Septic Tank - Installation Costs

scottishlizzie

Does anyone know anything about the cost of installing a septic tank for domestic purposes. We currently share one with our neighbours but it is not working well and we want to have our own.

Any advice would be appreciated but I am particularly interested to find out rough costs and recommendations for installers (if allowed).

Ted_Hutchinson

Installing a septic tank is a job you could consider doing yourself. I did mine several years ago and saved a fortune. Hired a Mini digger to dig out the hole and a load of readymix to set the tank in. It's all pretty basic if you read the instructions before you start. We had to replace ours as the so called "Professional" plumber who had put it in originally didn't fill it up with water as the concrete was being poured round it. It therefore floated up and rather than the stuff flowing downhill into it there were cracked pipes and an uphill slope immediately before the intake.
More details here We went for a Modern Packaged Sewage Treatment Plant with a compressor which blows air through the tank and sprays the contents over sheets of indented plastic. While the maintainance is a thankless task you can do it yourself reducing the annual cost considerably. We also find ours [larger than was needed] looks after itself and although I test it regularly have only found it needs emptying every seven years or so. The blowers don't last for ever but considering it operates 24/7 two in 15 years isn't bad.
Just noticed the prices in the first link are 2001 based so may not be the same now.
Edit Another septic tank linkPeriod property
Titan biotec

trickytrolleys

I used to work in the technical dept of a septic tank and sewage treatment plant manufacturers - is your water table high or low? This will affect the unit you need and how it is installed, tanks that are installed in wet ground can pop out!! if its low you can backfill with pea shingle but if not you will need concrete (if the ground is suitable for a septic) (believe me it happens) I would advise you to speak to Klargester (who are also Titan) I dont work there anymore so this is not an advert!!! but a bloke will come out for free and check it all out for you - obviously they'll try and sell you one but you dont have to buy!!! if you want anymore info just let me know!

they also really should be emptied more often - annually is best (and no, I dont know any manufacturer who has links with tank drainage companies) - particulaly, you shouldnt have been sold one bigger than is needed as the bacteria cannot be created without the correct amount of sewage going in and if you discharge this near animals or into a river you can get done!! Be unlucky if you were caught but it happens!

Ted_Hutchinson

Of course getting proper professional advice before you select the appropriate sized tank and installation advice should ensure you get the correct size tank but this isn't always the case.

When we installed our tank we put in a section to enable us to sample the outflow before it enters the drainage pipe which leads eventally to a spring. The spring was sampled last year and proved to be the purest water the tester had found to date. I didn't like to tell her that her sample would have included a percentage of our effluent outflow.

On the occasion the blower died our noses told us something was wrong before anything could be detected downstream.

scottishlizzie

Thank you all for your help.

Not sure about water tables but as we live nearly 1000ft up a hill I would guess it is low!

My main concerns are access (awkward garden on a hill), cost and smells. The tank would have to be near the top of the garden to make it accessible for emptying etc but it is at the top of the garden that we sit and the kids play.

We have a weird situation currently in that we are connected to a septic tank on a neighbouring property. This tank is ancient and is not functioning well, although this affects mainly our neighbours and not us. However, they are implying that we are to blame for putting the wrong stuff down it (which we are not) so you can imagine the potential for things to go wrong!

We already have the pipes in place but what we are thinking about is re-routing to our own tank. This would avoid further conflict with our neighbours, plus we would be in control of how the tank is looked after. Also think it would help if we sell our house to have our own tank.

However I am really concerned about the amount of work involved, how it will look and how it might smell.

Ted_Hutchinson

Ours is sited right in the middle of our garden and the blower is by the hedge about 10 yds away. In between we have sited our log cabin, Summer house with decking in front, which we use a lot when the weather warms up.
The blower is so quiet that you have to go right up to it to hear if it is actually working.

The tank makes a blurp splash sound but again you have to be standing over it and listening hard to hear it. The only things you can see are the housing for the blower perhaps 2ftx 1ft 6in and the inspection lids. We've put shrub roses round ours so no-one would actually know where the tank was unless directed to it. As we are lounging around on the decking/summerhouse we would be aware if there was any odour at all coming from the tank and if there was this would tell you something wasn't working properly. But really if yours is half as good as our biotec you won't know it's there. There isn't any noise or smell and a couple of inspection lids can be easily screened. I'm not sure what the recommendations are for walking over the top of the tank. As ours is buried and as we've put roses round it I only stand on it when attending to it. If it can take my weight it would survive the kids but I'm not sure it would be a good idea to put a trampoline over it or use it as a play surface but you will have to find that out from your makers.

My maintainance problems come from visitors who don't understand that crisp packets, biscuit wrappings, plasters, hormone patches, cotton buds, and carrier bags aren't biodegradable and dispose of them down the loo. You probably wouldn't have these problems as you will not have a succession of illiterate septic tank novices who don't read the polite notices in the holiday cottage. The only other unfortunate incident occured when a frog managed to get stuck in the air lift pump and blocked it for a bit. The maintainance shouldn't really be a problem and there will probably be a local service person who would come once a year for a couple of hours.

When we dug the hole for our tank the hole filled with water which is why the previous "professionally installed" tank floated up. You wouldn't have this problem if you live up a hill.

trickytrolleys

If you get a bio-disc you would not have a blower, and if a septic you should not be able to see anything other than the cover - also you should have no smells as a pipe should be routed (normally up the side of the house) that is high enough for the air to take the smell away - moral: if you can smell your tank there is something wrong!! I really would suggest getting Klasrgester (i honestly believe the are the best) to come and have a look for free - you really are not obligated! And if you leave it uintil right at the end of the month if you do decide to buy you can screw their price right down as (at least when I was there) we would practically give them away to hit our targets (because we were earning hundreds extra a month in commission) though this may have changed!

scottishlizzie

A handyman we use now says that he doubts we would be able to have a septic tank due to the fact that the soakaway would take the water into a neighbour's wood. He says we would be better off anyway with a mini sewage treatment plant which I understand consists of two small tanks, needs electricity and discharges totally clear water.

He tells me these would be above ground so would require only minimal digging to connect to the existing pipes. This would be a big bonus for us due to access difficulties

Any information on these would be appreciated. I guess they are more expensive than septic tanks? Or not?

Thanks.

Ted_Hutchinson

The biodisk or biotek systems we have been discussing are single tank units with a compressor which blow air into the tank. I can't think how you could have two tanks so until you can show a link to a two tank system I won't know what you are talking about.

The quality of the outflow from my biotek unit is virtually pure as can be, as you can tell from the fact that when it was tested by the enviromental workers, it turned out the purest spring water (including my effluent) that they had so far tested.

mcclim

HI,

I bought the balmoral tanks septic tank (the one with the compressor) I can't remember the exact model, but I was allowed to put the outlet of the tank directly into a waterway beside the tank, If you were to put your own tank in you should contact Building control for your area as they might have to inspect the tank.

As for the installation it is relitively easy to install, the septic tank. From the original post all you really need to do is divert your sewer into your new tank and pipe the outlet. Remember the fall in the pipe to the tank has to be accurate or else you will have problems with the flow of sewage...

scottishlizzie

How deep a hole would need to be dug? We have a real problem with access - i.e. it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to get a digger in.