I just bought a house (older) and I've been noticing a funny smell -- like raw sewage. So, I went down to my crawl space today to investigate. I noticed that there is a pipe that dumps water into the crawl space everytime a toilet is flushed or a sink is turned on in the house. The pipe is a vertical piece connected to a horizontal one. So, when a toilet is flushed, water pushes up through it and onto the ground of my crawl space. Is that normal? I've never owned a house before but I know that moisture in a crawl space can be a serious issue. It looks like it was designed to do this though. The pipe isn't broken or anything. I'm a bit baffled. Should I call a plumber?

massplumber2008

Hi Guys!!

Harold, in my area, whenever a home with a septic is sold there is a required Title V inspection. I asked River what state he lives in..still waiting on answer.

How you doing lately?? Have missed you last couple days...

Check this site out...especially about home sale...let me know....Mark.

Title V mass, Title V Massachusetts, Title V Inspection

I am not suggesting this is absolute..it is a sales pitch at site...but presents that inspection should have happened. River1, let us know if regular sale or foreclosure. Thank you.

.

river1

Massplumber, I have owned this house since December 1, 2007, but I moved in late January. So, I've been running water through it for about five weeks now. This weeked, I noticed a bad smell .. very faint (thank god!) so I went down into the crawl space to investigate and fell down the rabbit hole, so to speak.

Back in November, I went into the crawl space with the inspector. The first thing he said was there were no signs of moisture. And there wasn't at that time. The space was dusty dry. Unfortunately, I now know that that was probably because the house had sat empty for quite awhile. I'm not sure how long, but it was for more than six months. With the market being where it is, it's been hard to sell I guess.

But no, the house was not a foreclosure. I talked with the previous owner at the signing .. he seems to be a nice guy (lol @ nice guy, I know). He said he raised his two kids in the house, enjoyed it, liked the neighbors, wished us well here, etc. Around Christmas time, someone left a gift for him and some pictures of him and his kids from a trip he took to Yellowstone on my porch. The guy still lives somewhat nearby and he rode his bike by once and we waved and smiles all around. I don't know why this is relevant, but I guess it just doesn't seem to me like this was out and out fraud or anything.

One more detail, I bought this house with a VA loan. So a VA inspector went through the house too. I wasn't present at that inspection, but the inspector did insist on measures being taken to keep moisture away from the outside of the house. He had the previous owner dump some dirt around the front of the house to ensure a downward slope and replace the gutters. He also said the crawl space needed another vent.. it already had two, but he wanted one on another wall. So I know this inspector was in the crawl space.

I'm not sure if I can get some money out of this, but I'm going to talk to JAG (Army lawyer) tomorrow and see.

As for the problem with the septic/ drain field though, yes I'll definitely see to it that this is done right. I'll pull permits and do whatever else needs to be done. It's bad enough I had waste rotting under my house, I don't plan on sharing with the neighbors. Of course, I'd love to be spared what from every indication is going to be an outrageous expense (know of any quick, yet safe and legal, fixes on drain field repairs?) but here we go. I'll tell you this, after this is finished, I'll be VERY sure to take good care of my septic .. regular servicing, nothing questionable flushed or put down the drains.

Again, thank you for taking the time .. I'll post the dollar amount on the new drain fields as soon as I get the estimate. Hope that's tomorrow. Just thinking about the cost of this is making me dizzy, but this doesn't seem like something i have a choice on.

river1

Sorry, in my very long answer I forgot to metnion what state this is. It's Georgia. If there was a septic tank inspection required, I didn't see one/ don't have it. I'll check into that tomorrow with JAG.

Fr_Chuck

In GA any new septic system, or any change to the laterial lines have to be inspected and get approval. There is no requirements at time of sale.

Fr_Chuck

I read more of the old posts,

first yes always have the inspection, all that is, the septic tank inspector for your county, comes out and marks where you need to put new the new drain field, and he will tell you exactly how many feet you have to use according to his soil tests.

And yes, all you are going to do is dig a trench 100 to 200 feet long ( or two or three lines to the size you need, like I said the inspector even marks on the ground where to put them.

So there are several types, one merely puts some gravel into the trench, the pipe in, and you fill it up with dirt. The last one I did, I just went out and rented the equipment, drug out the lines and hired some day labor for the grunt work.

But if you are getting a price of more than 2000 dollars per 100 feet, someone is trying to take advantage of you.
Are they pricing you an entire new tank and lines ? Even that would not be 10,000 dollars

massplumber2008

FR Chuck, that helped clarify tons!! Thank you.

No Title V inspection required in your area at time of sale...I see. *Ouch*..., but fact is fact. Check with JAG anyway...see what they say.

I am sure previous owner did nothing intentional...just presenting ideas with so little info. (some people stink..but I believe, not most ). Talk to people, keep us posted...Thanks...Mark


.

hkstroud

River1
Sometimes stuff just happens. Sometimes it seems like a house own you rather than you owning it.

Mark, I've been out putting up crown molding. Been crawling over peoples furniture and "stuff". Have you ever went to clear someones kitchen drain, arrived to find that they had removed everything under the sink? Never happened to me.

River1, when Mark speaks of stinking people he's talking about me.

Fr_Chuck

Yes, many "city" people think that a drain is a drain and dump all sorts of things in them, I can remember all sorts of things we got out of ours on the last home we bought and had the tank pumped.

One thing to look for, that was not mentioned, but the tank is to have a baffle that is suppose to help keep the solids in tank, and the liquids going into the field area. After 20 plus years the baffle in the tank may have fallen in ( if concrete) On one tank we did, I found that by rebuilding the baffle, the drain fields could hold ( pretty good, )

doug238

Infiltrator Plastic Leachfield Chamber Systems ... this is the best system
Infiltrator chamber leach field system installation instructions. ... this is your best way to have it done


these next 3 give you an idea of what you are looking for
Septic Tank and Drainfield Operation and Maintenance, from the MSU Extension Service
Septic Systems A to Z Maintenance
http://www.sera17.ext.vt.edu/Documen...rain_field.pdf

i want to address some issues. the open pipe was installed to keep backups out of the interior of the house. it is not legal but some plumbers do it, i don't. when the septic backed up the open pipe protected the inside of the home.
the cost of a guy reinstalling a leach field in the atl metro area off the record [no permit] is around 3 grand. to do it according to specs, the authorities will determine exactly where ya gonna put it, how long and how deep. they will require extra distance of drain line. you will find the 5.5 grand reasonable, even low. if you permit it, every installer will be required to do it according to the specs given.
i highly suggest the infiltrator. do ya have red clay or dirt?

river1

Thanks for this informative and detailed answer. I am p*ssed that the home inspector didn't see it and think.. uh oh... and advise me about it. You say this isn't legal to install? I wonder if I have case against inspector/and or previous home owner?

I have red clay, and I suspect that the installation of a new drain field on my lot would be very tricky. It's wooded and hilly. My current problem is that I can't get anyone out to give me an estimate. A guy was supposed to come out yesterday .. I called him at noon and we agreed to meet at 3 p.m. I got time off work, came out... no show, no call, no explantion. I called and left a message on his voice mail, no call back. It's been over 24 hours.

Does anybody know anyone who does good drain field work in the Atlanta area (specifically western Cobb county)?

Also, one last question, I heard about the terralift method (terraliftinternational.com). Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it work? If yes, for how long?