high to me too. We had septic in WI, and it cost us about $80 to have it pumped. Every state is so different when it comes to fees! It's amazing!

[dmyankee]

Our local tank cleaner gets $250 minimum. That's the cost of doing business these days. There is the cost of fuel, storage, transportation to a regulated site, etc.

Most septic designs I see now a days are about $10k on up. I know places that have spent upwards of $70k+ if they have a business. Many systems up my way require pumps that direct the flow uphill.

Just like everything else, $5k would be a god awful bargain for a properly designed septic.

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

Our local tank cleaner gets $250 minimum. That's the cost of doing business these days. There is the cost of fuel, storage, transportation to a regulated site, etc.

Most septic designs I see now a days are about $10k on up. I know places that have spent upwards of $70k+ if they have a business. Many systems up my way require pumps that direct the flow uphill.

Just like everything else, $5k would be a god awful bargain for a properly designed septic.

You're so right, the cost of running a business has gone up so much, like everything else. I'm sure the cost of having a tank pumped in WI isn't $80 anymore. Too bad our wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living.

[kellysmith]

As you see by the quotes, there's no way to know the cost without pricing the specific site. First step is a soil test, and maybe the site won't even pass. If it does pass, the steps needed for the tank must be added to the steps to develop a proper leach field. Probably most of you money will go towards that. But I see your options being not getting the lot approved for a septic, to one where little is needed for a leach field, to one where you need much alteration in order to get a plan approved. So 5 to 20k isn't far off. You probably also will need to pay for the plan or site survey just to see what it will cost.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Maineah

We had our tank replaced and our baffle system extended about 10 years ago and it was around $20,000. We had a short, temporary road built to accomodate the trucks and heavy equipment and they restored the area back to lawn when they were done so that added significantly to the price of the job. Septic systems are not cheap to install.
Septic tanks need to be pumped out about once every three years for about $300.00 which is not too bad .If you forget to do it the system will remind you with a cellar full of sewage.

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.

[AustinB]

The price of the system depends on the site conditions and what part of the state that you live in. Cheap systems around the Blue Hill area are around 10k. Downeast, a friend was complaining about how much his septic at his camphad cost... 4k. He said that it was a complicated system.

[WhoFanMe]

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.