Septic Tank

L

LByrne

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Hi All,

I am looking into buying a house and it is owned by the banks. The house was rented out for nearly 10 years and I was told the septic tank was never emptied or looked after..

My question is will a surveyors report outline the damage to the Septic tank?

What happens if a septic tank has not been emptied in 10 years will I need to get a new Septic tank? If so what are the cost of replacing a septic tank

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Ask the person who told you it was never emptied was there any Issues .The fact it was not emptied and there are no Issues is a sign that it is working well.Just wondering is someone trying to put you off buying for a reason.You should be able to check how much sludge has accumulated in the chamber by lifting the lid next to the inlet side of tank.How much use depends on lots of things .how many people in house.Were they out working/Use of washing machine.
 
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It was the neighbours who have the same house and built by the same builder they said they had issues with the pump on their septic tank on numerous occasions. I haven't been talking to any previous occupants of the house as it was vacant when I view it (developer who owned and built house went bust). They said they have never seen the septic tank emptied and the place were the septic tank is overgrown with bushes etc.. I cant test the water in the house as it is turned off at the mains.

If a septic tank has never been emptied in nearly 10 years what kind of problems would you expect?
 
I read that link... Its hard to know when viewing house if there is issues with the drains etc as the water mains are off and cant even flush toilets to see. I just wonder if it hasn't been emptied is it a matter of getting it emptied or would you need to replace the whole system and if so what is the average cost?
 
There's no way of knowing if the septic tank system is damaged without an inspection. But there's no particular reason to assume it's damaged just because it hasn't been emptied in ten years. I just had one emptied for the first time in 12 years with no problems at all, but it was particularly low usage. Cost for emptying is circa. €400. I wouldn't get it either emptied or surveyed without being able to check by flushing toilets etc. -- your surveyor can't work magic on a system that can't be tested.
 
Installation errors or a bad Percolation Area is a bigger problem .As i said you can lift the lid and see how much sludge is in the chamber.Check if the pump problem was electrical.The pump is used for pumping the partially treated waste water out of the septic tank into the percolation distribution chamber .The best advice I can give you is to get the people who empties the septic tanks in the area you are buying the house in to look at it .They should have a camera they should also be able to check if sludge got into the percolation area.They should also know if the percolation is working.This time last year when we had a lot of rain and the ground water levels were high did the neighbours have problems with the percolation.I know people who are in there house 18 years and never emptied there septic tank.
 
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Thank you all for your responses... I will try and see if the water mains can be switched on prior to getting a survey, would it be a matter of switching them on or do I need to get in contact with the count council?

I was also wondering what is the percolation area? what happens if sludge did get in there, is it fixable?

Many Thanks again :)
 
Unless there is something untoward I would presume the water is just turned off at the stopcock to prevent flooding risk while the house is unattended. Anyone can turn it back on.

The percolation area is the area adjacent to the septic tank where treated wastewater soaks away into the ground. Solid waste remains in the tank, to be eventually desludged. If the tank is not maintained there is a possibility of solid waste overflowing between compartments of the tank and entering the slotted pipe which goes to the percolation area, contaminating it and stopping the whole system working. In the worst possible case the whole tank could have to be dug out and replaced, an extremely expensive job. With respect -- it sounds like you know very little about septic tanks. You really need an inspection by a qualified person. There's no way anyone here can guess as to the state of a septic tank. But as I said, there's no a priori reason to suspect it's in trouble just because it hasn't been emptied in quite a few years.
 
Thank you for your response, yes I don't know much at all but just wanted to try and get my head around it..
Just one more question, would a building surveyor that I am getting to inspect the property be able to do this? Or would I need to get a separate person also to examine the septic tank? Thanks :)
 
LByrne. Google( Percolation Area how it works.Installation Errors and sizing)If I was buying I would get the person who empties the septic tanks in the area to have a look.They are not going to charge you they will be expecting to get your business in the future.I would get this done before water is turned on easier to see if there was any over flow of sludge from septic tank into percolation pump chamber distribution system.They fact it was rented and no problem is a + .
You should identify the percolation area
You should have a look or get someone to have a look at where the water is pumped into the percolation distribution chamber when you lift this lid you will see the Percolatin distribution pipes you may also see if any sludge has entered the system
 
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The house has been vacant for 7 months now so will they still be able to get a good view without water being turned on?

Would they know on a quick inspection if there is damage or would they ask me to get CCTV etc? As I hear that can cost a lot of money.
 
Definitely will be taken his advice, would have switched on the water before person is inspecting it so will hold off until after they firstly inspect it..
 
Friend of mine has septic tank in situ for 29 years - never emptied/cleaned out - never a problem either! According to him, a lad who empties the tank told him if there is no problem then you do'nt need to have it sucked out.
 
LByrne said:
Would they know on a quick inspection if there is damage or would they ask me to get CCTV etc? As I hear that can cost a lot of money.
Click to expand...

Cheaper than doing nothing and finding out a problem down the road. When you are preparing to spend hundreds of thousands of euro, it's best paying the few extra quid to make sure everything is ok.

Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie
 
Spoke to the septic tank person in the area but he said I would need to get it emptied first before he examines it does this sound right? He couldn't give me a price how much is it?
 
I just seen you spoke to the septic tank person. I will get back to you in the morning.I will list a few Items to ask in the morning.I suspect the tank is ok.I was hoping to get back to you before you spoke to them.Can you check if he/she is the same person who emptied the tank for the person who had problem with the septic tank next door If so he/she will know what the problems were.
 
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