HomeSeptic servicesSeptic Tank Replacement
Concrete or polyethylene, under permit
Septic tank replacement, without replacing what still works
A failed tank confirmed with the lid off, replaced under county permit, sized to the house, and connected to the existing drain field wherever the field is sound.
At a glance
- Permit
- Filed with the county environmental health office
- Tanks
- Concrete or polyethylene, sized to the bedroom count
- Old tank
- Pumped, crushed and filled, or removed
When the tank itself is the problem
Most septic trouble is the drain field or a pump. Sometimes it is the tank: a concrete tank whose lid has collapsed, a wall cracked by roots or a truck driven over it, a steel tank rusted through, a baffle gone so that solids leave with every flush, or a tank sized for a two-bedroom cottage under a house that now has five. Groundwater seeping in through a crack is the giveaway: the tank fills faster than the house could possibly fill it.
Call Flamingo confirms it before recommending a replacement, with the tank pumped down and the walls, floor and baffles visible. A cracked baffle is a repair. A cracked tank in a high water table is not.
Replacement is permitted work. The county environmental health office issues the permit under the state onsite sewage rule, the new tank is sized to the bedroom count, and the old one is pumped and crushed in place or removed.
Signs the tank has failed
- A lid that has cracked, sagged or fallen in
- Water level in the tank above the outlet with the field taking flow normally
- The tank filling far faster than the household could fill it
- Sewage odour at the tank rather than at the field
- Roots visible inside the tank on inspection
- A tank with no record, undersized for the bedroom count on a sale
How a replacement runs
The tank is pumped and inspected
Replacement is quoted from what is seen, not from what is assumed.
The permit is filed
With the county environmental health office, sized to the bedroom count.
The new tank is set
Excavated, bedded level, inlet and outlet connected, risers fitted so the lids sit at grade.
The old tank is dealt with
Pumped, crushed and filled with clean fill, or removed where the site needs it.
Inspection and backfill
The county inspects before backfill, and the record is closed.
Replace the tank, keep the field
A tank replacement does not have to become a system replacement. Where the drain field is accepting flow and the distribution box is level, the new tank connects to the existing field and the job stays a tank job. Where the outlet has been passing solids for years, the field is inspected honestly before that decision, because burying a new tank in front of a sealed field is money spent twice.
Straight answers
Questions this job raises
How long does a septic tank last?
Concrete tanks commonly run for decades in this soil. What shortens that is a lid driven over, roots, a steel tank from an earlier era, or a crack that lets groundwater in.
Can a cracked tank be repaired?
A cracked baffle or a broken lid can. A cracked wall or floor in a high water table cannot be sealed reliably from inside and is replaced.
Does replacing the tank need a permit?
Yes. It is permitted by the county environmental health office and inspected before backfill. The new tank is sized to the bedroom count, which can be larger than the old one.
Is financing available for a tank replacement?
Yes, through Hearth. Checking what you pre-qualify for does not affect your credit score.
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