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I am looking at a bank-owned property built in 1970. It is "as is". How do I find out whether it ever had an oil tank? If so, how to find out whether it was de-commissioned? Thanks a lot!
Only way to know for sure is to hire a tank location service. PM user Wiley on these boards, she has her own company that does this work. Otherwise there are many other companies you can use as well. It basically consists of the guys coming out with metal detectors and sweeping the property to check for the presence of an underground oil tank.
Only way to know for sure is to hire a tank location service. PM user Wiley on these boards, she has her own company that does this work. Otherwise there are many other companies you can use as well. It basically consists of the guys coming out with metal detectors and sweeping the property to check for the presence of an underground oil tank.
I actually use a company called Accurate Tank Testing out of Franklin Lakes. That are excellent at finding tanks if they exist. We don't do testing or locating.... just removals, installations and remediation.
Do you how much they usually charge? Also, what if the tank has been removed? Can they tell whether there was a tank years ago?
If the tank is still there they can tell (abandoned or not). If the tank is gone, but the contamination was left behind, I don't think there is much that you can do short of sampling every square inch of the property.
Check with the town for any permits that were pulled going back to 1970. Its all public record so it shouldn't be a problem. However, they could have pulled the tank without a permit. Was the new tank installed with a permit- that means something old came out, check that out too.
If it was a Saturday Night special, and they pulled the tank out at 2:00 am under cover of night, dumped the tank in a scrap yard and backfilled it, then hooked up electric heat in the house, you'll likely never know. That's how I'd remove the tank.....mooo ha ha moooo ha ha
Do you how much they usually charge? Also, what if the tank has been removed? Can they tell whether there was a tank years ago?
We had our property "swept" prior to purchasing the home and it cost about $200. They basically just scour your entire yard with a metal detector and check the pipes in the basement to see if there is any evidence of a tank. The company we used is Viewmaster Inspections based in East Rutherford.
We had our property "swept" prior to purchasing the home and it cost about $200. They basically just scour your entire yard with a metal detector and check the pipes in the basement to see if there is any evidence of a tank. The company we used is Viewmaster Inspections based in East Rutherford.
The important thing is... what kind of metal detector did they use? A regular old detector is useless in NJ soils!!!
Check with the municipal building department. They will have a record of any tank on the property that was properly decommissioned and/or removed. You never know -- the building inspector may be familiar with the property already. (S)he may be able to provide all you need to know... and save you a couple hundred dollars.
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Check with the local Building Department
